ORIGINS: THE BASKERVILLES 1965

A compilation showing what Affinity were up to early on, and very 1965 it is. Performed live, this is largely beat and jangle/garage pop with a bluesy flair; much of it, if not all of it (I don't have the time to check), cover songs. They cover a lot of Beatles in particular. It's well performed, sure. But what were they bringing to the table here that the original versions or Affinity's contemporaries didn't do worlds better? Beat music was a rich tradition of the time; even after its short few-years stint in the international limelight, it had a not-so-unbelievable influence on Pop music overall, and on Power Pop in particular. We can look elsewhere, and we should: for instance, The Beatles themselves, The Hollies, The Action, early Golden Earring, The Creation, The Searchers, etc. etc.

As the album progresses, too, I assume with the bonus material--again, don't have the time to waste on this, to also make a point--the quality takes a nice ugly dip.

Personally, I just really want to listen to The Nazz now... [All hail Todd Runtman!]

And to what degree is this going to appeal to fans of Prog? Who the hell knows? Highly subjective. But still, I feel the need to give this disclaimer, as respectfully as I can muster: Don't be fooled by previous (high) ratings for this'n...