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Apparently we're mostly ok.
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DiscoMania
THE JAMMING ARABS Never Bin Surfin' LP Alopecia Records 97
Holy Guacamole, play this motherfucker loud. I get a very warm feeling from listening to this album: shamelessy simple feel-good music. 'File under Punk/surf/ ska/beach music'.
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Live Club
Saltburns Jammin Arabs describe themselves as a blend of 60s merseybeat, 70s punk, ska, surf, garage, rock n roll and looney tunes. Its a partying meltdown, they inform us, and Im not about to disagree albeit a low-fi party with too much treble to inflict a genuine stereo apocalypse.
That apart theres plenty of fun to be had with their rum-punchy approach think a de-gothed Meteors, or Jan and Dean if the Dean was Dean Martin on hallucogens. Theres also some wit too, especially on the title-track, which accuses surf kings the Beach Boys of being board-dodgers. The neatest tracks are, not surprisingly, the most childish, such as the hyperactive yelp-fest that is Are We Nearly There Yet? and the blurred thinking and cowering lust that underpins the almost-touching My Mate Fancies You. Lets Play Twister is actually pretty classy rock n roll ala the Beatles in Hamburg. Think Ramones and Chuck Berry on the set of Hawaii-Five-O.
Loved their Hanna Barbara tribute Catch The Pigeon too.
As the winter closes in you could do worse than bask a little in the Jammin Arabs second-hand sunshine. Guaranteed skin-cancer free too.
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Gods Of Music
THE JAMMING ARABS For the Sun
I just love what these party nuts are serving up.
First of all, the Jamming Arabs are a hybrid band the UK, very small - 3 members or so- and their recordings are fairly rudimentary 4 track pieces. They are extremely short. This simplistic rendering of their writings makes the recording reminiscent of 80s era commercial punk and rockabilly, but this stuff has an edge. They mention early Beatles as an influence, and it has that urgency and swagger.
The song itself has a simple cord progression, but gets a lot of mileage out of it! There is a wonderful bridge. These boys are not great instrumentalists, but play with such heart, that this is really rather a germaine point. It's an irresistably charismatic performance. The verses use a rhythm guitar that sounds a lot like Xs Billy Zoom, and the solo sounds like something from the Clash's Mick Jones. The vocals are awfully good too. The recording sounds like some kids playing in my garage, and it's so damned spirited, I can't get it out of my head. When X covered Jerry Lee Lewis' "Breathless," it sounded this fresh.
It's fast. It's fun. It's a riot. A gas.
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GigBite
Reading the reviews on the Jamming Arabs website in anticipation of receiving this CD made me very interested in hearing what these guys could do. With quotes such as "Well impressive debut full of amazingly catchy pop songs" (NGG Magazine) and "Shamelessy simple feel good music" on offer, I was expecting something special.
Noone could not get excited about this 14 track CD, aptly named 'Never bin surfin'. I must say I have not been disappointed.
Now on my third listen, I've even begun to learn the words which are extremely catchy. A classic summer CD to dance to on the way to the Beach, or just to brighten up a dull day; a collection of songs that can only be played loud.
Major influence of course the fabulous Beach Boys, although The Jamming Arabs have added their own touch. My Mate fancies you and Beautiful Princess are my personal favourites, it's a must get CD, and I can't wait to see these guys live.
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UKBase
The Jamming Arabs - Never Bin Surfin' (14 Track CD)
Well, when i first got this i wasn't quite sure what to make of this, as it's just so original. The Jammin Arabs are from England not sure where but from listening to this cd you would think their from Florida via Liverpool, this is basically the Early Beatles (you know when their songs were catchy and there was alot of oooohhhs in them) mixed with a little garage punk ala The Hives with a whole lotta surf punk attitude & a lump of Ska (i know that sounds all mixed up, but if you listen to their cd you'll know what i mean) .
This CD is good fun to listen to but i wouldn't say that i could listen to it alot as it's just to weird for me. I do like the songs 'Never Been Surfin', 'Buckets & Spades' (as it reminds me a bit of Madness) & 'Catch The Pigeon' (because it's such an original version of the TV theme).
Summary : A good laugh but this is not a straight up Punk release so don't think your buying a Dickies style band just cause they like them, as you will be disappointed.
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NGG (Noise, Grunge, Garage) Magazine #6
Never Bin Surfin': Debut album from these Cleveland (UK) boys and these guys've got songs ranging thru garage/ska/punk onto a few surf instrumentals but with such brilliant songwriting they could
even make it fairly big.
