Alan Klein - Well At Least It’s British

Overdue reissue for a unique slice of 60s Britpop

Alan Klein’s sole LP should really have been reissued in the mid-90s, when Damon Albarn cited it as a major influence on Parklife. Also an obvious influence on early Bowie, Klein’s determinedly English style stood at odds with the transatlantic sounds dominating the British pop boom in 1964. Klein, pre-empting psych-pop, looked back to the music hall era and, with the satiric mockney-isms of I Wanna Be A Beatnik and 20th Century Englishman, had a similar eye for English working class life to Ray Davies. Elsewhere, the deadpan satire of Three Coins In The Sewer and the hilarious Age Of Corruption are worthy of Vivian Stanshall. Two early Joe Meek-produced 45s (backed by The Tornadoes) are also included, along with two 1965 Parlophone singles.

RPM RETRO | 824

Reviewed by Steve Rippon
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