Nobody else could reach the heights of Dick Dale when it came to guitar-led Surf Rock Music. Being massively influential from early on in the world of electrified guitar music, he inspired the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Peter Townshend, Eddie Van Halen and Brian May alone to push the limits of guitar-based music, and what was acceptable at the time. He even worked closely with Leo Fender himself to create and develop new technologies for amplified electric guitar music. Dick Dale also notably used alternative scales in his guitar playing, drawing from different musical areas than simply your standard Major, Minor or Blues scales. This was another breakthrough for the music scene. Regardless of all that, this album is an important release in the history of music, particularly as it contains the Surf Rock hit Misirlou. Let’s take a listen to this album, many decades after its release, and we shall hear if it is worthy.

Surf Beat begins with some nice marching drums, and a call and response from the band and the audience. Eventually, electric guitar enters and this begins the 1960s in a great way. The electric guitar present is clanging loud and addictive listening. There is also a saxophone in this cool instrument. A great listening experience and something quite mindblowing, with some awesome Fender guitar licks to match it. An expressive piece of guitar-based music. In the second half, saxophone playing is very prevalent, which sounds sweet and neat. This is exactly where the 1960s began, and the music is quality, and great to listen to. No lyric-based singing, just Surf guitar glory. A great three-minute-long piece of music.

Sloop John B is a cover of a traditional Caribbean song that The Beach Boys later did a version of for their best album release Pet Sounds. It begins with some intricate and interesting muted guitars, organs and pleasant singing. This is a much more pleasant listen than you’d expect, and it doesn’t sound overly melodramatic, like The Beach Boys version. Nonetheless, this does sound quirky, enjoyable and excellent musically. There is a gorgeous guitar solo section on this song, which gradually comes into the fore of things. A good listening experience, and something that sounds really dynamic, interesting and pretty throughout. Dick Dale’s guitar playing is underrated and sensational throughout. Great song, through and through, and less than three minutes long.

Take It Off has some catchy and memorable guitar playing, followed quickly by the rest of the band. This is definitely one of the more interesting and inspiring tunes from Dick Dale’s back catalogue, and it sounds energetic, amazing and fresh. More saxophone is present here, and this tune sounds like an awesome throwback to a simpler time and place in the world. A great two-minute-long Surf Rock instrumental.

Misirlou begins with some sweet tremolo picking on the electric guitar, and this is extremely well done and expressively played. It does have a great deal of neat progressions throughout, along with a fantastic band to back up Dick Dale’s psychotic guitar leads. Some excellent trumpet is present in this tune as well. All in all, this is a really talented, awesome and fantastic listen. In the second half are more expressive tremolo-picking guitar leads, and this tune really comes alive. There is also some cool piano added here as well. A true classic of both Rock and Surf Rock Music, this is one to pay attention to. It fades out nicely, with repeated piano refrains. Sweet.

Mr Peppermint Man begins with some weird vocals and has a very weird, tuneless and odd set of backing vocals and musicianship to match. An interesting song, this sounds like a parody of Surf Rock, rather than something one should actually listen to. This is still something very different at a time when men wore suits in public and miniskirts weren’t really a thing. Not exactly inspirational music, but it does sound okay for what it is. The song sounds really odd and doesn’t have enough emphasis on Dick Dale’s guitar work. It’s okay, but it could be done better.

The Fairest Of Them All begins with some weird guitars and sounds really good and interesting musically from the start. A really good tune about chasing a particular lady, this is a cool song based on the nursery rhyme in Western society. A fun and interesting, short listening experience that works well. This is basic Rock Music, but it leaves a lasting impression throughout. Enjoyable pre-The Beatles romanticism.

We’ll Never Hear The End Of It begins with moody horn sections, and xylophone galore and launches into a really melodramatic tune for this sort of music. Regardless, it is okay but this is not the best listening experience from Dick Dale. Still, it is a good song, just not a great song. This is a rather poor musical attempt to mesh Surf guitar-based music with a Burt Bacharach-styled listen throughout. It’s okay, but can be skipped if you wish. This is a bit lame and unnecessary overall.

Jungle Fever begins with some great muted and reverberated Surf Rock guitars. It quickly launches into an irresistibly catchy and well-done song by Dick Dale and friends, minus singing this time. There are some monkey imitations and other interesting sounds throughout, which obviously the 13th Floor Elevators borrowed later on. A really cool tune, this makes for a better listening experience than some of the songs before it. Wild like an animal, this does sound very good and original. Worth a listen, for sure. It has some wind instruments and manic monkey sounds in the fade-out.

OohWhee Marie begins with some very Elvis Presley-sounding vocals and clanging guitar throughout. This is a bit of self-parody at this point, musically at least. The guitar is fantastic, but the rest of this music is pretty much garbage. The music sounds ill-thought-out in this particular song. Despite all this, you can skip this track if you wish. There is a key change in the second half of the song, and there are lyrics about love, romance and getting it on, this points ahead to the likes of 1960s Pop/Rock. It’s barely okay to listen to, however.

Jessie Pearl begins with some more dramatic Surf Rock guitar and launches into another rather bland song. These tunes would have been better off mostly being instrumentals rather than short and ordinary-sounding songs. Despite that, this is okay, just not sensationally great. A saxophone solo is present in the second half and this tune powers on nicely afterwards. This does drag on a bit, although this is a good song on paper. It ends suddenly after just two minutes in length.

