Assembly (2015)

The history of Rare Mod
Every once in a while a compilation comes along that re-defines the genre. – Nuggets and Pebbles spring to mind; classic collections crafted with care. Cut from the same cloth is Rare Mod. Last year, Acid Jazz released a recently discovered and previously unheard EP from Steve Marriot’s pre-Small Faces outfit – The Moments. The record spent a couple of months in the indie top ten. The label’s psyche guru, Richard Searle began a quest to unearth more super rare and unreleased material from the glory days of the mid sixties Mod scene.

Ray Davies had indulged himself one time too often with Soap Opera, and his bandmates, namely brother Dave and founding member Mick Avory, revolted, insisting that their sixth RCA album sound more like a Kinks album (certainly, that's something RCA wanted too). So, Davies designed their next album as a return to a simpler, band-oriented sound. Of course, he didn't jettison his love for conceptual works, so Schoolboys in Disgrace was born. Working under the presumption that a return to simple rock demanded a simple theme, Davies constructed the album as a nostalgic trip through childhood, reviving '50s rock & roll (including the occasional doo wop harmony) for the album's foundation, then turning the amps up high.