Almost every song's about going to the beach - this is such a great LP for the summer.
I suppose anyone who likes stuff like The Dickies would really dig this three-piece.
Well impressive debut full of amazingly catchy pop songs.
****1/2 (out of 5 stars)
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Happy House
JAMMING ARABS - Never bin Surfin Promo TAPE (Alopecia Records)
This is a sampler of tracks from the debut album from Saltburns Jamming Arabs. Theyre a garage surf cocktail best served chilled on a hot beach in sunny California. But seeing as were here stuck in drab, miserable England then its a cool beer sat outside your local. The vocalist does bear a little similarity to Leonard Phillips from the great Dickies and the second to last track is a nice swinging love song pop number along the lines of Green Days When I Come Around. I look forward to hearing more. |
Keep It Live Magazine Aug 2001
'Never Bin Surfin' should have been reviewed this month, but time is against us, but wanted to mention them asap.
Great band with uplifting beach, ska, punk, merseybeat influences. Sounds interesting? Well it is. More in next month's issue. Catch them around in the meantime if you can.
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The Baldy Brothers, Century FM Radio
Glad our comments got noticed! We just said that your CD had arrived, and
that we thought it was brilliant. It arrived while we were on the air on
Friday morning; we stuck it in a CD player in the studio and had a listen, and
were knocked out by it - just our kind of thing.
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www.amazon.co.uk
cjthompson@darlington.ac.uk from Darlington, UK , 30 January, 2001
Excellent surfy punky happy album
I love this album. It's surfy. It's punky. It's rockin'. It's a beauty. Buy it. It doesn't cost much. My favorite track is "Never Bin Surfin'" I don't know why because all of the tracks are top notch.
A music fan from Guyana , 26 January, 2001
Class surf!
This is a great record for lovers of surf, pop, punk or just good music. the tunes are simple yet catchy, the playing is great, especially the drummer.....good stuff! this is a great record for anyone missing the summer, or for anyone having a party/bbq, whatever....buy it now and you'll not be sad!
Average customer rating: 
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Scary Sheep
V/A - Let It All Hang Out Volume One CD (Alopecia)
Before I start this review I should point out that everything I know about garage could be written on the back of a postage stamp that had been ripped into eight pieces. Bearing that in mind,
I'm probably not the best person to review this compilation of, uh, garagey rock'n'roll. Having said that, I did enjoy this collection of sloppy and trashy bands, even though the only one I'd heard of
prior to receiving this CD were Thee Headcoats. Standout band for me have to be the Jamming Arabs, with their catchy (no pun intended) tribute to Dastardly & Muttley, but most of the bands on here got my ass movin',
even if a lot of it does sound like the Kinks being played on an AM radio to my untrained ears. With twenty tracks from as many bands, this is a good introduction to the sleazy world of garagey rock'n'roll. Yeah, this rocks, baby!
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www.wenet.net/~subterra/subpuppies.html:
THE JAMMING ARABS
"Are Coming"
Delicious vocal harmonies, trashy vintage equipment, over-the-top exuberance on their debut release, featuring fab songs about going to the beach, gals, (not) surfing, buckets, spades. beer, catching the pigeon and illicit "Twister" sessions. Two songs from the album, and two others exclusive to this 7".
THE JAMMING ARABS
"Never Bin Surfin'"
The Arabs blend elements of '60s Merseybeat, '70s punk, ska, surf, garage, R'n'R, Looney Toons and anything else that gets in their way into one big partying meltdown. An amazing debut release from Saltburn's mightiest new talent, with delighfully unadorned but hi-fi production by Sir Bald. UK import.
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Middlesbrough Evening Gazette
The Jamming Arabs wore Hawaiian beachwear but declared We've Never Been
Surfing.
Judging by the lyrics of this anti surf punk song they are in good company -
apparently Elvis Presley and Queen Victoria also opted out. Well, who would
have thought?
On The Beach saw the Arabs ploughing a Ramones-like furrow and a scan of the
crowd revealed a few Ramones T-shirts. No bad thing at all. It's bright and
breezy punked up Californian pop, a formula that's hard to resist.
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Keep It Live Magazine:
Adorn those Hawaiian shirts, drop the lid on the Cabriolet, saddle up the surf board and crack those shades, The Jamming Arabs are loose with a 15 track cd.
Beach Boys on wacky baccy, Ska gone wrong, Merseybeat with more kick than a pair of Hawaiian shirts. The Jamming Arabs hail from the North East surf capital, Saltburn! Heyy it's true, and though they have never been surfin'. their frenetic tunes are ideal for winding down the sunroof and heading for sun-kissed beaches.
