Small Faces: The Singles Collection

British blues is a UK-grown interpretation of African American blues, initially modeled on Chicago and Delta styles but performed with the raw volume and urgency of postwar British youth culture. It features electric guitar, amplified harmonica, bass, drums, and often piano or Hammond organ, favoring 12-bar forms, shuffles, slow blues, and minor-key vamps delivered with emotive vocals and extended soloing. The scene coalesced around early-1960s London venues such as the Ealing Club, catalyzing bands and players who would ignite the British blues boom and, in turn, reshape rock worldwide.

Proto-punk is a catch-all term for the raw, stripped-down rock that immediately preceded and inspired punk rock. It favors abrasive guitar tones, primitive drumming, short song forms, shouted or deadpan vocals, and lyrics steeped in alienation, anti-establishment anger, and street-level realism. Emerging from 1960s garage rock, avant-leaning art rock, and hard-edged rhythm & blues, proto-punk connected the chaos of early rock and roll with the urgency of the 1970s punk explosion. Its sound ranges from the Detroit ferocity of The Stooges and MC5 to the arty minimalism and noise experiments of The Velvet Underground.