Various Artists-Bumpers (1970)

In the late 1960s, British record labels began releasing a selection of their artists' material on discs known as "samplers." These weren't intended as anthologies or compilations; their main purpose was to give listeners the opportunity to discover a variety of underground musical styles at a reduced price (also known as mid-priced), particularly artists who lacked a conventional singles market and therefore had limited opportunities for radio airplay on British stations. Around the same time, Columbia and Liberty Records' "The Rock Machine Turns You On" in the United States had already begun this trend with the album 'Gutbucket'. The British response came from Islands Records, producing a series of so-called "samplers," from "Nice Enough to Eat" and "You Can All Join In" in 1969, to "Bumpers" in 1970 and "El Pea" in 1971. "Bumpers" meant "the best choice," and comprised eclectic yet cohesive collections of music on double LP 33 rpm vinyl records. By the late 1960s, the British music scene was remarkably vibrant, and Island Records was arguably the most experimental, innovative, and diverse label, and certainly the most successful independent label before its founder, Chris Blackwell, sold it to A&M Records many years later in 1989. Blackwell had started in the record industry in Jamaica in 1959, promoting the emerging sounds of bluebeat and ska. He had achieved notable success with Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" in 1964, at which point he moved his Island label to Notting Hill Gate in 1964. London. The label would expand to include a wide range of styles, from pop and rock to genres like folk, jazz, blues, reggae, progressive rock, underground music, and experimental offerings. It's no surprise, then, that "Bumpers" was a collection of artists who primarily recorded albums, not singles for the charts. "Bumpers" was released in 1970 and contained the label's most acclaimed acts of the time, from Traffic, King Crimson, and Jethro Tull its flagship acts to up-and-coming artists who would later become stars, or established bands like Free, Renaissance, Cat Stevens, Fairport Convention, Bronco, Spooky Tooth, Quintessence, Jimmy Cliff, Mott the Hoople, Nick Drake, and If. With a powerful opening track like Traffic's "Every Mother's Son", this compilation started strong. Spooky Tooth's version of The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" was one of the highlights. Exciting, while Jethro Tull showcased their folk-rock arsenal with “Nothing to Say”, If, one of the lesser-known acts, revealed their potential in the intricate progressive “I’m Reaching Out On All Sides”, “Cadence and Cascade” displayed the more bucolic side of King Crimson, while Cat Stevens and his “Maybe You’re Right” clearly demonstrated the folk side that would bring him great success shortly thereafter, as did Fotheringay with “The Sea” and Fairport Convention with “Walk Awhile”. However, it was the young Jimmy Cliff with “Going Back West” and the fledgling Renaissance with “Island” who benefited most from this anthological showcase of the power of British music from the late 60s and Island Records in particular.