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(I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided to
write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The other
three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK, 2005)
Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris on
their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up this new
two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't get
much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims are
among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the Showmen or
the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good surf
band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music fans
should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th or if
you don't count their first one which was actually performed by the
Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on them.
About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach Boys
style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys, though
overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and Woodie,
I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary Usher
actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are also
some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad: Louie
Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's Place).
Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which really
aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some of
which are so good that you can say the band actually made them their
own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best stuff by
far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals: Scatter
Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge, Burnin'
Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part of a
complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs compiling the
first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one comes
with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting liner
notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is probably the
biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is a class
reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
recommend it.
Ivan
--- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@...> wrote:
>
> (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided to
> write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The other
> three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
>
> The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK, 2005)
Ivan,
I recently aquired this CD also & second your review.
Thanks Ivan! Excellent review, and very lengthy! When do you find
time to grade papers :)? I think I'm going to order a copy of this
once I get some money again.
Bill
www.reluctantaquanauts.com
--- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@...> wrote:
>
> (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided to
> write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The other
> three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
>
> The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK, 2005)
>
> Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris on
> their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up this new
> two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't get
> much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims are
> among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the Showmen or
> the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good surf
> band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music fans
> should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th or if
> you don't count their first one which was actually performed by the
> Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on them.
> About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach Boys
> style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
> vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys, though
> overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and Woodie,
> I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary Usher
> actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are also
> some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad: Louie
> Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's Place).
> Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which really
> aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some of
> which are so good that you can say the band actually made them their
> own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best stuff by
> far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals: Scatter
> Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge, Burnin'
> Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part of a
> complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs compiling the
> first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one comes
> with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting liner
> notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is probably the
> biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is a class
> reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
> recommend it.
>
> Ivan
>
--- In , "supertwangreverb"
<supertwangreverb@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks Ivan! Excellent review, and very lengthy! When do you find
> time to grade papers :)?
Bill, we're only in the third week of the semester - no papers yet! I
only post reviews during the first couple of weeks of the semester and
during my time off... Otherwise, forget it!
I'm glad you'll pick up the CD. You'll love it, I'm sure.
Ivan
Ivan, thanks for the well written review!
I haven't decided yet if I'll get the CD myself since I already have
the early '90s Repertoire CD reissue of "Fun City, U.S.A." and also
the original vinyl album of "Hit City '64". However, my copy of the
latter is only in VG condition so I propably end up getting the new
CD anyway. It would have been nice if they had released the mono
mixes (my current copies are both stereo) but I can understand their
choice based on what most labels do.
I personally think the Surfaris instro output was up there with the
best (OK, maybe not on the Astronauts and DD level). As for their
vocals, they were great too (I always really liked Ron Wilson's
singing). And comparing them to the Beach Boys, I actually prefer
Surfaris cover version of the Beach Boys great "Be True To Your
School".
The Surfaris was also a big inspiration for us in the Daytonas as we
too did both instros and vocals.
Klas / The Surfites
--- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@...> wrote:
>
> (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided to
> write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The other
> three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
>
> The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK, 2005)
>
> Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris on
> their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up this new
> two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't get
> much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims are
> among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the Showmen
or
> the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good surf
> band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music fans
> should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th or if
> you don't count their first one which was actually performed by the
> Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on them.
> About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach Boys
> style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
> vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys, though
> overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and
Woodie,
> I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary Usher
> actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are also
> some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad: Louie
> Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's Place).
> Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which really
> aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some of
> which are so good that you can say the band actually made them
their
> own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best stuff by
> far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals: Scatter
> Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge, Burnin'
> Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part of a
> complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs compiling the
> first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one comes
> with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting liner
> notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is probably the
> biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is a
class
> reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
> recommend it.
>
> Ivan
>
To relate this to a thread from long ago. It's worth mentioning that
there is some "tasty" 12-string action to be found here. After all, it
is '64! Also, I love the front cover of Hit City. It is so "weirdo"
and sort of un-surf-it foreshadows the later 60s to come. You really
feel the surf craze slipping away...
Ted
--- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@...>
wrote:
>
> Ivan, thanks for the well written review!
