Hotrodder's Choice

This version of the Deuce Coupes (there was a completely different band with the same name who recorded for Crown Records) grew out of Avantis, a group formed by brothers Lolly and Pat Vegas (who went on to fame in the 1970s as Redbone). Hired by Del-Fi Records to record an instrumental album with dragster and hot rod themes, the duo churned out a dozen fairly derivative tunes, backed by some of L.A.'s finest session players. Becoming the Deuce Coupes for that album alone, which ended up being called Hotrodder's Choice, the brothers moved on to other projects when the car genre ran its course. Their one album as the Coupes is a scattershot affair, with tunes like "Gear Masher" being nothing more than an instrumental version of Berry Gordy and Barrett Strong's "Money." A couple of the tracks have intriguing grooves, however, including the percussion-laden "Tijuana Gasser," the hard-charging "Hayburner" (which bears a superficial resemblance to "Hot Rod Lincoln"), and "Nite Prowler," which turns up fairly regularly on surf and hot rod comps and was featured on the soundtrack to Home Alone 3. The seemingly constant car sounds (engines being wound up, then blasting across the speakers) is frankly pretty annoying. Fans of the genre may find Hotrodder's Choice worth seeking out, but casual listeners will no doubt find it to be a rather routine exercise in a style of music that has been done better and with more originality elsewhere.