Straitjackets, Los – The Utterly Fantastic And Totally Unbelievable Sounds Of Los Straitjackets – New LP
- Bass – E. Scott Esbeck*
- Drums – L.J. Lester*
- Engineer – Brad Jones (2)
- Guitar – Danny Amis, Eddie Angel
- Illustration [Cover Illustration] – Brad Talbott
- Mastered By – Jonathan Wyner
- Mixed By – Rodger Moutenout*
- Photography By – Jim Hagans
- Producer – Ben Vaughn
"The Utterly Fantastic and Totally Unbelievable Sound of Los Straitjackets was a stunning debut album, crackling with malevolent energy and laser-like musical focus. The sound of an explosion that opens the album-opening romp “Fury!” quickly falls away beneath a flurry of percussion, and then the razor-sharp guitars burst off the grooves and lobotomize your expectations. The 14 tracks are largely original instrumentals crafted by Amis or Angel, and the album was produced by singer/songwriter Ben Vaughn, himself no stranger to retro sounds. The album offers the listener a veritable smorgasbord of rad sounds, from the band’s strutting theme song “Straitjacket” (more than a little inspired by “Peter Gunn,” but without the sax riffs) or the early ‘60s exploitation flick sound of “Caveman” (complete with grunts) to the high-gloss, Link Wray-textured oceanfront property of “Calhoun Street” (the album’s lone cover, of a Raybeats tune) or the rumbling “Tailspin.”
“Danny Amis and I had a pretty good backlog of songs we had written over the years,” writes Angel. “Danny had been in the popular guitar instrumental band the Raybeats and I had released an instrumental 45 in 1981, ‘Rampage’ backed/with ‘Lynxtail’. We didn’t have a plan to speak of – we just did what came organically. We knew we wanted it to be like the bands we loved like the Ventures, the Shadows, and Link Wray. We also were big fans of the Beatles. I think the one thing that set us apart from a lot of other instrumental bands was our songwriting; we were more into having a good song than pyrotechnic guitar playing. Our philosophy was we wanted to be fun and entertaining and have good songs."
"The band’s sophomore effort, ¡Viva! LosStraitjackets, appeared the following year and it stayed relatively true to the musical blueprint the band had mapped out with its debut, displaying but a slight expansion upon the surf-rock and rockabilly roots of its predecessor. Opening with the spry “Cavalcade,” the song features some rhythmic exotica worthy of Lex Baxter or Martin Denny. “Casbah” takes its inspiration from the other side of the globe, vaguely Middle Eastern rhythm patterns embroidered upon by the stinging fretwork of Amis and Angel, which sounds like a heady mix of Wray, Dick Dale, and Duane Eddy. The brilliant “Pacifica” is romantic mood music heavy with trembling guitars and emotional tremolo while the crazed sound of “Espionage” is pure 1960s-era film soundtrack with plenty of time changes and colorful instrumental passages. “Nightmare In Monte Cristo” is a more somber affair, the band painting a dark and disturbing tale with nothing more than the lonesome sound of their instruments.
"What are Angel’s favorite memories of making these first two Los Straitjackets albums? “We had a bunch of songs from years past that this band was a perfect outlet for, plus we had been rehearsing for months before the first record. Ben Vaughn was in town and was staying at Danny’s house – we asked him to produce the record. We were funding this record on our own…we cut it live in two days at Brad Jones’ studio in Nashville. Ben basically left us to do our thing on this first record.”
"Continuing, Angel remembers, “(for) the second album, Ben Vaughn recommended we record at Mark Linett’s studio, ‘Your Place or Mine’, in Glendale, California. Ben had more involvement on this record; he brought many ideas to this album. One of my fondest memories was that Mark Linett had possession of some Beach Boys master tapes – he played us some individual tracks (isolated vocals, etc.) – that’s something I’ll never forget! Another memory…Mark had a pool with a cabana and a jukebox…we played Marlena (Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons) over and over. I also had my first introduction to Trader Joe’s in Glendale!”
"Although street-level DIY music zines provided both of these albums with lots of love, mainstream rags like Spin and Rolling Stone completely ignored them. Only Ira Robbins, in The Trouser Press Guide to ‘90s Rock, took notice of the Los Straitjackets’ brilliance. Writing about the band’s debut, Robbins says “On a scale of one to kowabunga, Los Straitjackets are mighty nifty, playing salty reverb-drenched originals…if Los Straitjackets add nothing new to the genre (though Angel’s memorable “University Blvd.” has the makings of a twang repertoire standard), they uphold its great traditions in jubilantly timeless fashion."
"Los Straitjackets’ first two albums were recently reissued by Yep Roc Records on both CD and, for the first time, on vinyl, in celebration of the band’s 25th anniversary. Both albums have been long out-of-print and hard to come by, demanding collectors’ prices (when you can find them)."
