6 more quick ones

Sometimes you get in one of these moods where you just want to sit and play your records and not worry about having to go into detail when you write about them. Thus it is with these six, all but two of which are instros.

Hop Wilson and his Chickens: Chicken Stuff (Goldband GOLDSHOT 1071)

Now this one is just plain weird. It's got some of the most insane slide guitar playing these ears have ever heard. It's got chicken cackling noises and there's a strange break that sounds like they ran out of tape and just spliced on a little extra. It's got a totally different group on the flipside, which I rarely listen to. It's from 1958. It's an offbeat instro alright, and a damn good one at that.


The Treasures: Minor Chaos (Valor KB 4750)

Here we go for another wild surf instro ride. I have no idea where this group came from or where this record came from. All I know is that it rocks like the dickens. Lots of wild drumming and heavy surf guitar twang. The title is apt, though I'm not sure how minor the chaos truly is. Maybe you could turn up the volume on this one and decide for yourself.

Dakota Staton: Hey Lawdy Mama (Capitol 4512)

No, this is not the Steppenwolf song. Dakota Staton is a well-known jazz-blues singer.....well-known to those who follow jazz, I suppose, but not to me. I picked up this little nugget in an antique store the other day and it's a surprisingly good example of jump blues with appropriately snazzy accompaniment from Benny Carter's Orchestra. And Staton's sultry voice really vamps it up here.

Dale Kahr and Christy Boughn: Black Is Black (Foggy Love 45-901)

As expected, this is indeed the Los Bravos tune, only done in a higher pitch and, best of all, drenched in plenty of fuzz guitar and heavy organ. The fuzz is what makes this one special. You'll also note the couple of times our vocal couple misquotes the song lyrics. ("It's grey, it's grey/Since we've been away?" Don't think so.) Enjoy this one for the sweet, burning fuzz.

Bob Moore and the Temps: Braggin' (Daisy DA 502)

Here we have Roy Buchanan wailing away on guitar while an unknown harmonica player blasts away and the rhythm section slams their instruments to hell. The result: one explosive 2:10 minutes of guitar-harmonica rock 'n' roll homicidal mayhem! If ever a record deserved to be played loud and proud, this one is definitely a candidate!



The Guitar Ramblers: Surf Beat (Columbia 4-42928)

You can call this a pale imitation of Dick Dale's classic if you want to, but I think this holds its own right up there. Granted it's a bit more "arranged" than Dale's version, but that doesn't mean it's not raucous. The guitars and drums are all raw and loud and pushed up in the mix and they sound like rocket-fire coming through your speakers. That, my friends, is more than enough for me, as it ought to be for you. But if you don't.....
well, that's your problem.