I've been wanting to put this together for a little bit. This is my top 10 albums list, all of which have been thoroughly listened to.

1. Big Pounder by The Surfites
   This is how surf music should be played. The Surfites bring a wonderful vintage sound, play infectious melodies, and have some brilliant arrangements from the Fjellgren brothers. Tracks like "For Surfers Only" and "Thou Shalt Drag" lead the pack, and while they are nothing revolutionary, rank among my favorite songs with their addictive melodies.

2. Escapades in Space by The Surfites
   The Surfites are my favorite band, and their second album is right behind their debut. Escapades in Space leads off with some killer reverb from "Launch Pad", and carries that same classic surf sound throughout the album with some space theming thrown in there. My favorite song here is "Moon Made", which features some amazing double picking.

3. A Haunting We Will Go-Go by The Ghastly Ones
   This album almost tells a story, featuring a number of interlude tracks with voiceovers. Super cheesy but super fun. The Ghastly Ones play some high energy, melody-driven songs that are just a total romp. My top songs are "Haulin' Hearse", "Ghastly Stomp", and "Action Squad".

4. Regresan de la Tumba by Los Tiki Phantoms
   Los Tiki Phantoms debut album is some of their finest work. Things get off to a hot start with the opening 60 seconds consisting of jungle drums, tiki chants, and lots of yelling. Every song here has a cutting edge feel, and while it doesn't carry a true surf sound, you can still hear it. Great stuff. My favorite song here is "Regresan de la Tumba", with "El Pulpo" coming up behind it.

5. Overboard by The Fathoms
   Very well done from both a sound and arrangement point of view. Frankie Blandino wrote some fantastic stuff here. "Race Against Time" is a very cool lead-off, "Fathomized" is their best song ever if you ask me. and "Cahoon Hollow Hideaway" is a wonderful tune. Dave Sholl on sax is a fantastic accompaniment.

6. Head Shrinkin' Fun by The Bomboras
   The Bomboras are one of my favorite bands, and this is my favorite album from them. It starts off firing out of the gate with "Land of the One-Percenters", which leads right into "War of the Sattelites". The two of these are some super fast-paced and high-energy tracks that never go stale. Other top songs for me are "Project Zero" and "Adventures Through Inner Space". Great organ throughout from Jake Cavaliere, and an awesome lead from Lord Hunt.

7. The Surfites and Co. by The Surfites
   The Surfites bring their traditional surf sound, and add three other styles from their side projects to create one unique album. I still prefer the original Surfites material here, namely "Gnarly Charlie Brown" and "Barrel Run", but the Angry Breed songs feature some great fuzzy guitar, and the Royal Vikings have some great frat-type songs. I didn't care for the Excelsiors songs.

8. Unleashed by The Eliminators
   The Eliminators debut album is a fantastic set of energetic melodies and some great reverb. "Boneyard" and it's pounding drums make for a great opening, their "Chief Whoopin' Koff" cover is awesome, and "Doho" is another great tune. Joe Kurkowski on lead and Bill Swanson on sax make this what it is.

9. Y El Misterio del Talisman by Los Tiki Phantoms
   Another set of some fast-paced Los Tiki Phantoms music. "Evasion y Victoria" is a killer tune, "El Hombre de las Tabernas" absolutely charges through that 2:21, and "Juno" is a great track as well.

10. Savage Island! by The Bomboras
    The original Bomboras album is their "surfiest", and features several mighty cool tracks. I particularly enjoy "Lord Hunt Surf Party", and "Creature from the Lava Lagoon" is a mysteriously cool tune. Nowadays The Bomboras mostly do stomp-style fuzzy guitar, but their earlier trad surf material was great.

Jake

Last edited: Apr 26, 2022 21:05:46

jtrollmann wrote:

I second Unleashed by The Eliminators! I heard Dawn Patrol on Mom's Electric Beach Party radio show a few weeks ago. I just about went nuts. I've been obsessed with learning this tune ever since.

Yes that song is their most popular release to date it seems. It has 1.4 million views on a particular video on YouTube. I prefer their faster stuff, but it's a nice song.

