Is it me, or is it them ? What's with record prices?

While trolling eBay I recently stumbled across a couple of albums that I've previously owned and sold.  I'm not saying these were the exact albums I sold, merely I've owned copies of these items ...   In itself that's nothing special, but here's the funny thing - all of these LPs are musically pretty lame, yet they're being listed on eBay with hefty price tags.   Yes, U know you can ask whatever you want for an item on eBay (there are scores of insane asking prices out there), but as mentioned, these three caught my attention.

Ultra Violet's self titled 1974 album - Yes, I know she was part of Andy Warhol's extended family and has carved out her own career as an artist.  That doesn't mean her solo album is any good.  I bought my copy for $5 and could barely sit through it.  If you thought Yoko Ono's early solo efforts were painful, try this one.   Anyhow, copies occasionally show up on eBay with the most recent copy going for a stunning $910 (great to know I sold a mint copy for $100).  Here's a detailed review of the LP:


http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/ULTRAviolet.htm


This one's even funnier - "Los Perdidos"  This was early-1960s frat rock effort by a much of guys from Pennsylvania.  Mildly entertaining, but nothing exceptional.  In fact the band members would probably have collective heart attacks to see the asking price for their 1963 album.  eBay shows this one as having sold for $2,000.  I'll admit to having some doubts about that price.  Once again I apparently was a little off in the costing department as I sold a mint copy for $250. For anyone interested, here's a detailed review of the LP:



http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/PERDIDOSlos.htm


And the third one - The Royalaires.  I know this one's insanely rare and shows up in one of Hans Pokora's books with a five star rarity rating, but it was also insanely dull.  I bought my copy for $50 and sold it for $200.  A copy then showed up on eBay for $3,000, though the price eventually fell down to $1,800.  I'm not sure it actually every sold.  Again, for anyone interested in knowing a little more about this one, here's the review:

http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/ROYALAIRES.htm


The goal here wasn't to showcase how selfish I am for not having sold these for much higher prices, rather to underscore rarity doesn't necessarily equate to quality, or pleasure.   Three LPs at almost $1,000 a pop ...  you could buy a lot of "Rubber Soul" LPs, or APple STore downloads for that kind of cash.

One Way Ticket President catalog number PTLS 1069

Here's what the liner notes on this mid-1970s obscurity have to say: 

 

"One Way Ticket are an Anglo-American band who were formed in Florida, USA, a couple of years ago.  Derek 'Dinky' Stephens and Steve 'QPR' Mackrill came from England searching for the winter sun.  Eric 'Hobit' Ansel and Mike 'Strider' Pallahack were about to embark to Europe to test the local brew - while staying in a little Florida town they all met up and decided to get together to play a few gigs.  It wasn't long before they found themselves in the studios putting down tracks for an album.  Being four very popular guys, they had no trouble getting friends to help them out."

 

Originally I had no idea if any of that was true, though I suspected there might have been at least a shred of reality in that description.  As it turned out Edward Kassner's President Records was still in business, so out of idol curiosity I figured I check with them to see if the could shed some light on the LP.  The response I got back did little to solve the mystery:

 

We don’t know much about the album, or the artist for that matter.  It may have come from a film soundtrack but that is not confirmed.  It is apparently rare, so you may want to hang on to it, or try selling it to a collector. Sorry to have so little information for you.

 

Regards

David Kassner

President Records Ltd

Units 6 & 7 

11 Wyfold Road

Fulham

London SW6 6SE , England

Naturally the liner notes and the response were total crap. Luckily, in 2006 the Japanese Air Mail Archive label reissued the album in CD format with several bonus tracks.  I believe the following information comes from that reissue package:

 

The 1960's in London were probably the most exciting years in the history of music as groups and singers from all over the country headed for the Capital (sic) to lay down their works of art in some of the best studios in the world. Recording engineers started to play an important part in the "new" sounds that had started with a strangers idea. 

During the sixties there were less than 10 major recording studios in London and one of them was called I.B.C. (The initials stood for International Broadcasting Corporation).  Situated in the heart of London's "West End" this independent company was to compete with the other studios, that were largely owned by the major record companies, mainly because of a good reputation. This came with the recording of the Kinks, The Stones, The Small Faces, The Who, The Be Gees, and many other artists who used the studio.

