Action Painting

I've been a fan of Creation (and other bands like The Action, The Attack, The Sorrows, Tomorrow, etc.) for many years. Occasionally one of their more popular singles ("Making Time", "Painter Man") pops up now and again in collections of late '60sMod/psche/pop/rock collections that keeps their name alive. And Paul Weller (The Jam) championed the band (the "All Mods Con" album sleeve had a picture of one of the Creation's record labels), which had Jam fans searching for Creation's singles. And this latest collection of the band's music is a great overview of that particular era. But I can't recall when a band that never released an album (not including the German only album "We Are The Paintermen"), and had only a handful of singles issued so many decades ago, has received such deluxe treatment.The various albums that have been (and are) available, focus on those singles and show the true strength of the band. But if you want to go even further into the band's music, this 2 CD set is just the ticket. But saying that I have to ask why weren't all eight tracks by the Mark Four included instead of just four? CD time lengths are a consideration, but it's just too bad that those early sides aren't included too, to form a more complete look at the band. There was a very recent 4 CD/1 DVD set of the band's music from across their lifetime (including their reformation before the deaths of two members) available for about two weeks or so on Amazon but that is now no longer available as I write this.If you want to focus on the tracks the band issued as singles, get one of the single disc sets. But for fans (like me) this 2 CD set with an extensive look at the band and their music from '65 to '68 when they split up, with an 80 page hardcover book (full of period photos, etc.) that slips inside a thick cardboard hardcover slipcase, is the way to go. Each disc slips inside a paper jacket on the inside front and back covers, and are a bit difficult to get out without tearing the paper jacket--be careful--or put the discs into a double jewel case for ease of use and safekeeping. With both mono and stereo tracks and US/UK versions, plus instrumentals, this is a good way to hear the band in the '60s. These are the important sides produced by Shel Talmy, who also produced The Who and The Kinks among other well know bands of the era. Just listen to "How Does It Feel To Feel" for a good sonic blast --especially Phillips' violin bow/feedback.The band had numerous personnel changes (including Ron Wood on guitar) in a relatively short time, but one of the mainstays was guitarist Eddie Phillips. Among period guitarists he ranked at least as good as many other well known players. He used a violin bow a couple of years before Jimmy Page began using it in Led Zeppelin. Plus his power chords and solos were things of fiery beauty and excitement. The vocals by Kenny Pickett and some of the arrangements (with bassist Bob Garner and drummer Jack Jones) were similar to what The Who was doing during that time. But they weren't mere copycats. While their sound is reminiscent of The Who, to my ears their sound was even more focused and somehow more exciting at times. And any band that "action painted" on canvasses live on stage while the band played and then torched them must've been pretty exciting. That, and the fact they occasionally painted on the bodies of almost naked girls really must've been something to experience. But the band was basically ignored by the British music press, while in Germany they were held in high esteem as a band to hear.As a fan I'm hoping that I'll still receive the multi-disc set mentioned above that has (hopefully not permanently) disappeared. That has (as far as I can tell) all the relative tracks the band recorded/released up through their reformation, until the time of two members passing on. But if that falls through this 2 CD set will suffice nicely. Why the availability of this Numero label set isn't wider, and why the price keeps going up as I write this is a mystery. But it's a great blast of '60s Mod/rock/psyche/pop. Talmy thought they could've been as big as The Who. This collection will give you an idea of what he heard.If you want to read a fairly decent book on the Creation, check out "Our Music Is Red With Purple Flashes", by Sean Egan, published by Cherry Red Books, in 2004. The book could've been tightened up a bit, but since it's the only book on the band, beggars can't be choosers, as they say. But it does contain some interesting and informative stuff about the band and their music.

