FREDDY AND THE FOUR-GONE CONCLUSIONS
Wigged Out Sounds (Get Hip)
Reviewed by Alan Wright

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I liked the music Freddy Fortune was making with Fortune & Maltese, but nothing prepared me for how fab this newer combo would be. This CD is amazing, a cornucopia of wild '60s sounds, ranging from Merseybeat type songs ("It's Me") to Yardbirds-style rave-ups ("Fell From Grace") to folk-rock ("Today") to freakbeat psychedelia ("I Can't See You"). The production is great without being slick and sounds very 1960s. Songs like "It's Me" nick a bit from the Who, and you can hear echoes of Love, the Byrds, the Sonics, the 13th Floor Elevators, the Nightcrawlers - whose "Little Black Egg" gets a sequel here in the form of "Little Purple Bird" - among others. A cover of Del Shannon's "Stand Up" even features Shannon sideman/producer Max Crook on his famous "Musitron" organ. The thing that really makes this stand out is the quality of the songwriting. These songs are all really, really good. Check out the psycho garage stomp of "(Come Over) To My Side" where Freddy cuts loose with a snotty snarl and the fuzz - and fuzz-wah guitar solo that pans between the left and right speakers - is out of control. Great cover art, great tunes, great band. Get this!

[Pick this up at www.gethip.com.]

© 2003 - Alan Wright