Two engineers who worked there all through these times were Damon Lynn Shaw (he was the engineer on the Who's "Tommy") and Brian Carroll (the first person to cut a master of the Jimi Hendrix Experience) and before long they had an urge to try their hands at production. The band that caught their eyes for their recently formed "Homegrown Music" production company was "The Factory" which was to result in the release of two singles that were to become collector's items 25 years later, the haunting "Path Through The Forest" and "Try A Little Sunshine". The Factory eventually split up and Damon and Brian were left to look for another project that they could record which was to also be a collectable group, "Five Day Rain". It was a venture that was brought together in the form of a studio band that would make a good album and the finished product was lined up for release through a major company. With no working band to go on the road it was decided to shelve its release and within six months the deal was dead. By then Five Day Rain had gone their separate ways with the main member Graham Maitland joining Glencoe. During the making of the album Damon and Brian discovered that could write songs with each other and as Damon was a multi musician (playing drums, bass, lead guitar and keyboards), it was not long before they were laying down tracks of their own.

Although busy working late into the night with their various clients they eventually had written enough songs to approach a leading music publisher. This was to be Acuff Rose, who published the great songs of The Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison. When they got the chance Damon and Brian would be in the studios recording their latest composition but this could take a long time as there were only the two of them. Starting with a basic acoustic guitar each instrument was added or mixed together by bouncing across to another track, that is until multi track came along and made life a little easier. Another time saver was the use of the Mellotron which allowed them to be able to add strings and brass.

As Brian Carroll remembers, "Our days were pretty hectic with Damon working through the night in one studio on the "Tommy" sessions or with Status Quo and me working in another so it was quite hard to get together. Damon was one of those people who could have made music from any instrument and I'm sure that if he had not spent so much of his life making other people's music sound good he could have gone on to bigger things. When ever we had the spare time I would go and stay at his house in Woking (a town in southern England) where he had a spare bedroom turned into a mini demo studio. We would just kick a few ideas around until we came up with something, put down on tape and then we went back to IBC to lay down the master tracks".

In the seventies an album was released called "Time Is Right" on the President label by a band named "On Way Ticket". This was in fact a mixture of various bands that they have been involved with producing through Homegrown, plus some of their own tracks. The original idea was for it to be an album of just their own material, but even the sleeve notes had to be made up to conceal their identities because of their contract with their publishing company. Now we can put together the album that should have been released with tracks from the Acuff Rose vaults plus some of the demos that were never finished. Perhaps with today's modern technology and with a bit more luck On Way Ticket might have fore-filled (sic) their aims. Like the IBC studios, the Homegrown idea and all those involved with it have faded into the past. But all those who where there still have a common band.
Their love of music.

Alright, so on to the practical issues such as what's this baby sound like?  Well, I have to tell you that I'm quite fond of "Time Is Right".  In spite of the fact producers Damon Lynn Shaw and Brian Carrollmanaged to make several of the bands sound like they were singing at the end of drain pipe, most of the ten performances overcame those technical shortcomings.  The blazing opener 'Time Is Right' set the pace.  Propelled by some stinging guitar from Mackrill, to me the song sounded like something 10 CC would have done had they recorded in the late 1960s. 'Sing Along' and 'Take a Ride' boasted a much more aggressive, yet commercial feel.  This will sound like a weird comparison, but these tracks almost remind me of prime time Slade.  Equally weird, 'Lusty Eyes' recalled T-Rex.   'Everybody's Been' and 'Right or Wrong' got even heavier, sounding like a talented metal band, while 'Fall Out' and 'Outroduction (Lay Me Down)' were glistening top-40 pop.  Personal favorites include the mid-tempo ballad 'Reason Why' (which sported some cool treated vocals) and ' Lusty Eyes'.  The LP is quite rare (it shows up in on of the Hans Pokara books).  As far as I can tell, only 200 copies were printed before the London-based President Records pulled the set from circulation.  (Note that the liner notes get the side two track listing in the wrong sequence.)

