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Various
Artists
Beyond the
Beach / Upstart
Records
(through
Rounder)
When I got
this for review I tried to think of all the
bands I had ever heard of who were
famous for this spy/surf/instrumental
thing. I dug out my copy of Danny Amis'
Whiplash and gave it a spin on the old
Victrola. Danny Amis was in a band
called the Ravbeats back in the early
'80s, and they were one of the most
recent practitioners of this style.
The 19 cuts on this CD feature
bands from all over the place. Amid all
this surf-groove thing are Athens' own
Hillbilly Frankenstein and The Woggles.
Regional acts such as Southern Culture
On the Skids and Man Or Astroman?
are also featured. Styles range from
garoge/thrash (Woggles) to latino (The
Aqua Velvets) to the smooth organ
laden sounds of Helsinki's Laika and
the Cosmonauts.
The Daytonas, from Sweden, lead
things off with 'Go!' which is kind of a
surf thing with a cool organ bridge.
From the garageish side come Jon
and the Nightriders with 'Depth
Charge,' and it reminds me of revved
up Dick Dale a la 'Pipeline.' Next are
hometown favorites The Woggles.
They drench the beach with a kickass song
called 'Flash Flood.' This is one minute and 20
seconds of garage surf that just burns with white
heat.
Southern Culture On the Skids are one of the
regional acts that frequent local clubs. 'Mexy
Melt' is a cool song that has a fast minor feel
and brings back memories of B movies gone by.
local psy ..nobilly legends Hillbilly Frankenstein of
fer up 'Flesh Hammer,’ which sounds like a mix
of a spy theme and something from the
Barbarella soundtrack. The ultra cheesy vocal
parts odd a nice touch. Man Or Astroman? nearly
careen out of control with 'Nitrous Burnout 2112.'
It is fast-paced like an Indy car racing at 200 mph.
There are several more honorable mentions
like LA's Insect Surfers, who use the Bo Diddley
backbeat and give us a psychobilly ride with 'Vol
cano Juice." Also, there is Austin, Tex.'s. Teisco Del
Rey, collector of odd guitars and columnist for
Guitar Player magazine. He joins with members
of laika and the Cosmonauts for 'Twango.'
This is a great compilation with a wide vari
ety of styles and bands. The rest of the bands
are Canada's Huevos Rancheros, described as
having a sound between Ramones and link Wray.
There's Mermen from San Francisco; Halibuts uti
lize a mid-Eastern sax-guitar line; Detroit's
Goldentones; Paul Johnson, legendary player
from The Bel Airs; Chicago's Spies Who Surf; David
Bowie's Tin Machine; The Ultras from San Fran;
and The Falcons. Odd, but Southern Culture On
the Skids are left out of the mini-bios in the CD
sleeve. Oh well... we know all about them! Re-
verb-away.
Bill Scoggins
Tucker Wells
Demo / self-release
Tucker Wells has been in the music scene for
quite some time now. Starting in Michigan in '81,
this singer-guitarist-songwriter trekked with nu
merous outfits before finally settling in the 'Clas
sic City' in '92 on his own. This three-song demo
of originals is a little taste of what listeners can
expect from this man. Using sparse arrange
ments for the tunes, Wells demonstrates that a
good song does not need bombastic production
to get the point across. With just an acoustic gui
tar and light percussion. Wells spins curious lyr
ics with various topics.
The demo begins with a little ditty called 'In
This Field.' Relaxing the listener with a Icid-back,
cooled-out guitar style. Wells proceeds to swing
the story of battles fought long ago. The next
song, ‘Hey Hey Boy.' is a kind of self-affirming
call to arms for the slacker in all of us. It brings
back a true 'American Beauty' feel. A folksy-blue-
grass-type hook works the song into a sing-along
chorus, which by the way features the coolest use
of the word "coy' in a song since '50 Ways to
Leave Your lover.'
On that Paul Simon note, enter 'Chains Of
You 1 ’ Streets.' the final song of the collection. The
opening moments of this song remind me of a
strong Simon vibe, but then a blues guitar floats
in to finish and fode out the number, which makes
for an interesting transition.
Overall, I believe that this demo features an
artist who seems comfortable with his style, not
flinching at his influences, and doesn't try to be
everything for everybody in a three-song demo. I
couldn't help but think that if he were fleshed out
with a full band for live shows, Tucker Wells could
certainly expand on this very good groundwork.
Timothy J. Smith
OlNGLE ISSUES
Drunken Boat & Geezer Lake
split 7 m /De/Tox
Can somebody explain why Greensboro is so close and Geezer lake has yet to visit since my
arrival in town some two years ago? Obviously they're very talented claves to the rock (even
if they do use a horn). Now, Drunken Boat, on the other hand, are mighty predictable college
fare and they did play Hoyt North to reconfirm that opinion some 18 months ago. Geezer
good. Boat bad. (POB 5655, Greensboro, NC 27435)
Henry Owings
Linus
la La' b/w lake My Hand Lord Jesus, I'm Coming Home' & ‘Arb Bay' / Elemental
Obviousfy a reaction to what Velocity Girl has spawned. Not to say that is bad, but as with all
spawns, sometimes you can get overload. With that said, Linus definitely come across as a
competent, melodic, female-fronted, fuzz pop band. However, if you've had your fill of 'la-la'
for the week, you might want to give this a rest. (64 Mountgrove Road, London N5 21T EN
GLAND)
newer.
funkier.
juicier.
sexier.
louder.
hous-e-er.
hipper.
groovier.
deeper.
fresher.
cooler.
harder.
not a theater
not a band bar
not a bar
A NIGHTCLUB
the dj's • the sound • the lights
get it?
1433 EAST HANCOCK |
18-2 PARTY 21-2 WIGOUT
I 543-1555 FOR INFO |
Henry Owings