This regional compilation covering Rochdale, Heywood and Whitworth feeds off the continued interest in the late 70s Deeply Vale Free Festivals, that idyllic compounding of the hippie and the punk. That’s highly commendable in itself, since what we’re talking about is one of the turning points in festival history, but it’s a little hard to see this compilation, taken outside of its geographical context, being of any great interest to a wider audience.
Only a 1978 demo of Atmosphere by Joy Division and a contribution from former Dandelion favourites Tractor will have automatic recognition factor, so you can see that a passionate but perhaps myopic labour of love has been the catalyst for this résumé of acts long forgotten. That’s fine, the inclusion of a brace of recordings from the late Tony Crabtree have a certain something about them, but the low-gen nature of other selections, such as the murky capture of Whitworth punks Wilful Damage, aren’t going to establish them ahead of such Rochdale luminaries as Gracie Fields…
For those fascinated with the local scene, its inspirations, bands, poets and movers and shakers are enthusiastically documented in the well-produced accompanying sleevenotes, but the variable quality of the material might deter the less interested.