>
> I haven't decided yet if I'll get the CD myself since I already have
> the early '90s Repertoire CD reissue of "Fun City, U.S.A." and also
> the original vinyl album of "Hit City '64". However, my copy of the
> latter is only in VG condition so I propably end up getting the new
> CD anyway. It would have been nice if they had released the mono
> mixes (my current copies are both stereo) but I can understand their
> choice based on what most labels do.
>
> I personally think the Surfaris instro output was up there with the
> best (OK, maybe not on the Astronauts and DD level). As for their
> vocals, they were great too (I always really liked Ron Wilson's
> singing). And comparing them to the Beach Boys, I actually prefer
> Surfaris cover version of the Beach Boys great "Be True To Your
> School".
>
> The Surfaris was also a big inspiration for us in the Daytonas as we
> too did both instros and vocals.
>
> Klas / The Surfites
>
>
> --- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@> wrote:
> >
> > (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided to
> > write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The other
> > three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
> >
> > The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK, 2005)
> >
> > Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris on
> > their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up this new
> > two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't get
> > much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims are
> > among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the Showmen
> or
> > the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good surf
> > band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music fans
> > should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th or if
> > you don't count their first one which was actually performed by the
> > Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on them.
> > About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach Boys
> > style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
> > vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys, though
> > overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and
> Woodie,
> > I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary Usher
> > actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are also
> > some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad: Louie
> > Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's Place).
> > Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which really
> > aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some of
> > which are so good that you can say the band actually made them
> their
> > own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best stuff by
> > far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals: Scatter
> > Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge, Burnin'
> > Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part of a
> > complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs compiling the
> > first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one comes
> > with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting liner
> > notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is probably the
> > biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is a
> class
> > reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
> > recommend it.
> >
> > Ivan
> >
>
Ted has me thinking about a video clip I saw a long time ago. I think
it actually showed the Surfaris with their Rickenbackers, and I
thought maybe one of them worked for Rick later on.
Bill
--- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@...> wrote:
>
> To relate this to a thread from long ago. It's worth mentioning that
> there is some "tasty" 12-string action to be found here. After all, it
> is '64! Also, I love the front cover of Hit City. It is so "weirdo"
> and sort of un-surf-it foreshadows the later 60s to come. You really
> feel the surf craze slipping away...
> Ted
>
>
> --- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Ivan, thanks for the well written review!
> >
> > I haven't decided yet if I'll get the CD myself since I already have
> > the early '90s Repertoire CD reissue of "Fun City, U.S.A." and also
> > the original vinyl album of "Hit City '64". However, my copy of the
> > latter is only in VG condition so I propably end up getting the new
> > CD anyway. It would have been nice if they had released the mono
> > mixes (my current copies are both stereo) but I can understand their
> > choice based on what most labels do.
> >
> > I personally think the Surfaris instro output was up there with the
> > best (OK, maybe not on the Astronauts and DD level). As for their
> > vocals, they were great too (I always really liked Ron Wilson's
> > singing). And comparing them to the Beach Boys, I actually prefer
> > Surfaris cover version of the Beach Boys great "Be True To Your
> > School".
> >
> > The Surfaris was also a big inspiration for us in the Daytonas as we
> > too did both instros and vocals.
> >
> > Klas / The Surfites
> >
> >
> > --- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@> wrote:
> > >
> > > (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided to
> > > write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The other
> > > three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
> > >
> > > The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK, 2005)
> > >
> > > Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris on
> > > their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up this new
> > > two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't get
> > > much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims are
> > > among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the Showmen
> > or
> > > the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good surf
> > > band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music fans
> > > should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th or if
> > > you don't count their first one which was actually performed by the
> > > Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on them.
> > > About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach Boys
> > > style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
> > > vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys, though
> > > overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and
> > Woodie,
> > > I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary Usher
> > > actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are also
> > > some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad: Louie
> > > Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's Place).
> > > Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which really
> > > aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some of
> > > which are so good that you can say the band actually made them
> > their
> > > own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best stuff by
> > > far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals: Scatter
> > > Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge, Burnin'
> > > Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part of a
> > > complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs compiling the
> > > first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one comes
> > > with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting liner
> > > notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is probably the
> > > biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is a
> > class
> > > reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
> > > recommend it.
