Wayne Fontana & the Mindbenders

You have to sort of pity the Mindbenders -- the group, which had seemed destined for success, had fared so poorly since "A Groovy Kind of Love" that their second LP, With Women in Mind, barely got heard, despite its being as strong as anything that the Kinks were putting out on LP in 1967. The album picks up where the group's first, self-titled album left off, comprised of generally bracing rock & roll with a soul edge and a sense of humor, as well as a solid layer of inventiveness. Ric Rothwell's highly ornamented drumming holds everything together, giving Eric Stewart and Bob Lang room to add their elegant flourishes and, in Stewart's case, moments of impressive flash, as well. They turn in a convincing R&B-laced rendition of the Goffin/King-composed "Honey and Wine," which is highlighted by killer vocals and a nicely understated guitar break, while "Schoolgirl," which got them banned by the BBC (over its allegedly lascivious tale of teen pregnancy), is an astonishingly catchy number that ought to have had enough hooks to get heard over here. And their cover of Donnie Elbert's "A Little Piece of Leather" is so beguiling with its jagged, angular, quasi-psychedelic guitar break around the catchy chorus that it's almost worth the price of the album by itself. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide