Jerry Cole Hot Rod Twangin' CD

This collection of surf and hot rod instrumentals by the dexterous West Coast session guitarist Jerry Cole and various unnamed yet accomplished sidemen was first issued on a succession of budget labels between 1960 and 1965. But though the original recordings were cheaply produced, they were made by musicians who formed the cream of Los Angeles session men, including members of the famed Wrecking Crew, and the music is outstanding. The set reflects prevailing early-1960s musical trends, ranging from earlier folk-influenced cuts like "If I Had a Hammer," and the primitive car and motorbike sound effects of "Oil Burner" and "Shuffle Boogie," to the later R&B-styled "Hip Hugger" and a version of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," previously cheekily issued under the title "Sunset Strip."

"Hot Rod Twangin'" offers a sampling from almost a dozen albums that Cole cut pseudonymously for Crown, and shows that there was no style of music that the man could not comfortably embrace - from the Ventures to Booker T & the MGs, he and his session cronies could do the lot. Compiled by Texan axeman and general guitar fanatic 'Burnin' Mike Vernon and released with the approval and participation of Cole himself, this is a package that no lover of instrumental 60s rock'n'roll can afford to be without.

Audio Remasterer: Nick Robbins.