The original Riot Squad played the kind of jazzy R&B and soul favoured by the 1960s mods on singles such as ‘Anytime’ and ‘I Wanna Talk About My Baby’ before a new line-up signed with producer Joe Meek and broadened their musical horizons to take in beat pop on ‘Cry, Cry, Cry’, Eastern-tinged freakbeat on the classic ‘I Take It That We’re Through’ and from the Tea Chest Tapes, folk rock on an early arrangement of ‘It’s Never Too Late To Forgive’ and even proto-flower power on the wonderful ‘Walking On Ice’.

Sessions for a planned album pairing singer Glenda Collins with The Riot Squad, 'It’s A Riot!', are featured - the album was never finished due to Meek’s death. The group then came under the influence of David Bowie who recorded demos with them in 1967 including a cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘I’m Waiting For My Man’.

Everything on the 3CD set has been newly mastered by Alec Palao. Several performances only existing in the Tea Chest Tapes as discrete twin-track recordings are represented by a "stereo balance”, with the vocals in the centre of the sound picture.