Record Review - 3 January 29 2004

Restless in L.A. commemorates 40 years of professional recording for guitarist Davie Allan, whose fabled fuzztone put the “drive” in many drive-in movie soundtracks. Among them is 1966’s The Wild Angels, which showcased Allan’s uncanny ability to mimic motorcycles with his instrument. Although this new CD contains a re-recorded rendition of that film’s theme, it’s just a parting glance in the rearview mirror as Restless roars triumphantly into the 21st century.

Allan changes chords like he’s shifting gears, increasing the pace for the high-power pursuit of “Arrow Highway,” then dropping back for darker film noir effects on the title track. Drummer David Winogrond’s cymbals pound like pistons against the walls of an overheated engine block during “Kick Back,” and the trio rises to nearly operatic heights for “The Loud, the Loose, and the Savage.” The latter substitutes hoofbeats for Harleys as it conjures images of Clint Eastwood puffing a cigarillo.

Most remarkable of all are the disc’s two vocal selections. “Wicked Woman” benefits from the gentle timbre of bassist Bruce Wagner’s voice, working in airy counterpoint to the raging guitars. Allan himself even joins in on “I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night),” a remarkably colorful and expressive rendition of the Electric Prunes’ infamous Nuggets gem. But, under generous applications of Allan’s trademark roaring overdrive, the psychedelic becomes cycle-delic.