Piltdown Men Rides Again in Bloomington, MN

Fifteen
Piltdown Men
tracks are found on this compilation, drawn from their Capitol singles, with the addition of three unreleased tracks. It's silly, disposable instrumental rock, colored by quotes from nursery rhymes and pop/orchestral themes (
"Piltdown Rides Again"
is based around the "William Tell Overture"). Sometimes it seems like an elaborate in-joke from the Hollywood session elite, who seem to be playing much of this as though it's an off-the-cuff goof. The
actually only occupy about half of this 29-track disc, which is filled out by 14 cuts from other Capitol instrumental acts of the late 1950s and early 1960s. There are eleven circa 1963-64 recordings by
Ernie Fields & His Orchestra
(most previously unreleased), as well as three 1958 numbers by famed session drummer
Earl Palmer
(though one is credited to
Billy May
). These are largely, like the
material, fluffy instrumental rock, the kind of stuff you'd expect to hear as incidental background music for parties and beach capers in teen B-movies of the period. ~ Richie Unterberger