It's cheeky, brash and infectious. I see no relation whatsoever to Arabs or jam, but their rock n roll, surf up, merseybeat flirtations certainly contain an element of 'get up and go', all the way through the cd.
'For the Sun' opens the album, and in a way it seems appropriate: the sun is up and now they ply their sun soaked tunes over us. It's frenetic, ambitious and keeps reminding me of 'The Banana Splits'.
The groovin', funkin' 'Never Bin Surfin' is next up. The guitar is absolute sixties, taking in the many forms, regressing the listener to times of those heady days that people like me only read about, but the attitude is certainly new millennium.
A lot of the tunes have that really raw aspect, namely the comically titles 'Are We Nearly There Yet?', a light and breezy affair that incorporates even more sixties heyday presence - well-worked and utilised harmonies. 'My Mate Fancies You' has that light 'punk' attire. It sits well, but I felt it wanted to break out into a fully-fledged punk number. And so it goes on.
As it transpires, The Jamming Arabs never let up, the zest and vibrancy is so easy to fall into, which is probably their secret weapon. It's all so simple. No fancy strategies, no complicated structures, just uncomplicated and modest tunes that work.
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www.dblcrown.com/wg006.html:
The Jamming Arabs - The Jamming Arabs Are Coming EP (Alopecia)
Similar to The Ziggens or Del Noah & The Mt. Arrat Finks, The Jamming Arabs (a UK band) play a mix of surf, garage and ska to create a unique, fun and energetic sound.
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Live review, The Evening Gazette, Middlesbrough:
The Jamming Arabs served up a tasty combination of hits in the surf style.
Their version of Bohemian Rhapsody has to be heard to be believed!
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Beat Magazine, Italy:
Questa band ricorda molto i Barracudas prima maniera; molti cori su arrangiamenti surf e garage.
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Free University of Brussels Kultuurkaffee 'Court Circuit' (we don't know what the hell this is all about):
I know what you did last night. You went to a concert of the Jamming Arabs and you had a really good time with these three blokes from somewhere in England.
And you must be thinking now: "Whatever, the keenly felt loss of girls everywhere turned out to be ska-punk-surf-pop-beach-and-lesiure-music's gain." You probably bought their Alopecia-record "Never been surfin'" and you most definitely spoke with the guys. I know you. What you did afterwards I can only guess but I think I have a clear picture of what must have been going on. And I can tell you this, Laura, my best friend, I'm gonna be standing next to you on their next concert in Belgium in the Kultuurkaffee. Because I also want to have an autograph on my JA-CD and do the things you did last night.
Freeda
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Dig It! magazine, France:
Pour la route, jetez une oreille sur les quatre titres surf emplis de 'lalala' et de 'ouhouh', idiotes et rejouissants, que propose le EP des joyeux Jamming Arabs sur Alopecia,
le label de Sir Bald Diddly. L'album sort sous peu. Je leur dois quelques larmes emues et nostalgiques a l'ecoute des 'tralala' tires 'Banana Splits', les emission qui a enchante mon enfance,
bien que je me demande parfois si quelques boulons n'ont pas saute depuis, vu que j'ai jamais rencontre qui que ce soit l'ayant vu chez nous. Les Dickies aussi etaient fans,
ils avaient ose reprendre le generique en entier.
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Phil Dirt's Heavies
***
This band produces a variety of vocal garage surf pop which is definitely post Barracudas.
It's energetic, and pretty well done, but doesn't really stick in the memory like their predecessors' material does.
Ska and surf pop and general garage pop.
Picks:
Theme From El Guano **
This is an odd track, with a subtle melody like something from under the titles in a fifties Hammer film, complete with a haunted vocal chorus way in the back room.
It is much more an atmospheric backdrop than a song.
Bundaki ***
This track is an odd sorta progression with surfy sounds and a rhythmic basis. Not melodic, and not memorable, but satisfyingly simple.
I'd guess with an adequate stage presence, this is a good break from the vocal stuff. As a surf instro, it is not very satisfying.
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A Review of The Jamming Arabs and their Music:
"The only thing more pretentious than your whole attitude to music was yourselves. What a bunch of cunts.
Stick to web pages, at least you make no one squirm doing that (then again, I'm only visitor 31) You really sucked.
Don't ever play live again, pleeeaaaasssssseeeeeee"
Anonymous Music Critic, The Jamming Arabs Guestbook, 18.10.00, probably in a shit band and hung like a baby.
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none of this is necessarily true.
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