VA - Dancehall Stringbusters! : Crunchy Guitar Instros From The '60s. Vol's 1-2 (2004;2005) @ 320

 

VA - Dancehall Stringbusters! : Crunchy Guitar Instros From The '60s.

Dancehall Stringbusters! Vol.1: Crunchy Guitar Instros from the '60s 

Review by Richie Unterberger

The title of this 20-track compilation is pretty self-explanatory. Instrumental rock with growling, distorted guitars is the main order of the day here, usually based around R&B-derived progressions, sometimes with smoky sax as embellishment. At its best that can be a great combination, but it's also prone to formulaic songs that don't have much going for them beyond the skills of the instrumentalists. You get some of both here, the clear king of this hill being Link Wray, represented by his searing minor 1963 hit "Jack the Ripper" and his lesser-known 1964 45 "Deuces Wild." The best of the rest, too, tends to be by the more familiar names (or at least the names most familiar to enthusiasts of early- to mid-'60s instrumental rock), like Jan Davis (with the ridiculous but menacing "Watusi Zombie"), the Fireballs, and Al Casey (whose 1963 recordings "Jezebel" and "Thunder Cloud" are heard for the first time on this CD). Some of the other tracks are more like period background music, though the Buddies' "Pulsebeat" is a pretty fair "Pipeline" sound-alike, and the inventive bluesy twang of a young Roy Buchanan can be heard on the Secrets' 1962 single "Twin Exhaust." There is a heap of rarities for collectors to savor here, but really, if you're looking for a killer album of this sort of thing, an entire compilation of Link Wray leaves this in the dust.

Dancehall Stringbusters! V1 (2004)

 01. Link Wray And His Ray Men - Deuces Wild 

 02. Teddy And The Rough Riders - Thunder Head 

 03. Kathy Lynn & The Playboys - Rock City 

 04. Jan Davis - Watusi Zombie 

 05. Wes Dakus - Sour Biscuits 

 06. Alan Pierce And The Tonekings - The Growl 

 07. The Fireballs - Quite A Party 

 08. Al Casey - Jezebel 

 09. Teddy And The Rough Riders - Money And Gold (Part 2) 

 10. Jay Bee And The Kats - Tension 

 11. The Buddies - Pulsebeat 

 12. Wes Dakus - Las Vegas Scene 

 13. Alan Pierce And The Tonekings - Swampwater 

 14. The Riptides - Machine Gun 

 15. The Cherokees - Uprisin' 

 16. The Secrets - Twin Exhaust 

 17. Link Wray And His Ray Men - Jack The Ripper 

 18. The Fireballs - Dumbo 

 19. Teddy And The Rough Riders - Path Finder 

 20. Al Casey - Thunder Cloud 

Original issues:

1: Swan S-4187-D, 1964

2: Tilt 45-778, 1960

3: Swan S-4175-Y, 1964

4: Holiday 1213, 1964

5: Swan S-4206-S, 1965

6: Challenge 59093 / Tom-Tom 101 A, 1960

7: Warwick M 644, 1961

8: previously unissued, 1963

9: Huron 45-22008, 1961

10: Bangar BA 00606, 1964

11: Swan S-4170-P, 1964

12: Swan S-4206-L, 1965

13: Challenge 59093, 1960

14: Challenge 59058, 1959

15: previously unissued alternate take, 1962

16: Swan S-4097-T, 1962

17: Swan S-4137-J, 1963

18: Dot 45-16661, 1964

19: Huron 45-22002, 1961

20: previously unissued, 1963

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Dancehall Stringbusters! Vol.2: Crunchy Guitar Instros from the '60s 

Review by Richie Unterberger

Like the first volume of this series, this assembles 20 tough guitar instrumentals from the first half of the 1960s, throwing in a few recognizable names and unreleased cuts among numbers that are largely taken from some pretty dang obscure singles. And as with the first volume, the frenetic, oft-creative playing is usually more impressive than the songs, which are often fairly typical rock & roll melodies. Nonetheless, the mixture of nuances is commendable, and there are some hot performances worthy of special citation. Roy Buchanan, easily the most noted artist on the disc, plays pretty smoking blues-rock guitar with an ahead-of-its-time searing tone on both sides of his rare shades-of-Link Wray 1961 single "Mule Train Stomp"/"Pretty Please"; he also does well as the guitarist on Bob Moore & the Temps' 1963 45 "Braggin'"/"Trophy Run." Joe Maphis and Phil Baugh are accomplished lightning-fast country pickers willing to draw from rock & roll and jazz in both their styles and arrangements. Serious guitar fans will have heard of all those guys, but not Bobby Wayne, who plays excellent twangy riffs on three tracks from a rare 1964 LP. The influence of R&B, surf, rockabilly, and country boogie crisscrosses throughout most of the material, genres being heedlessly blended and traversed as instrumental rock entered its last few years as a popular style. Fans of a slightly later era of rock will be interested to hear the two-part "Mushroom Machine" 1964 single by Bobby Arlin, who went on to play guitar with the Leaves.

Dancehall Stringbusters! V2 (2005)

 01. The Belmont Five - Cobra 

 02. Roy Buchanan - Mule Train Stomp 

 03. Bobby Wayne - Cyclone 

 04. Joe Maphis - Water Baby Boogie 

 05. Phil Baugh - The Finger 

 06. Bobby Arlin With The Hustlers - Mushroom Machine (Part 1) 

 07. The Carnations - Scorpion 

 08. The Maybees - Buttons And Bows 

 09. Roy Buchanan - Pretty Please 

 10. Bob Moore And The Temps - Braggin' 

 11. Phil Baugh - Chattanooga 

 12. Bobby Wayne - Torquila 

 13. The Belmont Five - Strollin' In The Alley 

 14. The Maybees - Third Man Theme 

 15. Keetie And The Kats - Way Out 

 16. The Travelers (28) - Cyclon 

 17. The Tornadoes - The Swag 

 18. Bob Moore And The Temps - Trophy Run 

 19. Bobby Wayne - Bobby's Boogie #1 

 20. Bobby Arlin With The Hustlers - Mushroom Machine (Part 2) 

Original Issues:

1: previously unissued, 1960

2: Swan 4088, 1961

3: Jerden LP 7003, 1964

4: Republic 2006, 1960

5: Longhorn LP-W02, 1964

6: Tiki 45 3500, 1964

7: Tilt 45-780, 1960

8: Terry F-806, 1961

9: Swan 4088, 1961

10: Daisy DA 502, 1963

11: Longhorn LH 559 and Longhorn LP-W02, 1964

12: Jerden LP 7003, 1964

13: previously unissued, 1960

14: Terry F-807, 1961

15: Huron 45-22007, 1961

16: Ariel 73060-B, 1961

17: originally unissued, 1962

18: Daisy DA 502, 1963

19: A&M 716; Jerden LP 7003, 1964

20: Tiki 45 3500, 1964

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