Welcome to The Falcons' Rebel Jukebox - 13 classic Falcons instros plus Cruel Sea and The Mexican with Bill Bonney of the legendary 60s UK band, The Fentones, on bass. Originally released in 2001 with liner notes by The Ventures, Rebel Jukebox has been re-mixed and mastered in analogue to celebrate The Falcons' 20th anniversary. Complete with a handsome cardboard cover. REVIEWS... The Falcons, Vancouver's own instro-surf quartet celebrate their 20th anniversary with the All Instro - All Modern recording, 'Rebel Jukebox' in glorious Nearstereo. Lead guitarist, Mike Beddoes explains much with his insightful liner notes. I learned to play guitar by copying rock & roll I heard on the radio. The singers were young so I assumed that kids, just a little older than me were playing. Some of the songs were quite sophisticated and difficult but I learned them anyway. Years later, I discovered it was all a cruel hoax. Most of those 'kids' were in their 20s and 30s ... some even pushing 40! Like his inspirations, Beddoes and his buddies are now elder statesmen of their craft. In today's music world we hear surf guitar sounds in Latin and Brazilian music, Arabic, Balkan, Russian, Cambodian, you name it. Again, we are as a species all closely tied to the ocean. Who knows from what shores the next great instro guitar surf band will arise? Like Mike Beddoes, they will have to learn the intricacies by listening closely to the masters who continue to ply and play in the shadows of pop culture bombast. The Falcons are a rare sighting; Los Straitjackets are silver foxes behind their trademark Mexican wrestling masks. But, we're very lucky indeed that these veterans are still making the music they love. You can even catch Dick Dale in concert occasionally with his son on drums. Rebel Jukebox is a priceless collection of instrumentals, diving into the many nuances of this genre from the classic surf of 'Dreamrider', the 12-string jangle of 'Restless', the slow burn, Rumblesque 'Daughters of Night', the near-Knopfler 'One Ireland' and south of the border fry-ups like 'Renegado'. Surf culture is global culture. Thanks to bands like The Falcons and recordings like Rebel Jukebox, young players can listen and learn the music that continues to give it voice. - Cal Koat, World Beat Canada Veteran instrumental guitar-rock combo The Falcons first released Rebel Jukebox in 2001 to rave notices. To mark the group's 20th anniversary, the album has been re-mixed and remastered in analogue, with real spring reverb. The results will thrill lovers of the genre. The Falcons mix styles nicely, incorporating rockabilly and other genres into their surf-rock based sound. If you dig The Shadows, The Ventures, or Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, you'll love this. Mainman Mike Beddoes has a great tone on his lead guitar and writes real catchy tunes. Prime party aural beach mix. - Kerry Doole, New Canadian Music After listening to a couple songs from the new edition of the Falcons' 2001 album of the same name, I feel like I'm hanging out a beach with surfer dudes and babes all around. That is a good thing. This is sophisticated instrumental surf rock and they're from Vancouver! - Erik Coates, CITR Radio, Vancouver Remixed and remastered version of Canada's Falcons' album we reviewed enthusiastically way back in 2001. They are constantly a band we don't hear enough of so this is welcome. Favourite cuts are 'Highway 99', a brilliant rocking four on the floor stomper and 'Dream Rider' with Mike Beddoes' unique and enthralling lead guitar sound with excellent support throughout the band and 'Island Fadeaway' a lovely gentle swinging exotica twang with great percussion. The boys put their own spin on 'Cruel Sea' and 'The Mexican' as bonus tracks and to their credit, they don't reflect anyone else's version. 'Winter Roads' is a neat jogalong country tune while 'Half Nelson' is a rocking uptempo tribute to the great Sandy Nelson and a superb job done by drummer Andre. As we said, last time ...**** (4 stars) - Davy Peckett, New Gandy Dancer, #110 As Dave noted in his revi
