Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Atlantics - Now It's Stompin' Time With The Atlantics
 | Only the US had surf bands in the sixties. OK, not exactly, but pretty close. The looseness of the definition here which occasionally included bands like the Ventures and among surfers included any instrumental at all, was morphed to the latter in the international arena. Most other countries sported instro bands modeled after the Shadows, and quickly adapted the term surf to apply there. In Australia, the Atlantics were characterized thusly. OK, so they weren't a surf band. Still, they recorded some great instro rock, and did make a few attempts at the reverb sound and surf titles. This is one of their two LP's reissued with bonus singles. It's a good buy, being nearly the only available glimpse into Australian instros available on CD at all. |
Picks: The Crusher, Coral Island, Tequila Stomp, Tahitian Waters, Teddy Bear's Picnic Stomp, Hootenanny Stomp, The Gremlin From the Kremlin, Shark Attack, SOS (Stomp On Stomp), Stompede, Arabian Surf, Stompin' Time, Moon Man, Bombora, Rumble And Run, Peter Gunn, Turista, Teensville, Adventures In Paradise
Track by Track Review
Post Surf (Instrumental)
Twangin' cool Aussie-Shadows number with their signature rapid drums. Quite nice.
Surf (Instrumental)
Semi-island Shadows twang, great whammy chords and a mystical air.
Surf (Instrumental)
Like the title implies, "Tequila" with damped plucking dry guitars. A great version with the raging drummer.
Surf (Instrumental)
Again, with the racing drums. He must have gotten really tired on stage with every track at double time! Good melody and a mystic island feel.
Teddy Bear's Picnic Stomp Surf (Instrumental)
Yup, it's that song, the one the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band did as a B-side, the one you sang as a kid, the one that won't go away. It's so weird to hear it instrumentally. Must have been a blast live.
Surf (Instrumental)
Super fast folk based instro, odd with the lead indistinctly buried in the mix.
The Gremlin From the Kremlin Surf (Instrumental)
Excellent weirdness, speedy Shadows guitar tone with Russian influences in the melody line. Echoed dry damped picking, and speedy drums.
Surf (Instrumental)
Heavy low-E number with Shadows twang all over it, and those speeding drums. Very nice.
Surf (Instrumental)
Almost double picked low-E number with a good melody line and fast pace drumming.
Surf (Instrumental)
Holy cow! Super simple rhythm track based number with a ton of guitar string noises, pick slide grind, and finger slide "Apache" arrow shots. Man oh man, what a great unique recording. Their absolute best!
Surf (Instrumental)
Totally Shadows.
Rock (Instrumental)
"Stompin' Time" features chunky chords and a basic riff. It's manic, frantic, and like frat rock for instro buffs, with superb drums. Yikes!
Surf (Instrumental)
Whammy island cool tune with a driving Fireballs-like rhythm guitar and thumpy bass line. Very endearing.
Surf (Instrumental)
Pick noises and stinging notes, and a piercing lead fronting a speedster deluxe. This is definitely up to the standard they set with it on the CBS Australia release from the sixties. Totally infectious and driven. A grand Peter Hood/Jim Skiathitis tune.
Squad Car Surf (Instrumental)
Fade in intro chord and sirens, and an ominous lead belting out stinging notes. A really cool song.
Surf (Instrumental)
Low and grindy, the lead is so Mancini, and the rhythm is vibratoed underneath. Very cool version.
Surf (Instrumental)
Semi-Mexican hat dance structure and a Three Suns sort of muffled twang. Nice, but tame.
Teensville Surf (Instrumental)
A fifties riffabilly number.
Surf (Instrumental)
The Challengers' version is so pretty. This is more eerie with quasi-Martin Denny bird calls. Odd, but cool.