The Detours - Whole Lot of Lovin'/ Pieces of You

Label: CBS

Year of Release: 1968

I've talked a lot online already about how much I admire the work of Cardiff's Gene Latter. A persistent, powerful but unlucky producer of wonderful singles throughout both the sixties and the seventies, he's definitely not somebody you should skip past in the second-hand record racks. From psychedelia to abrasive mod pop to northern soul ("Sign on the Dotted Line") to glam rock to disco, he pretty much covered all bases, fashions and trends without embarrassing himself too much (although his  seventies single "John Travolta You Are A Superstar" is a mite strange).

Liverpool's The Detours were his backing band for a time in the late sixties, and it's unclear how involved he was with this release beyond production and songwriting duties. But it's safe to say his thumbprints are all over this one - it's as close to a rip-roaring Stax single as an English group ever got, and he did have a skill for mimicking these styles very closely. It screams out at you from the speakers and threatens to leave your ears ringing even at low volumes - and the drumming and hyperactive organ playing on the B-side (better than the official A-side, in my view) propels everything along to a demented degree. If this doesn't tempt you towards the dancefloor, you're probably close to death. 

The Detours seem to have had so many line-up changes, and there's also uncertainty about whether they were even two bands doing the rounds with the same name, so I'm going to resist the temptation to  make any definite claims about the musicians on this record. However, the original line-up was Billy Churchill on lead guitar, Ritchie Quillan on guitar, Charlie King on bass, John D Pudifier on drums and Pete Flannery on vocals. It also seems certain that they supported The Beatles in Liverpool at least once (with a gig at the Liverpool Jazz Society). 

And yep, this record is a reissue rather than the original CBS pressing, but beggars can't be choosers.