This is another one of those truly great 1960s bands that never received the success and acclaim that they deserved. As other reviewers noted, they never recorded a "proper" album during their heyday, but oh those glorious singles!In the extensive liner notes included in the 80-page (!!!) booklet that comes with this set, producer Shel Talmy calls the Creation "the band that didn't make it that should have .... they were certainly as good as the Who and the Kinks." Longtime music fans might dismiss such comments, but listening to these fine songs all these decades later, one can't help but be impressed with the high quality. Catchy songs, pleasing vocals, great arrangements, deft guitar playing. The Creation did everything very well.I'd especially recommend this 2-CD for fans of the Who, hearing striking similarities between the two bands in more than a handful of these songs. Disc 2 has a few too many "new stereo mixes" for my tastes, but some of the other backing tracks and instrumentals are well worth hearing. All in all, a most excellent reissue for an unjustly ignored band.

Another Creation comp but this is the one to have. Breathtaking sound quality: sounds like all new digital masters. First CD appearance AFAIK of the original German 45 mix of If I Stay Too Long. The new stereo remixes on Disc 2 are superb and at long last a Creation sessionography which resolves a lot of mysteries about who plays on what and when tracks were recorded. This set contains every _song_ the Creation released but not every version or alternate take. So you still need the Repertiore and Retroactive comps to get everything (well almost everything, the original stereo We Are Paintermen LP mix of "Nightmares' has still not ever been issued on cd, AFAIK). Only one glaring omission: the version of For All That I Am is not the original 45 mix but an alternate, inferior mix that has appeared on almost every other cd collection.

Hola! He visto comentarios en otras páginas sobre este producto. Se ha dicho que tiene ruido como si fuera un vinil usado y que este ruido no se puede eliminar al limpiar el disco. La copia que adquirí tiene muy poco presente este problema. La música es desde luego muy buena y trascendente. La calidad de la grabación es bastante aceptable para ser vinil, pues de un vinil siempre se espera mucho más. No me imagino como sonarán los tracks de una grabación de la época. ¡Algún día!.....

This is all you need to own regarding the band The Creation. It is well worth $20. The booklet is hardbound with great essays and pictures. The sound quality is great as well. This is what you need.

Fantastic 2 record SET, thank you! Great sounding discs,stereo mixes sound fantastic. If you are a fan of The Creation this is the one to get.Highlights...Through my eyes,Biff,Bang,Pow , Painter Man,Tom,Tom, How does it feel to feel (us version)

I LOVE THAT SOUND, THEY SOUND LIKE THE WHO IN THE EARLY YEARS.

Had to buy this to complement the vinyl. Doesn't get much better.

ザ・フー、スモールフェイセズの次くらいに英国の60年代中期～後期のモッドシーンを象徴するバンド、クリエイションの2枚組編集盤。彼らはマーケットの拠点をイギリス→ドイツと移行してオリジナルアルバムを出すことなく(再結成を除く)解散してしまったため、恐らくレーベルの関係がごちゃごちゃしており、それゆえ過去に音質の良くない・曲順がバラバラ・ブックレットがいい加減なの編集盤が乱発されていましたが、こちらは全ての懸念点がクリアされてます。収録曲は既発曲のモノラルミックス、ステレオミックスバージョン、インストバージョン、Mark Four時代の楽曲のいくつかを2枚組として収録。コンプリートではないものの、基本的には一通り彼らの60年代の楽曲が網羅されています。リマスターの音質も数曲、気になる楽曲を除くと、音圧、帯域、音のレベルのバランスは過去最高のものです。（一部、Cool Jerkのピアノのイントロの音が細くなっていたり、Mark Four時代の楽曲の一部の音が圧縮されてノイズリダクションのためか？聴きづらくなっています）この盤で決定盤・・・としたかったところですが、その直後に2017年5月にEdselから再結成後の音源やDVDを加えた4CD+DVDの”Creation Theory”がリリースされています。音質はほとんど変わりませんが前述のMark Four音源の音質が改善されている所と、コンプリート的な意味合いで"Creation Theory"を評価したいですが、コンパクトに楽しみたい場合はこの盤の価値はあると思います。

