For the casual listener, it might appear that The Mock Turtles only released two records, 1991’s commercially friendly Can You Dig It? and the title track from the bands follow-up EP, And Then She Smiles.
In fact, The Mock Turtles had evolved from Manchester’s Judge Happiness back in the mid-80s. Featuring singer, songwriter and guitarist Martin Coogan, they had several single releases to their name by the time their success peaked at the height of the so-called Madchester Scene in the early 90s.
The Mock Turtles debut LP, Turtle Soup, released during this period featured a wealth of guitar led pop, giving a flavour for Coogan’s strong songwriting talents as well as the bands effectiveness as a unit.
The original 11 track album has now received a long overdue expanded release. Cathy Come Home, How Does It Feel? and Mary’s Garden are all high-points of the original album, but only serve as a taster of greater things to come.
There is also the opportunity to hear more of the bands repertoire comprising early singles, non-album B-Sides and tribute cuts to The Kinks and Jimi Hendrix as well as 14 previously unreleased demo recordings.
A version of Watching The Waning Moon gives an insight into The Mock Turtles live performances, while the tracks Angel, Time Between/Why and The Only One deliver great guitar pop moments that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Byrds release.
Turtle Soup Expanded is the definitive collection to celebrate both a great album and discover much more of The Mock Turtles sound than ever before.