| Planetary Pebbles, Volume 3: Surfbeat Behind the Iron Curtain | ||||
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| Compilation album | ||||
| Released | January 14, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | 1963 - 1966 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:00:09 | |||
| Label | AIP | |||
| chronology | ||||
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Planetary Pebbles, Volume 3: Surfbeat Behind the Iron Curtain (subtitled Part 2) is a compilation album featuring underground surf and garage rock musical artists east of the Iron Curtain that recorded between 1963 and 1967. It is the third and final installment of the Planetary Pebbles series, a sub-series to the Pebbles series, and was released on January 14, 1999 (see 1999 in music).
A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for release together as a single work, but may be collected together as a greatest hits album or box set. If from several performers, there may be a theme, topic, time period, or genre which links the tracks, or they may have been intended for release as a single work—such as a tribute album. When the tracks are by the same recording artist, the album may be referred to as a retrospective album or an anthology.
Underground music comprises musical genres beyond mainstream culture. Any song that is not being legally commercialized is considered underground.
Garage rock is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced various revivals since then. The style is characterized by basic chord structures played on electric guitars and other instruments, sometimes distorted through a fuzzbox, as well as often unsophisticated and occasionally aggressive lyrics and delivery. Its name derives from the perception that groups were often made up of young amateurs who rehearsed in the family garage, although many were professional.
The music featured consisted primarily of surf rock instrumentals unexpectedly inspired by the recordings of the Shadows. Taking into account that conditions and recording techniques were primitive in comparison to their Western counterparts, the material evokes an additional layer of eeriness. However, there were exceptions to this with the Czech band, the Olympics, singing slurred English on "Story of the Girl with the Bass Guitar", the East German Team Four's authentic folk rock number, and Mondial, whose track was strikingly similar to Paul Revere and the Raiders. Less surprisingly, the vocals were influenced by music groups of the British Invasion. Among the most unusual songs was a cover version of Booker T. and the MGs' "Hip Hug-Her" by the T. Schumann Combo. [1] [2]
The Shadows were an English instrumental rock group, and were Cliff Richard's backing band from 1958 to 1968 and have also collaborated again on numerous reunion tours. The Shadows have placed 69 UK charted singles from the 1950s to the 2000s, 35 credited to the Shadows and 34 to Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The group, who were in the forefront of the UK beat-group boom, were the first backing band to emerge as stars. As pioneers of the four-member instrumental format, the band consisted of lead guitar, rhythm guitar, bass guitar and drums. Their range covers pop, rock, surf rock and ballads with a jazz influence.
The Czech Republic, also known by its short-form name, Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres (30,450 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental climate and oceanic climate. It is a unitary parliamentary republic, with 10.6 million inhabitants; its capital and largest city is Prague, with 1.3 million residents. Other major cities are Brno, Ostrava, Olomouc and Pilsen. The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, the United Nations, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe.
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre combining elements of folk music and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival and the influence that the Beatles and other British Invasion bands had on members of that movement. Performers such as Bob Dylan and the Byrds—several of whose members had earlier played in folk ensembles—attempted to blend the sounds of rock with their preexisting folk repertoire, adopting the use of electric instrumentation and drums in a way previously discouraged in the U.S. folk community. The term "folk rock" was initially used in the U.S. music press in June 1965 to describe the Byrds' music.
Planetary Pebbles, Volume 3 is the follow-up to the first album of the series, Surfbeat Behind the Iron Curtain, Volume 1 , which also contained Eastern European group recordings. Like its predecessor, volume 3 assembled among the most rarest material available in any Pebbles series. However, volume 3 was more favorable for strictly containing European bands east of the Iron Curtain. [3]
Surfbeat Behind the Iron Curtain, Volume 1 is a compilation album featuring underground garage and surf rock musical artists east of the Iron Curtain that were recorded between 1963 and 1966. It is the first installment of the Planetary Pebbles series, which was a sub-series to the Pebbles series, and was released on AIP Records, on August 12, 1997.
