British Invasion: The Essential Album

While it's difficult to deem an album of British Invasion tracks essential when it has nothing by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Dave Clark Five, or even Herman's Hermits, this collection still has enough gems to make it worth a listen. Songs like the Tremeloes' cover of Cat Stevens' "Here Comes My Baby" and the Honeycombs' "Have I the Right?" are always refreshing to hear, although one has to wonder about including Chris Farlowe's tortured version of "Paint It Black" instead of the much better original by the Rolling Stones. The compilers also seem to extend the so-called Invasion a couple years past what most folks would consider appropriate, with songs like Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and Status Quo's "Pictures of Matchstick Men" hailing from 1968, deep into the psychedelic age. Pick this collection up if you just want a brief sampler of the era; otherwise, Rhino's nine-disc set is the closest thing to a complete history.