Artist: The Honeycombs
Title: The Honeycombs
Year Of Release: 1964 (1990)
Country: UK
Label: Repertoire Records-RR4098-WZ
Genre: British Invasion / Beat
Quality: FLAC | lossless
Duration: 54:22

Most famed for their 1964 one-shot British Invasion hit "Have I the Right" and for being the first rock band of any renown to feature a female drummer, the Honeycombs recorded a surprising amount of material in the mid-'60s. Even for collectors, this definitely falls into the "guilty pleasure" category. Lead singer Dennis O'Dell's wobbly voice sounds like a speeded-up Gene Pitney, and the material, though peppy and catchy, is exceedingly trite and innocuous. The group's chief asset, actually, was producer Joe Meek, who found the band to be a perfect vehicle for his eccentric production techniques. Meek used compression to the point of squashing, and used all manners of odd vari-speed vocals, bee-stinging guitars, tinny keyboards, and echo to achieve a sound that was quite otherworldly by 1964 standards. Besides "Have I the Right," this 1964 debut LP includes the British Top 20 hit "That's the Way" (featuring drummer Honey Lantree on vocals) and the ghostly ballads "Without You It Is Night" and "This Too Shall Pass Away," though most of the rest of the material is slight. This 1990 reissue adds seven bonus tracks from non-LP singles, including a German recording of "Have I the Right" and the manic, irresistible "I Can't Stop," which was a minor hit for the band in the U.S.

Tracklist:
01. Color Slide
02. Once You Know
03. Without You It Is Night
04. That's The Way
05. I Want To Be Free
06. How The Mighty Have Fallen
07. Have I The Right
08. Just A Face In The Crowd
09. Nice While It Lasted
10. Me From You
11. Leslie Anne
12. She's Too Way Out
13. It Ain't Nesessarily So
14. This Too Shall Pass Away
Bonus Tracks:
15. Please Don't Pretend Again
16. I'll Cry Tomorrow
17. If You've Got To Pick A Baby
18. I'll See You Tomorrow
19. I Can't Stop
20. Hab ich das Recht
21. Du sollst nicht traurig sein

Personnel:
Martin Murray - Rhythm guitarist and founder
Ann Margot "Honey" Lantree - Drums and vocals
Alan Ward - Lead guitar
John Lantree - Bass guitar
Denis D'Ell - Vocals