Reverb Central .:. Review .:.

Yet another great volume of rock and roll instro obscurities from Buffalo Bop. Great grimy gobs of one-off's and 15 ips echo. 30 slices of Americana. Dig Ronnie Ray's Playboys' "The Vulture."

Picks: Ram Charger, Rockin' On The Range, Maggie, Jack Hammer, Move Part One, Scrounge, Weeping Willow Rock, Green Front Boogie, Ram Induction, Off The Wall, Bubble Gum Rock, Strike, Modockin', Zapp, Let's Go On With It, Starlight, Polka Rock, Slouch-ee, Shore Party, Rebel Yell (Dixie), Summertime Rock, Fugitive, Sunday Down South, Love Riot, What's Your Number, Drummer Boy?, Craig's Crazy Boogie, Normee, Port Zibee, Taylor's Rock, The Vulture

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Non-melodic guitar instro with a riff approaching "I Hear You Knocking" in spots. While it's got drive, it just doesn't have a hook or memorable riff.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Piano roll rockin' version of "Home On The Range" pumped out like it was recorded in an 1880 Kansas saloon, backed with drums and bass, and some excited shouts. Pretty tweaky and fun, especially the raging sax.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Vibrato throb guitar leads this mid sixties cover of "Cotton Fields." It's inspired and fun, and even a little chunky with the dry chop guitar stuff in the middle. Lots of fun here, boys and girls.

Pre Surf (Instrumental)

A groovy rockabilly guitar approaching the Al Casey sound with a mid sixties jam break. The piano and recording sound tell you it's likely from the late fifties. A cool and fun track.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

A lumbering gallop tune with a one note riff and fine picking. It's much too repetitive to make the cut, but still it's an enjoyable track based on the stereotypical dance party theme.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Like Johnny Cash pluckin' out in the barn, "Scrounge" lumps the early fifties country chops and early rockabilly arranging together (is there a difference?). It doesn't go anywhere, but it makes for a cool scene.

Hoe-Down (Instrumental)

A guitar boogie shuffle with a light weight guitar lead over the top. It's got the feel of a breakdown or hoe-down, and the straight-faced humor of the backwoods pickers. Mighty fun.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

A minimal progression played out on the low down chords with a piano doing the same in the background. Just a jam, but with some spunk.

Near Surf (Instrumental)

Indian tom-toms and gritty guitar with piano and sax. It's from 1963, and the surf influence is there, particularly with the guitar's use of the low-E and vibrato, and the almost Ed Quarry (Dave Myers and the Surftones) piano style, though this does have more of an acoustic piano feel. It's quite a cool tune.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Rolling tom-toms under a thin guitar sound with a walking bass. The riff is pretty serviceable, and the performance is tight and strong. The song crosses the lines between the rockabilly riffology of the bluesy jazzy jams, and rock runway grind. Interesting.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Piano roll blues with sax and bass and drums. You can see the diamond-ringed fingers pumping out the plinkery. The guitar break is pedestrian, but otherwise, this is a tasty bar room romp.

Bowl-a-billy (Instrumental)

Opening with a bowling ball knocking down the pins, and interspersed with the kids begging dad to try one, getting the strike, and then dear old dad getting a split, and followed by a gutter ball, which brings cussing at the kids, who get yet another strike, leading the dad figure to say "let's get outta here." Oh, yeah, the music is mostly a boogie progression with the lead guitar on vibrato alert. It's more cutesy that cool.

Surf (Instrumental)

This is a darn surfy tune, with double picked riffs in the break, low-E single note runs for the main melody, and a basic surf structure. Reverb is either not used, or is set to a very small dwell. In any event, it's a fun number with the look and feel of surf.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

"Zapp" is a basic guitar instro based on an overused progression and generally devoid of a melody.

Rock (Instrumental)

Rolling piano number that has an open road fun about it. Infectious and sporty. The guitar is cool, though quite buried in most of the mix. This would likely make a cool surf instro. It's also the same melody as the Royaltones' "Royal Whirl."

Pre Surf (Instrumental)

This tune fits somewhere in the pre-surf pocket. I have no idea what the date is, but I'd guess maybe as late as 1962. The melody is much more developed than the typical fifties instro, and it's mostly laid out on the low-E. Dave Donaldson wrote this, and I'd guess he was the guitar player. It's a very nice tune, certainly a prime choice for getting creative with a surf treatment. Mid tempo, fluid, and with the sort of structure that Paul Johnson would play with, like a cross between Paul's "Duck Waddle" and the way they arranged Skip and Flip's "It Was I."

Polka (Instrumental)

Polka? Sure, in a nut house, maybe. The players are all over the map and hardly keeping syncopated time.

MOR Rock (Instrumental)

MOR slush rock, unremarkable and more a jam than a song.

Rock (Instrumental)

Vegas runway drums, echoed handclaps, and a guitar riff that's interesting, but buried in the crummy sound. The plinky fifties piano is tasty, and it shows the promise of surfability.

Piano (Instrumental)

"All right all you cool daddies, let's make for the scene! Charge!" High spirited piano romp of "Dixie" with sax carrying some verses and providing archetypal Chuck Berry break riffs.

Pre Surf (Instrumental)

1960 pre-surf madness, with the guitar playing low-E ultra vibrato, the piano tinkling, and then, the pace doubles and the sax wails. Gershwin's tune has seen many a reworking. Here, Rodney and the Blazers give it the raucous treatment, and it's a great vehicle a for budding surf band yet to be.

Rock (Instrumental)

Percussive piano riffin, sax progressin', and energy, but nowhere near as interesting or fun as "Freeway." Pretty Standard, like a tame Little Richard piece without the vocals.

Piano (Instrumental)

This piano roller doesn't go as far as B. Bumble and the Stingers might have taken it, but the feel is somewhat similar, and the rockin' drums and percussive piano playing are very infectious. The guitar break is much less inspired than the rest of the track. The writing is credited to Earl Craig.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

This simple riff rocker is like an unmelodic Fireballs tune, but faster and thinner. The guitar uses one note whammy for a whole verse. The overall sound of the track is similar to the Nobles' treatment of Link Wray's "Black Widow." The chord progressions are very familiar too.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

The drummer has major fun while the band plays a cool little riff. The muffled sound really hides what might be a fine little piece.

Piano (Instrumental)

Boy does this sound like nineteenth century dance hall music. Boogie till the whisky runs out, and then play light the Fendermen did. Quite a cool little number from the pen of Earl Craig.

Trash Rock (Instrumental)

I think this defines trash rock. Bad writing (if any), horrid sound, totally loose performance, and more exuberance than the talent permits.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Very under developed riff rock, with a few changes and not much imagination.

Rockabilly (Instrumental)

Chord progression rock, devoid of melody, but delivered like the next big thing. Mostly one note staccato stabs at writing.

Pre Surf (Instrumental)

This has long been one of my favorite pre-surf pieces. It's very simple, and leans on a couple of nice changes heavily. It's a tune that deserves a surf treatment. The damped plucking is melodic and delicate, and the melody line very endearing. Even the chord parts are catchy.