Thank you for the sample Joel.
I really dig the 'Be my Baby' backing track attempt but I think the drums still lack a little 'oompth' there. However, you did an instrumental take of 'You've Lost that Lovin' Feeling' a while back that I thought was simply stunning and really spot-on in capturing the Gold Star sound and feel.
In terms of getting a wall of sound / Gold Star thing going, I think getting a convincing and authentic-sounding 'fat' drum sound is the hardest part, really. The group I'm in has just completed a Christmas single where we've tried to emulate that whole sound and approach. We didn't use any of the Western plug-ins mentioned but fiddled with a lot of reverb and the like to arrive at a sound I think is pretty cool. Though, to be honest, soundwise the song is probably more inspired by the stereo 70s Spector productions. You can check it out here:
http://surfschooldropouts.bandcamp.com/album/another-christmas-with-you-singleWhen are someone here going to offer up a cool, instrumental cover of 'This Could be the Night?' Go for it, Joel!