 

- As mentioned above, propelled by some killer slide guitar (the effect actually sounded like Lol Creme and  Kevin Godley's Gizmo guitar effects device), 'Time Is Right' sounded like a mash-up between 10cc and The Yardbirds. Very cool and unique sound.   rating: **** stars

- No idea who handled the lead vocal, but on this rollicking mid-tempo rocker, he  sounded like he was about to cough up a lung.   Come to think of it, this one sounded a bit like a commercial Status Qui number.   rating: *** stars

- 'Take a Ride' was a pounding rocker with some nice Beach Boys harmonies in the background.  Another Status Quo-ish number that was quite commercial.   rating: *** stars

- Featuring heavily treated vocals and glistening acoustic guitars, 'Reason Why' was a cool mid-tempo ballad with a distinctive '60s flavor and stood as one of the album highlights.     rating: **** stars

- A dark, ominous sounding rocker, 'Everybody's Been' didn't sound anything like the earlier side one performances, rather sounded a bit like Ian Anderson and Jethro Tull might have sounded like if they'd decided to record a dark metal album  I'd love to know who handled the glowering vocal on this one.   rating: **** stars

- One of the songs previously recorded for the "Five Day Rain" LP and one of the album's most commercial offerings, ' Fall Out' had a catchy, top-40ish melody and was kicked along by a tasty guitar riff.    rating: **** stars

- With a raw, take-no-prisoners arrangement, 'Right of Wrong' almost sounded like a prototype slice of '70s punk aggression.  rating: *** stars

- As mentioned above, ' Lusty Eyes' sounded like a slice of T-Rex glam rock.  Since I'm a big Marc Bolan fan, I thought this slinky rocker was pretty cool.   rating: **** stars

- ' (Got To Get Some) Money' was another track that had a distinctive '60s vibe. Not the most sophisticated  arrangement on the album, it was still fun.  It was also another track that sounded like it had been recorded in a subway tube.    rating: *** stars

- 'Outroduction (Lay Me Down)' was an interesting way to end the album.  With a bit of a Cream edge, the first part of the song  was a bluesy instrumental rocker that closed out with a touch of electronic noodling.  The track then morphed  into a pretty ballad, showcasing some nice harmony vocals.  Very radio friendly and my only complaint would be the song was simply too short.    rating: *** stars

 

"Time Is Right" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) Time Is Right   (Miller - Damon Lyon Shaw) - 

2.) Sing Along   (Night - Damon Lyon Shaw) -

3.) Take a Ride   (Miller - Brian Carroll - Damon Lyon Shaw) - 2:18

4.) Reason Why   (Rick Sharpe) - 

5.) Everybody's Been   (Preston - Damon Lyon Shaw) - 

 

(side 2)

1.) Fall Out   (Graham Maitland - Rick Sharpe) - 

2.) Right or Wrong   (Knight - Damon Lyon Shaw) - 

2.) Lusty Eyes   (Carroll - Damon Lyon Shaw) -    

3.) (Got To Get Some) Money   (Carroll - Damon Lyon Shaw) - 2:24

4.) Right or Wrong (instrumental)

5.) Outroduction (Lay Me Down)   (Carroll - Damon Lyon Shaw) - 

 

Amazon.com - Why does large equate to mindless?

Under the name BadCatRecords I've listed used albums on Amazon.com.  I only have a couple of hundred items showing in my online inventory since the Amazon upload process is a major pain (they seemingly understand selling books better than record albums), so I don't have massive sales off of the Amazon platform.  Another problem is that I don't sell to foreign customers since Amazon won't cover my overseas shipping costs.  I recently had an overseas customer try to order an item off of my Amazon site.  When I figured out the costs, it would have cost me $8.00 to sell him the album.   Clearly not a  smart strategy on my part ...  As dumb as those shortcomings are, my real frustration with Amazon has to do with their review policy.

Most of the albums I list on Amazon are pretty obscure and many of them only have cursory reviews, or nothing at all.  When I started listing on Amazon I started to upload my own brief reviews - the good, the bad, or the indifferent.  At one point in time I had about 500 reviews on the site.  All of a sudden about half were gone - no notice, no explanation, nothing.  Just gone.  I sent Amazon a couple of emails asking for an explanation of what had happened and as far as I can understand it, Amazon has a policy where if you're selling an item, you're not allowed to review it.  I guess their concern is that as the seller they don't want you to hype the product.  Well, my reviews ranged from "this LP is wonderful", to "this LP is worthless" so I don't think I could be accused of hyping my inventory.  Anyone who took a moment to read the reviews would have seen that I wasn't praising old albums simply to sell them.  Needless to say, Amazon could care less ...  in their corporate eyes a policy (no matter how mindless), is a policy that must be enforced.

Adding to irony, when I sign in to my seller account I am repeated asked if I would like to review albums that I have for sale on Amazon.  In essence they're asking me to review stuff that they won't post ...  Simply brilliant there guys.  I'm also subjected to a constant string of emails offering me Amazon sales tips; one of their 'criticisms' being that I don't provide enough information on my inventory.

