johnny barakat & the vestells
Johnny Barakat recorded at Paul Buff's PAL studio. One of his recordings features Frank Zappa on bass vocals.
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.7" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The late
Johnny Barakat was a lesser-known surf guitarist on the scene, but he was one of
the most prolific within a short period. Disabled as a child by a shooting at
his father's store, Barakat developed his guitar skills to get him through his
recovery period. He formed the backing group The Vestells and he was on his way.
Johnny released just one single at the time ("Happy Time"/ "Long
Ride"), but all of his known studio works at the time (all done at Pal
Studios) were released in 1996. That is, until now. A tape of three unreleased
Barakat masters was located recently, and one of them, "All Night
Long," appears here. It's short but powerful."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.10" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Johnny Barakat & The Vestells' version of "Jezebel"
has never been released, and who do you think sang the bass vocal? Yes, it's Sir
F of Z!
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.11" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The third and final unissued Johnny Barakat & The
Vestells track, a cover of Stan Jones' "(Ghost) Riders In The Sky," is
probably the most stunning of the three."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.12" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Johnny
Barakat & The Vestells' "Happy Time" is completely unrelated to
The Cordells' tune of the same name. The Barakat song was the A-side of his
single on the Dell-Star label in 1963. What is related is Johnny Fortune's
second unissued take of "The Battle Of Jericho," which has more reverb
than the first version released on an earlier volume."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.13" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Johnny Barakat & The Vestells were very busy at Pal
Studios during 1963, as their "Sophisticated Surfer" and
"Smack" indicate. Their sound was almost as rough as The Velveteens at
times, but both groups shared the same enthusiasm in playing their material.
Barakat's reference to "Candid Camera" will probably pass by many
younger people today, but the older folks will remember how popular that TV show
was!
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.14" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"In the meantime, you can do some comparing and
contrasting work! Compare Johnny Barakat's later, reverb-drenched version of
"(Ghost) Riders In The Sky" to the unreleased version issued on Volume
11."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.15" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Buff's
second backing track for "Donna" leads into Johnny Barakat's second
version of "Static." Yes, that's Barakat yelling at his father at the
end of the track! You see, Mr. Barakat controlled every moment that his son and
The Vestells were in the studio, and he was the official timekeeper. It was his
job to tell Johnny how much time was left for their session, and when he didn't
do that after a take, Johnny yelled at him!"
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.16" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The first
take of Johnny Barakat's "Static" follows, and we get more of Johnny
yelling at his dad at the end!"
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.17" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"We
continue the surf theme with Johnny Barakat's version of the traditional
"Shortnin' Bread," which he called "Surfin' Bread." Later
on, we have Barakat's "Surf Madness," another of his many Pal masters."
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.18" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"The Bongo Teens' "The Happy Surfer" is the
original stereo mix and is just as the title describes! Two other alternate
mixes of songs released on other volumes include a mono vocal mix of The Buff
Organization's "The Square" and the first stereo mix of Johnny
Fisher's "Dream Tonight." Johnny Barakat chips in with his rough,
energetic Pal session "5-4-3-2-1 Surf!".
from the "Paul Buff presents the PAL and Original Sound studio archives,
vol.19" liner notes by Greg Russo:
"Another
surf title, Johnny Barakat's "Go Surfer Mo (El Zebra)," takes us into
The Hollywood Persuaders' "Organ Stomp." That HP track was not
released until recently. The Frank Zappa-written B-side of the Bob Guy single,
"Letter From Jeepers," is yet another piece of lunacy!"
various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.7 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.10 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.11 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.12 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.13 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.14 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.15 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.16 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.17 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.18 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives, vol.19 (2010, download, -, crossfire publications) - feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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various artists: paul buff presents the pal and
original sound studio archives: the collection (2011, flash-drive, usa, crossfire publications) = the complete 35 album series, with bonus liner notes on pdf and 56 extra tracks |
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various artists:
paul buff presents highlights from the pal and original sound studio
archives (2012, 5cd-box, usa, crossfire publications) = a selection of the pal and original sound studio collection // feat.contributions by frank zappa |
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