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Yahoo Group Archives » Page 55 »

Evan Foster: Instrumentals - my review (as always, LONG!)

ipongrac - 17 Aug 2004 15:08:13

I got this CD a couple of days ago, and have listened through it
multiple times since then. I heartily concur with Charlie: you GOTTA
get this!
I first heard snippets of it right as it was recorded, when Art
played some of it for me over the phone. It blew me away then, and
it's still blowing me away. This is definitely one of the best surf
CDs of the year.
But as Brian pointed out, it's not all surf. Here's how it breaks
down, as I see it:
trad surf: 4 songs (Glass Packed & Fully Stacked, Slidin', Surfer's
Anthem, Werevolves International)
surfy-but-not-trad: 8 songs (Hearse Full of Souls, Venice Late Night,
Cann of Electrodes, Spy On Me, She Rides a Chopper, Embrujada,
Primitive Art, Rattlesnake)
rawk (seventies cock-rock): 5 songs (Drag the Dragon, Mouthbreather,
Meanstreak, Where Do I Stand, I Want Some Sex)
experimental: 3 songs (Sequence Array, I.D. Crisis, A Familiar
Unknown)
My favorites are (as always) in the first two categories. The four
trad-surf songs revert back to the nineties Boss Martians sound,
heavy on reverb and melody and nimble fingerwork. "Slidin'"
especially sounds like the Boss Martians circa '97, a bouncy song
full of delicate hooks. "Surfer's Anthem" is probably the most
energetic surf song that Evan has ever done (his surf instros are
often a bit slower or at least mid-tempo). Moving along at break-
neck pace, full of tremolo picking and single-string pull-offs (think
Dick Dale), it truly earns its bold title! Of course a big element
contributing to the overall energy is Dusty's drumming which is up
his usual standard – inspiring! Not flashy at all this time around,
just really `fat' in sound and right in the pocket as far as the
groove. It simply defines perfection for drum parts that complement
the music. Anyway, all four of these songs are memorable and simply
great.
The second category is very interesting, since there are all sorts of
influences interspersed there: spaghetti western, garage, Link Wray,
spy, moody ballads, Davie Allan and more. Of the eight I listed
above, six are again just GREAT! "Hearse Full of Souls" and "Cann of
Electrodes" feature drier and somewhat overdriven guitar and Evan
rips along at a fast pace on these two energetic garage
rockers. "Venice, Late Night" is a mysterious and moody ballad
played with a dry-sounding guitar that sounds quite unique, but still
beautiful. "She Rides a Chopper" sounds like Davie Allan circa '64-
'65, before he discovered the fuzz - an energetic song with a lot of
melody. "Embrujada" features a chord progression and melody
reminiscent of old Italian Westerns, and just as
captivating. "Rattlesnake" owes a clear debt to sixties Link Wray,
all thick overdrive and heavily throbbing tremolo, with a simply but
tuff melody fortressed by huge sounding chords. There are two
misfires, I think, from this group: "Spy On Me" and "Primitive Art"
are repetitive, without much melody, and thus a bit boring. I should
mention that though some songs bring to mind garage music, the
production on the whole album is modern-but-good: crystal-clear yet
warm and full, even fat many times. It really allows the music to
soar.
From the third category, there's only one that does anything for
me: "Meanstreak", supposedly Evan's homage to the late Irish blues
guitarist Rory Gallagher, is a boogie full of modern-blues-and-hard-
rock hot-guitar riffs. Thick with modern-sounding distortion, Evan
really lets it rip, and though this isn't usually my favorite form of
music, there's enough melody and arrangement that it keeps it
interesting for the whole song. I actually really like this one.
The other three ("I Want Some Sex" is simply a different – and
weaker - mix of "Mouthbreater" with Evan repeating over and over
again the title phrase – it's a bit embarrassing really!) are
seventies-groove, riff-based songs without much melody and simple,
even simplistic riffs, played with a heavily-distorted guitar (in a
sense of a humbucker and Marshall, not fuzz and/or cranked-up
Fender). I'm sure somebody will like it, but it's not for me.
The final category is interesting: all three of the songs come from
Evan's 4-track demos, complete with drum-machines in tow. Two of the
