The Frantics • Werewolves, Fog Cutters & Straight Flushes CD
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Werewolves, Fog Cutters & Straight Flushes brings together 34 tracks by The Frantics, the killer instrumental Rock 'n' Roll combo from Seattle who became one of the most popular groups in the U.S. North-West during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Their records were major local hits, with three reaching the lower reaches of the U.S. Top 100, and their most famous 45, Werewolf, has gone on to become an instrumental classic. The track was famously adapted by The Cramps in 1980, giving The Frantics an unexpected but important connection with the darker side of Garage and Psychobilly.
This superb collection gathers everything The Frantics recorded for the Dolton label in 1959 and 1960, alongside three later 45s recorded for local label Seafair Bolo. Both the mono and stereo mixes of Werewolf are included, as well as a fascinating selection of instrumental Rock 'n' Roll including Straight Flush, Young Blues, Fog Cutter, Black Sapphire, Checkerboard, The Whip and Yankee Doodlin'. The band's repertoire ranges from hard-driving Instro R&B and Rock 'n' Roll through to atmospheric and occasionally exotic material such as One Minute Of Flamenco (For Two Minutes), San Antonio Rose and St James' Infirmary.
There's also a fascinating extra in the form of I Love You So by The Fleetwoods with The Frantics, giving the group a rare label credit as backing musicians. With several of these recordings previously difficult to find on CD, Werewolves, Fog Cutters & Straight Flushes is a particularly valuable collection for fans of instrumental Rock 'n' Roll, Surf-adjacent Instro music, Garage Rock and the roots of Psychobilly. It's a superb document of a band whose most famous recording has had a surprisingly long afterlife.
