Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA The Hillbilly Soul Surfers - Hot Damn BoBo
 | Overall, not much surf on this CD. The playing is competent, and the sound is good. Where the Halibuts, the Tiki Tones, or Los Straitjackets carry off the tongue-in-cheek humor, these guys don't seem to. Some interesting tracks, a couple of great tracks, and a bunch of never-minds. |
Picks: Maelstrom, Cha-Wow-Wow, Hillbilly Pipeline, Soul Penetration, Scooter Trash, Beyond The Reef, The Munsters, Country Polka, Mo-Hair, Scratchin' n' Twistin', Hawaii Tattoo, Bien Tranquillo, Miserlou, Renegade, Wild Kingdom
Track by Track Review
Maelstrom Surf Rockabilly Ska (Instrumental)
A bit of ska and a basic rockabilly theme just don't hold my interest.
Cha-Wow-Wow Rockabilly Country (Instrumental)
Standard 50's instro fair in an Austin vein. Bouncy and fun, but not particularly remarkable.
Surf Rockabilly (Instrumental)
Very cool treatment of "Pipeline." The rockabilly jive version approach it totally new.
Soul Penetration Surf Blues Jazz (Instrumental)
This really slow blues/jazz styling doesn't compliment "Penetration" at all. The guitorgan detracts from the sound of the track. It's the cheesy stuff Jimmy Smith would have done. It has less surf feel than Steve Kahn's jazz-fusion version of the song.
Blues (Instrumental)
A jump boogie with touches of Armageddon's "Buzzard" throughout. Now, there's a song someone should surf up! Brian Pool, where are you?
Beyond The Reef Surf (Instrumental)
Way slow Hawaiian lounge post luau make out music.
The Munsters Surf (Instrumental)
Pedestrian version of an over done non surf tune.
Country Polka Country (Instrumental)
A Joe Ed ho-down.
Mo-Hair Blues Country (Instrumental)
Memphis progressions with organ. The sort of thing studio guys seem to like to play.
Scratchin' n' Twistin' Rockabilly (Instrumental)
An unremarkable rockabilly stomp.
Hawaii Tattoo Country (Instrumental)
Rockabilly treatment of that standard Hawaiian number, with lap steel. Nice, but not remarkable, and definitely not Hawaiian... it's country.
Surf (Instrumental)
Thee best tune on the CD, also done remarkably well by the Halibuts. Very strong, great performance, and the edgy guitar adds a dimension that is not there in the Halibuts' version. Hot!!!
Surf Lounge (Instrumental)
Way slow. Reminds me a bit of Buddy Merrill and Martin Denny. The lap steel arrangement is very cool
Surf (Instrumental)
Hot!! Guitar is in your face, and the tune is quite cool. A real nice surf stomper. "Renegade" is more surfy than most of their tracks.
Lounge Exotica (Instrumental)
Jungle lounge jazz with low-down guitar tones