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)
AWESOME!!! What more could I say?
Posted by: master evil | September 08, 2006 at 12:04 AM
Agreed, awesome. But shouldn't that be "Theme from Symphony No. Five?"
Posted by: J | September 08, 2006 at 02:16 AM
haha, thanks, great stuff.
reminds me on messer cups "tchaikovsky beat"
Posted by: marcus | September 08, 2006 at 03:28 AM
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
Posted by: Dave | September 08, 2006 at 07:48 AM
If only my evil music teacher at school had introduced to classical music played this way.
Posted by: Graeme | September 08, 2006 at 08:13 AM
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
Posted by: Station Manager Ken | September 08, 2006 at 08:38 AM
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/
Posted by: Father | September 08, 2006 at 09:52 PM
Breath-takingly brilliant.
Posted by: Nik | September 09, 2006 at 01:53 PM
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???
Posted by: zac | September 09, 2006 at 03:27 PM
Dude, I totally love these boyz. Reminds a lot of The Shadows. xD
Posted by: Matmund | September 10, 2006 at 08:04 AM
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.
Posted by: Jeff | September 10, 2006 at 08:34 PM
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
Posted by: bloodnok | September 11, 2006 at 12:46 PM
Fsck yeah. You've been diggdotted, BTW.
Posted by: vrogy | September 11, 2006 at 01:55 PM
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.
Posted by: Alaalas | September 11, 2006 at 05:13 PM
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.
Posted by: hphovercraft | September 11, 2006 at 05:27 PM
Awesome songs guys! Thanks for putting them online
Posted by: Gavin | September 11, 2006 at 06:12 PM
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.
Posted by: Ian Osmond | September 11, 2006 at 11:06 PM
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.
Posted by: George Rought | September 12, 2006 at 01:30 AM
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
Posted by: Lance Heiskell | September 12, 2006 at 02:01 AM
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
Posted by: Xav. | September 12, 2006 at 06:38 AM
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...
Posted by: a doubter | September 12, 2006 at 10:44 AM
For another "Classic" surf album, check out the Surf Music tribute to THE CLASH at http://www.CharlieDoesSurf.com
Posted by: Rick | September 12, 2006 at 10:53 AM
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"
Posted by: M Bloch | September 12, 2006 at 12:05 PM
Yeah, instead of "The Blue Danube," it's "Danube Waves" by Joseph Ivanovici (also known as "Waves of the Danube" -- take your pick!).
Posted by: Kip W | September 13, 2006 at 09:39 AM
Very cool and very fun.
Posted by: JACC | September 15, 2006 at 06:42 PM