Sunday, June 28, 2009

I'm Haunted By These Phantom Guitars



Phantom Guitars

A Cool Collection of Twangin' Guitar Instrumentals From The UK 61-64

Served to you courtesy of AlZombie at a scary 320. Boo!

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One of England's first noteworthy rock group was the Shadows, and their polished instrumental style, with Hank Marvin's twanging Stratocaster leads way out in front, set a template that a great many U.K. bands would follow until the Beatles and the Rolling Stones upended everything in 1963. Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond delivers another enjoyable look back at the history of U.K. pop with Phantom Guitars: A Cool Collection of Twangin' Instrumentals from the UK 1961-1964, which collects 25 rare selections from the days when Duane Eddy, Jorgen Ingmann, and Lonnie Mack were still forces to be reckoned with on the pop charts. If you're looking for startling originality, there's little to be had here, but if you dig ringing single-note leads with plenty of string bending and whammy-bar action, this disc is 56 minutes of aural manna from heaven. Dennis Newey's "Title Unknown" gets high marks for wit, familiar melodies get a workout on "Temptation" by Bobby Taylor and "Bizet as It Were" by the Players, "Circlorama" from the Champions salutes a little-remembered innovation in motion-picture technology, and the Violents and Group X both deserve to be cited for their remarkably cool names, even if their music didn't quite live up to the billing. As with the lion's share of releases from Saloman's Psychic Circle label, this set includes well-written liner notes that pass along what's known about the artists, and the mastering is good despite these rare recordings being sourced from vinyl discs. The instrumental rock scene was a vitally important part of the rise of homegrown British rock, and if this deals in obscurities rather than hits, Phantom Guitars documents how pervasive this sound once was, and how many great pickers were making the rounds in the early '60s. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

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Tracklist
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Stampede Falcons
Jack's Good The Krew Kats
Phantom Guitar Phantoms
Temptation Bobby Taylor

The Storm Hunters
Title Unknown Dennis Newey

No Room for Squares The Executives

Fury The Nu-Notes

Fly-by-Nite The Cougars

Circlorama The Champions

The Mexican Fentones

Am I Worth It? The Gimmicks

Red Leather Jacket Dunhill & Weiser

The Traitors Packabeats

Jungle Street The Planets

Mind Reader Johnny Howard Group

Big City Rhet Stoller

Bizet as It May The Players

Ghia The Violents

Crossbeat Group X

Cossack Barons

Trouble Shooter Bob Miller & The Millermen

Shakedown Rowena Vengers

Tovarich The Gladiators

The One Nighters The Royal Showband Waterford

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4 comments:

Curty Ray said...

Came to feed your cats and found this too! Thanks

Curty Ray

Fill said...

Man its awesome comp! real pleasure, this twangy guitar sounds is a real choice! Bitching tones! Cat, you are real boss , thanx!

Mredondo said...

These are great comps - Thanks T!!

Mredondo

Marty said...

Awesome compilation! Thanks for the blog....TWANG RULES!