Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Jerry Cole - A Go Go Guitar
 | A Go Go Guitar has some pretty credible tracks on it. Jerry Cole's playing is excellent, and the production values are much more modern than its 1964 date. A coulple of these songs would be recycled later on when Cole played on the Animated Egg sessions. |
Picks: Hip Hugger, Teen Age Fair, The Tower Of London, Really Got It Bad, Ventures Venture, Curfew
Track by Track Review
Surf Hot Rod (Instrumental)
Booker T. And The MG's' "Hip Hugger" is done with more charm than many of Jerry Cole's covers. Very cool guitar work gives this a surfish feel.
Boss Hair Surf Hot Rod (Instrumental)
"Boss Hair" is a really meaningless jammy number based in blues. It doesn't rise to the memorable category in my opinion. What do you expect from a song called "Boss Hair."
Instrumental Rock (Instrumental)
This seems very fluffy to me. Its playful melody line is extremely light hearted and fun. This song grows on you rather rapidly. While extremely poppy in this arrangement, it was later rerecorded by Animated Egg under the title "Dark" for a much heavier and more psychedelic sound.
Instrumental Rock (Instrumental)
"12 A Go Go" employs a simple melody with a pop sound, but with slight edge. The melody line is friendly enough, but it's not really memorable.
Instrumental Rock (Instrumental)
This is a very pleasant slow number with a lovely melody and lite rock sound. "The Tower Of London" implies Mercy Beat in a umber of ways, and stylistically sounds like one of the songs that could have been brought forward to the Animated Egg sessions.
Surf Hot Rod (Instrumental)
The lead guitar is so submerged here that "George Played" sounds more like a backtrack than a song. It doesn't help that the melody line is very minimal. However, I would guess that a radically different mix would have served this song much better.
Sloppin' Instrumental Rock (Instrumental)
This song apes the slow soul groove of southern instros, but with some grin-induced string bending that hints at Buck Owens.
Instrumental Rock (Instrumental)
This early and very clean version of "Really Got It Bad" doesn't suggest the glory of the pop psyke wonder that became "Sure Listic" during the heady Animated Egg sessions. OK, that said, this is really nicely done, with excellent tone and a darn credible sound.
Surf Hot Rod (Instrumental)
Wet guitar tone nods to the stylings of the Ventures in some ways, with a melody line part "If I Had A Hammer" and part Ventures island surf. I didn't like this at first blush, but it does grow on you. The guitar work is excellent, and the Spanish flurries are very cool.
Instrumental Rock (Instrumental)
"Curfew" is an updated rendering of Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley" with some really nice double picked runs and that infectious beat. This grows on you more than you might expect.