What can I say ?   A perfect example of large equates to mindless.

The shame - spanked on SongPop ...

Geez, some grandma just kicked my butt on SongPop and to make it worse she did it in the 80s pop category.  I didn't even miss the songs rather this lady seemingly had the ability to recognize songs off of the opening chords.  I've never had anyone kick my butt so convincingly.  Thank goodness I wasn't playing her in 50s or 60s rock.

Here are the five she nailed me on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxr-4kCKp9w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST86JM1RPl0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKwO1aB1W3I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OO9LloDSJo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtyrpIW2k1k

The shame, the shame ....

The Rainy Days "Good Day Sunshine"

Not to be confused with the '60s Detroit garage band of 'Go On and Cry' fame, or The Rainy Dayze of 'That Acapulco Gold' fame, I bought this album for one reason - the LP was released on Bob Gallo's Mandala label. Mandala was apparently an early tax scam imprint which has been an area of interest to me.

About the only thing I know about this outfit comes from the liner notes on their 1972 debut "Good Day Sunshine" - "The Rainy Days are a five piece group with two girls up front with a seven part harmony and many lead voices, as you will hear on their new Mandala album. When the group records, they do it live so as to not lose any live feeling. It is very difficult to record this group because of the extensive microphone setup utilized so as not to get bleed and to separate each member so that when mixing all voices and instruments maintain an equalized balance. The members are Lelie Zimmie, Pat Collers, Al Rizzuti (vocals and bass guitar), Tom Castagnaro (drums), John Trap (lead guitar), and Phil Thompson (organ). The group more or less has a show sound and as a result work in a few off-Broadway Musicals and have worked in Rock Music Shows on the road and work quite frequently in Las Vegas, Nevada as as show group (at times using a clown as part of the show). Without a doubt, Rainy Days will bring sunshine into your life when you listen to the cut 'Goodtime Sunshine' on their new Mandala album."

1973 publicity photo - guessing this is from the Las Vegas phase

Top row left to right: Ned Decker - Jeff Sanford - Steve Nelson - Mike D'Amato

Bottom row left to right: Al Rizzuti - Bonnie Norris - Lynn Boccumimi - Phil Briasco

Not exactly the most promising description I've ever come across (clowns and rock and roll are never a promising combination), and it left me with the feeling this was going to be something along the lines of The Brotherhood of Man, The New Seekers, or perhaps The Zaras ... Well, I was partially right.

Ruzziti was seemingly the creative brain trust behind the band; credited with vocals, bass, and penning nine of the ten tracks (the last song was a Little Richard cover). He was also the only surviving member shown on a 1973 publicity photo. So how to describe this bizarre album? Musically most of these tracks had a hard pop edge. Songs like 'Goodtime Sunshine' and 'What Do You See' were clearly written with commercial aspirations, but clumsy arrangements and a shrill and irritating recording sound consistently sabotaged the group's best efforts (blame engineers Bob Gallo, Bob Dora, and Vinny Traina for the poor sound quality). Giving credit where due, there were definitely some promising songs here and at least one bizarre classic ('Leave You Behind'), but for the most part these guys couldn't decide if they wanted to be a lounge act ('Sound of Bells'), or a real rock and roll band and the results were occasionally quite jarring ... You're left to wonder what these guys sounded like live. Did they stick to top-40 covers with an occasional original tune thrown in to keep their artistic integrity alive? Did they really get away playing original material for MOR crowds? I bet there's someone out there who actually saw The Rainy Days and knows ...

- 'What's You Gonna Do' (their spelling, not mine), was a perfect example of how schizophenic this album was. Starting out with a great rock melody the track abruptly shifted into a strange MOR piece that sounded a bit like The Free Design trying to get hip and happening. These guys (and gals) clearly had talent but there was something very irritating in the vocal arrangements which came off sounding hard and harsh ... almost operatic at times. rating: *** stars

- An upbeat, rollicking rocker, 'Sleep' started out with some promising fuzz guitar and actually managed to survive the David Clayton-Thomas-styled vocals, though once again the sharp and brittle female harmony vocals almost killed the track. rating: *** stars

- To my ears 'Goodtime Sunshine' sounded like something you would have heard on the :Jesus Christ Superstar" album if the Les Humpries Singers had taken on such a project. The male lead singer (RIzzuti ?) was actually pretty good, but the busy arrangement and what sounded like a backing chorus of thousands repeatedly all but drown him. rating: ** stars

