Mister 8

A new month, a new theme! February’s theme: spy surf rock.

Surf rock is a genre of instrumental music, where the lead reverb-drenched melody is usually played by an electric guitar or saxaphone, or occasionally a Hammond organ or electric piano. Perhaps the most well-known surf songs are Miserlou, the Dick Dale track prominently featured in Pulp Fiction, Wipeout by the Surfaris, or Pipeline by the Chantays.

One sub-section of surf rock is spy surf, or spy rock, typified by jazz-influenced melodies in minor keys (many in E-minor), and twangy riffs played on the fat low strings. Influenced primarily by the work of Vic Flick (guitarist on the original Bond theme), and those who followed him in creating spy themes of the 60s, spy surf bands like Spy-Fi or Seks Bomba often mix covers with originals.

To kick off this month’s theme, I wanted to spotlight some covers of the various Bond themes as an introduction to the genre. What follows are spy surf versions of every Bond theme from the 1960s, the heyday of both Bond and surfing, with information on the artist and album from which the track was taken.

The Playboys – Dr. No (James Bond Theme)

Originally recorded for their 1965 Sound Award Album, the Playboys’ version of Dr. No is now only available, as far as I know, on the massive Board Boogie: Surf n’ Twang From Down Under. Information on the band is scarce, but here’s what I could dig up: The Playboys were formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1963, and featured Bill Billings (Lead), Phil Blackmore (Organ, Piano, Guitar), John Cartwright (Rhythm Guitar), Neil McArthur (Bass), and Graeme Trottman (Drums). Later, the band included  Trevor Griffin (Organ), Brian Peacock (Bass), and Mick Rodgers and Rod Stone (Guitar). Their albums were released on the Australian independent label Sunshine Records, and they also served as the backup band for other Sunshine vocalists. The band split in 1967, with members joining the Librettos and the Procession. More information on the Playboys can be found on the Milesago page on the Procession.

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The Charles Napiers – From Russia With Love

The Charles Napiers version of From Russia With Love can be heard on the 1999 One Million Dollar Records release The Sinister Organization. The Napiers hailed from the U.K. and throughout their 14-year career (1991-2005) featured guitarist Dan Whaley, bassist John Skittles, guitarist Clive Pearman (1991-1995), drummer Danny O’Brien (1991-2000), guitarist Lee Duggan (1995-2005), drummer Sophie Skittles (2000-2003), and drummer Mark Braby (2003-2005). In addition to this version of From Russia With Love, The Sinister Organization also features a cover of You Only Live Twice, and they also made a cover of Thunderball for a compilation called Licensed to Hear that I’ve never run across before. The three founding members of the Charles Napiers (which I desperately hope was named for the American character actor / voiceover artist, and not the British admiral) now play in the McDeath Trio.

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Man Or Astro-Man? – Goldfinger

This version of Goldfinger was originally on the 1995 7″ Return to Chaos, and was later included on the fantastic compilation Secret Agent S.O.U.N.D.S. Man Or Astro-Man were a fantastic punk-surf band from Alabama / space that featured extraterrestrials Star Crunch (guitar), Birdstuff (drums) and Coco (bass). Their live shows were amongst the best concerts I’ve ever seen, and I continue to mourn their absence, though in writing this post, I discovered that Star Crunch, aka Brian Causey, wrote and provided vocals for The Theme Song For Jimmy Neutron, which I’ve been enamored with for a few years despite not feeling that thrilled about the actual show. I encourage you to buy the entire Man or Astro-Man back catalog.

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The Clee-Shays – Thunderball

From what I can figure out: The Clee-Shays recorded Thunderball for the Japanese market, where they released a number of spy surf 7″ singles. The album this song was ripped from, Dynamic Guitar Sounds of the Clee-Shays, was released in 1998, a collection of the best of these singles. I bought this CD in a thrift store a few years ago, where I found it in a case that had no booklet, and there’s little information about the Clee-Shays on the web. Here’s what I can find about them: Ed Fournier, John Anderson and Bob Edwards on alternating lead guitars, Buzz Carre on bass, and Delvy alternating with Larry Brown on drums. The band was put together in the studio by Richard Delvy, drummer for the Challengers, which also at one point featured Fournier, and the songs were recorded in the mid 1960s. A quality album, but still mostly a mystery. Anyone else have better information?

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The Vultures – You Only Live Twice

This one is a complete mystery. I got this in MP3 form from a forum discussing James Bond covers. From the low-fi quality and the general ambience, I’m wondering if this is a recording of a live show. I believe the primary suspect should be Joe Weed’s The Vultures, who recorded a one-off album of instrumental classics on Appalachian / bluegrass instruments. Again, I’d love any input from the readership, because I love this version. I can offer that the album listed in the MP3 track information is Surfing, that this is track 15, and the year of release is listed as 1999. Thanks to Spy-Fi guitarist Tom Pervanje, I can tell you more about the Vultures who were responsible for this track:

The Vultures were from Erie, PA. I had their album, but gave it to Tom Hinders, from the Tsunami Soul show in Oberlin, OH. Spy-Fi shared the bill with them in 2000 in Twinsburg, OH. They located in Columbus, OH at that time, then relocated to Florida, that’s the last I heard. The version of YOLT is live and did come from the Surfing CD.

Tom also provides a link where you can purchase the album from which this song was taken. Thanks, Tom!

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Big Ray & The Futuras – Casino Royale

Did I not say every Bond theme from the 60s? This song comes from the otherwise disappointing album That’s New Pussycat – Surf Tribute to Burt Bacharach, where the only other decent offering was the Aqualad’s version of The Blob. Big Ray & The Futuras hail from Massachusetts, and may now be extinct — their website is, at least. I believe that the band consisted of Big Ray, Chris Neff (guitar) and Paul Wilson (drums). In any case, this track is the bee’s knees, and I believe additional Big Ray albums can be purchased from Double Crown Records. I wish I could say this album was worth buying for this song but…I’d only go that far if you can find it cheap somewhere. Like I said, though, this track, and the Aqualads’ Blob are king.

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Dr. Frankenstein – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

Of this track, available on the band’s debut album The Lost Tapes From Dr. Frankenstein’s Lab, surf-master Phil Dirt said, “Dark and espionage flavored, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ is menacing and yet melodic. The unnerving structure leaves you looking for an exit, yet drawn into the track. Some very nice whammy chords enhance the track with a shimmer factor as it moves into and out of a great break. Heavy is an understatement,” and I agree with him wholeheartedly. The band consists of André Joaquim on guitar, Bruno Quintino on drums, Dave Gomez on bass, and Luis Sales on organ. Check their MySpace page for more information.

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