The Sun Spots
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
:: I've Got You Under My Skin ::
:: You Are My Sunshine ::
:: Ikaw ::
:: A Lot Of Livin' To Do ::
:: La Bamba ::
:: Drumology ::
:: Just One Of Those Things ::
:: River ::
:: Girl From Ipanema ::
:: You Gotta Love Everybody ::
:: San Antonio Rose ::
Firstly things firstly, that's one awesome cover. If by chance this record was putrid, I knew I had, at the very least, yet another wall decoration to confirm how much of a music nerd I am. I had a pretty good feeling about this one, though, and overall this is one of the cooler things I've found recently.
What do we know about The Sun Spots? Not much. Four lively lads from Manila who came over to try to make it big in the States in the early 1960's. They hooked up with Bobby Morris, a local Vegas drummer who'd played with some big names and got a nightclub act together. On the liner notes, he's referred to as their "big brother," and from some poking around it seems he's still making music in Las Vegas. God bless ya, Bobby.
Musically, the formula here seems to be uptempo arrangements with plenty of harmonies. Although the picture shown has them sporting instruments, I am guessing they probably only sang at the shows, backed by their big brother's crack band. The overall sound is interesting, and apart from the one number sung partly in Tagalog (Ikaw, which means "you",) you wouldn't know these guys were from somewhere else. OK, maybe you can hear their accents every once in a while.
Finally, I have to show you the picture from the back cover of a review by a man named Forrest Duke, who is now going to be one of my favorite obscure pop culture figures. Seems in addition to writing Vegas entertainment columns, he also had a late night TV show there. I have to assume he's no longer with us, but just look at that magnificent bastard - The Visting Fireman!
Tony
