VARIOUS

A collection of guitar-wielding all-girl bands, drop-dead female frat rock, garage girls and axe-centric she-pop. 14 hot nuggets, each one hand-picked with vinyl lovers in mind. Pressed on 180g transparent violet vinyl in heavy-duty sleeve, with an inner bag sporting a 4,000-word track commentary and rare photos.

It’s guitars a go-go on this compilation of storming female garage rock from the 60s. There’s She’s thundering ‘Piece Of You’, which remained unreleased until 1999; the Chicks’ take on ‘The Rebel Kind’, penned by the mighty Lee Hazlewood; Sandy Edmonds’ fuzzed-up cover of the Pretty Things’ ‘Come See Me’; the Wrongh Black Bag’s electric ‘I Don’t Know Why’, and ‘Love Seems So Hard To Find’ by Debbie Williams & the Unwritten Law, which shows young Debbie had talent and confidence way beyond her years. More stunning she-pop comes from the Rums & Coke’s feisty performance of the Dave Clark Five’s ‘Glad All Over’’; ‘Nothing Can Go Wrong’ by the Bea’s; and ‘Quite A Reputation’ by the Chymes, supported here by the Turtles. Joe Meek fans will especially enjoy Glenda Collins’ ‘Thou Shalt Not Steal’, which features Ritchie Blackmore tearing up a storm on guitar.

If that wasn’t enough, there are gritty groovers by Goldie & the Gingerbreads with their take on the Kinks’ ‘Look For Me Baby’ souped-up as an organ-driven dancer, and the Debutantes’ slinking version of ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’. “Chicks can’t play”, the young Ted Nugent once told Jan of the Debutantes, but they and the other guitar-toting girl bands here show just how empty a statement that was. The Belles appear with their only disc, ‘Melvin’ – a gender-swapped version of Them’s ‘Gloria’ – an original copy of which would set you back $500, and the snarling ‘Boy, What’ll You Do Then’ by Denise is another big bucks rarity. The magical trip that is ‘Stardust Come Back’ by Girls Take Over closes the album in a tribute to the recently departed Cindy Wilhelmi, the band’s songwriter and guitarist. So, go on, grab a copy. You’ll be Glad All Over. (Ace Records)