Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Los Belking's - Lo Mejor De Los Belkings | This is a really nice package aurally. Most tracks are in stereo, and all seem to be from tapes, not vinyl. Some easy listening stuff, but also some genuine Peruvian gems. |
Picks: Tal Como Tu Eres, Okinawa 2000, La Playa, Negro es Negro, Septima Patrulla, Bolido De Fuego, Sentimentos, Te vi llorar
Track by Track Review
Easy Listening (Instrumental)
"Amor Imposible" is light pop with strings and an echoed lead guitar. While pretty, only the drums make in interesting.
Tema Para Jovenes Enamorados Pop (Instrumental)
This Brian Welch song from 1967 is more Euro than the rest here, showing off the influence the Shadows had in Peru. "Theme For Young Lovers" is much better to my ears here than ion the original form.
Pop-Psych (Instrumental)
This is almost bouncy, with remnants of surf over a pulsing pop psych backtrack. Slightly reminiscent of "What Have I Got Of My Own," and featuring a female voice right out of the Star Trek generation. "Tal Como Tu Eres" adds wah wah guitar to the soup, finalizing the pop-psych dream.
Eleki (Instrumental)
Very much in the Ventures' mold, "Okinawa 2000" is from 1973 (not 2000). Almost eleki twang and great drums drive this catchy song. The break makes use of wah wah in a gimmicky way, but otherwise, this is a cool song, and bound to catch eleki or Ventures fans' ear.
Easy Listening (Instrumental)
Strings and a very slow pace, with a so-so melody and little really going on. "Playa Para Dos" seems way too formula.
Post Surf (Instrumental)
This is a very cool post surf instro with a coastal sound and very surfable melody riff that calls to a Mexican surfari, or maybe an island adventure via the bottleneck guitar lines. Quite nice!
Sendas de Amor Pop Rock (Instrumental)
"Sendas de Amor" is a frothy pop rock instro with strings. It's pretty enough, but lacks any resemblance to the band's rock roots.
Surfadelic (Instrumental)
This is a rock instrumentalization of Los Bravos' "Black Is Black." It has fuzz, interesting percussion, and a sound that's part light and part heavy. It's much more interesting than I expected.
Euro Garage Fuzz (Instrumental)
This is a much heavier track than others here, at least in parts. It sports a Euro lead guitar tone, and also uses heavy garage fuzz. The drums are splendid and the melody solid, with plenty of oomph in the delivery.
Easy Listening (Instrumental)
Sensula drums and echoed guitar romance accented by Spanish acoustic. Easy and pretty.
Near Surf (Instrumental)
On the swirly side of the pop-psych aisle, with a melody that's like a blend of Paul Johnson's "Tally Ho," "Andele," and "Lanky Bones." While it doesn't sport a surf sound, or even the South Bay sound, it does nonetheless call to the curl. A splendid track!
Easy Listening (Instrumental)
"La lluvia de tus ojos" is a gentle easy listening track with lush strings and guitar. It's very pretty, and the guitar is very nicely played.
Psych Fuzz (Instrumental)
Well now, this sure is cool! A subtle psychedelic warble fuzz guitar plays a decidedly 1969 line over the kind of track the Electric Prunes might have dallied with. If you like this genre at all, you'll find that "Sentimentos" grows on you. Towards the end, the vibes come in, just before the same psychedelic swirling keyboard they used in "Empujando Fuerte." Excellent!
Easy Rock (Instrumental)
A little gentle fuzz, some liquid guitar, some trembling string bending, and a very pretty melody. It's just edgy enough to stay in the rock arena. Slow and sultry, "Te vi llorar" is the sort of track that they often overdubbed with strings, but wit that not happening, it's really quite nice.
Pop (Instrumental)
"Sinfonia Para Una Manana" is lite-pop with exotic percussion, vibes and piano, and long psych fuzz guitar gently floating above the fray.
Easy Rock (Instrumental)
"El amor es triste" is "Love Is Blue." It's very poppy, with chorus and an easy gate. Nice, but not memorable.