British Invasion All-Stars

The British Invasion All-Stars emerged in 2001 as a contemporary ensemble devoted to an unvarnished 1960s aesthetic, a direction that follows naturally from the fact that every participant had already logged time in period outfits of varying renown. The phrase “British Invasion” itself denotes the influx of U.K. groups that stormed American charts and airwaves during that decade, demonstrating that rock & roll, though originated stateside, had found a powerful second home across the Atlantic once the Beatles and their compatriots achieved global dominance.

Jim McCarty, late of the Yardbirds, supplies drums and shares lead vocals; Matthew Fisher, formerly of Procol Harum, handles electric Hammond organ; and Eddie Phillips, previously with the Creation, plays lead guitar. Completing the lineup are Ray Phillips—known from the Nashville Teens—on lead vocals, plus two alumni of the Downliners Sect: rhythm guitarist Don Craine and bassist Keith Grand, the latter also adding backing vocals and alternating lead vocal duties with Phillips and McCarty.

Issued in 2002 on the independent Mooreland Street imprint, the group’s self-titled debut album remains untouched by the alternative-rock currents then prevailing; none of the punk, new wave, post-punk, pop-metal, or alternative developments that followed the 1960s register in its approach. Whether revisiting signature numbers from the Yardbirds (“Shapes of Things”) and the Who (“Shakin’ All Over”) or presenting original compositions, the record stays resolutely rooted in that earlier era. Several guests with impeccable period credentials appear as well, among them former Jimi Hendrix Experience bassist Noel Redding and Pretty Things veterans Dick Taylor and Phil May.