Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Fenton Weills - Viva Villa
 | This LP is amazing! Six highly original psychedelic surf tinged instro for the adventurous fan. |
Picks: Hawaii Five-0, Jack The Ripper, Ride Vaquero, Peter Gunn, Palomino, Jeden Tab Neue Angst
Track by Track Review
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
Over reverbed drums pump out the beat on this surf rock instro. It's rockin' version of the TV show theme written by Mort Shuman, and while spunky and aggro, it's also not overbearing.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
I really like this treatment of Link Wray and his Raymen's "Jack The Ripper." It's rhythmic and thick and aggressive, with only the goofy screams of "wah" detracting from a totally intense experience. Great writhing googamuck, Homer, this track rocks with relentless thickness and real rock thrash.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
Thick, sustained distortion, and trembling rhythm atop tribal bass and beat. "Ride Vaquero" is perhaps my favorite Fenton Weills recording. It's ghostly and menacing, like the inner sounds of those dungeonous passageways in your mind when you're alone at 3 am and not quite asleep. Superb!! In some ways, "Ride Vaquero" seems like a continuation and transformation of "Jack The Ripper" into a psychedelic inversion. Not that it employs any part of Link's signature song, but it has that sort of relentless energy and danger.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
This is a tasteful, slightly industrial rendering of the classic detective theme. The dissonant guitar feedback carrying the melody is unnerving against the relentlessness of the signature rhythm track. Very cool.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
Like the psycho-intrinsic sound of the cavernous hall that was the San Francisco Sound Ballroom in Seattle when Indian Puddin' & Pipe played, "Palomino" howls with primitive feedback and a blend of melody and rhythm and the near-ugly. Compelling and unusual.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
"Jeden Tab Neue Angst" rises gently from nearly subliminal sounds as if it was drifting through the fog across the moor. Long slide notes begin to bring it closer in an early Pink Floyd-ish wail before it becomes a dramatic dirge. As the kick drum rises, it dissolves from the dank recesses into an unsettling drone. The song slowly unfolds, changing mood and artfully extending its psychedelic soul for 20+ minutes. In some ways, it reminds me of Golden Earring's early version of "Eight Miles High," though significantly more artful.