The Surfaris – Wipe Out (1963)

Back in the 1960s, surf guitar and culture merged into rock and roll to create a unique movement with some great musicians and musical quality. Notables from the era are people such as guitarist Dick Dale and especially the rock group The Beach Boys. However, this album by The Surfaris has a great surf rock vibe to it and some awesome musicianship, so let’s take a listen to it.

We kick off with Wipe Out – Hit Version. Everything about this song is brilliant, from the vocal at the intro to the drumming and the fantastic guitar riff that propels the song along. It was a huge hit at the time just before Beatlemania kicked off. Anyone who loves great rock music should hear this, it’s a classic surf instrumental. Everything about it is top-notch, a great song. Surf’s up musos.

Next is Wiggle Wobble which is another good instrumental with saxophone to boot. It’s a more chilled sort of vibe to this piece. Although these songs are instrumentals, they are really excellent quality. A great ode to the 1960s and surf culture, awesome stuff. The piano and other instrumentation are just great.

Torquay begins with cymbals and a great piano riff. It’s a refreshing listen and the rhythm and melodies are stunning here. For instrumental music, this is classy and captivating listening. Some effortless and excellent guitar work is here, sounding like Fender guitar heaven. Brilliant and definitely listenable.

You Can’t Sit Down kicks off with a leading organ sound before we get into an old school dancefloor sort of piece. It sounds much like something The Rolling Stones would take note of later on in their career with fantastic saxophone. The clean and awesome guitar playing shows that you don’t need humbuckers and a distortion pedal to make a great guitar sound. It just works, a great effort here. The whole thing is a good and fun listening experience.

Next is a cover of Green Onions. It sounds rather different than the original that was going around at the time but just as interesting and effective as the original instrumental. This album is obviously music devoted to those who like the idea of dancing with their partner around the house to older styles of music. Still, it’s a brilliant listen.

Beginning with great riffage and cymbals Tequila is another gold standard instrumental for those who have a classy taste to music. It is a well thought out and precision delivered instrumental. Folks, this is great music. Dance the night away to these songs, if you can.

Wild Weekend begins with some palm-muted riffing before going into another great song that you can play on a road trip in your car, or some similar outing that you can experience. It’s catchy and perfectly played, a masterclass of 1960s music. A must listen. Tune.

Teen Beat begins with a great drum pattern which is infectious listening. It then begins a subtle instrumental that emphasises said drum beat. It may have been made for teenagers of the 1960s in mind, but its lasting influence will surpass many other bands and movements in history. Another great surf rock instrumental. The suspense in it will blow your mind away.

Next is Yep which has a similar feel to it to the other songs, but is original in its own way. The birth of the true rock album can be traced to this sort of album being almost a concept album. There are wordless vocal harmonies here to boot, make this somewhat different to the other songs on the album. Refreshing and fun listening.

Following that is Memphis, which is an upbeat and very classy sounding instrumental for our ears. Surprisingly for an album with a large absence of vocal work, this is a consistent and superb listen. More subtle in some respects than the other songs, it is good background listen. The drum work, once again, is brilliant.

Surfer Joe – Hit Version begins with pounding drums and quiet guitar parts. Ironically, there is singing here, which suits the song perfectly, mind you. It’s about a surfer obsessive who lives the good life on the beach. A great song, and very inspired listening experience, along with the rest of the album.

Walk Don’t Run is the last instrumental here, and once again, sounds amazing. A nice way to finish this album. By this point, the album is essential music history. The drum solo in it is fantastic. Well done to The Surfaris. A good chilled listening experience.

This is a very underrated album and listening experience in musical history. It just goes to show that, for the most part, a band can cut great songs without a proper singer for the most part. A great listen, whenever you feel the mood to hit the road with some friends and go to the beach.

Unique.

9/10