Amazon.com
The second in Retroactive's collection of the recorded works of loud, arty, feedback-loving mods the Creation will thrill fans of tightly compressed '60s rock (but you should begin with volume 1, since it's slightly better). Skip ahead to track 3, the psychedelic-flavored, strings-enhanced, snottily sung "Life Is Just Beginning"--the rhythm section is sloppy and plodding, but the song is totally great, arching toward a chaos few groups from the time could even dream of. A heretofore obscure act birthed in 1966 and produced by Shel Talmy (who worked with the Stones, the Kinks, and the Who), the group never got along with each other. Myriad lineup changes and bad luck ensured that the Creation never achieved widespread recognition, and they broke up in 1968. In the early '80s, their cause was championed by British indie pop acts, notably the Television Personalities (who covered their classic pop-art tribute "Painter Man") and Biff Bang Pow. The latter act not only named itself after a particularly explosive song by the band, but its leader, Alan McGee, called his influential record label (Oasis, Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine) Creation. One listen to the group's music, and such devotion doesn't seem very strange. --Mike McGonigal
Review
[The Creation's] ballsy, sneering neo-psychedelia never hit the jackpot, and these admirable 1966-'68 sessions are left to tell the tale. -- Entertainment Weekly