[2018-10-26] The Action "Shadows And Reflections: The Complete Recordings 1964-1968" 4CD box set (Grapefruit UK)

Rokin Robin of Locksley · 20 Oct 2007

Description
Sixties Mod band THE ACTION only released six singles in their lifetime – or seven, if you count a pre-Action single by The Boys – but their legend has grown exponentially since their demise in 1968.

THE ACTION was the first band signed by Beatles producer George Martin after he left EMI to set up his own company AIR Productions. In due course, he produced the band’s five singles issued on Parlophone between 1965 and 1967 as well as tracks intended for a never-released album.

SHADOWS AND REFLECTIONS is far and away the most comprehensive tribute to THE ACTION so far assembled, boasting all their known recordings in the studio and live on radio/TV.

Many of the original Parlophone single mixes have never been reissued in their original form on compact disc – until now. The fresh discovery of multi-tracks and rehearsal tapes has led to a whole disc’s worth of previously unheard mixes and performances.

The box set includes numerous photos of THE ACTION in their heyday, with 16,000 words of sleeve-notes by David Wells and a 36-page booklet within a handsome 4-CD ‘digibook’.

Includes all previous material issued from the band’s BBC sessions and post-Parlophone period, suitably remastered by Alec Palao.

Tracklist
[CD1: The Parlophone Masters]
The Singles:
1. Land Of One Thousand Dances
2. In My Lonely Room
3. I’ll Keep Holding On
4. Hey Sah-Lo-Ney
5. Baby You’ve Got It
6. Since I Lost My Baby
7. Never Ever
8. Twentyfourth Hour
9. Shadows And Reflections
10. Something Has Hit Me
11. The Harlem Shuffle
12. Wasn’t It You
13. The Place
14. The Cissy
15. I Love You (Yeah!)
16. Come On, Come With Me
17. Just Once In My Life (New Mono Mix) *
Bonus Tracks:
18. Mine Exclusively (BBC Session)
19. Reg King Interview / Baby You’ve Got It (BBC Session)
20. Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While) (BBC Session)
21. I See You (BBC Session)
22. Shadows And Reflections (BBC Session)

* Previously unissued

[CD2: At Abbey Road]
New Stereo Mixes:
1. I’ll Keep Holding On
2. The Cissy
3. Never Ever
4. Since I Lost My Baby
5. Shadows And Reflections
6. Hey Sah-Lo-Ney
7. Something Has Hit Me
8. Baby You’ve Got It
9. I Love You (Yeah!)
10. Wasn’t It You
11. The Harlem Shuffle
12. The Place
13. Twentyfourth Hour
14. Come On, Come With Me
15. Just Once In My Life
Outtakes:
16. Something Has Hit Me (Rehearsal)
17. I Love You (Yeah) (Backing Track Take 1)
18. Never Ever (Rehearsal)
19. Come On, Come With Me (Backing Track Take 4)
20. Twentyfourth Hour (Alternative Version)
21. The Place (Backing Track Take 2)
22. Just Once In My Life (Take 2)
23. Something Has Hit Me (Alternative Backing Track)
24. Shadows And Reflections (Backing Track)

All tracks previously unissued

[CD3]
Rolled Gold Plus – The 1967-68 Recordings:
1. Come Around
2. Something To Say
3. Love Is All
4. Icarus
5. Strange Roads
6. Things You Cannot See
7. Brain (Full Length Version)
8. Look At The View
9. Climbing Up The Wall (See Me) (Full Length Vers.)
10. Really Doesn’t Matter (Full Length Version)
11. I’m A Stranger
12. Little Boy (Full Length Version)
13. Follow Me
14. In My Dream (George Martin Orchestrated Version)
Action Speaks Louder Than…:
15. Only Dreaming
16. Dustbin Full Of Rubbish
17. An Understanding Love
18. My Favourite Day
19. A Saying For Today
Bonus Track:
20. In My Dream (Demo Version)

[CD4: Action Extras]
1. It Ain’t Fair – The Boys
2. I Want You – The Boys
3. Fine Looking Girl – The Boys
4. Girl (Why You Wanna Make Me Blue) (Decca Audition)
5. In My Lonely Room (Decca Audition)
6. You’ll Want Me Back (Decca Audition)
7. I’ll Keep Holding On (Live)
8. Land Of One Thousand Dances / Uptight (Everything’s Alright) (Live)
9. Going To A Go-Go (BBC Session)
10. Never Ever (BBC Session)
11. India (BBC Session)
12. Love Is All (BBC Session)
13. I’ll Keep Holding On (“Edsel” Mix)
14. Baby You’ve Got It (“Edsel” Mix)
15. The Harlem Shuffle (“Edsel” Mix)
16. Just Once In My Life (“Edsel” Mix)
17. Never Ever (“Edsel” Mix)
18. Twentyfourth Hour (“Edsel” Mix)
19. Something Has Hit Me (“Edsel” Mix)
20. Shadows And Reflections (“Edsel” Mix)

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DWFGF66/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DWFGF66/?tag=imwan-21

Rokin Robin of Locksley · 20 Oct 2007

Look out Linda, a twit yesterday from The Action's tweeter page:

“Coming soon - Major Action 4 CD box set via UK label ! Original Parlophone 60's mono mixes (unavailable since the 60's), alternate mixes, outtakes, improved sources for Rolled Gold, BBC material etc.etc..”

