Music Reviews

“surf_monsters”

Surf Monsters

Various Artists

Del-Fi

Who else but Del-Fi Records, could stir up a cauldron of surf hits from yesteryear and add a heaping helping of today’s groove monsters? Answer: Nobody…

Surf Monsters is an idea inspired by the successful rekindling of classic sixties surf music a la Pulp Fiction (two songs from the soundtrack are also featured on this disc – the Centurions’ “Bullwinkle Pt II” and the Lively Ones’ “Surf Rider”). But bringing guitar twanging instrumentals back to the masses without Al Green or Kool & the Gang is another story.

It took a pretty big set of ‘nads (namely, Elliot Kendall’s) to undertake such a unique and inspired project. Kendall not only dusted off and resurrected some vintage Sixities gems, but he incorporated the hottest new bands who carry on the surf music legacy. The resulting concoction yields twenty of the most potent instrumentals you will ever encounter – much less on one disc!

New school and old weave together like a longboard and a peeling wave. I need say no more about the Del-Fi legacy than the Sentinels, the Lively Ones, the Original Surfaris, and the Impacts, all of whom are represented in grand fashion on Surf Monsters . What you may not know is that intergalactic spacers Man or Astroman? recorded a tune just for this comp. Huevos Rancheros also lent their talents on “Beach Blanket Blackout.” And names like Satan’s Pilgrims, the Tiki Tones and the Cocktail Preachers may not roll of your tongue yet – just you wait, they will! These, and the other bands who contributed to this Monster effort, will be the next generation’s “classic” surf music.

Simply put, if you have no other link to the ocean, you owe it to yourself to let the Surf Monsters enter your realm and take you to a world of tans, boards, and beach parties-a-go-go. If you are a surf-craving, baggy-wearin sand flea, then save your wax money and buy this damn record! It is truly one of a kind and chicks in bikinis dig it too!

Del-Fi Records, 8271 Melrose Ave., Suite 103, Los Angeles, CA 90046; http://www.del-fi.com


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