Ahhhhhh Intoxica!

Intoxica! Strange and Sleazy Instrumentals From The SoCal Suburbs

Reviews

All Music Guide

Downey Records was a small label run out of the back room of Wenzel's Music Town, a fabled record shop in the sleepy Los Angeles suburb of Downey, CA. While the folks who ran Downey recorded a little bit of everything, the label's heyday came during the glory days of instrumental rock, and this compilation features 26 wordless wonders from their vaults. While "instrumental rock of the early '60s" equals "surf music" to most folks, Brian Nevill's liner notes take great pains to point out that most instrumental bands were inspired by R&B rather than the crashing waves, and some of the stuff here goes in other directions altogether. Give your attention to the Latin jump of "Se Acabó" by the Del Rio Brothers, the slick cover of "Third Man Theme" from Las Vegas lounge outfit Ginny & the Gallions (they also tackle "Hava Nagila" and interpolate the theme from Exodus!), the faux-exotica of "Sound of Mecca" by the Blazers, and the Joe Meek-influenced electronic manipulations of "Space Battle" by Stories in Sound. The best-known cut here is "Comanche" by the Revels, which appeared on the soundtrack to the film Pulp Fiction, and its twanging guitars, honking sax, and vivid atmosphere are in the same league as the other tracks, most of which sound like odd little movies for the mind that you can dance to if you please. Most of these songs are genuine obscurities and six have never been released before, so folks who dig vintage instrumental sounds can add some new wrinkles to their collections with Intoxica!, and pretty much everything included is solid and satisfying.

Mark Deming

1
Intoxica / Revels 2:20
2
Night Scene / The Rumblers 2:14
3
Se Acabó / The Del Rio Brothers 2:26
4
Eight Ball / The Hustlers 2:10
5
Night Rider / Ed Burkey 3:25
6
Bandido / Pastel Six 2:22
7
Here Comes the Bug / The Rumblers 2:33
8
Sound of Mecca / The Blazers 2:43
9
Hava Nagila / Ginny & the Gallions 3:01
10
Migraine / The Hustlers 2:32
11
Night Scene / Chuck Higgins 3:00
12
A Week from Tuesday / Pastel Six 2:02
13
Inertia / The Hustlers 2:47
14
Comanche / Revels 2:09
15
Theme of Etiquette / The Hindus 2:15
16
Blockade (aka That's It) / The Rumblers 2:16
17
Dreams of Downey / Ed Burkey 2:24
18
Ghost of Mary Meade, Pt. 2 / Little Caesar & the Ark Angels 2:18
19
Third Man Theme / Ginny & the Gallions 3:31
20
Water Wheel / Chuck Higgins 2:31
21
Hot Licks / The Rendells 2:19
22
Frenzy / The Hindus 2:59
23
Rosemary's Baby (aka Apache Ghost) / Ed Burkey 2:12
24
Maid 'N Japan / The Nylons 1:54
25
Russian Roulette / Nevegans 2:12
26
Space Battle / Stories in Sound 2:27

http://rapidshare.com/files/45271226/Intoxica___Pt_1.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/45277279/Intoxica___Pt_2.rar