As the singer for mod heroes , staked a claim as one of the more impressive vocalists on the scene, delivering rockers with a strutting glee and breaking hearts like so many twigs in tear-jerking ballads. When he left the group in the late '60s, music was starting to change rapidly as psychedelia ran out of steam and a more organic, home-cooked sound as exemplified by and , not to mention various solo , took over. As he did when moved from being -covering mods to trippier, more introspective turf, sounds very at home in those surroundings, and his 1971 self-titled solo album is an underrated gem. Working with members of his old group along with guys from offshoot group and guests like , and , he concocts a sound that blends acoustic and electric instruments and has touches of deeply funky grooves and laid-back ballads, and he pushes his velvety vocals to the breaking point now and then as he reaches for that last bit of emotion. This last point is key, as it points to a looser, more emotionally free style of singing that adopted to fit in with the limber, stuffed-to-the-brim-with-jamming arrangements. The leadoff track "Must Be Something Else Around" sets the tone as the rhythm section works up a gritty, flowing groove and a variety of guitars and keyboards fight it out to see who can lay down the toughest lines while soars, roars, and shouts over the top of the low-key maelstrom. It's a thick and satisfying sound, feeling like an off-the-cuff jam session caught on tape. Many of the songs fit this general description, and they are balanced well by tunes like "You Go Have Yourself a Good Time" and the wonderfully light "That Ain't Living" that dig deep into soulful feelings and end up landing next to more acclaimed heavyweights like the aforementioned , and even . To go along with the newly written songs, rescued two tracks he had demoed with near the end -- "In My Dreams" and "Little Boy" -- and they benefit from the more expansive arrangements, possibly giving a clue to what might have sounded like if they had followed 's path instead of what they chose to do as without him. Wishful thinking aside, this record is a fine continuation to 's career, and while it didn't make much of a splash upon release, it certainly fits in nicely alongside the best back-to-basics rock & roll sounds heard at the turn of the decade. [ ' reissue of the album is the first to gather together all the music recorded during his short run as a solo artist. It contains single mixes, alternate versions of songs from the album demos cut with his former mates, and a couple of previously unreleased longer versions of songs. It presents a full picture of as he first figured out his sound as a solo artist, then worked to perfect it. One of the fascinating aspects of the set is hearing the early version of songs from the album. Unlike the final mixes where his voice was naked and slightly frayed at times, he's often double tracked and much closer to the smooth sound he had in . The demos, too, provide some thrills to any fan who failed to hear earlier less-official releases. There are many songs -- like the dreamily psychedelic "In and Out" and the proto-power pop "Merry Go Round" -- that could have been polished up a little and been the equal, or better, of those that made the cut for the album. The album itself and the extras collected here are all evidence that was on to something good, and it's a shame that his work was underappreciated at the time. 's efforts to shine a light on a very worthy artist are definitely appreciated, though, and this is a dream come true for fans who wondered whatever happened to .] ~ Tim Sendra