Various - Surfin' Hits

I usually get into Elvis, the Drifters, Motown, Bob Marley and Dave Matthews come summer time, with healthy sprinklings of 80s pop and pop rock.

But this year I'm adding surf rock to the mix.

I'll start with this one, easy and familiar for the most part. Opening with Beach Boys - Surfin Safari. I don't really know how to review songs that are so saturated into the public consciousness outside of a Beavis/Butthead analysis of "i like it" or "i don't". It's a straight forward, surfin, harmonious rock.

At the Monterey Pop Festival in the summer of 1967, Hendrix made some comments to the crowd about the Beach Boys, who had opted out of the show at the last minute - Hendrix said something like "You've heard the last of surfing music". He also gave a "review" of Heroes And Villains, a Beach Boys single: "Don't much care for the Beach Boys. They remind me of a psychedelic barbershop quartet."

That last part about them being a psych barbershop quartet has always stuck with me and that's what I hear. that being said, I don't much care. They are good at what they do and their harmonies are some of the most beautiful in rock music - up there with BeeGees, Fleetwood Mac, Mamas and Papas and the Eagles.

Next up is Jan & Dean's "Ride the Wild Surf", I'm assuming from the movie of the same name. The movie was not another "beach party" movie but a drama, so a bit different take on the style at the time. Funny enough, Brian Wilson, has a writing credit on the song. Roger Christian, also, has a writing credit. He was often a lyricist for the Beach Boys and wrote songs like Little Deuce Coupe and Don't Worry Baby. It's a neat historical artifact but nothing to write home about.

The next couple of songs are various 60s beach brain bugs - Surfari's Wipeout, which 20 years later would embarrassingly be used in the Beach Boys attempt at rap music when they partner with the Fat Boys for a Wipeout remix.

Dick Dale makes his first appearance on the album with Miserlou, and the Trashmen contribute "Surfin Bird", which I can't get Family Guy's parody of this through Peter Griffin out of my head. Though I'm sure 50+ years ago, it was a fun song for kids on the beach.

Side A ends with The Marketts - Out of Limits. Funny enough, this song is also on Elvira Presents Haunted Hits that was released in 1988, (this compilation was released in 1989). Elvira's compilation was supposed to be a bunch of horror themed songs (often refering to movies and tv shows). I'm certain this song was intended as a nod to Outer Limits. But, I'm certain it's inclusion here is more apt to its original intent as an instrumental surf rock song.

Side B opens with another Jan& Dean song, also penned in part by Brian Wilson. Their "Surf City" seems scandalous and wholesome all at once. Knowing the time and hearing the style, there's such an innocence to it all, but hilarious hearing a hook talking about 2 girls for every boy.

The album wouldn't be much without at least one more Beach Boys hit, Surfin USA.

The Pyramids instrumental Penetration is a nice chill break from all the poppy hooks.

Another track from Dick Dale and his Del Tones (lets go trippin). While not a virtuoso or anything of the sort, I do think the more I'm exposed to Dick Dale, the more I think history has kind of forgotten him as an inventive guitarist but one who knows where to take a backseat to a sax or or other elements to the band

It's apparent that the Surfaris got lucky with what a brain-bug Wipeout was. Here, they follow up with a mostly spoken word "Surfer Joe" track, with a god awful hook that any adolescent could whip up.

The Trade Winds– New York's A Lonely Town endcaps the album and maybe I just had to be there during that time or something, but this doesn't feel like a Surfer song (hot or otherwise) at all. There's orchestration, there's none of that surf-rock style, no topical lyrics, nothing.