The Tornados

The Beatles are almost universally cited as the band that launched the British Invasion on the American pop charts, but the truth is, another U.K. band managed to top the Billboard Hot 100 a little more than a year before the Fab Four broke through in the United States. The Tornados were a combo put together by Joe Meek, a British independent record producer with an eccentric streak and an ear for unusual sounds. While the Tornados were the backing group for some of Meek's studio sessions and became the road band for British rock icon Billy Fury, in 1962 Meek had them record an instrumental tune he'd written, with keyboard man Roger LaVern playing the melody on a cheap battery-powered organ called a Clavioline…

As one of the foremost instrumental surf rock bands of their day, the Ventures produced what seemed like endless collections of standard tunes in their unique beachy style. Originally released in 1963, The Ventures Play Telstar, The Lonely Bull is one of the band's more recognizable titles. Covering a vast array of early-'60s hit paraders, the album is kicked off by a rival surf band's huge hit. "Telstar" was a hit earlier that same year in a much wobblier Joe Meek-produced version by interstellar outliers the Tornados. Taking on a few Latin-tinged easy listening numbers made famous by Herb Alpert as well as Booker T. & the MG's' soul groover "Green Onions," the record hits these numbers with a varied degree of inspiration. Despite a somewhat wooden performance on many of the tracks, the hard-panned stereo production makes for a very big sound…

As one of the foremost instrumental surf rock bands of their day, the Ventures produced what seemed like endless collections of standard tunes in their unique beachy style. Originally released in 1963, The Ventures Play Telstar, The Lonely Bull is one of the band's more recognizable titles. Covering a vast array of early-'60s hit paraders, the album is kicked off by a rival surf band's huge hit. "Telstar" was a hit earlier that same year in a much wobblier Joe Meek-produced version by interstellar outliers the Tornados. Taking on a few Latin-tinged easy listening numbers made famous by Herb Alpert as well as Booker T. & the MG's' soul groover "Green Onions," the record hits these numbers with a varied degree of inspiration. Despite a somewhat wooden performance on many of the tracks, the hard-panned stereo production makes for a very big sound…

This long-awaited disc by The Concussions is here! A dozen raw, twangy surf and guitar instrumental tunes, delivered by guys that are masters of their instruments and know their way around a recording studio. Hailing from Grand Rapids, Michigan, this combo is led by Dick Chiclet on lead guitar, who also produced recorded and mixed this release. His production style, which favors the use of vintage gear and is inspired by Joe Meek and others in the past and present that have stuck to analog recording techniques. This all goes towards delivering a disc that will appeal to surf and vintage instrumental rock n' roll aficionados, as well as those that are just looking to move and groove on the dance floor.

As one of the foremost instrumental surf rock bands of their day, the Ventures produced what seemed like endless collections of standard tunes in their unique beachy style. Originally released in 1963, The Ventures Play Telstar, The Lonely Bull is one of the band's more recognizable titles. Covering a vast array of early-'60s hit paraders, the album is kicked off by a rival surf band's huge hit. "Telstar" was a hit earlier that same year in a much wobblier Joe Meek-produced version by interstellar outliers the Tornados. Taking on a few Latin-tinged easy listening numbers made famous by Herb Alpert as well as Booker T. & the MG's' soul groover "Green Onions," the record hits these numbers with a varied degree of inspiration. Despite a somewhat wooden performance on many of the tracks, the hard-panned stereo production makes for a very big sound…