Courtney Lynn

It was the logical extension of two of the most important and enduring pop music tributaries of the 1960s – the girl group sound and the garage band explosion, respectively – but the distaff garage rock scene has earned precious little documentation on record or in history books over the years. Romulan's long-running Girls in the Garage series has done much to rectify that oversight, however, compiling an astounding amount of prime crunch – the first CD volume in the series is also its strongest, adding 11 tracks to the 16 that made up the original vinyl. Like all garage collections, there are equal amounts killer and filler, and the joy of discovery is alone worth the price of admission – Denise & Co.'s "Boy, What Will You Do Then," the Belles' "Come Back," and Lydia Marcelle's "The Girl He Needs" are top-shelf by any standard, however, and the Continental Co-Ets' blistering instrumental "Melody of Junk" dismisses once and for all any lingering misconceptions that the girls couldn't rock as hard as the boys.

It was the logical extension of two of the most important and enduring pop music tributaries of the 1960s – the girl group sound and the garage band explosion, respectively – but the distaff garage rock scene has earned precious little documentation on record or in history books over the years. Romulan's long-running Girls in the Garage series has done much to rectify that oversight, however, compiling an astounding amount of prime crunch – the first CD volume in the series is also its strongest, adding 11 tracks to the 16 that made up the original vinyl. Like all garage collections, there are equal amounts killer and filler, and the joy of discovery is alone worth the price of admission – Denise & Co.'s "Boy, What Will You Do Then," the Belles' "Come Back," and Lydia Marcelle's "The Girl He Needs" are top-shelf by any standard, however, and the Continental Co-Ets' blistering instrumental "Melody of Junk" dismisses once and for all any lingering misconceptions that the girls couldn't rock as hard as the boys.

It was the logical extension of two of the most important and enduring pop music tributaries of the 1960s – the girl group sound and the garage band explosion, respectively – but the distaff garage rock scene has earned precious little documentation on record or in history books over the years. Romulan's long-running Girls in the Garage series has done much to rectify that oversight, however, compiling an astounding amount of prime crunch – the first CD volume in the series is also its strongest, adding 11 tracks to the 16 that made up the original vinyl. Like all garage collections, there are equal amounts killer and filler, and the joy of discovery is alone worth the price of admission – Denise & Co.'s "Boy, What Will You Do Then," the Belles' "Come Back," and Lydia Marcelle's "The Girl He Needs" are top-shelf by any standard, however, and the Continental Co-Ets' blistering instrumental "Melody of Junk" dismisses once and for all any lingering misconceptions that the girls couldn't rock as hard as the boys.

The Odyssey: A Northern Soul Time Capsule is the single most comprehensive overview yet of a truly unique UK musical culture which has now lasted over 45 years and has spread across the world. The music follows the evolvement of Northern Soul, from it's early beginnings at Manchester's Twisted Wheel club in 1968, through to The Golden Torch, Blackpool Mecca, Wigan Casino and Cleethorpes Pier in the 1970s, Stafford Top Of The World and The 100 Club in the 1980s and the huge dearth of Soul weekenders and the 100 Club again from the 1990's to the present day. Featuring a mind-numbing 222 tracks, all licensed from legitimate sources. The most comprehensive Northern Soul track-listing ever. The Odyssey: A Northern Soul Time-Capsule truly does what it says on the tin. This is the most exhaustive history of the Northern Soul scene ever released.