The mother of all Tony Jackson collectibles is an E.P. recorded in Lisbon, Portugal in 1967 as “The Tony Jackson Group”. The band had decamped there in early 1967 for a change of scenery and to bring British beat to the locals (the Portuguese 60’s scene is all but devoid of a hip musical “scene” unlike their nearby Spanish neighbors). Legend has it that one of the band’s members had a brother who’s Portuguese girlfriend had a father who ran a radio station and liked what he heard. At his urging, as the story goes, the stations own Estudio label pressed a four song E.P. of the quartet (Tony lead vocals, Ian Buisel on lead guitar, Dennis Thompson on bass and Paul Francis on drums) bashing through four covers of contemporary favorites.For those who haven’t heard it, the E.P. opens with a blinding raw version of Paul Revere & The Raiders “Just like Me” Tony’s raw vocals and Buisel’s almost sloppy chord chopping make the original sound tepid (esp. after the over the top raga guitar solo). The real treat however, is the next track. Covers of songs by The Small Faces rarely better the original. After hearing the band’s version of “Understanding” you might disagree. Maybe it’s the freshness of it’s delivery, maybe it’s because by the time I heard this version I was sick of The Mighty Midgets, either way it’s a monster. The E.P. then kicks into an amphetamine version of Sam Cooke’s “Shake”, sung by someone other than Tony coming across as a cross between Jimmy Winston and Chris Farlowe . It’s arrangement is pretty standard, akin to that of late mark Animals . The last cut is an odd choice, given that the first three cuts are revved up/crashing stormers a cover of The Byrds folky JFK tribute “He Was A Friend Of Mine” seems, well, weird. The E.P. was pressed as Estudio EEP 50013 and released in the summer of 1967 where it vanished without a trace.