Reverb Central .:. Review .:.

Brazil's Bufalos D'Agua present a modern set of vintage surf instros for your consideration. Not as well produced as their other releases, these sound like demos, with too much drums, yet with amplification, rock quite satisfactorily. Most of the arrangements are different enough from the originals that they stand out.

Picks: Intro / Surf Stomp, Mr. Moto, Church Key, Surf Beat, Rum and Coca-Cola, Journey To The Stars, Dick Tracy, The Victor, Wedge Paradise, Bullwinkle Part II, Red Rock River, Tekila, Body Surfin', The Pier, Wind and Warm, Dark Eyes, Walk Don't Run, Monsters Theme, Cruel Sea, Sleep Walk, Surfers Stomp

Surf (Instrumental)

Thirty-eight seconds of a smooth and slushy rendering of the Mar-Kets's "Surfers Stomp" brings on the album.

Surf (Instrumental)

Paul Johnson's ultra-classic "Mr. Moto" is played at a respectful pace, about like the original. The tone is edgy, the drums rockin', and the sax distant, but angular. This straddles the boundary between trad and modern.

Surf (Instrumental)

Stereo guitars grind out a rockin' bashing of Dan Darnold's "Church Key." Drums out front, energy right there, and angular guitar edge driving the whole thing. The sax wails its way into the spotlight too.

Surf (Instrumental)

Often overlooked these days, Dick Dale's perfect surf riff rocker is roundly powered with modern edge and stereo leads, with sax adding to the drama. Plenty of the requisite chunk. It's an original arrangement, with the band dropping into a quiet passage so the sax can feature.

Surf (Instrumental)

A gentle pace and moody bass run beneath a stereo guitar melody that grins with the easy nature of a verandah afternoon. This is a very nice arrangement of Jeri Sullavan and Paul Baron's "Rum and Coca-Cola," a song that was inspired in 1945 by a 1906 Trinidad composition by Lionel Belasco called "L'Annee Parisee." The all-too familiar vocal version of the song was lyricized in Spanish by Clotilda Arias, with English lyrics written by Morey Amsterdam and popularized by the Andrews Sisters. That I can recall, only the Andrews Surfers have ventured into this song's surf potential before.

Surf (Instrumental)

More or less a straightforward cover of the Ventures' great pounder, with modern-ish stereo guitar. Pumped up and edgy, with lots of energy. Don Wilson, Bob Bogle, and Don Taylor wrote this amazingly durable song.

Surf (Instrumental)

This Ventures' song has seen a number of covers from Brazilian bands, and rightly so. It seems to emulate something Brazilian in its melody and rhythm. This is a solid rendering with ample energy and a punk-ska beat.

Surf (Instrumental)

Dick Dale and his Del-tones drove this wonderful song in a sort of delicate fashion in the beginning, but nearly every cover has ripped with powerful drive, as this one does. Stereo guitars, raging drums, grumbling bass, and real aggression.

Surf (Instrumental)

Using Dick Dale's modern intro to the song he apparently liberated from Al Hazan, the band rocks and charges, and with the added horn, it has a kind of large combo sound and modern surf aggression. Very cool!

Surf (Instrumental)

The Centurions's second recording of "Bullwinkle" has garnered a number of covers since its appearance in Pulp Fiction. This is a bit less moody, but perhaps more dangerous. With sax in the break and a bit of a raw edge, Bufalos D'Agua give it a somewhat different feeling.

Surf (Instrumental)

Johnny and the Hurricanes' classy rock cover of "Red River Valley," retitled "Red River Rock," hit the charts in '59 hard. This is a lot less innocent than that vintage take, but also has a lot of the same feel about, though the rough power is larger. Pretty fun.

Surf (Instrumental)

The Champs' "Tequila" sports an original arrangement that gives it a much more rock feeling. Leaning heavily on the original's charm, but adding modern edge and a Brazilian rock groove.

Surf (Instrumental)

The Centurions' "Body Surfin'" was among their more angular and edgy tunes. Bufalos D'Agua give it a more garagy sound with a modern twist. Nice to see someone covering this mostly overlooked vintage masterpiece.

Surf (Instrumental)

Originally from the Astronauts, this cover is a far cry from their reverb chunk. Edgy guitar, pumping drums, and a dark rock sound. It's different enough that you'll have to really think about to hear its roots.

Surf (Instrumental)

I'm always glad to hear covers of this very serviceable John D. Loudermilk instro. With the horns and stereo guitar, there's an almost Henry Mancini air about this. Way cool!

Surf (Instrumental)

Bufalos D'Agua make "Dark Eyes" rock with pumping drums and raucous playing throughout. This is a relatively reverent cover of the 1840 Ukrainian song "Chorni Ochi" that became thought of as Russian. Yevhen Hrebinka wrote it while in love, so one wonders why it has so much sadness in it.

Surf (Instrumental)

Based largely on the 1960 Ventures' arrangement, Johnny Smith's "Walk Don't Run" is nicely done, with a modern garage feeling.

Surf (Instrumental)

The theme from the "Munsters" TV show includes even the cheesy horn sections that Vic Mizzy originally used. Unlike the heavily reverbed and chunkified version surfbands usually do, this is more like the TV theme, with a Portuguese narrative added in the middle. Quite fun!

Surf (Instrumental)

Aside from the modern tone, this version of Mike Maxfield's "Cruel Sea" doesn't drift too far from the Ventures' version, though the addition of horns does give it a more orchestral sound.

Surf (Instrumental)

This is a light weight version of Santo and Johnny's classic, with a lot less romantic swirl and a more basic rock combo arrangement. It's nicely done.

Surf (Instrumental)

Closing out as the CD opened, Bufalos D'Agua deliver an abbreviated version of the Mar-Kets' "Surfers Stomp" with narrative and laughter over the top.