Japanese Surf Versions of Classical Themes (MP3s)

Here's the great Japanese guitarist Takeshi Terauchi with his band The Bunnys adding the fuzz to eleven well known classical themes from his LP, Let's Go Classics. (For more representative Terauchi and Bunnys tracks, check this post for his LP This is Terauchi Bushi.)

Theme from Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)  |   Theme from Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky)

In a Persian Market (Ketelbey)   |   Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimsky-Korsakov)

Sabre Dance (Khachaturian)   |   Theme from Unfinished Symphony (Schubert)

Hungarian Dance Number Five  (Brahms)   |   Toreador Dance from Carmen (Bizet)

Danube Waves (Ivanovici)   |   One Fine Day from Madame Butterfly (Puccini)

Fur Elise (Beethoven)

Comments

[master evil]

AWESOME!!! What more could I say?

[J]

Agreed, awesome. But shouldn't that be "Theme from Symphony No. Five?"

[marcus]

haha, thanks, great stuff.
reminds me on messer cups "tchaikovsky beat"

[Dave]

Thanks for the link to the "This is Terauchi Bushi" LP - the first song's MP3 seems to be out of commission - is that fixable, by any chance?

Thanks a lot - this stuff is great!

-Dave

[Graeme]

If only my evil music teacher at school had introduced to classical music played this way.

[Station Manager Ken]

Dave - I fixed track one on the other Takeshi post, and J - I'm not sure, but I think it's mis-id'ed on the CD reissue and it really is Symphony Number Six, but I defer to somebody who really knows this stuff.

-ken

[Father]

Ken:

Luv all the tracks, but most of them have a ton of clipping. I used a great freeware program called MP3Gain to dial down the gain on all of 'em. You can get it at:

http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/

[Nik]

Breath-takingly brilliant.

[zac]

You know how to make me happy. The Japanese sixities/seventies pop/ballad/surf guitar genre is hard to shop for out there... any chance that Nikkatsu Studios music comp will become available on this blog in the near or distant future???

[Matmund]

Dude, I totally love these boyz. Reminds a lot of The Shadows. xD

[Jeff]

The first track really is Symphony number 5. Number 6 is the Pastoral, the one they use in Fantasia for the scene with the hot little centaur chicks. Don't take my word for it, go to Amazon and check out the audio samples on any recording of Beethoven Symphony 5, first movement.

[bloodnok]

this is available from amazon.co.jp

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00005F7YW/sr=1-2/qid=1157993013/ref=sr_1_2/249-3587188-8789946?ie=UTF8&s=music

[vrogy]

Fsck yeah. You've been diggdotted, BTW.

[Alaalas]

Joe Meek's Moog work before Dick Dale's guitar needs some respect here. Also, some, like "Surf" Fur Elise, is wow-poetic. Bizet, not so much.

[hphovercraft]

Completely awesome! Thanks for putting this online!

Re: "Luv all the tracks, but most of them have a ton of clipping"

That's more a function of how that guitar sound came about. Early surf recordings relied on the natural distortion you get when you crank the hell out of the gain on your amp, as there weren't any stomp boxes. Don't know when these recordings were made, but they sure did it the old fashioned way.

[Gavin]

Awesome songs guys! Thanks for putting them online

[Ian Osmond]

So, someone linked to this, and I was listening to them, and they were all pretty nifty.

And then I got to "Fur Elise".

Okay, that one just rocks. I mean, the other tracks are okay, but that one is just friggin awesome.

[George Rought]

I might have a couple of his 45's stashed somwhere. Along with the western stuff, I was listening to his stuff in the 60's. He's done Japanese folk songs surf-style and many other things. His band used to be the house band for a Japanese rock music show whose title I've forgotten. His guitar was an Elk which was a copy of the Mosrite Ventures Special (like the one Ricky Wilson of the B-52s used to play). It's great that he's been rediscovered.

[Lance Heiskell]

Check out CDJapan and you can choose from almost all of Takeshi Terauchi albums

http://www.cdjapan.co.jp/list_from_code_banner.html?key=215118

[Xav.]

In a way, it's the most awfull music I ever heard. But it's so hilarious, at least to me :) I imagine all the constipated people playing classic music listening to that :D
And I agree with Gavin for 'Fur Elise'... If you can bear the music 'till the end, there are times where the guitarist might be hit by genius, or something like that.

Xav

[a doubter]

to whoever said about Joe Meek's moog work... I very much doubt Meek ever touched moog let alone recorded anything with one since he died in '67 before i think there were any in the UK at all and more importantly he infamously made his own instruments...

[Rick]

For another "Classic" surf album, check out the Surf Music tribute to THE CLASH at http://www.CharlieDoesSurf.com

[M Bloch]

To add to the list of errors on these tracks--
The Blue Danube Waltz -- NOT!!
I believe they are playing a hit tune of the 40s known as "The Anniversary Waltz"

[Kip W]

Yeah, instead of "The Blue Danube," it's "Danube Waves" by Joseph Ivanovici (also known as "Waves of the Danube" -- take your pick!).

[JACC]

Very cool and very fun.