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Various Artists

Beware! Insects and Spiders! - 28 Buzzin' Blasters from the Vaults of Horror

Review by Gary Hill

The packaging on this CD seems to try to play up the creepy, spooky side of it. That's why I saved it for review until "spooky season" was coming. While everything here is about "bugs," I don't think much of it is creepy. That said, it's one of the more successful collections like this from Bear Family. I think the mix of music is more to my liking, so that's why I came to that conclusion. Your mileage may vary, but there is a lot of interesting stuff here. I should mention that I previously reviewed the two Link Davis songs, so the track reviews here are modified from the earlier review for the sake of consistency.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024  Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Track by Track Review
Buddy Merrill - The Green Hornet
This has some "Flight of the Bumble Bee" built into it. At its core it's a surf guitar jam that works really well. This is fun stuff.
Curtis Knight and The Squires, feat. Jimi Hendrix - Hornet's Nest

As you might guess, the guitar on this is on fire. I dig the organ work, too. This is another instrumental. It's a driving tune that rocks out like crazy.       

LaVern Baker - Bumble Bee

This is more of a contemporary pop song. The guitar sound is cool. I'm not crazy about the doo wop backing vocals. That said, the lead vocal performance is strong. It's a fun song overall.

Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra - Buzzin' Around With The Bee

The piano and horn work on this is great. The track has a solid groove and a lot of energy. This is a fun jazz romp. It's mostly an instrumental, but there are a couple lines of vocals in the mix.

Winifred Atwell - Bumble Boogie

A boogie piano rendition of "Flight of the Bumble Bee," this thing is on fire.        

Hank Williams - Fly Trouble
Built on a down-home country arrangement, this is a big change from anything we've heard to this point. It has its charms, but is a bit of a let-down for me.     
Buddy Lucas - Get Away, Fly
Blues and jazz merge on this cool number. It has a lot of charm and style.             
Chubby Checker - The Fly
Basically a variant on "The Twist," this is exactly what you'd expect from Chuck Berry.
Martin Denny - Tsetse Fly

With an arrangement built on tuned and non-tuned percussion, this is bouncy and fun.

Bobby Christian with The Allen Sisters - The Spider And The Fly

There is a driving sort of weird musical arrangement. The vocals have a theatrical spoken thing at play. They go a little overboard in trying to be creepy. This has an artsy vibe to it, and I respect the experimental nature, but it definitely feels like a novelty song.

John Zacherley - The Spider And The Fly

This has weird dialog and a piano backdrop. This artist was a horror host on the East Coast at one time. This has a theatrical novelty song feeling to it. It's another strange one, but it's fun.

The Nobles - Black Widow

We're back into surf guitar territory on this thing.    

Jack Hammer and The Pacers - Black Widow Spider Woman
This rock and roller is a lot of fun. It has plenty of energy and the wailing saxophone adds a lot of magic to it.
Bob Regan - Tarantula

I dig this guitar instrumental a lot. It's fun. It has some killer guitar work, too.

Bruce Gist and The Invaders - Tarantula

More of a surf guitar sound is at the heart of this piece.

The Sabres - Spider Walk

This rock and roller is pretty classy. It's sort of a mid-tempo romp. They add some little vocal flair at times to try to make it a little spooky.          

The Tarantulas - Tarantula
I really love the guitar work on this instrumental track. In fact, this piece is one of my favorites here. It just oozes style and cool. The organ is a nice touch, as well.
The Storms (Feat. Jody Reynolds) - Tarantula

This is another classy instrumental piece. It is also another of my favorites here.    

Abie 'Available' Baker - The Web
There is a creepy, slow jazzy groove to this piece. As strong as the last couple were, I think I might like this one even more. The vocals at times seem to take away from the number for me, but they add to it at other points. 
The Royal Teens - Little Cricket
This has an old time pop meets rock and roll groove. It seems a little too cheery and light-weight to me. The cricket sound on the track is really annoying. I think this might qualify as a "skip" track for me.
Freddy Sunder with The Ronnex Orchestra - Cucaracha Boogie

This jazzy contemporary pop number is way too vanilla for my tastes. While I think it's a step up from the last one, and I do like the piano and the instrumental break, it's not up the level of a lot of the other music here.   

Link Davis - Grasshopper Rock
The saxophone soloing on this stomper is so strong. This is a high-energy romp that works well.
Gene Maltais - The Bug

This rocking romp is a lot of fun. It's a pretty basic old-school rock and roller.

Brook Benton - The Boll Weevil Song
More of a country tune, the vocals are largely near spoken. This has some fun vibes.
Moon Mullican - The Wedding Of The Bugs

A rockabilly pop piece, this is entertaining. It's also silly and a little light-weight.

Chet 'Poison' Ivey - Lady Bug

This bouncy and energized rock and roller works pretty well.

The Swing Kings - The Bug

A guitar instrumental piece, this is pretty dated in sound, but it is fun.

Link Davis - Beatle Bug

This instrumental tune is high energy and so cool. It's a standout. It seems to deftly merge old-school rock and roll with jazz. Both the horn playing and the guitar get a chance to be showcased.

 
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