April Birthdays 
First things first: this is not a surf music album. But it's definitely a close relative, containing about the best example of the particularly northern-European/Scandinavian take on the Euro-instro genre, as started in the early '60s by bands influenced by the Shadows and the Spotnicks in particular (the Finnish version of this music goes by the label of Rautalanka - 'barbed wire' music - due to its sound that evoked a metallic clanginess). The Road Runners are from Finland and follow in the footsteps of the Mustangs and the Quiets, two modern (i.e., from the past 20 years) Finnish Euro-instro bands. I deeply, deeply love both of those bands, so the Road Runners debut album was extremely welcome. The Mustangs and the Quiets specialized in a highly-sophisticated as well as highly-energetic version of the Shadows and the Spotnicks, emphasizing vibrant and creative takes on well-known songs rather than originals, and the Road Runners take that tack here as well, with 13 out of 15 songs on this CD being covers. But the energy and skill with which these songs are tackled are absolutely off the charts. What is astounding is that the band consists of all teenagers, with the drummer being only 14!! 
I honestly don't understand how it's possible for such young people to play with this much maturity, skill and conviction. It's astonishing.
Pretty much every track is simply fantastic (one exception for me, I'll mention it in a moment). To start off, there are three Shadows covers, grouped mostly together. Two of the three are not often covered despite being great songs, and the Road Runners tackle them with verve and creativity. I especially enjoyed the all-electric take on All Day, which in the original was played with Hank and Bruce on bouzoukis, but the Road Runners put new life into it. They did an amazing job with Round and Round, a fairly obscure Shadows track from the Cliff Richard movie Summer Holiday. It's one that my Shadows tribute band the Troubadours often played, but the Road Runners do it MUCH better. Heck, I personally think they considerably improved on the original! The third Shadows cover is Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt, and probably the only track on the entire CD I skip. Not that there's anything wrong with their version of it, they even put a few nice twists on it, but I'm just really tired of that song anymore. I think if I never heard it again, I'd be quite happy. There's also a Shadows-related track on the album - Jack's Good by the Krew Kats. The Krew Kats were a British band that featured the rhythm section of Brian Bennett and Licorice Locking, who of course by '62 would themselves be in the Shadows. I always thought Jack's Good and Round and Round sounded fairly similar, and the Road Runners must have had the same idea since they grouped them together. They did a great job with it, too, and it's one that's been often covered by Euro-Instro bands, but it sounds fresh here.
The album opens with the Ventures' Hot Line, which sounds hotter than EVER! They absolutely KILL this one! Interestingly enough, the Quiets themselves covered this one with much verve for the Swinging Creepers Ventures tribute, but the Road Runners raise the intensity, and I'd have to say to my ears theirs is the ultimate version I've yet heard of this track. There are also a couple of phenomenal Spotnicks covers (Rocket Man AKA Cossack Patrol, Johnny Guitar), as well as the '60s UK instro-band the Cougars' Swan Lake (originally titled Saturday Night at the Duckpond). All three just fantastic, love 'em!
Two songs that I was thrilled to hear on this album and that were a welcome surprise were covers of recent instro/surf tunes: Laika & the Cosmonauts' Look! No Head (from 1997) and the Atlantics' Point Zero (from 2003). Both GREAT songs that the Road Runners again not only did justice but even elevated a bit (tough to do!).
Two covers on the album with which I was not previously familiar are Cider Stomp and SRP-003. Both excellent tracks, and the first one is credited to Matti Luhtala, the lead guitarist of the Road Runners' role models the Mustangs.
Finally, there are two original tracks on the album, written by one of the guitarists (and co-written by somebody named Manus? It's a bit unclear in the credits): I Scream in the Sun and Final Ride. Both are gorgeous melodic songs with a touch of melancholy, very much in the rautulanka tradition, with a huge sound and excellent arrangements, showing maturity far beyond the ages of the musicians. Seriously, how the hell do they do that?? I'm astounded, completely blown away. I really hope that in the future we hear more Road Runners originals.
The album is chock-full of incredibly rich tones, too, guitars sporting one of the best Strat-into-Vox-AC30 sounds I think I've ever heard (the Strats sound like they're usually in the second pickup position, bridge and middle together). No reverb, but plenty of echo. The band features three guitarists, with two of them brothers and sharing the lead duties, but both are highly skilled and it's impossible to tell any difference between their styles.
I strongly recommend this album to any fans of Euro-instro - or if you're a stranger to that music, well, this would serve as an excellent introduction. I'm sure that the Mustangs and the Quiets (both bands I believe not active anymore for quite a while) are very proud of these youngsters. Major kudos!!
—Ivan
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Last edited: Jan 22, 2013 12:46:38
