The Lonely Surfer

“The Lonely Surfer” was a top-40 single and album title track in 1963 for Jack Nitzsche.  The Ventures waited until the 1990s to do an arrangement.

You may not have heard of Jack Nitzsche as a leader, but he had an enormous career in popular music.

He was a major contributor to Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound”, working as an arranger on some of Spector’s greatest productions. He played keyboards on numerous mid-1960s sessions by the Rolling Stones, and did choral arrangements for that group’s “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”

He was involved with Neil Young recordings as producer, arranger, and keyboardist. He co-wrote the classic “Needles and Pins.” He arranged and produced for everyone from Tim Buckley, Lou Christie, the Walker Brothers, and Marianne Faithfull to the Monkees, Lesley Gore, the Neville Brothers, and Graham Parker.

And he was one of the most respected soundtrack composers of the late twentieth century, working on the scores to Performance, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Blue Collar, An Officer and a Gentleman, and The Crossing Guard.

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Hound Dog Gray

“Hound Dog Gray” is an original instrumental intended to be in the style of and to pay tribute to The Ventures as the sounded in the early 1960s.

Estrellita

“Estrellita” (Little Star) was composed in 1912 by Mexican composer Manual Ponce. It is by far his best known work, and has been performed and recorded by orchestras, instrumentalists and singers ever since it was written.

Despite its appeal, I could find no versions by any instrumental guitar groups like the Ventures or the Shadows.

I decided to rectify the situation.

Almost Sunrise

“Almost Sunrise” is an instrumental composed by Norman Petty, an organist and record producer who is best known for his association with Buddy Holly. Petty owned a recording studio in Clovis, New Mexico where Buddy Holly — and many other famous musicians such as Roy Orbison, Buddy Knox, and Waylon Jennings– made their records.

Due to his success with instrumental groups, Petty was a popular producer for bands of that genre and his Clovis Studio was one of the top “go-to” studios for the guitar instrumental sound in the early ’60s.

“Almost Sunrise” was a track on the Fireballs first album, also recorded in Clovis.

My arrangement is based on the Fireballs’ version.

Danza de la Sombra

“Danza de la Sombra” is another original instrumental composition in which I try to combine the feel of 60’s instrumental guitar rock with a somewhat more complex musical and harmonic language than was typical for that genre. With this one I tried to get a feel similar to the early 60’s style of the Shadows.

Steamroller

“Steamroller” is an original instrumental in which I try to combine the feel of 60’s instrumental guitar rock with a somewhat more complex musical and harmonic language than was typical for that genre. With this one I tried to get a feel similar to the late 60’s style of the Ventures.

In the late 1960s, Hendrix, Cream, the Beatles, the Who, and many others had pushed the boundaries of popular music. The Ventures evolved their approach so as to remain current with where popular music was going. This instrumental attempts to get that feel — sort of “Psychedelic Ventures”.

Cantina Sombra

“Cantina Sombra” is another original instrumental composition in which I try to combine the feel of 60’s instrumental guitar rock with a somewhat more complex musical and harmonic language than was typical for that genre. With this one I tried to get a feel similar to the early 60’s style of the Shadows.