Reverb Central .:. Review .:.

At Last!!! In Stereo!!! And "Gear" from the Tapes!!! Hot Dog!!! Boy am I stoked!!! Dave Myers was one killer guitarista! This is one of the best surf instro albums ever. He had better meter than just about anyone, and Dick Dale will tell you just how important meter is to surf, especially on slow glissandos. Witness the incredibly smooth flow of notes comprising the last couple of slow-motion glissandos in "Gear!" The whole Del-Fi album is in stereo, nice, clean and crispy sounding (though from vinyl). And there are 5 bonus tracks from the 1964 Shepherd release Surf War (on Sundazed CD), and "Gear," the last surf single (produced by Gary Usher - maybe) from Dave before the Surftones became the Disciples (garage punk), and then the Effect (organ go-go). Dave's influences ran the full gamut. He was a music major with one foot firmly in Dixieland, and the other on a surf board. His band was one of only a few that was comprised of all surfers. There's a bunch of really early envelope pushers on this album, with the jazzy "Frogwalk, Part II," the mariachi flavored Herb Alpert should be so cool "Surfer's Theme," and the quirky TV ad based "Aquavelva" (the Aqua Velvets should do this one!). Dave played with structure a lot, with widely disparate creations like the rolling and wonderful "Road To Rincon," the nerve tensing "Surfbreaker," and the impeccably magnificent military precision of "Gear." There's also a the bitchin' trad surf arrangement and brilliant rewrite of "Moment Of Truth" as only Dave can do it. The other bonus tracks are from pretty early on ('62), and range from the crudely recorded but vital "Exotic" and "Intoxica" to the exotica of the Hawaiian luau flavored "Aqua Limbo" and "Laguna Limbo Luau." This is a must!

Surf (Instrumental)

Except for "Sea Horse," this is Merrell Fankhauser's best writing, as evidenced by the number of covers out there. It features a simple melody line with drum breaks and a dark brooding tone in an infectious setting. Very cool.

Surf (Instrumental)

A cool R&B flavored surfy number, nice but not particularly memorable.

Surf (Instrumental)

This is my favorite Impacts song. It is hokey, with a Little Grass Shack melody and backtrack, but it is so sincere and so fun, that it is irresistible. A fine lighthearted ditty for the South Seas.

Surf (Instrumental)

This is one of those utterly silly and totally fun tracks that tends to be overlooked because it is so fluffy. The whole thing is a play on a honking horn riff. It sneaks up on you when you aren't looking, and grabs you with a major grin attack.

Surf (Instrumental)

Slow and silky and bluesy and romantic... "Lisa" ages pretty well. I have grown to appreciate this track over the years.

Surf (Instrumental)

Every one did it, but few matched the Revels' original. This is just so-so.

Surf (Instrumental)

The chorded introduction is charming. The guitar progression is the basis for the Surfaris' "Wipe Out." It took me a long time to come to realize/accept this, but it surely is so. There are also differences which are in part the luck of the draw on takes chosen for the release, particularly in the lack of drum breaks. Here is Merrell's timeline and comments about the song.

"The facts are: I wrote a song in 1961 while surfing I called "Kick Out." The [Impacts] sax player laughed at me and said 'You Really Got Wiped Out!' We changed the title from "Kick Out" to "Wipe Out" before we went into the studio Sept. of 62 and recorded 18 tracks, some of which were on The Impacts Del Fi LP and others ended up on compilations. We didn't know anything about contracts or copyrights... Drummer Richard Delvy of the Challengers was watching us record in Ted Brinson's studio in L.A. that day. Producer Tony Hilder told Delvy to go out in the car and get more publishing contracts, and we signed our rights away. We later came back a month or so later and re-recorded "Wipe Out" with drum solos, our original only had one solo. We did 4 different versions, that to my knowledge never came out. Our chord progression was exactly the same as the almost 1 year later Surfaris version. The newer version The Impacts did had my guitar mixed more to the front and was very close to the Surfaris. It's interesting Delvy went on to work with The Surfaris and even played drums on a lot of tracks on their first LP. Also they had a song called "Blue Surf" as The Impacts did that was similar, and our producer Tony Hilder also worked with the Original Surfaris. Its quite a coincidence if it really was?... Our version was copyrighted by Hilder almost a full year before The Surfaris version. If we only had those 4 other takes of "Wipe Out!" Revels Sax man Norm Knowles heard them and there was no doubt in his mind something strange happened."

Surf (Instrumental)

Among the Impacts better tracks. Their recordings were OK, but not great. They canÕt be counted among the seminal bands, but their album was good.

Surf (Instrumental)

Sad, silky, lap steel tear jerker with a flowing sound and pleasurable arrangement. Great steel.

