Apache '65

Less than a year before kickstarting his career as the lead guitarist behind the scores to groovy '60s biker movies and teen exploitation flicks, Davie Allan and his band, The Arrows, debuted with Apache ‘65. Sounding like a more sinister version of Link Wray or The Ventures, the album caught the ear of filmmaker Roger Corman, who hired Allan and his band to cut the soundtrack to the 1966 movie The Wild Angels, starring Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra. The title track leads off with West Coast surf rock wrapped in reverb-laden Fender guitar and tube-amp tones. The following “Tee Pee” has a novel take on Native American rhythms, with more of Allan’s fretboard wizardry. While he wouldn’t find his fuzzed-out psychedelic niche until taking on those following soundtracks, it’s interesting to hear Allan wanting to edge toward something tougher and meaner-sounding than standard surf rock. “Twine Time” is a good example of this; you can hear him experimenting with guitar distortion and hints of overdriven guitar here, as well as on the appropriately titled “Scratchy.”