Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA
Jim Campilongo and the 10 Gallon Cats - S/Tdotdotdot
artworkJim Campilongo and the 10 Gallon Cats play a light hearted style of country instrumental hearkening back to simpler times. While all of this is country, a coupe of the tracks are like Link Wray in gingham. A tasty diversion.
Picks: Splitsville, Billy's Bird, Snakestretcher, Joe Camel, Night In Serramonte, Big Bill, Twangin', Swingin' With The Cats, Blue Hen, Bully Cat, Ping Pong

Track by Track Review


Splitsville dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

A fast cowboy barn twister, with whining lap steel and a quirky sound. Great lap steel work and a light frothy beat.

Billy's Bird dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

Cowboy boogie woogie with a twist of lemon. A teensy bit of dementia, a dash of poultry, and "Billy's Bird" becomes a backdrop for an afternoon escape.

Snakestretcher dotdotdot
Blues (Instrumental)

"Snakestretcher" is a long leaning blues, tortured and disoriented for a somber hombre.

Joe Camel dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

Tobacconist frumpy quirkiness, with powder puffed left turns into the culdesacs of your subconscious.

Night In Serramonte dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

Soft and floaty, "Night In Serramonte" whines and flows like water running down the hillside culverts while the fog drifts in. Cool, yet sultry.

Big Bill dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

Are we talkin' $100's or a tall dude? Either way, "Big Bill" is a playful cowboy in heat kinda number.

Twangin' dotdotdot
Throbbing Rock (Instrumental)

With all the deliberate slow torture of a Link Wray epic, "Twangin'" uses big vibrato and a dark melody line to portray sadness and maybe a little danger. Very slow and moody, and an interesting side trip.

Swingin' With The Cats dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

A soft afternoon swing, with a lilting black and white cowboy feel.

Blue Hen dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

Hearkening back to the Texas Swing era, "Blue Hen" plucks and whines with an innocent playfulness and cutesy sound, kinda like a cowboy Lawrence Welk.

Bully Cat dotdotdot
Country Rock (Instrumental)

If Link Wray played lap steel, it might sound like this. Slow and fuzz tortured guitar against lap steel warbles and whines. If the New Riders Of The Purple Sage's "Death and Destruction" was an instro, it might have gone this way.

Ping Pong dotdotdot
Country (Instrumental)

"Ping Pong" is a bluesy number with a traditional country sound and a soft melody line.