- Initially 'When My Baby Smiles' exhibited a pleasant Mamas & the Papas-meet-Motown feel. Unfortunately the nice melody was quickly lost which left you focusing on the shrill male lead vocal and the Churchy backing vocals. I will admit to liking the cheesy closing section keyboard (sounded like one of those mid-'80s Casios). rating: ** stars

- 'What Do You See' was one of the album's most conventional and commercial tracks. A pleasant enough ballad, the track would have been better if they'd dropped the backing vocals and ditched the honking sax solo. rating: *** stars

- Amazingly, 'Leave You Behind' started side two off with a bizarre psych and progressive mash-up ... Opening up with a jittery, almost new wave feel (geez, think along the lines of James Chance and the Contortions), there were plenty of harmony vocals, but they were buried in a slightly acid-tinged melody complete with bursts of meltdown sax and some truly strange backing vocals. As mentioned earlier, I bet it would have been a blast to see them performing this one in some hotel lounge. Easily the standout performance and clearly needs to get selected for some comp release. rating: **** stars

- In contrast, 'Sound of Bell' was a bland and forgettable acoustic ballad that originally sounded like one of those songs they use to play at Saturday evening Catholic folk masses. The additional of a touch of flamenco guitar and a touch of operatic screeching didn't help the track. rating: ** stars

- Wow, how to describe 'Drum' ? Almost operatic, this one sounded a bit like one of those late 1970s Jim Steinman and Meatloaf epics ... Kudos to drummer Tom Castagnaro for his frenetic performance. rating: *** stars

- With a breezy, top-40-ish melody and featuring the band's multiple lead singers, 'If I Only Could' actually sounded like a New Seekers-styled slice of pop. Guess that's why I didn't like it very much. rating: ** stars

- The album's lone non-original, their cover of Little Richard's 'Freedom Blues' was also on of the standout performances given they played it straightforward without any attempt to bring in any overly cleverly arrangements, or those dreaded harmonies. Keyboardist Phil Thompson acquitted himself well on this one.

"Good Time Sunshine" track listing:
(side 1)

1,) What's You Gonna Do (Al Rizzuti) -

2.) Sleep (Al Rizzuti) -

3.) Gootime Sunshine (Al Rizzuti) -

4.) When My Baby Smiles (Al Rizzuti) -

5.) What Do You See (Al Rizzuti) -

(side 2)
1.) Leave You Behind (Al Rizzuti) -

2.) Sound of Bells (Al Rizzuti) -

3.) Drum (Al Rizzuti) -

4.) If I Only Could (Al Rizzuti) -

5.) Freedom Blues (Little Richard) -

The album did nothing commercially (it somehow saw an Australian release) and with wholesale personnel changes (Rizzuti was the only holdover), the group continued to perform on the club and hotel circuit through the mid-1970s. Also worth mentioned, the band Mr. Flood's Party featured a drummer by the name of Tom Castagnaro. Not sure it's the same guy.

Ryan's our hero !!!

Our younger son Ryan's playing his second season of under 10 soccer and up to this point he's gone through the motions and not much more than that.  He's done just enough to be part of the team which has been an ongoing source of frustration for mom and dad.  There was one game where grandma could would have been a more effective member of team than Ryan.  Not that I'm counting on a soccer scholarship for Ryan, but learning to be part of a team is a major life lesson and it really is important to give your all when you're a member of a team.  And then out of the blue ...  geez I'm not even sure what happened.  After five games of aimlessly running up and down the field, usually ten feet behind the ball, today Ryan displayed some fortitude and spunk on the field.  He was aggressive on offense and on defense.  He got kicked in the shins and shook it off.  We were thoroughly impressed.  And then with less than two minutes left in the game, some bizarre spirit took over his body and Ryan scored the winning goal.  Not only did Ryan score the winning goal, but Coach Larry declared him the game's standout player.  I'm still not sure what happened there, but Ryan sure did make his parents proud today.

What a great band name - John Huxley's Hot Stomach

West Germany had a very active recording scene during the 1960s and 1970s and as you'd expect, much of the output was pure crap.  And that leads you to the oddly titled John Huxley's Hot Stomach.  I've never been able to find any kind of biographical information on this instrumental outfit so I'm guessing they were a studio entity with namesake John Huxley nothing more than an English sounding nameplate meant to appeal to a happenin' crowd.  

