It's not surprising that one of the first collections of music to come out of the restoration of the nearly 2,000 tapes rescued from producer
Joe Meek's archive would be from his first big star,
Heinz. The former bassist of
the Tornados was prepped and pushed for stardom, and both the effort behind this and the results are to be found in exhaustive detail on the five-CD collection titled
White Tornado: Holloway Road Sessions 1963-1966. It gathers up his official singles, his one album, and a wealth of demos, rehearsals, alternate takes, and speed-corrected versions while presenting a clear picture of the way
Meek worked in the studio. It's exciting to hear the different takes of songs and how various elements were added and subtracted before the final perfectly compressed and arranged songs took shape.
Heinz may not be the greatest vocalist, but he puts the songs over with winning charm, and the backing band -- who often included a very young
Richie Blackmore -- weren't afraid to rock a little, especially near the end of
Heinz's short career when he moved away from pop songs in favor a more beat group-oriented approach. The collection is definitely aimed at
Meek obsessives, and in that regard it's a resounding success, letting people see clearly into his working methods to the point of unearthing some
Meek-sung demos that are barely listenable yet truly fascinating. Hearing the way he would build songs up, play with the speeds, and experiment is so interesting it wouldn't even matter if the tracks weren't that great. Luckily most of them are, especially those that allow
Heinz to break out of his crooner mode just a bit, like the rollicking "Diggin' My Potatoes" or the rip-roaring rocker "Movin' In." It's moments like that where he comes close to capturing the spirit of his idol
Eddie Cochran, and they help to make this more than just a celebration of
Joe Meek. Their musical partnership created some real sparks, and while most people would be satisfied with just a single-disc collection of
Heinz's music, anyone willing to take a deep -- very deep -- dive into the goings-on at Holloway Road as presented on this set will discover some real magic. ~ Tim Sendra
