Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Collection: Paul Buff Presents The Pal And Original Sound Studio Archives, Vol. 1
 | Volume 1 begins this 20 disc vault purge from Paul Buff's personal archives. Currently only available as mp3 albums, and minus any liner notes, the series is nonetheless chock full of the rare and only rumored to exist. Some volumes have lots of surf that was previously unknown, or released from different sessions. For the Frank Zappa fanatic, his guitar work is all over this series. Drool on! |
Picks: Dino Dupree - Little Princess, Ambrosial, The Masters - T Bone, Breaktime, The Velveteens - Dog Patch Creeper
Track by Track Review
Paul Buff - Slow Bird Rock (Instrumental)
"Slow Bird" is a moody number with a low brow groove. Down horns and cheesy organ ride above a walking bass and basic beat. As it begins, you expect it to evolve into something more than it does.
Dino Dupree - Little Princess Near Surf (Instrumental)
This is very crudely cut, with very dull sound. A string section rocks with this very groovy guitar instro that's bordering on the surf envelope. A splendid melody line and fluid groove, along with an arrangement born of the big band era filtered through rock and roll. Very cool!
Near Surf (Instrumental)
Infectious hand claps and fifties plinky guitar, a raucous cowboy feel, and some very nice almost surf guitar lines, really make this glow. Great drums and energy.
Surf (Instrumental)
"T Bone" starts off like a Chuck Berry thing, but that's only the intro. The song has a classic backtrack and surfish lead that's part jam and part groovy melody. This is a very nice, obscure track.
Rock (Instrumental)
"Breaktime" is primarily a studio jam kind of track. Some cool piano, and near surf guitar from Frank Zappa, plus lots of rockin' energy,a long with Zappa's involvement, have made this a very collectable single.
The Pal Studio Band - Can't Stand Up Rock (Instrumental)
"Can't Stand Up" is basic riff rocker. Obviously based on The Dovels' 1963 hit "You Can't Sit Down," but with less energy and chemistry. The lead guitar lust jams - nothing really going on.
The Velveteens - Dog Patch Creeper Surf (Instrumental)
Evil low-E surf guitar and piano, with hand claps and reverb-b-b-b-b. The nasty sax just adds to the dirty-boy grit when it comes in.