Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Surf Coasters - Fly Up! Best Of The Surf Coasters Vol. 1
 | This first volume of "best of" sports some perviously unavailable live material, some alternates, and a handsome slab of killer surf from the best Japanese surf band ever! 26 tracks, and no filler. It'll leave you exhausted. |
Picks: Tsunami Struck, The Clash, Fly Up, Jaws theme - Shark Attack, Intruder, Bikemen!, Dolphins, Chasing Shadows, Waste Land, Typhoon Swell, Rampage, Death Rage 2000, Sea Knows, Bitter Sweet Samba, Tally-Ho!, Astral Circle, Free Fall, Start Inaction, Last Train, Satisfy, Linda, Wild Cherry, Guts, Beach Monster, Rock Dance, Misirlou
Track by Track Review
Surf (Instrumental)
A fast and furious, and influenced by "Point Panic." The energy is extremely high, and the sax break screams "look out!" A great shreddin' track!
Surf (Instrumental)
"The Clash" is very heavily Dick Dale inspired, and the guitar tones are very close to his, like the tones achieved by the reformed Chantays on "Killer Dana" - perfect surf sound.
Fuzz (Instrumental)
"Fly Up" is a pretty raw instro, with quite a bit of edge, and a sorta semi-fuzzy sound. Non-surf instro. I don't think it should have been the opener.
Jaws theme - Shark Attack Surf (Instrumental)
Those ominous notes from the sharks-gonna-get-you scenes in Jaws intro this highly compressed and completely overwhelming track. It absolutely demands your attention, and has a chilling sound. Wow.
Surf (Instrumental)
This is a nice surprise - the acoustic version is merged with the amped version into s single powerhouse track... extra cool!
Surf (Instrumental)
Chunky and aggressive, playful and powerful. Plundering the silence, "Bikemen!" thunders through a basic progression with power and intense drive.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Dolphins" is just plain wonderful. Surfy, melodic, pristine, precise, reverb heaven. This version of Live on a TV show called Pumpkin. The sound is quite lo-fi, but man what energy!
Surf (Instrumental)
High energy Latin backtrack under a twangy mid tempo lead line. Intense energy, spirited performance, and infectious sound.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Waste Land" takes the notion John Blair had with his magical dance club hit version of "El Paso" a step or two further. It is a wondrous hybrid of disco and surf... sucks you right in. It's nothing short of fun, and as unpretentious as all of their material. Simply amazing!
Surf (Instrumental)
The second track "Typhoon Swell" is a hokey tune that some how drags you under it's spell, even when you don't want to go.
Surf (Instrumental)
A sorta "Surf Beat"-like number, lots of pummelage and pizzazz, shreddin' guitar double pickage, and major energy. The sax break is cool.
Surf (Instrumental)
Tribal tom toms, horrible screams of anguish, shreddin' double picked leads, flying glissandoes... sounds like surf to me.
Surf (Instrumental)
This is a captivating semi slow surf number that is just waiting for someone to cover it (note: the Deoras did just last month!). It has the melody, the structure, the hooks, all you need to recognize it's surf sensibility and fundamental gotta-have-it nature. A great twangy hypnotic and infectious track.
Popabilly (Instrumental)
A Los Straitjackets-like tune with organ and edgy guitars. Poppy, hot, and up tempo.
Surf (Instrumental)
A hotter mix than on the Surface Impressions CD, and a rather fine trad style tune, inspired by or at least very close to Paul Johnson's tune of the same name. Great listening, great melody, great rhythm, great... you get it.
Surf (Instrumental)
This version is faster and more surfy than the version on the Surface Impression CD. A great ominous melody in a trad arrangement. Very nice tune indeed.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Church Key" whammy dips and synth psi-fi stuff over a major surf track... not the Richie Podolor tune. Very good!
Surf (Instrumental)
With a writing style reminiscent of Paul Johnson, this fast paced number has plenty of edge and vibrato. Like the Packards with space noise keys added and a minimalist melody.
Surf (Instrumental)
A long slow intro eventually comes to a fluid melodic tune, with shimmering whammy and delicate picking. The slightly Euro sound and melody add to the underlying surf mentality. Excellent track. The production just before the damped plucked break with the extreme reverb is very cool.
Surf (Instrumental)
This is, how shall I say, typically Surf Coasters pumped, driven like "Intruder," and sporting a catchy riff with hot drums. Rumble and throb, double pick and dribble, and many fine changes. This is very cool.
Surf (Instrumental)
Tribal drums usher in an undulating number with plenty sensual cool. The ska second guitar creates a metronomic backdrop for the swimming melody riff. The effect is to bring into clear focus images of a fluid walk and bouncing chest on a lovely lass named "Linda." Way cool.
Industrial (Instrumental)
Aside from the "Get off your ass motherfucker" intro, this track is totally not surf and majorly high energy.
Industrial (Instrumental)
This live track is previously unavailable. It pumps against a ska backtrack, with power guitar and not a lot of surf, but so much guitar charm that it sure works well. Double picked and amped with shouts... big whammy twang.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Beach Monster" is a mighty intense and hair-raising tune. You can not resist it's draw. And the glissandoes of sampled breaking waves is more than the mind can handle.
Surf (Instrumental)
"Rock Dance" is another previously unreleased live track... The shouting is reminiscent of the Phantom Surfers, but the guitar assault is much hotter than that. Big squirmy percussive thunder, bringing grins all around.
Surf (Instrumental)
Yup... this is it, with almost PeeWee Herman shouts where the Dickster would have. Fiery, fast, powerful, and very infectious. This band is a monster live - it's way past due for a great live album!