Genre: garage
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: Somethin' Fishy ...
Company: Custom Fidelity
Catalog: CF 1452
Year: 1965
Country/State: San Marino, California
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+
Comments: minor ring, edge and corner wear
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4016
Price: $300.00
Cost: $1.00
The early/mid-1960s saw the advent of thousands upon thousands of surf/garage bands. While hundreds managed to record isolated singles, a relatively small number found the support and resources necessary to record a full album. Among that select group - San Marino, California's The Piranhas.
Lead guitarist
Larry Cole, rhythm guitarist Rick Murphy, drummer Bud Owings, bass player
Rick Walsworth and horn section Dave Cunei, Scott Liggett and Williams first
met while attending San Marino High School. Playing at talent shows and
local dances provided the band with a local following, eventually attracting
the attention of the small Pasadena, California-based Custom Fidelity label.
Produced by Scott Liggett, 1965's "Somethin'
Fishy ..." was a little bit different than your standard
surf band offering. First off, few of their contemporaries included a three
piece horn section. Although the debut offered up a fairly standard mixture
of popular covers and isolated originals, musically these guys were
difficult to peg; falling somewhere in the cracks between surf outfit and
garage genres. Horn-propelled instrumentals such as 'Peter Gunn Theme' and
'James Bond Theme' were enthusiastic, if not particularly innovative. Far
more impressive were the band's isolated vocal performances. Snotty and
suitably raw, material such as 'Hitchhike', 'My Babe' (be sure to check out
the hysterical spoken word segment) and a great cover of 'Louie, Louie' were
all worth hearing. Sure, it wasn't going to have a major impact on your
lifestyle, but it was somehow uplifting to hear these guys struggle through
the ten tracks - my 11 year old band could probably handle 'Bubbles' with
the same degree of professionalism.
"Somethin' Fishy ..." track listing:
(side
1)
1.) Virginia Woolf (instrumental)
2.) Peter Gunn Theme (instrumental)
3.) Hitchhike
4.) James Bond Theme (instrumental)
5.) Louie, Louie
(side 2)
1.) Watermelon Man
(instrumental)
2.) My Babe
3.) Bubbles (instrumental)
4.) Help Yourself
5.) Tough Talk (instrumental)
Clearly none of you would be so shallow as to allow outside critics to
influence your buying habits. As such we won't tell you that this one's
listed in Hans Pokoras' 2,001 Record Collector Dreams.