The Avengers

Not the American Avengers punk group from the San Francisco scene of the late 70s - nor the UK television duo of Emma Peel and John Steed – but a totally great late 60s group from New Zealand, and one who've got a beautifully baroque sense of psych to their sound! The group have maybe the same lofty approach that the Bee Gees were using on their own sublime late 60s records, but the sound here is a bit more stripped down, gritty, and garagey - with the higher elements coming both from the way the group harmonizes, and creatively uses conventional small group instrumentation - with these deft turns of instrumental phrase that illuminate the darker corners of the songs in a really great way. The package brings together a host of rare singles, mostly recorded in New Zealand by the Parlophone label - and also even includes some very cool radio spots too!

Digitally remastered collection. The members of The Avengers (from New Zealand) were hand-picked by their manager Ken Cooper in early 1966 - to be the resident band at his new club in Wellington, New Zealand. After signing with HMV Records in early 1967, and their first single came from an itinerant songwriter Chris Malcom who made up a song during an evening performance in front of an HMV A&R man…