Though his thoughts were often out-of-this-world during his lifetime, Meek has truly inherited the earth in recent years. Endless compilations and even a biopic have documented every knob-twiddle of his troubled life, making the promise of 50 “lost recordings” from the producer’s early career sound far too good to be true. Can there really be anything left we haven’t heard?
Sadly, the answer is, “No, not really.” It’s a laudable attempt to weave together the varied threads of his early work as an engineer, but tracks such as Cumberland Gap and Green Door are hardly lost recordings, even if we don’t immediately associate them with Meek. Bringing them together under his banner is all well and good, but it was done far better just a couple of months back, on GVC’s Bad Penny Blues: Joe Meek The Early Years (see our review in RC 371). More than half the songs herein feature on that earlier compilation, which boasts more tracks overall, as well as more comprehensive sleevenotes.
It’s a shame Chrome Dreams have been beaten to the punch on this occasion, as this collection was clearly assembled with love. But if you only need one early Meek compilation, this sadly isn’t it.
