Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email


2026 April 13 • Monday

The Wild Angels, with music mostly composed by Mike Curb and mostly performed by Davie Allan & The Arrows, is the 904th Soundtrack of the Week.

The main title song sounds more like something Phil Spector would have produced years before this movie came out. Even though there are some cool guitar sounds buried in there, it doesn't really feel like a biker movie song.

"The Chase" starts out with a rocking drum solo, joined by electric bass guitar, then electric guitar, building on simple descending lines. Then they get joined by organ doing the same thing. It's basically just this one repeated figure with some stings and it's great.

Next is a sappy love song in 6/8, "Lonely in the Chapel", which has a country-pop feel. This, too, feels more like the 1950s than the late '60s.

You probably know what to expect from "Bongo Party" and you're probably right. It's basically "Wipe Out" but with bongos instead of drums and also sounds a few years behind the times.

The sounds of revving motorcycles introduces "Blues Theme", a famous Davie Allan & The Arrow track, with an incredible guitar sound. This one gets on a lot of compilations.

The same guitar sound replaces the vocal part for the instrumental version of the main theme. It's a slight improvement but still kind of a lackluster number.

"Midnight Rider" also seems a bit soft for a biker movie but this dreamy yet driving rock-pop song has some nice melancholy energy in it and is actually really nice though admittedly kind of a Beach Boys knock off.

I guess the Hully Gully was still a thing in 1966. Or, more likely, the use of that dance rhythm here in "Rockin' Angel" is just another instance of this score being strangely retro.

Acoustic guitars take over from electric fgor "The Lonely Rider", a lovely, Mexican-tinged number that's a bit like The Ventures' "The Lonely Bull".

Sharp, bright, surfy electric guitar is the energizing force behind "The Unknown Rider", which should be a surf band staple but isn't, as far as I know.

The record concludes with "The Wild Angels Ballad (Dirge)", a very slowed down version of the main theme song, with solemn, pounding drums and restrained guitar playing from Davie Allan.