Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Index - Index (The Black Album)
| Can you spell rare?
The Index were from Grosse Point, Michigan, and existed during the early psychedelic era from about '67 onward. They demonstrated the seamlessness with which surf actually moved into psych. It only seamed like a step function because of Radio's switcheroo from surf to invasion to psych. Just like there is plenty of surf guitar in the music of Iron Butterfly, so there is plenty in the music of The Index.
Many of their recorded tracks were instros, like "Shockwave" and "Turquoise Feline." Some of their vocals also featured surf guitar, like "Eight Miles High." Most of their early tracks were reverb drenched. Be prepared to be scared! |
Picks: Israeli Blues, Turquoise Feline, Shockwave
Track by Track Review
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
A very cool blues number with a surf guitar lead. Very unusual track. The lead line is one and a half bars behind the bass line for a really nifty affect. Heavy reverb and dark imagery, part surf, part psych.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
A major wah wah psych noise instro, huge, reverby, dense... like from the back of the Fillmore.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
Surf instro from a huge psych hall sound, semi-melodic, semi psychedelic, semi surfy. A big progression from surf to wah wah to feedback... very interesting. 30 years before Vibrasonic was a whisper, the Index were reality.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
Pure guitar feedback, sounding like the jams that happened at the San Francisco Sound Ballroom in Seattle in the late sixties... boomy, reverby, huge, and ugly.