Monday, September 10, 2007

Twang Thang

Twang Fight ---

Today we have the battle of the twangs -- old vs. new. Two fun tributes to the Shadows -- one by non surf guitarists and one by modern surf groups.

Who will win? Your votes will tell!!!!

In this Corner -- TWANG

Another comp of Shadows songs – this time from non-surf oriented guitarists. It offers a different taste from the Nivram Tribute – which is fun. This is a fantastic CD in itself and serves as a good bookend to the Shadows. Knopfler and Blackmore are particularly good here, as is Hank Marvin himself. I don’t think there is a bad song on this compilation (a rare thing to say about any tribute album). It's not the kind ultra frenetic guitar slinging that leads to so many speeding tickets; instead it's more like the perfect background music for work or kicking back at the end of the day with the headphones on. Gutsy, melodic, and soulful stuff for anybody who digs the sound of a strat guitar.

1. Apache - Ritchie Blackmore 2. FBI - Brian May 3. Wonderful Land - Tony Iommi 4. The Savage - Steve Stevens 5. The Rise And Fall Of Flingel Bunt - Hank Marvin 6. Midnight - Peter Green 7. Spring Is Nearly Here - Neil Young And Randy Bachman 8. Atlantis - Mark Knopfler 9. The Frightened City - Peter Frampton 10. Dance On - Keith Urban & Stewart Copeland 11. Stingray - Andy Summers 12. The Stranger - Bela Fleck And The Flecktones

twang 1



twang 2

Evening in Nivram

16 top instro/ surf/ garage bands paying tribute to one of the legendary instrumental bands of the 60's. Features a rare solo track by Concrete Blonde guitarist Jim Mankey, along with other rippin' instros by Omega Men, Tiki Tones, Falcons, Aqua Velvets, Satan's Pilgrims, Davie Allan & The Arrows, Fathoms, Boss Martians and more.

This CD is quite impressive--all of these artists demonstrate fine musicianship throughout. What’s really cool is while we get excellent versions of big hits like "Apache" and "Man of Mystery", a number of the more obscure Shadows tunes from EPs and LPs were selected as well. In many cases, there is no attempt to duplicate the original versions--these artists put their own "stamp" on them, which is why I like this tribute set.

My fave tracks --the Aqua Velvets' lovely "Atlantis", Jim Mankey's ( a reare cut from the guitarist of Concrete Blonde) "Back Home" and the Space Cossacks' blistering "The Savage". All this music is good though, and the sound quality good all way thru.

Main Theme - Omega Men 2. Apache - The Falcons 3. Gonzales - Huntington Cads 4. Atlantis - Aqua Velvets 5. Man of Mystery - Fathoms 6. Savage - Space Cossacks 7. Don't It Make You Feel Good - Boss Martians 8. Lute Number - Troubadours 9. Evening Comes- The Alohas 10. Tomorrow's Cancelled - Tiki Tones 11. Tales of a Raggy Tramline - Davie Allan & The Arrows 12. The Traveller’s of Time - Maroc 7 13. Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt – Satan’s Pilgrims 14. Zambesi - The Deoras 15. Theme for Young Lovers - Teisco del Rey 16. Back Home - James Mankey

niv1

niv 2

10 comments:

sandman said...

the link to twang 1 is not quite right, too many https and wwws. Took me a while to work out so persevere

sandman said...

Its http://sharebee.com/5c428421

sandman said...

To know which is the best comp just fire up Apache in each one. Ritchie Blackmore over the top screechy guitar but technically perfect Falcons shambling imperfect with surf rumble and reverby guitars - I know which I prefer. By the way has anybody got any albums of the Falcons, a Canadian outfit I believe I only have three songs of theirs of which Shadow Land is one of the best surf instros I've heard (and that Shadows influence again)

DaBoss said...

Thanks Sandman -- fixed link, I knoe the one I like the best -- will tally the votes once it's played out.
Do have lots by The Shadowy Men From a Shadowy Planet -- another great Canadian surf combo.
Best
GW

Brandonio! said...

With out a doubt,no competition An Evening with Nivram captures what the Shadows were about ,cool. Though i will admit Twang Thang has some interesting and unexpecting moments , it doesn't hold a candle to the modern masters of instro music. This is their music that inspired them to play the very music that they each bring to the table as their creative output.To me this whole debate over which tribute is better makes me chuckle a bit I mean just listen to music. Case closed.

sandman said...

Thanks daboss for your offer of Shadowy Men but I do have quite a lot of their stuff and its mighty good.

What is it with Canadians and surf? Can they even surf in their climate yet some great surf bands, Los Meltones Shadowy Men Mark Brodie the list goes on .....

DaBoss said...

Brandonio: I think that's why it's fun to hear different intrepretations of the same songs -- each artist reacts to his own 'inspiration' in his own way. What I find interesting is that of the artists in the Twang comp never strayed outside their respective genres -- they kept in their own little boxes -- Like Blackmore's over the top heavy metal or Bela Fleck's country/jazzy - The Stranger.
The Nivram artists got more of the flavor of the Shadows better because it is part of their history and their present -- surf is what they know and love best.
If we look past the performances and into the music itself -- this is where to me, both work. The definition of a classic is something that repeatedly withstands the test of time -- and some of the songs here do -- no matter how they are mangled by the performer.

Sandman:
Just a guess -- they can surf in Canada for a few months in the summer, but I think it is more of the surf mindset, and the longing to get away from those nasty cold cold winters that gets the Canadian wave riders going.

Any Canadians want to weigh in?

GeorgeW

1Surfrider said...

There is surf on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts in Canada, I've seen pics.

You need a good wetsuit and big huevos, because it's cold!

Thanks for the great tunes.

Mr. Trashe said...

Good blog, many stuff, i love twang.

Johann Aguirre Díaz said...

Hello there! I want to ask you a favor. I ´m lookin for "An evenig in Nivram: Tribute to The Shadows" and in my country is not for sale! This is my holy grial! If you could share with me this album I´m gonna ver happy! and nothing I would be happier to have it! thank you so much!
Traducir

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