Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders

The Mindbenders somehow failed to make an impression on record buyers in America -- maybe it was the ubiquitousness of their earlier incarnation as Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders after their hit "The Game of Love" or the fact that other Manchester-based bands, including the Hollies and Herman's Hermits, scored more hits or got better press coverage in America. Whatever the reason, Ric Rothwell, Eric Stewart, and Bob Lang deserved a better fate than that. Their debut album as the Mindbenders sans Fontana shows future 10cc member Stewart in excellent voice as lead singer (in addition to playing guitar) on bracing renditions of repertory ranging from Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son" to Leiber & Stoller's "Tricky Dicky." "A Groovy Kind of Love" has always been an acquired taste that didn't "take" for this reviewer, but the intense, soulful renditions of "Little Nightingale," "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Don't Cry No More," and Stewart's own "Love Is Good," plus the pounding finale "All Night Worker," are all keepers in any serious British Invasion listener's collection. There's also some filler here, but not much. These guys were interesting players, as well, with all the makings of an excellent power pop trio ten years too early. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide