Despite being one of the most artistically bold outfits of their time - guitarist Eddie Phillips bowed his guitar long before Jimmy Page while lead singer Kenny Pickett would paint gigantic canvases on-onstage and light them ablaze at the end of the performance - the Creation are simply grouped along with the Who, the Kinks and the Small Faces as the cream of the mod crop of the mid 1960s, and are best known for the spectacularly powerful guitar riffage of "Making Time." Setting them further apart from their contemporaries is the fact that the band's complete discography is comprised solely of Shel Talmy-produced singles and a lone album, 1967's We Are Paintermen, that simply rounds up their A and B sides in one unimaginative package. No Village Green Preservation Society, no S.F. Sorrow. Just "Biff Bang Pow", a brilliant flash of light, a giant puff of smoke and they were gone. In the 40 years since they disbanded there have been many compilations aiming to collect the band's greatest moments, but Our Music Is Red With Purple Flashes is undeniably the best of the lot - claiming to "contain the entirety of the band's recorded output from their original 60s incarnation." It's all here, from standard period covers like "Cool Jerk" and "Like A Rolling Stone" to their magnificent originals, including "Painter Man," "Making Time" and the criminally overlooked "How Does It Feel To Feel," presented in vastly different US and UK single versions. With unmatched power pop bravado that was entirely of its time, and fractured, arty guitar work that was about 10 years ahead of the curve, it frequently amazes me how the Creation has remained an "also-ran" for four decades. You'll likely feel the same way.NOTE: The tremendous Lost-In-Tyme blog posted the We Are Paintermen LP a while back. Head on over and pay 'em a visit.
