Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA John Barry - The EMI Years Volume 1
 | We all know John Barry from his spy-movie tracks, but before that, he also did some Duane Eddy and Ventures style records. This CD compiles material dating from '57 to '60.  As pre-surf instros lending their foundation to surf, this can be an interesting CD. Some tracks are from vinyl, most are session tapes, and a few are stereo for the first time. There are also seven vocals here, demonstrating how weak British rockabilly was, or at least why John Barry gave up singing. More historically interesting than musically appealing because much of the material is so dated. 
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Picks: Big Guitar, Rodeo, Pancho, Hideaway, Farrago, Bees Knees, When The Saints Go Marching In, Pancho, Long John, Snap ÔNÕ Whistle, Little John, For PeteÕs Sake, Bees Knees, Little John, Rebel Rouser, Mab Mab, Twelfth Street Rag, Christella, Beat Girl (Main Title), Hit and Miss, Rockin' Already, Beat For Beatniks, Big Fella, Blueberry Hill, Never Let Go, Walk Don't Run, I'm Movin' On, Saturday's Child, Black Stockings, Get Lost Jack Frost
Track by Track Review
Big Guitar Brit Rock (Instrumental)
A basic fifties boogie shuffle with all too few occasional vibrato guitar notes, and a rambling sax. While it hints at a "rumble in the alley," it never really goes anywhere. 1958
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
A very simple progression repeated repeatedly with repetition, interrupted occasionally by occasional sax... repetitious and only slightly interesting. 1958
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Heavy almost surf guitar with a Champs-like sax line and and the same riff over and over. It does work, but isn't very magnetic. The flute adds a bit of variety, and the variations in arrangement help too. 1958
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Highly repetitious lounge instro. This is not the grand Freddie King tune. Loungie slightly bluesy, with bongos and a bit of an edge. 1958
Farrago Brit Rock (Instrumental)
MOR mambo lounge mung. 1958
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
This track features a Champs-like sound, a repetitious pattern, and a stop-start methodology. The guitar is low and guttural, and it just barely carries the track into the "listenable" category. For the uninitiated, "Bees Knees" is a term from the twenties that hung on through the fifties, roughly equivalent to "rad" or "cool" or "buff" or "spiff." "Bee's knees" are just too cute! 1958
When The Saints Go Marching In Brit Rock (Instrumental)
For 1958 UK, this is quite spirited. It's very fifties raw rock arranged, but doesn't carry the guts of Bo Diddley's version. It does have a lot of spunk and is quite fun, and is modeled on the Duane Eddy version. It also purports to be live, but I suspect that the crowd is overdubbed given the caliber of the recording and the methods usually employed in the UK back then. 1958
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Heavy almost surf guitar with a Champs-like sax line and and the same riff over and over. It does work, but isn't very magnetic. The flute adds a bit of variety, and the variations in arrangement help too. 1958
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
An upbeat bluesy thing, horn led, with an infectious melody line and sound. It's way fun, with Barry's guitar playing accents against the horn rants. Too cool, like the Rumblers could have cut it.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Whistlin' lead melody, floating wistfully across the room, like a Mitch Miller epic. Pretty and fun, but unremarkable.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Twang and brass band, British cowboy music. Think skiffle and cactus, with jumping beans and peppers.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
This piano roll number reminds me of a fluff version of the Dharma Blues Band trying to be Jelly Roll Morton.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
This track features a Champs-like sound, a repetitious pattern, and a stop-start methodology. The guitar is low and guttural, and it just barely carries the track into the "listenable" category. For the uninitiated, "Bees Knees" is a term from the twenties that hung on through the fifties, roughly equivalent to "rad" or "cool" or "buff" or "spiff." "Bee's knees" are just too cute! 1958
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Twang and brass band, British cowboy music. Think skiffle and cactus, with jumping beans and peppers.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Doing Duane Eddy one better... The John Barry Seven deliver a darn nearly exact copy. Lots of spunk and coolness.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
The girls are screaming, the guitar vibrato-ing away, the horns wailin' a rock and roll sound. It's a decent rock instro, with ample energy and edge.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
This familiar tune is done with spirit in that late fifties JB7 style. It's quite fiery.
Christella
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Movie music slush... piano smoothies on a big screen.
Brit Movie Rock (Instrumental)
Listening to this ultra twangster, it's easy to see why Laika and the Cosmonauts covered it. Despite the horn leads, it's full of fire and flair, and the low-E guitar is very cool, as is the infectious riff.
Hit and Miss Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Plucky violins violate the sanctity of the twangy guitar, like Duane Eddy with the Boston Pops.
Rockin' Already
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Plodding MOR pop. The girl chorus goes into a nearly "Lion Sleeps Tonight" bag. Egads.
Beat For Beatniks
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Much too suave for the beatnik crowd, this is more jazzy and slithery than beat generation.
Big Fella Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Like I wanna know what this is about... Slow sultry Broadway stuff with big guitar edge and fifties stage pomp.
Blueberry Hill Brit Rock (Instrumental)
This is a kinda twerpy elevator sound, like Duane Eddy stuck between the 7th and 8th floors a la Being John Malkovich.
Never Let Go Brit Rock (Instrumental)
A slow walkin' countrified twango exercise. The guitar is alright, but the rest is like Nashville vs. real country, unreal and unemotional.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
This is a presentable rendition of the Ventures classic. The arrangement is darn close, with the addition of great plinky piano and British whammy. Quite an interesting track, with more emphasis on the rhythm guitar than the lead in the mix.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Hank Snow's country masterpiece that the Rolling Stones made rock is here made to lay quietly in the rec hall. The guitar is twangy enough, but those plucky strings are just too much to bear. The arrangement reminds me of Lawrence Welk.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
This is an excellent guitar instro, with a solid melody and basic arrangement that yields a friendly track with rock sensibilities. There are bits of "Walk Don't Run" and of pre-surf as well.
Brit Rock (Instrumental)
Vibrato swill, with an almost "Never On Sunday" kinda melody and that sorta cheesy appeal. It almost succeeds until the chorus comes in and shatters the illusion.
Get Lost Jack Frost Brit Rock (Instrumental)
With serious borrowing from "When The Saints Go Marching In" and plucky elevator strings, this can't quite decide if it's rock or 101 Strings.