The Fireballs were best known as an instrumental act, landing chart hits with the likes of "Torquay," "Quite a Party," and "Bulldog," and their most successful vocal sides found the band taking second-billing to guitarist and sometimes lead singer
Jimmy Gilmer, most notably "Sugar Shack." But popular belief to the contrary, the Fireballs made some top-notch vocal recordings that were every bit as tough, tight, and exciting as their instrumental hits, and
Firebeat! The Great Lost Vocal Album collects the cream of their vocal sides on one disc. While "Sugar Shack" sounded like a bubblegum pop number, at their best the Fireballs were a great straightforward rock combo, and the material here certainly falls into that category, with
George Tomsco and
Gilmer delivering sharp, concise guitar lines as Stan Lark and Doug Roberts held down the rhythm with easy authority on bass and drums.
Gilmer was also a much more passionate and gutsy singer than "Sugar Shack" would suggest, and his covers of "Codeine," "Louie Go Home," "Summertime Blues," and "Bottle of Wine" are soulful and convincing.
Norman Petty's production gets this music on tape with just the right amount of polish, and though in many ways the Fireballs sound like the sort of band that fell by the wayside after the British Invasion and the later psychedelic era took center stage,
Firebeat! documents a superb rock combo whose members were fine hands in the studio -- left to their own devices, they could have been New Mexico's answer to the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section with chops and smarts like this. The CD also includes Quicktime files of three songs from a 1968 television appearance, with
Tomsco and Lark demonstrating a very impressive camel walk on "Bottle of Wine." ~ Mark Deming