Awesome!!!
panamajaq | the Bay Area, California | 09/13/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Wow! I'm the first person to review this. It's really an honor, since it is such a great album. I mean, it's really good -- almost Grammy Award material. That's my opinion, anyway. I don't know how many people would agree with me, the world's only teenage surf music fan. Actually, I had never heard of Davie Allan until very recently, when I was thumbing through the "All Music Guide to Rock" (which is a great book, by the way). I was looking at the family tree of instrumental music in the back of the guide when I noticed a branch the read "Instumental Surf Pshychedlia." This caught my eye, for I had never heard of such a thing. Davie Allan & the Arrows were the only band listed under this branch. A few months later I was in the music store looking for some of Davie Allan's CD's. This was the only one they had, so I bought it. I opened it with some aprehension, because I had never heard any of Allan's music except for "Blues Theme." However, I was not at all disapointed when the first track, "The Toxic Terror," started to play. In fact, this song is one of the greatest instrumentals I have ever heard. Other standout songs include the title track, "Restless in L.A.," and the hard-rocking "Energized," and "Arrow Highway." "The Loud, the Loose, and the Savage," and the "Stranger," are great tributes to the Spaghetti Western music of Ennio Morricone. The rest of the songs are good, too. Actually, most of them are not surf songs (Allan & the Arrows, like the Ventures, don't consider themselves a "surf band.") But there is NO weak material in this album, which Allan has dedicated to his mother who died a few years ago.
It's odd that the "All Music Guide" criticizes Allan for being unimaginative. I think that his music is very imaginative, although it might be slightly repetative at times. There are no other musicians that I know of who are anything like Davie Allan and the Arrows. If you have never heard Allan's music before, I ask you to imagine a cross between Dick Dale and Joe Satriani. That's the best I can describe it, although he might not be as talented or creative as Dale or Satriani (okay, he's definitely not as talented as Satriani, but who is?). He is definitely a better musician than the likes of Justin Timburlake, Eminem, Britney Spears, and the other "artists" whose annoying, uninspired and formulaic noise floods today's mainstream. Why? Well, for one thing, HE ACTUALLY PLAYS AN INSTRUMENT. And he and his band actually make REAL MUSIC. Although this is the only album of his I've heard, I can tell you that if you are a fan of surf, hot rod, psychedelia, etc., or you just want a break from the bland alternative rock that is so popular today, you will love this."
HIS MASTERPIECE! RATES 10 STARS
S. Miller | Alpine, CA USA | 10/21/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"At an age when a lot of musicians are resting on their laurels and long past their best work both Dick Dale and Davie Allan have both released the best work of their careers. Dick Dale with his cd Spacial Disorientation and Davie Allan with Restless in L. A.. I'm 50 years old and first heard Davie Allan in the 60s' when the song Blue's Theme was a hit on top 40 radio. Out of the over 2000 cds I own, for the last month this is the one I listen to over and over,and instead of it getting old it just keeps getting better. For anybody that likes instrumental rock guitar [there are two vocals included] buy this cd and discover someone who deserves to be mentioned in the company of other guitar legends. I'm gonna go turn up the volume on the stereo and listen to "Demente" right now!"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1