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16 Early Hits
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Barnes and Noble
16 Early Hits
Current price: $10.99
Barnes and Noble
16 Early Hits
Current price: $10.99
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Size: OS
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Never heard
before? This is wonderful, in-the-pocket
music, perfect for those who love
' accordion/bano sexto,
workouts. The songs come from the same 1955-1965 time frame as
's 24-track
, but there's no duplication, and these don't sound anything like second-rate leftovers. Far from it -- the tantalizingly brief 43 minutes of music here makes you eager to hear more.
The two-paragraph liner notes adequately sketch the fundamental story down to the group breaking up in 1972, when accordion player
became a born-again Christian and abandoned secular music (the devil's music must lurk in many forms). The group's big 1958 hit,
opened
'
, and it's not a great stretch to suspect that
-leaning rockers, like
and
, were hearing
right along with
when they were coming up.
Now,
, or
is a pretty by-the-book style, so the shock is how fresh and open this music sounds. It doesn't feel reined in or locked down by genre rules, as
tosses off nice solo moves on
just rockets along nice and rangy and light. Part of it is an inventive accordion style, mixing unusual chord flavors with single note flurries -- broad notes playing against staccato bursts offer plenty of intriguing soloing possibilities, as
demonstrates on his
instrumentals, like
or the exuberant
There's another reason, but it's not
capably holding down the bano sexto fort. Let's give the uncredited drummer on these tracks some credit, because he does more than just keep time and beat. It's active, but nothing fancy, based on rolling tom-toms, and it gives the music all sorts of snap and new dimensions, be it on another
instrumental like
the near-ballad
or the rat-a-tat punctuations in
The last song broadly hints at
's future conversion, but
returns to secular love, so there's a
/
duality at play here. The
is haunting and brooding, with staccato accordion interjections, and
is a rapid-fire, good time declaration of drunken love.
features soprano sax or clarinet intertwining with the accordion -- it's another distinct touch, lively and bright.
What a great surprise and discovery
is. The brothers' vocal harmony blend is really impressive, and this accomplished and vital band should rank right up there with
and wildman
for anyone starting to check out this side of Texas/
music. For those already aware of this genre,
is certainly a band to become well-acquainted with. ~ Don Snowden