Angel Pavement

Anyone unfamiliar with Angel Pavement shouldn't feel too bad. After all, the band was hardly a household name in its heyday, and its peak of exposure consisted of a pair of failed singles at the very tail-end of the 1960s in England. But they were a seriously wonderful sunshine pop outfit from late 1960s, hailing from York, with a sound that was equal parts psychedelia and pop/rock in the best Hollies/Zombies/Beatles manner. The band, which took its name from a 1930 novel by J.B. Priestley (himself a Yorkshireman, natch), was assembled by guitarist/songwriter Alfie Shepherd out of the remnants of a soul-based outfit, Wesley Hardin's Shotgun Package, with Paul Smith (lead vocals), Dave Smith (guitar), Graham Harris (bass), and Alan Reeve (drums) (later replaced by Mike "Candy" Candler). They quickly developed an effective pop-oriented psychedelic sound, similar to what the Hollies were doing on Evolution and Butterfly, and the Zombies generated on Odessey & Oracle, with lush harmonies, glittering instrumental textures, horns and brass in the right places on the pop numbers. They managed to build a large following in their native York and also cut some early sides that heavily reflected all of those influences. The group's attempt to crack the London club scene coincided with their starting work on a debut album at Morgan Studios, but those efforts were interrupted by an offer to play a series of gigs for a few days in Mexico City in early 1969. Instead, they stayed for five months, and returned to London to pick up work on the album, a process interrupted by Dave Smith's departure (and his replacement by John Cartwright, who played guitar and trumpet). A pair of singles, "Baby You've Gotta Stay" and "Tell Me What I've Got to Do," issued through Fontana Records, failed...