Surf (Instrumental)

Slow (very slow), melodic, moody and enjoyable. Not terribly remarkable, but worth having in your library.

Surf (Instrumental)

Slow (very slow), melodic, moody and enjoyable. Not terribly remarkable, but worth having in your library. It is in many ways very similar to the Surfaris song of the same name from a year later.

Surf (Instrumental)

Cool tom-tom action, low down sax, and a simple progression on the guitar - sounds like an R&B number with reverb. Quite alluring.

Surf (Instrumental)

This is a most unusual track, being strongly based on Dixieland Jazz, which was one of the earliest musical tastes of Dave Myers, along with country. It's a remarkable blending of muted horn, trad Jazz coolness, and surf.

Surf (Instrumental)

Dave produced a unique arrangement of a song that was recorded by a bazillion instro bands, making it his own. I like it better than the original Revels version because of Dave's great double picking throughout matched exactly by his marvelous drummer. One of the better covers of the Revel's classic, and certainly the most surfy under it's original name.

Hillbilly Surf (Instrumental)

One of many examples of American standards in the public domain adapted for surf. Like the Belairs' "Little Brown Jug," it is a direct adaptation. Unlike that, it is rocking and funky.

Surf (Instrumental)

A nasty honky number, sax driven with really clean and precise glissandos as only Dave Myers can play them.

Aftershave Glassfinger Surf (Instrumental)

Based on the TV ads for the after shave, this really interesting tune is quirky, plinky, and is backed by a magnificent shuffle beat. Endearing, and unlike anything else on record. Campy enough to fit into any lounge or exotica set.

Surf (Instrumental)

Cowboys on waves... rockin' and stompin' and cool.

Surf (Instrumental)

Dave's interpretation of the Original Surfaris masterpiece "Moment Of Truth" is nothing short of essential listening. What Dave does with it transforms it from a stomp on demand surf obscuro to a melodic rolling almost entirely new song. The melody has been embellished, and the whole sense of rhythm has been replaced with something so infectious that it is irresistible. The use of tenor sax gives it a near-jazz element that adds to the mystery. This remains among my all-time favorite surf tracks.

Surf (Instrumental)

If ever there was a surf tune to drive to, this is it. The rolling military beat and the infectious melody are an unbeatable combination. Stellar!

Nervebreaker Surf (Instrumental)

Totally unique tense number with an infectious melody line and a quick tempo. Really great!

Surf (Instrumental)

A classic merger between Mariachi and surf... like what would happen if the Tijuana Brass were a real band and played really cool surf... Bob Moore should have been so lucky as to make "Mexico" sound this good. Bring on the bulls!

Surf (Instrumental)

Slow and moody with tempo changes. Shimmering and romantic while retaining a certain ominous air about it.

Surf (Instrumental)

Nice tune, but somehow not up to the par of the rest of this album.

Surf (Instrumental)

A chord progression with tasty accents, but no melody. This track appears on the Myers / Impacts split CD. A rare glimpse into the tracks that Del-Fi left off of the Wipe Out! lp. Rare doesn't always equal great, and the thin sound and real basic progression render this unremarkable. Yet, I find it alluring in a historical sense.

Surf (Instrumental)

This is my favorite Dave Myers and the Surftones track. It's unusual drum cadence and melody are brilliant and infectious, and this recording shows just how powerful really good meter is in a double picked guitar. Dick Dale says it is among the most important elements. The precision of the meter allows Dave to play slow dribbly glissandos that are simply gorgeous. A must-have track from 1963 on Wickwire.

Surf (Instrumental)

This early Dave Myers & the Surftones dry arrangement of "Exotic" is not near as pretty and precise as the rest of their material. This track is also on the Dave Myers / Impacts double CD from Germany. It has all the raw energy of primitive surf, and Dave's characteristic country voice shouting here and there is proof positive of his presence. The melody is the minimalized version also used by Bob Vaught & the Renegaids, as opposed to the full power melody if the Sentinals or the Pachuko Soul of the Rhythm Kings. A great track.

Surf (Instrumental)

As above, this track appears on the Myers / Impacts split CD. It is raw and demo-like, but it is a great cover of an often recorded tune.

Surf (Instrumental)

Dave Myers and the Surftones experimented with the luau and limbo thing for a while, a surfers beach party phenomenon limited to Southern California and the Frankie and Annette movies. Dave Myers used a variation on the Limbo Luau ethic by blending it with the Pachuko Soul sound. Dave was a trained jazz guitarist, who also took lessons from Dick Dale in his home port of Laguna Beach, Balboa and sometimes Newport. ""Aqua Limbo"" is a unique and party oriented tune, heavy on the fun, light on the usual Dave Myers sound. Totally fun-tastic.