Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Billy Boyd - Twangy Guitar
 | This 12" release is an oddity. It sounds like a pre-surf release (I couldn't track down the year), but opens with a track that is so close to Dick Dale's "Surf Buggy" that you might wonder which came first. Interesting, mostly guitar and sax instro LP. |
Picks: Shuffle Boogie, Night Rock, Jivin' At The Savoy, Stompin' At The Crossroads, Diggin' The Blues, Mambo Boogie, South Hampton, Bolero Boogie, Duck Walk, Oop Shank, Drifting
Track by Track Review
R&B Rock (Instrumental)
Well, now, this is interesting! The melody is the same as Dick Dale's "Surf Buggy." Rock and roll with twang and an R&B root feel.
R&B Rock (Instrumental)
Similar to Richard Berry's "There's A Riot Goin' On," this is a fluid blues instro with great piano and good guitar.
Jivin' At The Savoy R&B Rock (Instrumental)
Big band under siege, softened and rolled up, with cool drums and dry-chop rhythm guitar under sock-hop guitar.
Stompin' At The Crossroads R&B Rock (Instrumental)
Benny Goodman's "Stompin' At The Savoy" is rocked and rolled in the fifties way. A cool groove.
Diggin' The Blues R&B Rock (Instrumental)
A noodly guitar-sax exercise in the fifties jam mold. Not very interesting.
R&B Rock (Instrumental)
The guitar riff is similar to the riff in Buddy Holly's "Well All Right," at least in spots. More about progressions and chords than melody, with jammin' sax and standard sounds. Still, it's relatively infectious.
South Hampton R&B Rock (Instrumental)
Pre-surf riffage, jazzy and fifties rock combo suave. A jam, yet pretty cool.
R&B Rock (Instrumental)
OK, so the chords are inspired by Link Wray's Rumble, in fact it's so close, it's definitely in the rip-off category. Yet, it's just different enough, and the tribal drums and sax keep it from being just a face in the crowd. OK, I like it just fine. By the way, I don't hear any Bolero references at all, either in style or melody.
Duck Walk R&B Rock (Instrumental)
Fifties sock-hop harmonies and progressions in a jam setting. Not very interesting.
Pre Surf (Instrumental)
Great choked guitar opens a guitar boogie shuffle, in fact it's a cover of the Virtues' "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" with a few embellishments. Though fairly common sounding, the guitar is moving towards surf and is very well played.
Pre Surf Sub Jazz (Instrumental)
Vibrato guitar lays out a silky lagoon number based on "Lonesome Road." More aquatic than jazzy, it's a guitar near-solo that is quite listenable.