Buy the damn CD
author: Wes Carter
You have heard people say that this album is the sh** before so I'm going to spare you, the jaded music buyer, the insult to your intelligence that unabashed plugging infers. Just listen to the sound samples and decide for yourself. I did, and I think that this album is pretty damn good and will hold it's own to most in my collection. You know how every reviewer has to say that this sounds like Band X,Y, or Z? Well, you ain't gonna do that with this album. I guess the closest I could come to doing that would be to imagine Link Wray having a love child with Dick Dale and that child knocking up Frank Zappa. Now imagine that child hooking up with the love child of Earl Slick and Leslie West. That would be one ugly piece of progeny. Would it sound like The Balls? Who the hell knows. Buy it and decide for yourself. You probably waste more than the price of this CD on porn every month.
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"biker surf blues garage prog rock."
author: Phil Dirt
Phil Dirt - Reverb Central
PO Box 7240, Santa Cruz, CA 95061-7240 USA
The Balls - Come Out Swingin'
Nick Kane (Mavericks) heads up this outfit. Rock instros with seriously tight performances and tuff sound. By their own description, this is "biker surf blues garage prog rock."
"Dog Eat Dog" is a strong rock instro with drive and power. The guitar is big with a commercially viable style. Heavy and aggressive.
"On Three" A grand circulating classical riff is driven by jazzy bass and precision frantic drums. "On Three (The Balls...Come Out Swinging)" is a splendid modern rock instro with an enduring and intricate mathematical basis.
"Last Ride" is a long and well developed track, timing out at 6:51. It's sophisticated in a rock 'n' roll way. Thick and lumbering, with a wind blowing through long hair kinda way. Very strong!
"Link(live)" beginning as a slow lumbering monster, evolving into a heavy menace, "Link" is surely a nod to Link Wray, but it's also like a swimming metal avalanche that's slowly overtaking you. Very cool!
"Toadie" On the mathematical side, "Toadie" is large and heavy, with very active double kick drum. It's a pure rock instro.
"The Ayatollah" is a dark circulating number with a deliberate pace and serious frown. It's heavy in a classical sense, and quite engaging.
"Wafting Wafting" The title implies the soundscape wash that "Wafting Wafting" is. Short and atmospheric.
"To The Green Green Shores, Godspeed" This bluesy epic with organ swirl and a deliberate pace has an almost British Blues feel to it. Heavy and darkly textured.
"Pachelballs" Pachelbel's suite turned Christmas classic gets a rockin' treatment with a lot of sophisticated arranging. "Canon" transverses a number of very nice changes with delicacy, drama, and art. This is a really pleasant change from the formula arrangements that are so prevalent.
"Blue Rondo Ala Frank" Dave Bruebeck's amazing jazz classic "Blue Rondo Ala Turk" gets a mathematically precise rock treatment with a sense of tux and tattoos. Rock'n'roll is such a flexible style, lending itself (as here) to virtually any other form. This is excellent!
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