Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Atlantics - The Complete CBS Recordings: Volume 1
 | The Atlantics were to Australia what the Shadows were to England, and their sound is much like that might imply, except that the Atlantics often used very fast drum work and were more tweaky. This is a solid slab of 50% of their CBS Records output. |
Picks: The Boys, Moon Man, Dark Eyes, Bombora, Greensleeves, Adventures In Paradise, The Gremlin King, Glassy Walls, Turista, Surfers Paradise, Blue Bottles, The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise, Free Fall, The Crusher, Hootenanny Stomp, Coral Island, Tequila Stomp, Tahitian Waters, The Teddy Bears' Picnic Stomp, The Gremlin From the Kremlin, Shark Attack, SOS (Stomp On Stomp), Stompede, Arabian Surf, Stompin' Time
Track by Track Review
Rock (Instrumental)
"The Boys" is structured a lot like the Shadows' "FBI." It relies on chop and rhythm a lot, but also sports a fine Hank Marvin-esque guitar break. Very cool.
Surf (Instrumental)
Whammy island cool tune with a driving Fireballs-like rhythm guitar and thumpy bass line. Very endearing.
Euro (Instrumental)
This traditional Euro instro is given new life with a creative arrangement and sound, merging traditional ideas and a Shadows style intensity. Lots of energy and very cool.
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.
Greensleeves MOR Mung (Instrumental)
More MOR mung, slow and completely nonintrusive, almost ambient in the background music sense. Bonus Track.
Surf (Instrumental)
The Challengers' version is so pretty. This is more eerie with quasi-Martin Denny bird calls. Odd, but cool.
Balkan Surf (Instrumental)
Double picked delicately with the Balkans in mind, this very cool almost minuet moves from frothy to chopped and rhythmic, with considerable infectious spirit.
Near Surf (Instrumental)
An attempt at surf, but a Shadows sound and little surf feel. The damped echoplex bits are nice.
Surf (Instrumental)
Semi-Mexican hat dance structure and a Three Suns sort of muffled twang. Nice, but tame.
Surf (Instrumental)
In a strange way, this has an "Endless Summer" feel to it, with a dry damped chop second guitar and a fluid bass line. It's quite tasty.
Formal Surf (Instrumental)
Dual lead guitars and a light weight driving beat, like a Roy Clark extravaganza. It's more than a little fun, and quite infectious. The delicate guitar work is almost formal in its feel, like a harpsichord.
The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise MOR (Instrumental)
"The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise" is a sorta MOR cha-cha, with a Shadows feel, like a tango de motherland, with a Les Paul feel. Pleasant, but not very interesting.
Country MOR (Instrumental)
Jumpy, sorta Roy Clarkish, with a nifty riff and quick picking. Cool drums, and not the Devons' tune.
Post Surf (Instrumental)
Twangin' cool Aussie-Shadows number with their signature rapid drums. Quite nice.
Surf (Instrumental)
Super fast folk based instro, odd with the lead indistinctly buried in the mix.
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.
The Teddy Bears' Picnic Stomp Silly Fairy Tale (Instrumental)
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, the Atlantics instrumentally deliver "The Teddy Bears' Picnic Stomp." While it's fun, it breaks no new ground, and frankly, I prefer the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band version.
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!