Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Dick Dale And His Del-tones - King Of The Surf Guitar
 | The first album recorded for Capital Records at the famous Capital tower at Hollywood & Vine. Only Dick Dale is on these tracks, except for Del-tone Art Munson on a couple. The rest of the band is Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell, Leon Russell, and others. That is unfortunately the case with all the Capital albums. Dick's namesake song and a number of really great surf instros are found in the grooves on this disc. |
Picks: King Of The Surf Guitar, The Lonesome Road, Hava Nagila, Mexico, Break Time, (Ghost) Riders In The Sky
Track by Track Review
Surf (Vocal)
The King has the Blossoms sing about him while he plays gorgeous notes on his guitar. An ego feed and anthem, and a lot better than the 1975 GNP version, but still... sure do love that guitar!
The Lonesome Road Not (Instrumental)
Dick played this live back then. It's a lot less interesting than the Chantays' version. No double picking, just big soft guitar.
Surf (Instrumental)
Following up "Miserlou" (and the B-side of "King Of The Surf Guitar") most naturally meant another traditional Middle Eastern song, and who could have imagined that this song could have been so powerful at the hands of Dick Dale! A must have track!
Mariachi Surf (Instrumental)
Bob Moore's original is still the best! Dick made it his own, adapting the Mariachi horn lead to his guitar, and then his trumpet in the break. What's the difference between this and Eddie and the Showmen's "Border Town"?
Surf (Instrumental)
While this is a standard R&B set ender to talk over or use like bumper music in radio, it is a really nice track. It has character and flows quite nicely. The sound of reverb guitar and the surf to be, coupled with Dick's pre-surf R&B and rock 'n' roll standards gigs at the Rinky Dink meld nicely in this simple and pleasing track.
(Ghost) Riders In The Sky Cowpoke Surf (Instrumental)
Dick Dale does the Stan Jones classic with his usual guitar style. It's a pretty darn cool track. The double picking adds to the tune immensely.