''Guitar Beat'' is the debut album by the
neo-surf band the
Raybeats
The Raybeats were an American instrumental neo-surf rock combo from New York City that arose from the No Wave musical scene. The original line-up consisted of Don Christensen (drums), Jody Harris (guitar), Pat Irwin (guitar, saxophone, Acetone ...
. It was released in 1981 and produced by
Martin Rushent
Martin Charles Rushent (11 July 1948 – 4 June 2011) was an English record producer, best known for his work with The Human League, The Stranglers and Buzzcocks.
Early life
Rushent was born on 11 July 1948 in Enfield, Middlesex. His father ...
. The album features ten original
instrumental
An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...
s, plus a
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music style ...
cover.
In
tongue-in-cheek
The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner.
History
The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...
fashion, the original
LP sleeve characterized the first side as the "listless, spotty & wasteful side" and the second as the "brave, clean & reverent side". The
record sleeve
A record sleeve is the outer covering of a vinyl record. Alternative terms are ''dust sleeve'', ''album liner'' and ''liner''.
The term is also used to denominate the outermost cardboard covering of a record, i.e. the ''record jacket'' or ''album ...
also featured on the front a
hand-colored photo of the band by photographer Laura Levine.
Reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
called it "a magnificent, echo-drenched set of concise and atmospheric riff-driven tunes that in a better world would have turned up as the soundtrack for a
James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
movie directed by
David Lynch."
Track listing
All compositions by
Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin (born May 17, 1955) is an American composer and musician who was a founding member of two bands that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s, the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy. He joined The B-52s from 1989 through 200 ...
,
Jody Harris
Jody Harris is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer who was born in Kansas and became a central figure in the seminal no wave scene in New York City in the 1970s.
Career history
Harris was lead guitarist in the Contortions, an ...
, Don Christensen and
George Scott III
George Scott III (October 16, 1953 - August 5, 1980) was a bass player for several New York City bands during the No Wave era. He was a founding member of 8-Eyed Spy and the Raybeats, and he worked with James Chance and the Contortions, James Wh ...
except as indicated.
Side one
#"Tight Turn"
#"Big Black Sneakers"
#"Tone Zone"
#"The Backstroke" (Irwin, Harris, Christensen)
#"B-Gas Rickshaw" (
Jan Berry
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
)
#"International Operator"
Side two
#"Searching"
#"The Calhoun Surf" (Danny Amis)
#"Piranha Salad"
#"Cocktails" (Irwin, Harris, Christensen)
#"Guitar Beat" (Irwin, Harris, Scott, Amis)
Personnel
*
Jody Harris
Jody Harris is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer who was born in Kansas and became a central figure in the seminal no wave scene in New York City in the 1970s.
Career history
Harris was lead guitarist in the Contortions, an ...
-
electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...
*Danny Amis -
bass, guitar
*
Pat Irwin
Pat Irwin (born May 17, 1955) is an American composer and musician who was a founding member of two bands that grew out of New York City's No Wave scene in the late 1970s, the Raybeats and 8-Eyed Spy. He joined The B-52s from 1989 through 200 ...
-
alto saxophone,
organ, guitar
*Don Christensen - drums
References
1981 debut albums
Albums produced by Martin Rushent
Passport Records albums
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