songs ("Sequence Array" and "I.D. Crisis") are VERY analog-synth-
heavy, the latter featuring no guitar that I can remember. They're
interesting, and sound like some kinda of a seventies Moog
experiment, but ultimately they're a bit too plodding and discordant
for my tastes. The final track, "A Familiar Unknown", on the other
hand, is very cool, I think. Sounding like something that Devo or a
contemporary new-wave band, may have done in the late seventies, it
has two effected guitar tracks, and an intriguing and attractive
arrangement and mood. All three of these tracks show that Evan
continues to explore the history of music of the last five decades
and is still looking for new (for him) territories without prejudice.
Just a quick note on Evan's skills and talents: he's clearly one of
the best surf guitarists out there. His phrasing, his speed, his
tone are largely unmatched. The best source of reference is Richie
Allen AKA Podolar at the height of his skills back in the early
sixties. Great amount of speed, but always supported by taste. Yet,
as most people know, Evan has left surf music behind over the last
few years. The Boss Martians have become a power-pop band, together
with Les Pauls and Marshall stacks. The most recent album by them is
actually a great piece of work, IMHO, and I hope that Evan and the
gang can become successful enough to make a good living playing
music. I think that is his ultimate goal, and it's a good one. It's
near impossible to do so playing surf music, as Evan has found after
nearly ten years with the surfy-version of the Boss Martians. This
is a welcome return, even if a temporary one, of the prodigal son to
his first home: surf music, and I for one am damn glad he did it!
Evan's clearly a multi-talented individual and his tastes are wide,
but I think that few do surf music as well. He may have to play
different styles (which I'm sure he loves just as much), but I do
hope he continues to make periodic returns to surf music.
It's also interesting to think that when I first started seeing his
contributions to the Cowabunga list back in '94 and '95, there was no
bigger trad-nazi then him! But now, if you look closely on the photo
on the back of the CD, you'll notice that his vintage, Dick-Dale-
signed Jag is equipped with a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker (JB Jr.?)
in the bridge position!! The '95-Evan would have cried "heresy!!"
But hey, the results speak for themselves, and the results on this CD
are awesome. He's grown as a person and a musician, and I hope he
keeps doing so.
It's a long album, over 60 minutes, so there's a lot of material to
go through. But the nice thing is that even if you skip the tracks
for which you have no taste, you still get a full-length album. From
my perspective, the album has 12 fantastic songs (of which 10 are
close enough to surf for my taste), and that makes it one of the very
best releases of '04. I believe the reason for such diversity on the
CD is that Evan's hoping to land some of these songs on various
soundtracks, and I think they're all very much deserving of that.
But for the rest of us that just like a good album, fire up your
programming button on the CD player, and dig the hell out
of "Instrumentals"! Way to go, Evan!
--- In , Charlie Kinyon <charlie@c...>
wrote:
> It is diverse, maybe 1/3 surfy - just a touch of synth here and
there.
> Totally stellar, every note...
>
> On Aug 16, 2004, at 8:33 PM, Brian Neal wrote:
> >
> > Thanks for the heads up Charlie. How surfy is it? Art made it
sound
> > like its
> > all over the instrumental map.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > BN
> >
> >> Just received the new "Evan Foster - Instrumentals" CD from Art
> >> Bourasseau @ MuSick (Thanks Art!) I just HAD to comment on this
> >> recording. Evan, from the Boss Martians, is THE KILLER guitar
player!!
> >> Put him with Dusty Watson (damn Dusty - I bow to you) from
Slacktone,
> >> Dick Dale, etc., and you have my total and complete attention.
Twenty
> >> original tunes, played with extreme zeal! Run - don't walk - to
your
> >> computer and order this recording NOW! I guarantee, you will not
> >> regret
> >> it! Warning: Don't listen to this while you are driving - there
could
> >> be
> >> some substantial fines involved...
> >>
> >> email Art Bourasseau: artjb@e...
> >> MuSick Recordings:
> >>
> >> Charlie Kinyon
> >> www.catandcharlie.com

