In 1976, guitarists Paul A. MacDonnell and Robert Cross, bass player Trevor Darks and drummer/vocalist Dave Ball joined their considerable skills and produced one of the greatest but nearly forgotten heavy progressive projects, Automatic Fine Tuning. Doing an early form of neo-classical instrumental rock that predates the gothic harmonies and Paganini-love of Michael Schenker and Yngwie Malmsteen, the quartet boldly went where few rock ensembles had and recorded one brilliant album before disbanding. ” One of my TOP 10 of ALL TIME. 38 minutes of pure driving guitar, bass and drum. You will not be disappointed.
Quantum Fantay are a Flemish space-rock band, who formed in the early/mid 00s, and in the last few years have released a number of albums (this is their fourth). All of them are excellent and these albums, along with their NEARFest performance, have propelled them into the international arena. Like their obvious heros, Gong and the Ozric Tentacles, there's lots of flute, keyboards, guitars and a supple rhythm section, but they've got a sound that also reflects the 00s and keeps it all new sounding. Great instro long form twang. This is direction I'm moving in this blog - let me know what you think.
“ Rare Surf, Vol. 6, contains almost no surf records at all, save for the lead track, Don Hinson's "Monster Surf Stomp." What it does contain, though, are a bunch of rare hot rod songs from the vault of Capitol Records and some pop stuff from the same era (early '60s). Most of the tracks are fairly generic, although if you're into the car-song genre, then this disc is a treasure trove. Highlights include a pair of barroom saxophone instrumentals ("Cruisin'," "When Johnny Comes Slidin' Home") by the Hollywood Vines and Sharon Marie's brisk run-through of the Gershwin chestnut "Summertime," which clocks in at well under two minutes in length. Also included is one of Brian Wilson's most elaborate early productions, "Guess I'm Dumb," sung by Glen Campbell. ”
Pavlov's Woody was created as a vehicle to obtain specimens of modern day surfers and transport them to the Pavlov's Institute of Reverb Therapy for behavior modification experiments related to the exposure of 60's style reverb saturated surf-music in a safe and controlled laboratory environment. They cover many traditional tunes with just enough individuality to keep them fresh. While a disc of covers can be a turnoff to some, when a band personalizes each track like this, giving it a new face while retaining the original kernel, it can be a rewarding adventure. Good Stuff.
A superb collection of Singaporean 60’s beat, pop, and “off-beat cha-cha” instrumental classics from original vinyl 45’s. These 22 supercharged beat-a-go-go tracks defy a common held belief that the Chinese couldn’t rock, groove, or swing back in the 1960’s. The vocals are sung in the dialects of Mandarin and Hokkien and they soar with catchy hooks atop groovy, clever beats. There’s plenty of electric guitar, organ, and crazy percussion rocking and twisting behind it all, at times reaching quite a mad and freaky state of affairs. The record’s finale “Happy Lunar New Year” sung by Linda Yong may be the weirdest New Year greeting ever recorded. Every single cut is a winner and it never lets up from start to finish. Although most of the lyrics focus on love, innocence, and festive atmospherics, there’s an epic vibe to the music that rivals other extremely well-recorded and unique pop styles emanating from the surrounding Southeast Asian scenes during the late 1960’s. Seminal bands of the period like The Stylers and The Silvertones are well represented here backing up a wide array of popular vocalists with Charlie Electric Guitar Band’s Sound of Japan ripping it up on four brilliant instrumental tracks.
Pavlov's Woody - They Came from Beneath the Surf
The Bobby Fuller Four was a popular mid-60s American rock & roll band started by Bobby Fuller. With its first incarnation formed in 1962 in El Paso, Texas, the group has went on to produce some of its most memorable hits under Mustang Records in Hollywood, California. The band's most successful songs include "Let Her Dance", "I Fought the Law", and "Love's Made a Fool of You". This CD reissue combines two first albums on 1 CD with a seven bonus tracks - "Souped up cal-tex Rock 'n' Roll from one of the 60's most original & under-rated groups".
3rd album of high energy guitar, keyboard driven surf-rock rooted instrumentals. Amazing stuff folks.
The Retroliners are a surf-style instrumental combo whose eclectic blend of vintage guitar tones and modern sonics produces a unique interpretation of dark, angular spy music spiked with pop, punk, twist and twang. A bit on the darker side of surf.
For my buddy Brandonio: couldn't resist.
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