The Angry Young Them – THEM****

Mystic Eyes/If You & I Could Be As Two/Little Girl/Just A Little Bit/Don’t Look Back/I Gave My Love A Diamond/Gloria/You Just Can’t Win/Go On Home Baby/I Like It Like That/I’m Gonna Dress In Black/Bright Lights Big City/My Little Baby/Route 66

The Angry Young Them was the debut album from the short lived Belfast blues group Them who are best remembered for their UK top ten hits Baby Please Don't Go and Here Comes The Night. More importantly, they were the springboard for the career of Van Morrison.

“All legends have to start somewhere, and the recordings here are the birth of the legend that is Van Morrison. Them, fronted by vocalist Van, work their way through a wide range of material, with well chosen covers and some good originals."

"The group provide an excellent musical backing for Van's powerful vocals, managing to compete with him most of the time. The moods move from rocking, to introspective and moody. Van just sweeps the listener along, and it is easy to see why he became such a success."

"Van could do it all from slow soulful numbers to fast, raw songs. If you like The Rolling Stones or anything bluesy you'll love this. In his earlier days Van's voice was brilliant sounding, the spitting image of Jagger. A great blues band that was sadly overlooked by the larger more commercial bands around at that time."

"The beginning of Van Morrison's career as one of the best artists of our time is simply amazing. This collection of jewels makes us understand how much we music lovers have lost since groups like this existed. Songs like Don't Look Back show how ballads should be sung, while Gloria is pure energy. Many tracks were written by Van, proving that he was a great songwriter, as well as a wonderful singer."

"This is the first UK album by Them. And for me the best of Van is the early Them recordings. Mystic Eyes is a perfect opener, and the rest that follows is terrific."

"In terms of raw grit these guys didn't have to reach for it or put it on. They just had it. Despite an ever changing line-up, Morrison was certainly ahead of the curve in the originals department. Gloria and Mystic Eyes are all the proof you need."