As isolated as the Australian rock scene was from the rest of the world in the 1960s, Western Australia was yet more isolated, due both to its remoteness and sparse population.

Nonetheless, there was rock being made in the region, and a label, the Perth-based Clarion Records, to record it. This 30-track compilation of 1965-1970 recordings is stuffed with names that'll stump even the relatively knowledgeable connoisseur of '60s Australian rock, though the Valentines are known for including future AC/DC singer Bon Scott, and members of the Easybeats wrote or co-wrote a couple tracks (the Valentines' "She Said" and Johnny Young's "Step Back").

It's wide-ranging, certainly, with cuts clearly inspired by the British Invasion, soul, folk-rock, folk-pop, blues-rock, and psychedelia (the Vegetable Garden's "Hypnotic Suggestion" and "Even Stevens" are particularly good examples of pop-psych).

Wisely, the focus is not on the well-known American and British cover tunes that comprised a good deal of the release schedule throughout Australia, but on original material and the more obscure or "odder" covers, which could encompass some surprisingly off-the-beaten-track items.

There could have been few other bands, for instance, that covered the Soft Machine's first (non-LP, flop) single, "Love Makes Sweet Music," as the Valentines did. Obsessive AC/DC collectors might want this for the two live cuts by the Spektors (taken from a mid-'60s TV broadcast), with Bon Scott on drums and one lead vocal.

Easybeats collectors, meanwhile, should note that Johnny Young's version of the George Young-Stevie Wright-penned "Step Back" on this CD is not the one that became a big Australian hit for Young, but an acoustic demo, performed in a Perth hotel room with backing by the Easybeats' George Young and Harry Vanda.