Published on Apr 1, 2002
The newest release from the instrumental combo known as the Aqua
Velvets helped answer a question I once had: whatever happened to
the pop instrumental? My next question still has yet to be
answered: why did the pop instrumental disappear from the pop
charts?
Before the rock era, instrumentals were heard all over the place
as bandleaders were the stars of the show. The emergence of the
singer as the focal point for a group decreased but did not
eliminate them from the charts. Even when rock and roll came along,
it was not unusual to turn on the radio and hear the latest hit
from an instrumental band such as the Ventures. However, the
seventies and eighties saw instrumentals relegated to theme songs
from movies or television shows. Nowadays, even that avenue is gone
as soundtracks regularly feature songs from the hottest artists of
the moment.
And that is why hearing
Radio Waves from the Aqua Velvets is such a pleasure,
because it brings back a lost art. The band focuses on the surf
music of Dick Dale and the aforementioned Ventures, but allows
other influences such as lounge and psychedelia to creep in the
mix.
Radio Waves serves as a sort “greatest hits” CD as it is a
collection of live “in the studio” recordings from two radio
stations from Northern California, Phil Dirt’s longtime surf music
show on KFJC, and listener supported KPFA. The first half of songs
are from the former and the second half from the latter station
making
Radio Waves sound like two albums in one. Many of the songs
are culled from the Aqua Velvets four studio CD’s and the
performance and the sound of the recording are quite good.
If the idea of listening to instrumentals scare you, keep in
mind that the Aqua Velvets play “pop” music. The songs are not
meant to be complex or “heady” as some jazz and classical pieces
tend to be. Listening to the opening tracks “Swampabilly Hop” and
“Bravado” will reveal the Aqua Velvets to be quite accessible and
melodic.
However that said, the band, which consists of Miles Corbin and
Hank Maninger on guitars, Michael Linden on bass, Donn Spindt on
drums and Spencer Chan on keyboards, do show their impressive chops
on a couple of extended jams. They really cook on the uptempo
“Martini Time” and the slower, imaginative “Green Sunshine” without
ever losing sight of the melody.
The bulk of the material are short pop songs and Corbin, who is
the songwriter for the group, has developed some interesting themes
to keep the CD lively. For example, there is the Latin-tinged
“Spanish Blue”, the spaghetti western feel of “Gringo”, and they
weren’t kidding when they introduced “Beauty And The Beach” as
lovely, as this ballad is my personal favorite from the CD.
The second half of the disc plays like a follow-up album,
repeating many of the themes from the first half (right down to
including a Ventures song. On the first half, they cover “Diamond
Head”, here they cover “Walk Don’t Run”), and if like many
follow-up albums, the material is not quite as memorable, it does
have its share of highlights. For example, “Mexican Rooftop
Afternoon” would have made an Oscar worthy movie theme, and the
premise of “Holly Tiki” is what would a surf tune written by Buddy
Holly sound like. They absolutely nail this one.
The Bonus CD has four tracks taken from a 2001 concert and is
most notable for a cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
Now I know that sounds like a potentially horrible idea, but the
Aqua Velvets pull it off, which is not only a credit to them, but
to the late Kurt Cobain who was more than just an alternative rock
icon, but actually a pretty good songwriter.
Radio Waves is a nice primer to the world of surf music. At
25 songs, the CD does drag a bit, but there are many great tunes.
And this is the key to this band. While they do have a retro feel,
they have enough interesting ideas to keep the genre fresh. It also
made me realize that it may be time to start listening to Dick
Dale’s music.