When San Francisco instrumental band Pollo Del Mar had to take a break from their recording and touring schedule last year, leader Ferenc Dobronyi had too much time on his hands and too many songs laying around. So he called up a few friends and they said "Yes" and Frankie & The Pool Boys was born. The original plan was to rearrange some of Pollo's more progressive songs into a trad surf style. But as guests were added, the sessions expanded to include mostly new songs and a couple cover tunes.
Dusty Watson (Dick Dale, Agent Orange, Slacktone, etc.) played drums on the whole thing with PDM's Jeff Turner joining him in the rhythm section on bass. Ferenc played guitar along with featured cameos from Shigeo Naka (Japan's The Surf Coasters), Dave Wronski (Slacktone), Ivan Pongracic (The Madeira, The Space Cossacks), Mel Waldorf (Meshugga Beach Party, Los Mel-tones) and 2008 Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame inductee Bob Spaulding (The Ventures).
The sound is strictly old world warm, no distortion boxes or digital reverbs were used. With Dusty pounding throughout (even on the slow songs), the big, natural drum sound mixes with the vintage guitar tones to recreate a live early Sixties session. Appropriate production touches (percussion, Vox Continental keys, trumpet) and varying tones give each song an individual personality.
The styles range from reverb drippin' trad ("Teke, Teke, Teke", "Johnny Fool") to Spaghetti Western ("A Man Called Dirt", "Finito Bandito"). A
couple of slow ones- "No Surf Today" and the bone chilling "Ice Station Echo" balance out the breakneck stomp of "Snakes and Ladders" and "Drop Dead". You get both spooky ("The Raven") and surf-pop ("Ewa on the Beach"). There's middle-Eastern ("Magyara") and Americana ("Amber Waves"). The oddball covers are a roaring surf version of Sir Edward Elgar's graduation processional "Pomp and Circumstance" (retitled here as "Pumpin' Surfing Stance") and a Memphis groovin' version of The Venture's "Fugitive".
"Frankie & the Pool Boys"- Just a bunch of teenage idiots without a care in the world. They have day jobs cleaning your pool, a night shift parking cars, fake I.D.s and an 8-Track. They've got a '72 Mustang that will be rolling any day now, a date with your daughter next Friday and big, big plans for the future.
Tracks: Amber Waves - Ewa On The Beach - Teke, Teke, Teke - Finito Bandito - A Man Called Dirt - Fugitive - Magyara - Pumpin Surfing Stance - No Surf Today - Raven - Lil' Woman, Big Dawg - Johnny Fool - Full Nelson - Drop Dead - Snakes & Ladders - Ice Station Echo.
Frankie & The Poolboys - S/T CD -
#DCCD32 - $12.75
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Also Available: V/A - Seasonal Favorites Volume Two CD w/"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" and "Auld Lang Syne"