The Action - In My Dream (1968)

The Action are generally regarded as one of those UK 60's bands that should have been huge, but just never had the breaks, and so have become a footnote in the history of British r'n'b. The band was formed as The Boys in August 1963, with original members Reg King (lead vocals), Alan 'Bam' King (rhythm guitar, vocals), Mike 'Ace' Evans (bass guitar, vocals) and Roger Powell (drums). They had a brief spell as a bar band in Germany, and then as a backing band for Sandra Barry, playing on her single 'Really Gonna Shake' in 1964. After the stint with Barry, Pete Watson was recruited as lead guitarist, and in 1964 they changed their name to The Action. Shortly after their name change, they signed to Parlophone with producer George Martin and released five singles between 1965 and 1967, none of which achieved success in the UK Singles Chart. After disastrous experiences with the Rikki Farr management, Peter Watson left the band in 1966, and they continued as a quartet, but were dropped from Parlophone in 1967. Following this setback, Reg King left the band, and Alan King took over as lead vocalist. They carried on recording demos during 1967 and 1968, but these were consigned to the vaults and lay unheard until they were exhumed for the 'Brain' album in 1995, and then again for 'Rolled Gold' two years later. This was when people started to realise what a great, neglected band they were, as the songs were all superb late 60's psychedelia, and I'm sure that an album with these on would have been a huge commercial success if anyone had released it at the time. The band are being re-evaluated again at the moment with the release of the 'Shadows And Reflections' 4CD box set of their complete recordings, but these are the songs that their reputation has been built on, and so this is the album that they could have released in 1968 if Parlophone had had just a little more faith in them. 

Track listing

01 Love Is All
02 In My Dream
03 Really Doesn't Matter
04 Little Boy
05 Things You Cannot See
06 Strange Roads
07 Brain
08 Something To Say
09 Follow Me
10 Icarus
11 I'm A Stranger
12 Climbing Up The Wall
13 Look At The View
14 Come Around