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Jun 12, 2018 1:47 pm

I'm so in I might come out the other side!

The Rolled Gold tapes, I know, were recently being worked on for a vinyl-only release in Spain. So I guess they were actually working on everything.

Willy Wilson · **Joined:** 22 Jan 2007 **Posts:** 939

Can't wait for this one!!!

Linda · **Posted:** Mon Jun 18, 2018 4:40 am

This has been announced for September release by Cherry Red. The cover can now be seen in the first post, and the tracklist and Amazon pre-order links are coming soon.

A new tweet from The Action's official account has described the box set a little further:

Quote:

4 CDs includes George Martin era out takes & alt versions, original mono 45 mixes, new stereo mixes. Rolled Gold & Actions Speak Louder gear. BBC sessions, the Boys singles

And I'll throw in one extra-special wish for the box, maybe too much to hope for -- that they've somehow managed to unearth The Action's cover of The Ronettes' "Do I Love You", the first 40 seconds of which was heard at the beginning of this 1967 TV documentary:

Rokin Robin of Locksley · 20 Oct 2007

Linda, the tracks are up now on Cherry Red:

Moved into the first post. -- L.

Sorry, there's no "Do I Love You", ugh...

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:25 pm

I'll get this all up into the first post momentarily.

Not sure there actually is a complete "Do I Love You" in existence anyway, but that opening ... wow. The Action had a way of making all songs their own.

Linda · **Posted:** Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:49 pm

Okay, full details are now in the first post.

This will appropriately be on Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint, which has released collections by Mod icons The Herd, The Sorrows, and others in the past. The release date ending up being rescheduled for October 26th, so this box set will be a holiday season treasure. (And it will be under my tree!)

Amazon pre-order links are yet to appear. I'll wait for those. Cherry Red is offering Action postcards to the first 200 buyers, but I'd rather spend less money.

Assuming the sound quality is "all that", this replaces pretty much every Action release to date. I mean, everything! The original singles, the Parlophone recordings which were unearthed by Edsel in the 1980s, the BBC sessions, the Decca audition demos, the pre-Action "Boys" singles, and the whole of Rolled Gold which I expect will be the most improved of all.

Action Speaks Louder was recorded post-Reg King, so it really was more of a Mighty Baby release than an Action release. It's nice they threw it in, but not essential.

Unless there's additional material hiding in some vault somewhere that has never been mentioned, "Do I Love You" is the final missing "piece of The Action". I guess that will have to wait for a future Christmas miracle. This box will do very, very nicely for this Christmas!

Linda · **Posted:** Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:44 am

The box is now available for pre-order from Amazon UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07DWFGF66/?tag=imwan-21

Linda · **Posted:** Fri Jun 22, 2018 4:59 pm

Where is our friend the Old Man of Oy? I thought for sure he'd be in this thread.

Old Man Of Oy · 13 Jan 2014

Linda wrote:

Where is our friend the Old Man of Oy? I thought for sure he'd be in this thread.

I've been too busy getting my pre-order in, Linda!

Looking forward to this one very much. Hoping the BBC sessions are an upgrade on previous releases (although with most BBC sessions what you win in SQ you often lose to Brian Matthew's voiceovers).

Wouldn't have minded an extra couple of CDs to mop up Reggie King's solo material, but you can't have absolutely everything, I suppose.

So... This, the White Album box, a Village Green Preservation Society box, and possibly some things from The Who and Ronnie Lane before the end of the year. It'll be Christmas in the poorhouse for The Old Man this year... :lol:

Linda · **Posted:** Sun Jul 08, 2018 12:42 am

This is lovely, but it's only for collectors who do vinyl. As a companion piece to the CD box set, Grapefruit/Cherry Red is also making (or faking) an LP that purports to be what The Action's 1967 album would have been if it had actually been released. They're using the new stereo remixes, the officially announced album title from press releases of that era, and an educated guess at what the cover art might have looked like. This vinyl (re)creation is due out on the same day as the CD box:

Amazon USA
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FGKS35R/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07FGKS35R/?tag=imwan-21

Linda · **Posted:** Sat Oct 20, 2018 5:38 am

Now let's have a look inside the 4CD box set:

Rick A · 23 Jul 2006

Very, very nice. Looking forward to receiving this!

Seth · 12 Jul 2006

While we're waiting:

And the original Motown version of The Action's great Mod cover:

Linda · **Posted:** Sun Dec 09, 2018 1:49 am

Christmas sale at Amazon USA for this box set -- $30.86, plus an extra 10% discount on top of that by clicking the coupon at the link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DWFGF66/?tag=imwan-20

(With the coupon, the box is actually less expensive than ordering directly from the UK.)

Willy Wilson · **Joined:** 22 Jan 2007 **Posts:** 939

Thanks Linda - I just placed my order for this one!

[2018-10-26] The Action "Shadows And Reflections: The Complete Recordings 1964-1968" 4CD box set (Grapefruit UK)

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