Top

Dick Messick (flatwound01) - 17 Aug 2004 15:43:12

I ordered my copy right after Charlie's first post - I've been waiting for
it, but obviously was sleeping at the switch . . . after Ivan's review, I
can't wait for mine to show up!
-Dick

Top

Charlie Kinyon (mailmale48) - 17 Aug 2004 16:42:04

Great review Ivan! I listen to music and feel as if I have so much to
say,
and it always comes out like: "duh, I sure do like this record man".
I really do appreciate your many talents of expression...
charlie
On Aug 17, 2004, at 3:08 PM, ipongrac wrote:
> I got this CD a couple of days ago, and have listened through it
> multiple times since then. I heartily concur with Charlie: you GOTTA
> get this!
>
> I first heard snippets of it right as it was recorded, when Art
> played some of it for me over the phone. It blew me away then, and
> it's still blowing me away. This is definitely one of the best surf
> CDs of the year.
>
> But as Brian pointed out, it's not all surf. Here's how it breaks
> down, as I see it:
>
> trad surf: 4 songs (Glass Packed & Fully Stacked, Slidin', Surfer's
> Anthem, Werevolves International)
>
> surfy-but-not-trad: 8 songs (Hearse Full of Souls, Venice Late Night,
> Cann of Electrodes, Spy On Me, She Rides a Chopper, Embrujada,
> Primitive Art, Rattlesnake)
>
> rawk (seventies cock-rock): 5 songs (Drag the Dragon, Mouthbreather,
> Meanstreak, Where Do I Stand, I Want Some Sex)
>
> experimental: 3 songs (Sequence Array, I.D. Crisis, A Familiar
> Unknown)
>
> My favorites are (as always) in the first two categories. The four
> trad-surf songs revert back to the nineties Boss Martians sound,
> heavy on reverb and melody and nimble fingerwork. "Slidin'"
> especially sounds like the Boss Martians circa '97, a bouncy song
> full of delicate hooks. "Surfer's Anthem" is probably the most
> energetic surf song that Evan has ever done (his surf instros are
> often a bit slower or at least mid-tempo). Moving along at break-
> neck pace, full of tremolo picking and single-string pull-offs (think
> Dick Dale), it truly earns its bold title! Of course a big element
> contributing to the overall energy is Dusty's drumming which is up
> his usual standard – inspiring! Not flashy at all this time around,
> just really `fat' in sound and right in the pocket as far as the
> groove. It simply defines perfection for drum parts that complement
> the music. Anyway, all four of these songs are memorable and simply
> great.
>
> The second category is very interesting, since there are all sorts of
> influences interspersed there: spaghetti western, garage, Link Wray,
> spy, moody ballads, Davie Allan and more. Of the eight I listed
> above, six are again just GREAT! "Hearse Full of Souls" and "Cann of
> Electrodes" feature drier and somewhat overdriven guitar and Evan
> rips along at a fast pace on these two energetic garage
> rockers. "Venice, Late Night" is a mysterious and moody ballad
> played with a dry-sounding guitar that sounds quite unique, but still
> beautiful. "She Rides a Chopper" sounds like Davie Allan circa '64-
> '65, before he discovered the fuzz - an energetic song with a lot of
> melody. "Embrujada" features a chord progression and melody
> reminiscent of old Italian Westerns, and just as
> captivating. "Rattlesnake" owes a clear debt to sixties Link Wray,
> all thick overdrive and heavily throbbing tremolo, with a simply but
> tuff melody fortressed by huge sounding chords. There are two
> misfires, I think, from this group: "Spy On Me" and "Primitive Art"
> are repetitive, without much melody, and thus a bit boring. I should
> mention that though some songs bring to mind garage music, the
> production on the whole album is modern-but-good: crystal-clear yet
> warm and full, even fat many times. It really allows the music to
> soar.
>
>> From the third category, there's only one that does anything for
> me: "Meanstreak", supposedly Evan's homage to the late Irish blues
> guitarist Rory Gallagher, is a boogie full of modern-blues-and-hard-
> rock hot-guitar riffs. Thick with modern-sounding distortion, Evan
> really lets it rip, and though this isn't usually my favorite form of
> music, there's enough melody and arrangement that it keeps it
> interesting for the whole song. I actually really like this one.
> The other three ("I Want Some Sex" is simply a different – and
> weaker - mix of "Mouthbreater" with Evan repeating over and over
> again the title phrase – it's a bit embarrassing really!) are
> seventies-groove, riff-based songs without much melody and simple,
> even simplistic riffs, played with a heavily-distorted guitar (in a
> sense of a humbucker and Marshall, not fuzz and/or cranked-up
> Fender). I'm sure somebody will like it, but it's not for me.
>
> The final category is interesting: all three of the songs come from
> Evan's 4-track demos, complete with drum-machines in tow. Two of the
> songs ("Sequence Array" and "I.D. Crisis") are VERY analog-synth-