> > >
> > > Ivan
> > >
> >
>
Ted, you're thinking of the "Hit City '65" album! One of my favorite
front covers as well! Anyone know if "Hit City '65" also will get a
CD reissue?
/ Klas
--- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@...>
wrote:
>
> To relate this to a thread from long ago. It's worth mentioning
that
> there is some "tasty" 12-string action to be found here. After all,
it
> is '64! Also, I love the front cover of Hit City. It is so "weirdo"
> and sort of un-surf-it foreshadows the later 60s to come. You really
> feel the surf craze slipping away...
> Ted
>
>
> --- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Ivan, thanks for the well written review!
> >
> > I haven't decided yet if I'll get the CD myself since I already
have
> > the early '90s Repertoire CD reissue of "Fun City, U.S.A." and
also
> > the original vinyl album of "Hit City '64". However, my copy of
the
> > latter is only in VG condition so I propably end up getting the
new
> > CD anyway. It would have been nice if they had released the mono
> > mixes (my current copies are both stereo) but I can understand
their
> > choice based on what most labels do.
> >
> > I personally think the Surfaris instro output was up there with
the
> > best (OK, maybe not on the Astronauts and DD level). As for their
> > vocals, they were great too (I always really liked Ron Wilson's
> > singing). And comparing them to the Beach Boys, I actually prefer
> > Surfaris cover version of the Beach Boys great "Be True To Your
> > School".
> >
> > The Surfaris was also a big inspiration for us in the Daytonas as
we
> > too did both instros and vocals.
> >
> > Klas / The Surfites
> >
> >
> > --- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@>
wrote:
> > >
> > > (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided
to
> > > write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The
other
> > > three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
> > >
> > > The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK,
2005)
> > >
> > > Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris on
> > > their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up this
new
> > > two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't
get
> > > much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims
are
> > > among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the
Showmen
> > or
> > > the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good
surf
> > > band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music fans
> > > should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th
or if
> > > you don't count their first one which was actually performed by
the
> > > Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on
them.
> > > About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach
Boys
> > > style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
> > > vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys,
though
> > > overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and
> > Woodie,
> > > I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary
Usher
> > > actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are
also
> > > some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad: Louie
> > > Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's Place).
> > > Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which
really
> > > aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some
of
> > > which are so good that you can say the band actually made them
> > their
> > > own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best stuff
by
> > > far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals:
Scatter
> > > Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge, Burnin'
> > > Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part of
a
> > > complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs compiling
the
> > > first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one
comes
> > > with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting
liner
> > > notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is probably
the
> > > biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is a
> > class
> > > reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
> > > recommend it.
> > >
> > > Ivan
> > >
> >
>
--- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@...>
wrote:
>
> Ted, you're thinking of the "Hit City '65" album! One of my favorite
> front covers as well! Anyone know if "Hit City '65" also will get a
> CD reissue?
Strangely enough, there's no indication that Beat Goes On Records will
be releasing Hit City '65. Check here for search results about the
Surfaris on the label's website:
Ivan
Anyone interested can check out both the "Hit City '64" and "Hit
City '65" covers from the link below:
Sorry for the small pics and crappy resolution but it was the only
one I could find with a quick Google search.
/ Klas
--- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@...>
wrote:
>
> Ted, you're thinking of the "Hit City '65" album! One of my
favorite
> front covers as well! Anyone know if "Hit City '65" also will get a
> CD reissue?
>
> / Klas
>
>
> --- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@>
> wrote:
> >
> > To relate this to a thread from long ago. It's worth mentioning
> that
> > there is some "tasty" 12-string action to be found here. After
all,
> it
> > is '64! Also, I love the front cover of Hit City. It is
so "weirdo"
> > and sort of un-surf-it foreshadows the later 60s to come. You
really
> > feel the surf craze slipping away...
> > Ted
> >
> >
> > --- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Ivan, thanks for the well written review!
> > >
> > > I haven't decided yet if I'll get the CD myself since I already
> have
> > > the early '90s Repertoire CD reissue of "Fun City, U.S.A." and
> also
> > > the original vinyl album of "Hit City '64". However, my copy of
> the
> > > latter is only in VG condition so I propably end up getting the
> new
> > > CD anyway. It would have been nice if they had released the
mono
> > > mixes (my current copies are both stereo) but I can understand
> their
> > > choice based on what most labels do.
