Davie Allan & The Arrows – Cycle Breed (2008)

Based in Los Angeles, USA, this quartet, Davie Allan (lead guitar), Paul Johnson (rhythm guitar), Steve Pugh (bass) and Larry Brown (drums), arrived in the wake of fellow instrumental stylists Dick Dale and the Ventures. Allan’s distinctive, ‘heavy fuzz’ sound was already prominent on ‘Apache ’65’, a feature that remained constant despite a fluctuating Arrows line-up. This exciting single was a regional hit, prompting a hurriedly recorded album of the same name. The set was produced by Mike Curb, who was well known for supplying soundtrack music for the numerous movies emerging from the AIP film studio. Allan contributed to several subsequent Curb-instigated albums, usually as a member of the many pseudo-groups Curb organized around Hollywood-based session musicians. However, the guitarist received full credit for ‘Blue’s Theme’ culled from the 1966 film The Wild Angels. Allan and the Arrows were rewarded with their sole US Top 40 entry when this track was issued as a single. The Cycle-delic Sounds Of Davie Allan And The Arrows captured the group at a creative peak, blending hard riffs and tight melodies with a dash of acid rock. By the end of the 60s Allan’s sound had become passé, but he remains one of the decade’s finest exponents of the guitar instrumental.