> heavy, the latter featuring no guitar that I can remember. They're
> interesting, and sound like some kinda of a seventies Moog
> experiment, but ultimately they're a bit too plodding and discordant
> for my tastes. The final track, "A Familiar Unknown", on the other
> hand, is very cool, I think. Sounding like something that Devo or a
> contemporary new-wave band, may have done in the late seventies, it
> has two effected guitar tracks, and an intriguing and attractive
> arrangement and mood. All three of these tracks show that Evan
> continues to explore the history of music of the last five decades
> and is still looking for new (for him) territories without prejudice.
>
> Just a quick note on Evan's skills and talents: he's clearly one of
> the best surf guitarists out there. His phrasing, his speed, his
> tone are largely unmatched. The best source of reference is Richie
> Allen AKA Podolar at the height of his skills back in the early
> sixties. Great amount of speed, but always supported by taste. Yet,
> as most people know, Evan has left surf music behind over the last
> few years. The Boss Martians have become a power-pop band, together
> with Les Pauls and Marshall stacks. The most recent album by them is
> actually a great piece of work, IMHO, and I hope that Evan and the
> gang can become successful enough to make a good living playing
> music. I think that is his ultimate goal, and it's a good one. It's
> near impossible to do so playing surf music, as Evan has found after
> nearly ten years with the surfy-version of the Boss Martians. This
> is a welcome return, even if a temporary one, of the prodigal son to
> his first home: surf music, and I for one am damn glad he did it!
> Evan's clearly a multi-talented individual and his tastes are wide,
> but I think that few do surf music as well. He may have to play
> different styles (which I'm sure he loves just as much), but I do
> hope he continues to make periodic returns to surf music.
>
> It's also interesting to think that when I first started seeing his
> contributions to the Cowabunga list back in '94 and '95, there was no
> bigger trad-nazi then him! But now, if you look closely on the photo
> on the back of the CD, you'll notice that his vintage, Dick-Dale-
> signed Jag is equipped with a Seymour Duncan mini-humbucker (JB Jr.?)
> in the bridge position!! The '95-Evan would have cried "heresy!!"
> But hey, the results speak for themselves, and the results on this CD
> are awesome. He's grown as a person and a musician, and I hope he
> keeps doing so.
>
> It's a long album, over 60 minutes, so there's a lot of material to
> go through. But the nice thing is that even if you skip the tracks
> for which you have no taste, you still get a full-length album. From
> my perspective, the album has 12 fantastic songs (of which 10 are
> close enough to surf for my taste), and that makes it one of the very
> best releases of '04. I believe the reason for such diversity on the
> CD is that Evan's hoping to land some of these songs on various
> soundtracks, and I think they're all very much deserving of that.
> But for the rest of us that just like a good album, fire up your
> programming button on the CD player, and dig the hell out
> of "Instrumentals"! Way to go, Evan!
>
>
> --- In , Charlie Kinyon <charlie@c...>
> wrote:
>> It is diverse, maybe 1/3 surfy - just a touch of synth here and
> there.
>> Totally stellar, every note...
>>
>> On Aug 16, 2004, at 8:33 PM, Brian Neal wrote:
>>>
>>> Thanks for the heads up Charlie. How surfy is it? Art made it
> sound
>>> like its
>>> all over the instrumental map.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> BN
>>>
>>>> Just received the new "Evan Foster - Instrumentals" CD from Art
>>>> Bourasseau @ MuSick (Thanks Art!) I just HAD to comment on this
>>>> recording. Evan, from the Boss Martians, is THE KILLER guitar
> player!!
>>>> Put him with Dusty Watson (damn Dusty - I bow to you) from
> Slacktone,
>>>> Dick Dale, etc., and you have my total and complete attention.
> Twenty
>>>> original tunes, played with extreme zeal! Run - don't walk - to
> your
>>>> computer and order this recording NOW! I guarantee, you will not
>>>> regret
>>>> it! Warning: Don't listen to this while you are driving - there
> could
>>>> be
>>>> some substantial fines involved...
>>>>
>>>> email Art Bourasseau: artjb@e...
>>>> MuSick Recordings:
>>>>
>>>> Charlie Kinyon
>>>> www.catandcharlie.com
>
>
>
>
> ..
> Visit for archived
> messages, bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>

Top

Brian Neal (xarxas) - 17 Aug 2004 21:20:28

Totally awesome review Ivan. Thanks for taking the time to post that.
That reminds me I said I would post a review of the new Hellbenders...
Better get on that.
BN

Top

Brian Neal (xarxas) - 17 Aug 2004 21:27:59

Okay I may have missed something...how do you order this? MuSick doesn't
have this on their site... Do you email Art directly?
BN

Top