by Al Campbell
Davie Allan & the Arrows provided the soundtracks for both great and &so bad they're good& category exploitation biker films of the '60s. Much like the films they scored, these soundtracks were recorded fast and without a lot of money, translating to a few amazing cuts while the rest would be considered filler at best. Davie Allan's records were always the exception. Even though their wasn't a lot of diversity in the music, you knew the instrumentals were gonna be fuzzed out and raucous, with those great over the top motorcycle sound effects. The song titles themselves were always a good indication of what the music sounded like. In the case of the rarities on Cycle Breed, recorded between 1966 and 1968, you are in for one rampaging ride: &Hell Rider,& &Devil's Carnival,& &The Angry Mob,& and even an unreleased track called -- gulp -- &Rape!& The other unreleased tracks include &The Cycle Breed,& &The Angry Breed,& &The Golden Breed,& and &Surfer's Paradise.& Although not usually connected with surf music, Allan did work on a few projects where he toned down the fuzz momentarily and cranked up the twangy reverb. As usual, Sundazed provides great packaging, informative liner notes, and rare photos. It's hard to go wrong with any Davie Allan disc, and this collection of rarities is no exception! By the way, there is a surprise at the end of the last track.