Diggin' for Gold: Joe Meek's Tea Chest Tapes is one of the first volumes of
Cherry Red's series drawn from thousands of hours of recordings the inimitable producer left behind -- and which languished for over 50 years. A collection of
Meek's work with
David John & the Mood isn't an obvious starting point: The British R&B outfit worked with him a handful of times before calling it a day in 1966. Nevertheless, it's an enticing set that does the band justice. Highly sought after by British R&B/freakbeat aficionados, the three singles
David John & the Mood managed to release cultivated a mystique so strong, some believed the group was a
David Bowie project. The real story of
David John & the Mood may be even wilder than the rumors --
John befriended
Paul McCartney after his letter-writing campaign to the BBC led to
the Beatles' first nationwide media attention in the U.K., and
Mick Jagger played maracas on their debut single, "Pretty Thing" -- but it's not quite as wild as their music. Though it was hard for them to keep their career going,
Diggin' for Gold makes it easy to hear why
David John & the Mood became cult favorites. Their version of British R&B was harder-edged than many of their contemporaries', as on "Bring It to Jerome," a March 1965
Bo Diddley cover. Marking their first time recording with the producer, it's true to the band's raw, yowling stomp and
Meek's unconventional recording techniques; a chain liberated from a toilet and dropped onto a biscuit tin adds an extra percussive punch. The chugging B-side, "I Love to See You Strut," is an original credited to W.C. Charnley (Charnley was the street on which their manager's office was located; W.C. was for "water closet").
Meek pushed the band further out of their comfort zone with their final release, July 1965's "Diggin' for Gold." Its snaking, Peter Gunn-like bassline and rags-to-riches lyrics make it a grooving outlier in
David John & the Mood's small discography. That goes double for the previously unreleased cover of
Bobby Freeman's "That Little Old Heartbreaker Me," which reveals a poignancy and restraint that the band never had the chance to develop. Though it's buried on
Diggin' for Gold's track list, May 1964's
Shel Talmy-produced "Pretty Thing"/"To Catch That Man" makes this a complete document of their output -- and reaffirms that their chemistry with
Meek brought out something special in their music. The abundance of alternate versions, instrumentals, and vinyl dubs that round out the collection only differ slightly from the released versions, and overall
Meek's productions aren't as outlandish as his work with
the Syndicats or
the Honeycombs. Better appreciated as the definitive
David John & the Mood collection than as a set of
Meek rarities,
Diggin' for Gold: Joe Meek's Tea Chest Tapes is so comprehensive that it bodes well for the volumes of the series dedicated to the producer's regular coterie of artists. ~ Heather Phares
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