> > >
> > > I personally think the Surfaris instro output was up there with
> the
> > > best (OK, maybe not on the Astronauts and DD level). As for
their
> > > vocals, they were great too (I always really liked Ron Wilson's
> > > singing). And comparing them to the Beach Boys, I actually
prefer
> > > Surfaris cover version of the Beach Boys great "Be True To Your
> > > School".
> > >
> > > The Surfaris was also a big inspiration for us in the Daytonas
as
> we
> > > too did both instros and vocals.
> > >
> > > Klas / The Surfites
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@>
> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided
> to
> > > > write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The
> other
> > > > three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
> > > >
> > > > The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK,
> 2005)
> > > >
> > > > Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris
on
> > > > their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up
this
> new
> > > > two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't
> get
> > > > much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims
> are
> > > > among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the
> Showmen
> > > or
> > > > the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good
> surf
> > > > band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music
fans
> > > > should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th
> or if
> > > > you don't count their first one which was actually performed
by
> the
> > > > Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on
> them.
> > > > About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach
> Boys
> > > > style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
> > > > vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys,
> though
> > > > overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and
> > > Woodie,
> > > > I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary
> Usher
> > > > actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are
> also
> > > > some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad:
Louie
> > > > Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's
Place).
> > > > Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which
> really
> > > > aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some
> of
> > > > which are so good that you can say the band actually made
them
> > > their
> > > > own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best
stuff
> by
> > > > far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals:
> Scatter
> > > > Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge,
Burnin'
> > > > Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part
of
> a
> > > > complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs
compiling
> the
> > > > first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one
> comes
> > > > with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting
> liner
> > > > notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is
probably
> the
> > > > biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is
a
> > > class
> > > > reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
> > > > recommend it.
> > > >
> > > > Ivan
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
--- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@...>
wrote:
>
> To relate this to a thread from long ago. It's worth mentioning that
> there is some "tasty" 12-string action to be found here. After all,
it
> is '64!
I think you also must be thinking of Hit City '65, since I don't hear
any 12-string on this CD.
However, there is a surf music compilation called Surf Crazy, released
some ten years ago, but still available. It's a bit hit-and-miss, but
one song that's on there is Storm Surf by the Surfaris. It's from '65
or even '66, I think after the band got dropped by their label, and I
don't think Ron Wilson is on the drums anymore. The interesting thing
about this song (and it's a really good one) is that it has a great 12-
string electric rhythm guitar part combined with a deeply reverbed
lead. It sounds fantastic! I highly recommend you all check that out.
Ivan
Duh. Ivan you're correct. The egg is on my face. that's what I get for
hurriedly answering these things off the top of my head from work.
Please apply my comments to Hit City '65. I'll never post again...
Ted
--- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@...> wrote:
>
> --- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@>
> wrote:
> >
> > To relate this to a thread from long ago. It's worth mentioning that
> > there is some "tasty" 12-string action to be found here. After all,
> it
> > is '64!
>
> I think you also must be thinking of Hit City '65, since I don't hear
> any 12-string on this CD.
>
> However, there is a surf music compilation called Surf Crazy, released
> some ten years ago, but still available. It's a bit hit-and-miss, but
> one song that's on there is Storm Surf by the Surfaris. It's from '65
> or even '66, I think after the band got dropped by their label, and I
> don't think Ron Wilson is on the drums anymore. The interesting thing
> about this song (and it's a really good one) is that it has a great 12-
> string electric rhythm guitar part combined with a deeply reverbed
> lead. It sounds fantastic! I highly recommend you all check that out.
>
> Ivan
>
Someone just mentioned at a live surf show that Brian Carmen
from the Chantays worked at Rickenbacker.
Jeff(bigtikidude)
--- In , "supertwangreverb"
<supertwangreverb@...> wrote:
>
> Ted has me thinking about a video clip I saw a long time ago. I
think
> it actually showed the Surfaris with their Rickenbackers, and I
> thought maybe one of them worked for Rick later on.
