Woking neo-mods Squire never got a major-label LP contract, so leader Meynell gets top billing on Hits from 3000 Years Ago, presumably since he put it out himself, wrote all 14 tracks (11 demos, the rest live, all played by Squire) and sings almost all of them. The band is remarkable for avoiding image-mongering and “us vs. them” polemics; they love the music, plain and simple. Most of this really sounds as though it was recorded around 1965.
Get Smart! presents a dozen sprightly new love songs sung and played by Meynell, his drummer brother and guest horn and keyboard players. The glorious pop stylings eschew replication of any specific genres, instead holding to an ingenuous squeaky-clean approach that, by default, recalls the Beatles, Turtles and Herman’s Hermits. Hummable and charming.