Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Collection: Legends Of Guitar - Rock: The 60's Vol. 1
 | This volume of Guitar Player Magazine / Rhino Records series spans many styles from the sixties, from Hendrix to the Astronauts. A groovy slice of sound. |
Picks: Lullaby Of The Leaves, Chicken Pickin', Boo Boo Stick Beat, Hot Doggin', Red Beans and Rice, Sabre Dance, Miserlou, Apache, Silver And Gold
Track by Track Review
Rock (Instrumental)
Among the most often requested of their vintage tunes, this is well surfed from a whammy point of view, but really is in the "Walk, Don't Run" mold stylistically. Excellent treatment.
Country Rock (Instrumental)
Speed is the order of the day. This previously unreleased number wails... it's a rapid fire rolling blueser with flashy lead work, like B. B. King at double speed.
Rock (Instrumental)
This almost novelty Chet Atkins tune is the precursor to some of the things that the Pastel Six used to do, particularly their arrangement of "Cotton High." Rhythmic and percussion oriented. very cool... should be turned into a surf tune by some enterprising surf band.
Surf (Instrumental)
This was the Astronauts' non-album single follow-up to "Baja." It's very hot, feisty, almost assaultive in its delivery. Melody and power merge for an infectious effect.
Red Beans and Rice R&B (Instrumental)
With a cha-cha-cha beat and a soft organ cruisin' for grits, "Red Beans and Rice" is an odd choice here. The guitar work is not the focus, not even very interesting.
Post Surf Classical Rock (Instrumental)
In 1940, Aram Ilich Khachaturian wrote "Sabre Dance" as part of the ballet Gayane. While this tune was very familiar, it found sudden new life in this fiery blues driven, rock powered, surf structured arrangement. 30 years later, Get Wet would take off on this exceptional idea with their powerhouse rendition. This is the single version.
Surf (Instrumental)
The introductory note of Miserlou is somehow bigger than life. Dick's machine gun staccato is perfect. This is Dick Dale's biggest Del-tone singles, the incredibly archetypal "Miserlou" featured so prominently in Pulp Fiction. No comprehensive Surf collection should even be conceived without this song. This IS the sound of primal surf, the source of the idea of really LOUD guitar leads. It's reported that the arrangement was developed after Dick saw Johnny Barakat do it this way.
Euro (Instrumental)
While the US was treated to Jorgen Ingman's superior version of this Jerry Lordan classic, and then later Sonny James' vocal rendition, Europe was bathed in the Shadows rendition. Different, and much less delicate than Lordan's version, and missing the fingered string swipe arrows entirely.
Shimmering Rock (Instrumental)
It's hard to deny John Cipollina's influence on others, as well as the watery nature of his shimmering vibrato. "Silver And Gold" is based on "Take Five," but is laced with far more power and edge. This live recording displays his guitar playing in fine form, backed by the classic Quicksilver Messenger Service line up. Intense guitar, vibrant delivery, and great sub psychedelic post surf instrumental magic.