The Creation's work (and for those arriving late, it's kind of the bridge between the early Who and the tougher end of British psychedelia) has often been compiled but this must be the definitive account.Disc 1 includes pretty much everything the band recorded as The Creation from '66 to '68 (the 1990s reunion isn't included) in chronological order. Disc 2 features the third and fourth (but not the first and second) Mark Four singles (this being The Creation's Hi-Numbers era, as it were), plus stereo remixes of much of the stuff on disc 1 and a few other rarities. Completists should note it apparently doesn't contain every single alternative take and overdub in the vaults, but for most folk this is going to be entirely satisfactory.In addition to being very comprehensive, where this collection really shines is the sound quality. The tracks are sourced from original tapes with full involvement from the justifiably legendary producer Shel Talmy and the sound combines real punch with clarity and detail. Surely this music can never have sounded better.The music, of course, is brilliant If you're interested enough to have read this far, you either know that already, or you've heard someone saying it and you're checking to see if it's true. It is. This is the high watermark of the aggressive, guitar-driven, post-R&B/pre-psychedelia style of British rock latterly labelled Freakbeat, and its combination of attack, economy and quality songwriting is thrilling.Then there's the packaging. The two discs are mounted in a handsome, hard-backed book packed with the band's history, recording session details and archive visuals, and it's a model of how these things should be done. The book in turn lives in a smart, durable slip-case. It's an exemplary package.The only problem with this set is the apparently random availability, so if you do see it here, and the vendor's asking price isn't absurdly high, best strike while you can. You will not regret it.

Es kann ja sein, dass die Vinyl-Ausgabe weniger Songs aufweist, als die CD-Ausgabe (es fehlen wohl die STEREO-Neuabmischungen?!) - aber deshalb nur einen Stern für ein unfassbar gutes Remastering und eine dermaßen tolle Band zu vergeben... naja!Also, diese 2-CD-Ausgabe - offensichtlich ein Auszug des 4-CD-DVD-Mediabooks - hat alles, was es braucht: ALLE Aufnahmen von The Creation 1966 - 1968 in phänomenalem MONO-Sound (CD 1), dazu auf CD 2 die 4 Songs der Vorläuferband The Mark Four, die man kennen muss, und als Plus neue STEREO-Abmischungen von Alec Palao der Songs, bei denen wohl die überlebenden Masterbänder dies zuließen. Diese STEREO-Versionen sind zum Teil Alternativversionen und lassen die Gitarrenarbeit von Eddie Philipps noch detailreicher erleben, dazu bieten sie eine sehr gute Ergänzung zu den originalgetreuen neuen MONO-Mixen, die überwacht wurden von Original-Producer Shel Talmy.Für weniger Geld als die 4-CD-Box lassen sich The Creation hier brillant neu entdecken - sie klingen so gut wie nie zuvor auf CD! Dazu ist diese Doppel-CD als schönes Buch aufgemacht, mit vielen Bildern und interessanten Texten!Fazit: Absolut super!!

Une anthologie digne de ce nom pour un des groupes pop/mod/freakbeat des années soixante qui reste trop méconnu.The Creation n'est peut-être pas l'égal des Who ou des Pretty Things mais sa musique demeure passionnante.Le livret, richement illustré et documenté, vaut déjà tout le prix de cet album. Un must !

Die allerorten so hoch gelobte "komplette" Creation-Werkschau entpuppt sich auf Vinyl als ausgesprochen abgespeckt. Die Do-LP enthält gerade einmal 24 Tracks (einen Hinweis gibt es darauf nicht bei Amazon). Die entsprechende CD-Ausgabe enthält ca. das Doppelte.Hinzu kommt, und das setzt dem Ganzen das i-Tüpfelchen auf, nirgendwo auf dem Cover oder dem beiliegenden Booklet findet sich ein Tracklisting. Man mag es sich von den Labels ablesen oder andernorts besorgen.Das hoch gelobte Album als Vinylausgabe also hoch ärgerlich, trotz der tollen Musik. Wobei ich noch nicht verglichen habe, ob die Original-Singles nicht doch besser klingen. Der erste Eindruck geht in diese Richtung.