Jake

My plan was to post to this thread periodically with a new list every few months or so to see how my opinions progress. Well, it's time for me to do that. I don't expect things to shift around too dramatically but it'll be cool to look back and see how my tastes change down the road.

Here are my top 10 albums as of April 2022:

1. Unleashed by The Eliminators
   Previous spot: 8
   I had never thought much of this album, but the more and more I got into surf music the more I realized how brilliant this thing truly is. The sound is the most amazing thing I've ever heard and all of the original arrangements are genius. This is surf done right!

2. Big Pounder by The Surfites
   Previous spot: 1
   This was knocked off by Unleashed, but it remains some of the best trad I've heard to date. The Surfites perfectly replicated the 60s sound, and played some tremendous arrangements with it. This is a more obscure band, but one of the best!

3. Surf Quake! by The Volcanos
   Previous spot: N/A
   The Volcanos didn't make the list last time, but they've become one of my favorite bands since. They don't reinvent the music, but do a fine job of playing some high energy tunes. Every song has a catchy melody, and those Mosrite's growl like nothing else!

4. Ultra Sonic Surf Guitars by The Eliminators
   Previous spot: N/A
   For this album, The Eliminators switched from the sound of Unleashed to a more powerful one that is simply smokin'! While I did prefer the first style, this album features some incredible guitar work, and is just plain fun.

5. Idol Pleasures by The Tiki Tones
   Previous spot: N/A
   The Tiki Tones have a very unique sound, and their tiki theme is certainly cool. This album was full of winners played in their signature style. I don't play this CD very often, but when I'm in the mood for it, it always delivers.

6. Escapades in Space by The Surfites
   Previous spot: 2
   This dropped quite a bit, and not because I like it less, I just found some material I enjoyed more. This is more wonderful stuff from The Surfites with a space theme, but still very much trad surf. Excellent material!

7. Overboard by The Fathoms
   Previous spot: 5
   Overboard is a bit of a top-heavy album, with a few top tier songs, but the rest being pretty mediocre. However, those few top tier songs are so great that they propel this album into the top 10. The Fathoms play a trad sound with some really creative writing and a sax to top it off. Wonderful release!

8. Finish Line Fever by The Volcanos
   Previous spot: N/A
   Finish Line Fever is another set of fiery tunes from The Volcanos. It doesn't change the formula much from the first album, it's just that I prefer the arrangements on the other one. This one had more of a hot rod theme, but will surely please any fan of trad, like myself.

9. Surf and Destroy by The Pyronauts
   Previous spot: N/A
   The Pyronauts are one of the more underrated modern surf bands. This album features several great trad tunes, with some really nice arrangements and a great lead. The songs are melodic and have that summer feel. Really solid!

10. The Surfites and Co. by The Surfites
    Previous spot: 7
    All three of the Surfites albums made the list, and this is the last to come in. The Surfites are my second favorite band, behind The Eliminators, and this album changed the formula a bit. There are five classic Surfites songs, and 15 others played in other guitar styles. I'm only here for the Surfites stuff, and each of the five are brilliantly written, played in that signature Surfites style.

Jake

Last edited: Apr 26, 2022 21:09:14

roytheodd wrote:

I've been spending time trying to make a playlist of my favorite 50 surf tunes. The task proved impossible, so I made my top 50 in each decade and it was gruelingly hard. I appreciate what you're doing here. I don't know that I could do the same.

The same with me) I do not think I will be able to come with least than 50 favorite surf albums!

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

New Single is out!

https://waikikimakaki.bandcamp.com/album/rhino-blues-full-contact-surf-single

Waikiki Makaki

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

mom_surfing wrote:

jtrollmann wrote:

I second Unleashed by The Eliminators! I heard Dawn Patrol on Mom's Electric Beach Party radio show a few weeks ago. I just about went nuts. I've been obsessed with learning this tune ever since.

the eliminators are one of my all time favorite surf bands. they were my featured artist last night on my electric beach party.

They're my single favorite surf band. The music is as good as it gets, (both in the arrangement and sound departments), their album art is top notch, and the jackets and ties are just too cool. A true vintage surf band in the modern era! Not to mention all five guys are real longboarders...

Jake