U.K. reissue specialists Past & Present have been collating the annals of British pop and psychedelia since 2009, when they issued the inaugural volume of their exhaustive Piccadilly Sunshine series. These collections focus on curating the multitude of obscure one-hit-wonders who colonized Britain's pop charts in the late '60s and early '70s. With the 2013 release of
Pt.15: British Pop Psych & Other Flavours 1967-1971, the tenacious label shows no signs of letting up. Brimming with reverb-drenched, harpsichord-hammering hopefuls, the 20-song treasury chugs along with amusing rarities by long-forgotten groups like
the Koobas, New York Public Library, and the Walham Green East Wapping, Carpet Cleaning Rodent & Boggit Extermination Association. Some of these obscure singles have aged better than others, like March Hare's soulful "I Could Make It There with You" and Madrigal's "Blue Eyes in Paradise," but you have to hand it to Past & Present for making such an assiduous effort to archive one of rock's most creative eras. ~ Timothy Monger