[rating=7.00]
It’s a measure of the devotion (not to mention the affection) afforded The Creation that, nearly fifty years after the British quartet (first) broke up, the most comprehensive collection of their work has been released, even in the United States where they receive only the most scant recognition. Though there’s precious little kitschy sound to be found on Action Painting, to some this will all still sound (and look) like mid-to-late Sixties English retro.
Which in a sense it is, but The Creation are the real thing, albeit one that did not receive the widespread acclaim they might well have deserved when recording the music enclosed in this two-CD box set (although the group did rise to cult status over the years). With its hard electric guitars overlaid with group vocal harmonies as energetic as the rhythm section, the sound of their sole hit, “Painter Man,” is instantly recognizable and of a piece with work of their contemporaries in the period 1966 to 1968 (it was subsequently covered by disco group Boney M over a decade later).
In fact, Shel Talmy, the man who supervised the earliest forays into recording The Who and the Kinks, was the overseer of the Creation’s original sessions as well as this compilation; it’s further testament to Talmy’s engagement that he remastered the forty-two tracks to great effect and, in many selections on CD two, remixed the sound for stereo. Credit where credit is due too, to the Numero Group label for its exhuming of four pre-Creation cuts by the Mark Four, which are as illuminating in their own way as the four instrumentals at the conclusion of the song sequence.
And that’s not even to mention the ornate packaging of Action Painting. Housed within a 5”x6” slipcase is an eighty-page hardbound book containing replications of picture sleeves as well as meticulously-annotated details of the recording sessions, juxtaposed with fact-filled essays that further complement the vintage British ambiance of the photo selection, the sum total of which content completes a picture of a band as interested in musical innovation as pop art presentations.
Besides a self-avowed fondness for feedback and a predilection for on-stage pyrotechnics., guitarist Eddie Phillips used a violin bow on his instrument for the group’s aforementioned hit, predating Jimmy Page’s use of the technique. Meanwhile, the baroque likes of “Life Is Just Beginning,” also denote an evolution involving ongoing shifts of personnel that impeded the forward progress of the Creation, whose number at one time included Ronnie Wood, who went on to play with Jeff Beck, Faces and the Rolling Stones.
Hardly a hollow curio, Action Painting is rather a genuine treasure trove that renders (the many) previous collections and reissues of their work redundant. Minor faux pas like “Ostrich Man” aside, there’s a realism overflowing from an array of eclectic covers as well as originals such as “How Does It Feel to Feel.” The dance fave “Cool Jerk,”“Hey Joe” (an early single of Hendrix’) as well as the courageous choice of Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” further explicate why the work of the Creation elicited acknowledgment of their influence from cross-generational groups as diverse as the Jam, Ride and the Godfathers.
Such references are all in addition to the placement of “Makin’ Time” in the 1998 movie Rushmore, not to mention the naming of a record label after the band, besides using a song title of theirs -”Biff Bang Pow”-as the moniker of a band. It’s not nostalgia for the time and place to luxuriate in Action Painting, it’s simply one more testimonial to the band.