>
> Bill
>
>
> --- In , "spskins" <superchimp9@>
wrote:
> >
> > To relate this to a thread from long ago. It's worth mentioning
that
> > there is some "tasty" 12-string action to be found here. After
all, it
> > is '64! Also, I love the front cover of Hit City. It is
so "weirdo"
> > and sort of un-surf-it foreshadows the later 60s to come. You
really
> > feel the surf craze slipping away...
> > Ted
> >
> >
> > --- In , "Klas Fjellgren" <surfites@>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > Ivan, thanks for the well written review!
> > >
> > > I haven't decided yet if I'll get the CD myself since I already
have
> > > the early '90s Repertoire CD reissue of "Fun City, U.S.A." and
also
> > > the original vinyl album of "Hit City '64". However, my copy of
the
> > > latter is only in VG condition so I propably end up getting the
new
> > > CD anyway. It would have been nice if they had released the
mono
> > > mixes (my current copies are both stereo) but I can understand
their
> > > choice based on what most labels do.
> > >
> > > I personally think the Surfaris instro output was up there with
the
> > > best (OK, maybe not on the Astronauts and DD level). As for
their
> > > vocals, they were great too (I always really liked Ron Wilson's
> > > singing). And comparing them to the Beach Boys, I actually
prefer
> > > Surfaris cover version of the Beach Boys great "Be True To Your
> > > School".
> > >
> > > The Surfaris was also a big inspiration for us in the Daytonas
as we
> > > too did both instros and vocals.
> > >
> > > Klas / The Surfites
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In , "ipongrac" <ipongrac@>
wrote:
> > > >
> > > > (I've picked up some really cool surf CDs lately, and decided
to
> > > > write reviews for four of them - here's the first one. The
other
> > > > three will hopefully follow tomorrow.)
> > > >
> > > > The Surfaris: Hit City '64 / Fun City, USA (BGO Records, UK,
2005)
> > > >
> > > > Though I already have pretty much everything by the Surfaris
on
> > > > their three previously released CDs, I decided to pick up
this new
> > > > two-fer reissue anyway, and I'm glad I did. These guys don't
get
> > > > much respect and don't have many champions (Satan's Pilgrims
are
> > > > among the very few). And for sure, they're no Eddie & the
Showmen
> > > or
> > > > the Lively Ones or the Astronauts, etc. But they were a good
surf
> > > > band that did a LOT more than Wipe Out, and all surf music
fans
> > > > should check them out. These two albums (their 3rd and 4th
or if
> > > > you don't count their first one which was actually performed
by the
> > > > Challengers, their 2nd and 3rd) have a lot of great stuff on
them.
> > > > About half of each is vocals, mostly in the Gary Usher/Beach
Boys
> > > > style (with session musicians backing up drummer Ron Wilson's
> > > > vocals) and none of them quite as good as the Beach Boys,
though
> > > > overall not too bad. The highlights here are Wax, Board and
> > > Woodie,
> > > > I Wanna Take a Trip To The Islands and Hot Rod High. (Gary
Usher
> > > > actually produced the first of these two albums.) There are
also
> > > > some garage-y vocals, with mixed results (among the bad:
Louie
> > > > Louie, Hound Dog; among the good: Go Go Go For Louie's
Place).
> > > > Among the instrumentals there are some covers, some of which
really
> > > > aren't very good (Shazam, Comin' Home Baby, Scratch) and some
of
> > > > which are so good that you can say the band actually made
them
> > > their
> > > > own (Murphy The Surfie, Hiawatha, Earthquake). The best
stuff by
> > > > far on this CD is the handful of the Surfaris' originals:
Scatter
> > > > Shield (awesome!), Dune Buggy (really cool), Big Surge,
Burnin'
> > > > Rubber, and Hot Rod Graveyard. This British release is part
of a
> > > > complete Surfaris reissue series, with two other CDs
compiling the
> > > > first two albums and their two seventies releases. This one
comes
> > > > with original sleevenotes as well as detailed and interesting
liner
> > > > notes by Dave Peckett of New Gandy Dancer zine, who is
probably the
> > > > biggest champion of the Surfaris out there. Anyway, this is
a
> > > class
> > > > reissue all the way and I give it a big thumbs up and highly
> > > > recommend it.
> > > >
> > > > Ivan
> > > >
> > >
> >
>
