(Voodoo Rhythm) www.voodoorhythm.com
The Swiss crazies at Voodoo Rhythm have really flipped their collective wigs with this one. Die Zorros is an in-house supergroup consisting of VR head honcho Beat Man on the minimalist, toy store drums, Olifr M. Guz (Guz, Averells) on the fat, bleating Farfisa organ, and Patrik Abt (Betty Guzzy Orchestra) on guitar and bass. As Die Zorros, they de-construct and rearrange popular tunes in their signature "Low Rock" style. So, what is 'low rock'? Good question. It's kinda like trying to build a fully functioning rocket ship with nothing but construction paper, scissors, and Elmer's glue. The largely instrumental rave-ups are one-take wonders of crazed improvisation, and I can pretty much guarantee that you've never heard anything like it, unless
you run the band class at the local nuthouse. This thing is just bursting with jaw dropping highlights, but special mention has to go to their psyche-folk interpretation of the Bee Gee's "Massachusetts". Besides the almost tender calliope organ and Duane Eddy guitar, it's notable because, being Swiss and all, they don't know all the words, so they just sing "Massachusetts" over and over again, adding a few "Yeah, babys!" in there to liven things up. Hippy anthem "San Francisco" is the obvious follow-up, and they play it exactly the same way as "Massachusetts", only with some whistling to cover up the lyrics that they don't know. "Stairway to Heaven" is in there too, sort of, but the best track of all has got to be the closer, a full-on spaghetti western twang-o-rama version of Europe's puffball metal ballad, "Final Countdown". Yeah, you heard me right. Without even trying, Die Zorros have created one of the most subversive rock and roll records ever. They have taken untouchable 'classics' like "Be Bop a Lula" and turned them into so much Play-dough, giddily molding them into crazy new shapes and twisty new sounds. This one's a loopy masterpiece, as Die Zorros tell you themselves in the liner notes:"Die Zorros is the only band in Switzerland to ever play in Germany (in Switzerland there are only seven bands) and Die Zorros are the best of the seven...so, they are the best band in the world. If you buy this record and wait ten years, then you'll see. You'll be a millionaire. Forget about ABBA, or the Beatles, or Engelbert Humperdink, or the Osmonds, or Elvis...the Zorros are something like God."
...I'm pretty much gonna go along with that. Fully amazing.