I ran into a collection of songs, nearly all hits, all backed by the Wrecking Crew. If you're not familiar with the Wrecking Crew, go look it up and come back. We've been over it here. [Documentary below. Recommended.] In short, they were shifting number of studio musicians (the core were roughly a couple dozen) who played on a shitload of hits in the sixties and early seventies. The thing that kills me is that, of the many hits that they played on, no matter who produced the sessions, the arrangements and playing carry the songs. The players, usually not credited, were the real stars.
I've posted stuff about the Wrecking Crew several times. I've known their story for years but I'm still finding out about songs that they played on that I didn't know of. Case in point, the Ventures version of the "Hawaii Five-O" theme, just mentioned in a post a week or so ago. The Ventures were an proto-surf instrumental band. What? An instrumental band that had to have help? They weren't alone either. Other instrumental bands leaned on the Wrecking Crew as well; the Marketts, a surf band, jazz dude Lalo Schifrin and Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass to name three. Then there were the fictitious bands of scores of surf cash-in records. (Sundazed Records has a number of the latter in their Surf Legends series of compilations. Highly recommended.) I love studio geeks in general. When they're musician studio geeks, forget it, it's off the charts. Total unequivocal respect.
Jack Nitzsche - The Lonely Surfer mp3 at Internet Archive
The First Edition - Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Is In) mp3 at Internet Archive
Lalo Schifrin - Mission Impossible mp3 at Internet Archive
Paul Revere and the Raiders - Kicks mp3 at Internet Archive
The Monkees - Valleri mp3 at Internet Archive
Mason Williams - Classical Gas mp3 at Internet Archive
The Ventures - Hawaii Five-O mp3 at Internet Archive
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