Stop Teasin begins with horns and joyful piano, before launching into some mid-position Fender tones, before launching into a good song, somewhat ruined by pitchy backing vocals. An okay listen, but this is terribly dated today. A Fender guitar solo is present in the second half of this tune, before returning back to the verses. A good listening experience throughout, but it is definitely not great. There are some great electric guitar solos to wrap up with before this fades out.

Del Tone Rock begins with some overdriven guitar tones that are descending, and quickly launches into a much better instrumental than you’d think, given what just became before it. This maintains freshness, energy and fun in a listening sense. If you ever want some old-fashioned music to blast and annoy your neighbours, this is the way to go. A saxophone solo eventually enters towards the middle of the tune, and one can hear where The Rolling Stones got some of their later ideas from. A piano solo follows as well, sounding bright and breezy. A loud and chaotic listening experience musically, this does sound good and works well. The guitar playing resumes to the forefront at the end, before concluding well. Decent.

St Louis Blues begins with shakers and drumming, before launching into a really poor tune that does no listening justice to those hearing this. This would have been better rethought, modified or ditching entirely. It’s not a pleasant musical listening experience, and it comes across as a real disappointment. The vocals in particular are really shockingly bad. Even so, this enters into a good piano solo section, before returning back to the awfully sung verses. Skip this one, you don’t need to hear it whatsoever.

Eight Til Midnight begins with some clanging Fender guitars, and rolling drumbeats and launches into an interesting and surprisingly good tune. This is a really improved and refreshing listen from an album that is very much all over the place quality wise. It breaks into a gloriously good saxophone solo that sounds refreshing and interesting throughout. A great, great listening experience here. The music itself is quirky but excellently different. The guitar playing here is also sensationally performed. A good instrumental, definitely worth listening to. It ends suddenly.

Surfin’ Drums begins with some good guitar riffing, along with some hi-hats. This quickly leads to a very neat and sonically good tune, with some eastern-sounding guitar riffs throughout. This goes on well in the first half, alongside some glorious saxophone. A very recognisable guitar riff is present as well. Sure, this may be a jam-based instrumental, but it sounds good. Some tremolo picking on the guitar is present here, and this tune is better for the manic guitar playing it has. Eventually, vocals enter and the singing is incredibly enjoyable and wonderful on this tune. This is an ecstatic, energetic and enjoyable tune that is one of the highlights of this album. A wonderful and joyful listening experience, this sounds incredibly fun. Towards the end, the drums go it alone into a very interesting and exciting drum solo. It sounds like a pounding, powerful listen. Drum solos are fairly commonplace in Rock Music by now, and this was a new thing at the time, which made a lasting impression. Still, it sounds interesting and wonderful enough to enjoy. It fades out at the end.

Shake ‘n’ Stomp begins with some weird Surf Rock guitar sounds and launches into a good tune. It is fairly standard Surf Rock music here, nothing outright special quality-wise, to be honest. Still, it is an okay listen, just not as perfect as it could be. A saxophone solo emerges once again to create some great music and powerful listening, before returning to the Surf Rock guitar mayhem at hand. It sounds like Dick Dale used a lot of interesting minor key scales to his success. Which is what this particular tune is about. Good to hear anyway.

Death Of A Gremmie begins with some weird-sounding guitars and a bright, upbeat piano to match it. This sounds okay, although it is clear by this point that the album is a mashup of quality songs, and some poorer-quality songs as well. The electric guitar present makes up nicely for it and is fairly prominent throughout this tune. The guitar sound throughout is more twangy than a Fender Telecaster could ever be, which is really interesting. Nonetheless, this does sound really great and has some more musical appeal than many of the songs before it on this album. It sounds very smooth. A good instrumental from start to finish.

Let’s Go Trippin’ surely is a reference for LSD usage? It begins with the song title being shouted, followed by some Fender guitar parts and launches right into a straightforward yet enjoyable Surf Rock Music tune throughout. This sounds quite quirky and interesting musically. Utilising a variety of techniques for guitar playing, Dick Dale is just as good at rhythm guitar, as well as lead guitar playing. Some saucy saxophone is present throughout the second half of this tune. A really catchy, upbeat and pleasant instrumental throughout. It ends suddenly.

Misirlou (Alternative Take) is the last tune on this album release. It begins with the super-fast tremolo picking and utilising unusual musical scales on the guitar. The band plays catch-up, successfully so. The tremolo-picking present is absolutely insanely great. This is quickly followed by a trumpet, which also sounds great. A great mixture of musical influences is present here to listen to. A delightful take on the original song. There are repeating piano motifs throughout, handclaps, powerful bass guitar and insane guitar playing from Dick Dale. A fantastic listen, it fades out nicely, and the album ends here.

This is a bit of a hit-and-miss album quality-wise. Some of the tunes here are amazing, some less amazing as a result. Still, this is musical history, even in a rather butchered form. It’s a shame that it is not as well done as other musical releases, before or since, that was massively influential on musicians. Therefore, this falls flat. Should you listen to this album? Probably not. The Surfaris were a lot better than this, check them out instead.

Too patchy to be taken overly seriously.

6/10