Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973-1974

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel -- who were not billed that way during 1973 and 1974, the two years they spent at EMI; they were merely Cockney Rebel -- released just two albums for EMI and they're both collected here on the 2012 four-disc box set Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973-1974. What fills out the rest of the box? Both The Human Menagerie and The Psychomodo take up discs one and two and have non-LP singles added, then disc three rounds up 14 previously unreleased versions and mixes, with the fourth disc dedicated to Cockney Rebel at the BBC, features nothing but performances from 1974. Needless to say, this is not for the causal fan -- after all, Harley's biggest hit, "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)," is nowhere to be found -- but rather for those who want to dig deep, and those may not be limited to Harley fanatics, either. During these early years, Cockney Rebel blurred the lines between prog, glam, Canterbury, Roxy, and other arty flights of fancy, slowly gathering a sense of style and flash. The Human Menagerie is a little gangly but The Psychomodo is a full-stop gem, and fortunately that's the period that gets the greatest exploration here. Certainly, this box is for serious listeners, but it offers plenty of surprises and pleasures within its four discs. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine