Search - Duane Eddy :: His Twangy Guitar & Rebels

Many Delights

06/22/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1986, Duane recorded with Art of Noise, a collaboration that brought a new
twist to his 1960 best seller, "Peter Gunn". The song was an instant, Top Ten hit
around the world, ranking #1 on Rolling Stone Magazine's dance chart for six
weeks that summer. As further confirmation of it's success. "Peter Gunn" won the
Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental of 1986. The following year, a new album, the self-titled, Duane Eddy, was
released on Capitol. As a tribute to his influence and inspiration to
so many young players, a crowd of unbelievable talent came along
to be a part of this project. Tracks were recorded by Paul McCartney,
Jeff Lynne, Ry Cooder, Art of Noise, and Duane. The "band" included
John Fogerty, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ry Cooder, James
Burton, David Lindley, Steve Cropper, and original Rebels, Larry
Knechtel and Jim Horn. Oliver Stone used "The Trembler", the track written by Eddy and Ravi Shankar, in his film Natural Born Killers to help create a spine-chilling scene set against a violent thunderstorm in the desert. "Rockabilly Holiday" is one of many highlights on the album in which Eddy shows he can do more than twang (note: you can hear him casually sighing "whoops" as he muffs one of the riffs)."

Duane Eddy in successful all-star settings

09/16/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I first bought this on vinyl when it was released in the late 1980s - it has grown on me since then. My favorite tracks are "Theme for Something Really Important," and "The Trembler," both with George Harrison, Jim Keltner and Jeff Lynne. Duane once told an "American Routes" radio interviewer about how George Harrison brought the theme of "The Trembler" to the session - apparently Ravi Shankar had hummed it to Harrison years before. Eddy wrote the middle piece and fleshed out the rest, hence the Shankar/Eddy credit on the album notes. Harrison's understated fills and harmonies in the higher registers - probably two octaves above Eddy - add a lot to both songs. David Lindley supplies a great slide solo in "Los Companeros," one of the two tracks featuring him with Ry Cooder. But make no mistake, Duane Eddy remains in control and out front throughout this album - it's a rare pleasure when superstar sessions work out this well."