THEM FEATURING VAN MORRISON

Backtrackin'

(London)

Of all the groups to emerge from the British Isles mid-sixties pop explosion, Them possessed an atypical magic. For one thing, they were Irish, which few of their fans wised up to until Van Morrison went solo. And any band blessed with Van Morrison for a lead singer working within a band context would have to be some kind of powerhouse.

Morrison quickly distinguished Them from the competition. Before he left the group in 1966, Morrison had already given fair indication of his skills as a writer as well as a singer. Yet even at the outset, Them comprised a better than average bunch of raunch rockers, cast in the dirty-fingernails mold of the Stones, the Animals and the Yardbirds.

“Gloria” remains the quintessential Them track, with Morrison’s pinched vocal growled over a roller-rink accompaniment (shades of “96 Tears” to come). This early edition of Them served as the prototype for countless bands across thevU.S. The guitar and organ licks were simple, and Morrison’s Howlin’Wolf rasp was easily imitated: his singing in fact lacked the depth and nuance he would later exploit so effectively.