This is just speculation on my part, but based on the paltry liner notes, 1975's "Guitar Explosion" seems to have been the brainchild of German composer, keyboardist and producer Günther Eric Thoner.  I say that because Thorner was credited with writing most of the eight tracks.   I've never done any research on the man, but Thoner was apparently a pretty prolific guy with a lengthy musical career that stretched back to the mid-1960s when he was a member of The Jay Five.  He recorded with Charly Antolini's Power Dozen and up until his death in 2001 accumulated an impressive catalog of solo efforts under a dizzying slew of alias.  

An all instrumental set, "Guitar Explosion" offered up a mixture of updated classical material (Aram Khatschaturian's 'Sabre Dance') and more modern Thoner originals with an emphasis on guitar arrangements.  That emphasis on guitars was somewhat ironic for a guy who was best known as a keyboard player) and had previously released a keyboard-dominated album - 1974's "Piano Explosion".  Most of the set sported a distinctive rock feel, but with the possible exception of 'Cumeba' and 'Dragster' this was music as a commercial product, rather than music as art.  In fact, every time I play the album it reminds me of those 1960s psychpolitation albums like Animated Egg, or The Firebirds.   There was certainly an impressive degree of musical talent here, but there wasn't much in the way of soul.  

(BASF catalog number 10 21455-9)

- Hum, Thoner's adaptation of the traditional 'Hava Nagila' was certainly different.  The basic melody was left intact, but to be honest, the updated rock instrumentation didn't add much to the song.  Imagine Gene Simmons and Kiss doing an instrumental cover of the tune and you'd have a feel for what this one sounded like.  The song actually turned more interesting during the last section when they briefly abandoned the melody and went off on a fuzz guitar powered romp, but then it was back the the main melody.  rating: ** stars

- Probably the album's standout performance, built on a nice guitar riff and some soulful horns, 'Cumeba' was a surprisingly funky workout  rating: **** stars   

- 'Dragster' was another surprising performance - in this case a bluesy, double tracked guitar-propelled rocker that might have fit well on an Allman Brothers (if they'd dropped the horn arrangement).  One of the few outright rockers on the album and quite enjoyable.    rating: *** stars   

- 'Hora Staccato' started out promisingly enough with some Stax-styled horns, but then morphed back to it's roots which I think were with composer/violinist Grigoras Dinocu who wrote the original piece inspired by a Romanian folk dance.   To my ears it didn't sound all that different than the opening 'Hava Nagila'.    rating: ** stars

- 'Hummelflug' sounded like an attempt to recreate Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Flight of the Bubblebee' without having to pay for the copyright charges.  The only saving grace here was the mid-song section that featured a nice Pink-Floyd-ish lead guitar section and a tasty bass solo.    rating: ** stars

- I'm guessing something got lost in the translation since 'Not So Ballad' didn't make much sense as a title.   Musically this ballad wasn't half bad, sounding like something you might have encountered on an ABC television series.  Curiously, about half way through the track the song abruptly shifted gears into an up-tempo rock arrangement that sounded like the theme music for a mid-1970s television show ....  nice fuzz guitar solo.    rating: *** stars

- 'Cul De Sac' found Thoner returning to a more conventional rock orientation and were it not for the horn arrangements, complete with pounding drums, organ, and fuzz guitar, this one would have sounded pretty impressive.  Unfortunately the horns effectively wrecked the tune.     rating: ** stars

The album ended with an updated version of Aram Khatschaturian's 'Sabre Dance' (translated as 'Sabeltanz').  The instantly recognizable melody remained intact, though it was kind of fun to hear a fuzz guitar rolling through the tune.   rating: ** stars

To be honest, there's nothing original or particularly impressive here, so I can't give it a ringing endorsement, but there is something oddly fascinating in these grooves. 

"Guitar Explosion" track listing:

(side 1)

1.) Hava Nagila (instrumental)   (traditional - G.E. Thoner) -  4:31

2.) Cumeba (instrumental)  (G.E. Thoner) - 3:53

3.) Dragster (instrumental)  (Jay Rondorf -  G.E. Thoner) - 4:04

4.) Hora Staccato (instrumental)   (traditional - G.E. Thoner)  - 3:07 

(side 2)

1.) Hummelflug (instrumental)   (Rimsky Korssakoff -  G.E. Thoner) - 3:36

2.) Not So Ballad  (instrumental) (G.E. Thoner) - 4:04

3.) Cul De Sac (instrumental)  (G.E. Thoner) - 4:24

4.) Sabeltanz (instrumental)  (Aram Khatschaturian - G.E. Thoner) - 4:05