The Super K Kollection

These two compilations, released in 1994 on the Collectables label, are great places to start for an introduction to Super K, the most important production house for sixties bubblegum pop. They mop up some of the strongest songs from the best-known groups from Super K – 1910 Fruitgum Company, Crazy Elephant, The Shadows Of Knight – and supplement that material with lesser-known cuts from the Super K team’s stable of bands, some of which are every bit the equal of the bigger names. It’s a curious thing, but with the benefit of hindsight, bubblegum pop feels custom designed for the collector, for people who obsess over unexpected one-offs, strange 45s, blips on the pop-cultural radar; these kollections are rich with such fabulous oddities.