Reverb Central .:. Review .:.

B. Bumble and the Stingers had several hits. Inspired by the frontier saloon piano sound (metal hammers, or tacks in the felt hammer pads), this band rocked hard with classical melodies and pop standards, pumped into a savage suave rock frenzy. William 'Billy' Bumble was from Ada, Oklahoma. Billy played guitar, but the real showman of the band was piano player Fred Richards. On a good day, his boogie woogie piano rag rockers were nothing short of brilliant.

There's no surf here, save one almost, but fans of the instro genre per say will sure enjoy this long overdue CD release.

Picks: Nut Rocker, Bumble Boogie, School Day Blues, Boogie Woogie, Near You , Bee Hive , Caravan, Nautilus, Nola, Rockin' On 'N' Off, Mashed #5, Apple Knocker, The Moon and the Sea, All Of Me, Dawn Cracker, Scales, Twelfth Street Rag, Canadian Sunset, Baby Mash, Night Time Madness, In The Mood, Chicken Chow Mein, Bumble Bossa Nova, Canadian Sunset (Alternate)

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

"Nut Rocker" is on the "Nutcracker Suite," this rocks mightily in the Jerry Lee Lewis pumping piano vein, with incredible energy and a totally infectious sound.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

The "Flight Of The Bumble Bee" is a perfect vehicle for B. Bumble and the Stingers to stretch out on. The great bass line barroom piano sound, and the gradual hypnotic development on the keys create an incredible experience. Completely infectious.

Organ Blues (Instrumental)

Mechanical organ over a stilted walking blues... no where near as interesting or cool as the hits.

Piano Roll (Instrumental)

"Boogie Woogie" sports a fun backtrack and a nearly swirling metallic piano in this interpretation of "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie." Quite the barroom piano roll.

Piano Roll (Instrumental)

This classic pop melody is given an almost carnival feel as Billy Bumble rolls fluidly through the keys. You can almost see the garter on his red and white striped shirt sleeve.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

"Bee Hive " is adapted from traditional Romanian-Siberian-Fraliah melodies. It's dramatic and playful, and could easily be the basis for a spiffy surf track in a trad vein with a grin. It's a fairly long piece, timing in at almost three minutes in a time when 1:59 was the standard. At the break, the boys grunt and scream in a jungle/gypsy kinda way.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

A boogie woogie interpretation of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" is very interesting. It retains a bit of the Arabic, but lives on the saloonatic fringe. Gently restrained and tightly metered, yet fluid and haunting. Very cool.

Near Surf (Instrumental)

"Nautilus" was the B-side of "Bumble Boogie" in the US. It features a fine vibrato guitar that flirts with surf. It's exotic, spooky, slightly islandic, and underpinned with echoed gurgling water. Only the two brief MOR chorus parts mar it.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

This traditional tune is lightly portrayed, almost in a Lawrence Welk at the saloon kinda way. The damped guitar chop accompaniment is sub surf.

Classical Piano Rock (Instrumental)

"Prelude In 'C' Sharp Minor" (Rachmaninov) is the basis for this excursion... it's a difficult listen sometimes, being a little too pretentious, yet it's a bold composition to cover with rolling drums and barroom piano.

Classical Piano-Organ Rock (Instrumental)

The first movement from Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5" is weirdly toyed with, like Booker T. and the MG's strained through Hoagie Charmichael... strangely interesting.

Classical Piano Rock (Instrumental)

Rossini's "William Tell Overture" is messed with in a playful but not very inspired performance. On one hand, the piano and drums are pumpin', and on the other, the sax is boring and low-key.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

This mushy melody is slowly leaked out one painful note at a time... like a piano bar adventure from the mind of Fred next door.

Classical Piano Rock (Instrumental)

We're not talkin' saltines here, but rather the crack of dawn on the piano. Edvard Grieg's "Morning" is rocked and rolled and turned into a dawn patrol for high spirited players. Very fun.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

Cool piano fun played infectiously on a pop standard melody. This could easily be turned into a surf tune. The rhythm guitar already sports reverb, and the bouncy optimism could be really amped up with a Fender. Lots of fun.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

This classic piano rag even features banjo accompaniment as it rocks with a refined edge. Lotsa fun here, boys and girls.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

Made into a huge hit by Hugo Winterhalter, this fine melody is toyed with just a little bit, with over dramatic drums and a funky rhythm section. Why this hasn't been turned into a surf song I'll never know. it has the melody, the structure, and the haunting sadness.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

Brahms' "Lullaby" is an easy vehicle for this formula... but it's also not really very interesting.

Organ Rock (Instrumental)

This is really a boring mall organ excursion, saved only but a little jazzy rockabilly guitar.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

Joe Garland's classic tune made a hit by the Ernie Fields Orchestra among others, this version is strangely restrained, or maybe just lackluster. It's bouncy in a straitjacket kinda way.

Piano Guitar Rock (Instrumental)

A brilliantly strange interpretation of "L' Amour Est Un Oiseau Rebelle" from Bizet's "Carmen." Not quite as much charm as it could have been given, but still a delightful track with great bass and drums and really cool guitar and piano.

Piano Rock (Instrumental)

This alternate take of Eddie Heywood's great melody is much more suave and cool... The lap steel and the rolling rhythm are much more complementary to the melody. A nice track.