A Record a Week: The Best of Duane Eddy

SIDE 1.
YOUR BABY'S GONE SURFIN'
REBEL ROUSER
BOSS GUITAR
MY BABY PLAYS THE SAME OLD SONG ON HIS GUITAR ALL NIGHT LONG
FIREBALL MAIL
HIGH NOON

SIDE 2.
(DANCE WITH THE) GUITAR MAN
THE BALLAD OF PALLADIN
DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
LONELY BOY, LONELY GUITAR
LIMBO ROCK
WILDWOOD FLOWER

This album has a classic surf rock feel to it. That twangy-reverb sound is one that Eddy adopted and set out for other rock and surf rock bands for years to come, including the Beach Boys.

Long before the reverb and delay pedals that are out today, Eddy used a variety of techniques to achieve the surf and spacey sounds he is known for. This includes, apparently, bringing in a large water tank to use as an echo chamber in a studio that was not equipped with one. The tone of the music is not unlike the opening theme for 3rd Rock From the Sun mixed with the style of play from any beach cafe jukebox from the 1950's (many of which probably included a few of Eddy's numerous hits).

This album is a good look, as many of the ones I explore seem to be, at the beginning of a certain style of music. You can really hear the experimental sounds of rock and surf littered throughout this record and I like the raw feeling of his earlier stuff mixed in with the developed sound of a bit later in his career.