Pre-Introspection singles (both English and Spanish), and a wealth of unused material apparently recorded during Introspection's sessions, make up this 14-track vinyl-only album, and give even more reason for the End to be viewed as "unsung heroes." Opening with the mono version of "Loving, Sacred Loving" (the B-side of "Shades of Orange), the beginning of the End's venture into psychedelia results in a similar brand of soulful Harpsichord-led pop to Andrew Loog Oldham's failed protegésTwice As Much. This move away from blue-eyed soul is further charted with other sessions from mid- to late 1967: "Little Annie"'s risqué lyrics about the "games that little boys play" has a similar theme to the sexual discovery lyrics buried in the Hollies' output from this era. While musically it has a modish edge, with sustained fuzztone notes and a vocal technique not unlike that of the Creation. But it is on "Lady Under the Lamp" that the full move into psychedelia can be heard. Even though Syd Barrett's vocal technique was more than copied, the song still sounds very much like the End and the mixture of fey English vocals and cutting blues guitar work a lot better than it sounds on paper. And it is unbelievable how the unused recordings from the Introspection sessions were not featured; the delicately beautiful numbers "Mister Man" and "Mirror" and the Odyssey & Oracle-esque "Today Tomorrow" are absolutely superb, and if not used on the album they surely should have been singles. In carefully programming the selected material, compiler David Wells has created an album that almost equals Introspection. AMG.
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