Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Collection: Mad Mike Monsters Volume 2
 | Volume two is less interesting than volume one, though it does contain one of the most vital obscuros, The Saxons' "Camel Walk." |
Picks: The Renegades - Geronimo, The Saxons - Camel Walk (Part One)
Track by Track Review
The Caps - The Red Headed Flea Rock (Instrumental)
Fifties sax works, and gimmicky screams. Not very interesting.
The Corvettes - Pick Up Rock (Instrumental)
This is a cheesy rocker based in R&B and horn amped. Little more than a riff rocker, and really greasy.
Harvey - Any Way You Want R&B (Instrumental)
"Any Way You Want" is a two chord riffer with chants of the title and jungle calls. Fun, but you won't remember it in the morning.
James 'Red' Holloway - A La Carte R&B (Instrumental)
There were hundreds of singles like this, with a simple organ or horn riff and vocalizing over the top, often listing weird things to eat, like this does, or other objectionable comments on someone's parentage. Neither great nor ultra cool.
Rock (Instrumental)
This 1959 track came out of the same Hollywood studio regulars that were the Gamblers and so many others. Nick Venet (before becoming a famous session producer) , Sandy Nelson (while he still had two feet), Bruce Johnston (before joining the Beach Boys to replace David Marks) and Richie Podolor (before being Richie Allen and the Pacific Surfers, the Devons, the Super Stocks, the Ghouls, before engineering for Ed Cobb at the Chocolate Watchband sessions, and before producing Steppenwolf and founding American Recording). It's a perfect upper Midwest buffalo bop styled instro... a basic riff and lots of Indian stereo types... whoops and hollers, gun shots, and dull cries of "Geronimo" Very fun. "Geronimo" was included in the soundtrack to "The Ghost Of Dragstrip Hollow."
The Savoys - Slappin' Rods and Leaky Oil Rock (Instrumental)
The title says it all - a tale all too familiar to the teenagers of the fifties. Hand clappin' riffology with chants. Also listed as Ronny & The Savoys.
The Saxons - Camel Walk (Part One) Jungle Exotica (Instrumental)
The Saxons were from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is their legendary instro covered by so many. Juiced up with low-key utterances of "ca-mel meat-o" and "voi-tro pek," this is one tribal seductive monster. The tribal toms undulate relentlessly, the sax sleazes with strip joint runway jive, and the rhythms are downright pelvic. It's too simple, but so effective! This is a necessary recording for any collection.