Original released on LP Dig The Fuzz DIG25
(EU 1998)
A true lost classic from the British Invasion era, the Action's "Rolled Gold" is the sound of an already-solid band trying to take a few steps forward, writing brilliant pop songs ripe for psychedelic embellishment. Unfortunately for the Action, the lush production these tracks demand would never come - EMI rejected the demos and these went unheard for 30 or so years. This makes the subsequent reissues a true service to all music lovers: the songs here are something special, and these demos would almost certainly have spawned one of the truly great records of the late-60s if only the band had been able to polish them. It's interesting to wonder how much of the appeal of this album is in wondering what could have been: with tracks like "Love is All," "Look at the View," and "Really Doesn't Matter" you can really hear that the Action were structuring these songs for the big, expansive psychedelic passages that were all the rage in 1967, and the verses/choruses were already so tight that it's quite possible the resulting record would be on par with "Odessey and Oracle" or "Forever Changes". 
How much of that is me projecting the mellotron/acid guitar freakouts I love onto these songs, though, and how much of it is actually there? Luckily, the best tracks here - I'm thinking "Something to Say" and "Strange Roads" - answer that question by being fully formed, brilliant songs, even with the lackluster recording quality. This is a release that should appeal to any fan of mod or freakbeat and UK psych-heads interested in hearing the roots of the genre. It's rare that you get to hear a classic psych-rock record in this stage of its infancy, with the songs learning to walk before the production can make it run; it's a shame that this record only found the home it deserved too late. (in RateYourMusic)
