Dick Dale & the Del-Tones - King Of The Surf Guitar: The Best Of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones

This collection rightly concentrates on Dale's instrumental exploits as the Jimi Hendrix of surf music. Nineteen sixty-one's "Let's Go Trippin'" was the first real surf instrumental, although the pyrotechnic fretwork of later Dale records is largely absent. Those divebomb runs, reverb drenchings, and impossibly quick picking displays materialize on the next single, "Shake & Stomp," then bloom on the revved-up Middle-Eastern standard "Misirlou." Dale's instrumentals generally fell into two camps: standard-progression frat blasts ("Take It Off," "Night Rider," "Mr. Eliminator") and minor-key Middle-Eastern excursions ("The Wedge," the "Pipeline"-esque "Banzai Wipeout," "The Victor," even "Hava Nagila"--which Jewish purists must have regarded as a hora of Babylon), on which his blistering technique was more likely to find its spotlight Some of his best work is found on "King of the Surf Guitar," a Duane Eddy knockoff with great vocals by the Blossoms garnished by lightning flashes of boss guitar. With all the dazzling axe-work on display (also including a beautiful 1987 duet with Stevie Ray Vaughan on the Chantays' unearthly "Pipeline"), the coolest cut here may be the sole vocal, "Mr. Peppermint Man," on which Dale's rasp oozes a concupiscent slime over the murky tale of a lollipop Lothario who "carries a little sign that says, Have some dessert." Frat rock godhead. --Ken Barnes Amazon.com

One of My Favorite Alubms

This is a shining example of classic surf guitar. The songs composed by Dale are great, but I enjoyed the covers much more. I was surprised to find a cover of Hava Nagila and I loved the fast paced rendition of (Ghost) Riders in the Sky. Pipeline features Stevie Ray Vaughn and sounds like a dual between him and Dale. The majority of the songs are instrumental except for Mr. Peppermint Man and King of the Surf Guitar, so don't expect lyrics. This is a great compilation and nice introduction to surf guitar. June 5, 2008

Great guitar work throughout!

Dick Dale is often referred to as the "king of the surf guitar." And it's not hard to see why. He inspired bands like the Beach Boys and duos like Jan & Dean with his sweet surf guitar work, and it was so good, that they chose to use his legendary 'Misirlou' in the classic film 'Pulp Fiction.'

And Rhino's 'The Best of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones' spans every major piece of Dale's work. 'Misirlou,' 'Let's Go Trippin',' 'Peppermint Man' and 'Misty' are just some of the legendary songs here.

And, Rhino did a superb job (as always!) remastering the songs. In translation, the sound quality is great and is as clear as daylight!

But, my only complaint is it's just really short. I mean, if you are a Dick Dale fan or a surf guitar fan in general, than this is the Dale set to own, but why stop at just 41 minutes? They could easily fit 38 or so more minutes worth of Dale material here.

But, despite that one little flaw, this is a great collection from the "king of the surf guitar." Highly recommended for any Dale fan. A classic compilation. ENJOY!!! May 24, 2008

Twang Me!

This is a great record. Dick Dale is one of the most under-rated guitar players of all time. While it is true that he is limited in his style, his style is what it is, and what it is is very good. This album contains most of his great hits and a few gems. For your listening pleasure are some snappy hooks, tight playing, and some great, great guitar moments. I highly recommend this album to anyone who plays guitar, and if you are a young guitarist looking for some inspiration, you need look no further. This is great stuff. March 24, 2008

Dick Dale was the Pioneer...

I knew of Dick Dale's more well known tunes, his first "Let's go tripping" & "Misirlou", but the lesser known tracks are quite good. It demonstrates Dale's growth from his first to the "Pipeline" remake. The tracks are pretty much layed out on chronological order, and that's good.

His style is all over this cd, no mistaking it. He's described as "High Energy", and I'm not a fan of harsh surf - some of that here, but all good.

I recommend this cd for surf tune lovers and how surf all started with Dick Dale. May 30, 2007

Surf mandolin

Dick Dale was left-handed, yet didn't reverse the strings on his guitar. His technique is most accurately described as electrified mandolin that was augmented in 1962 with a portable Fender reverb unit. He is widely considered the father of surf music and there's no denying that those who came after Dale used his music as a starting point.

The Del-Tones never had a hit record in their time; not even "Misrilou" made much of a splash (forgive the pun). That song and Dale enjoyed a sort of notoriety 30 years after the track's release thanks to the film PULP FICTION. It was featured in the movie's opening credits.

In comparison to the surf music that followed in Dick Dale's wake (pun again), his stuff had more energy perhaps, but it just wasn't as good. Dale had a penchant for reworking tunes to his style that probably should have been left alone-- "The Wedge," "Riders In The Sky" and "Hava Nagila" are good examples of this.

The last selection, "Pipeline," features Stevie Ray Vaughan, and was recorded in 1987. RHINO did a fine job of remastering the older sides, and their liner notes are informative. THE BEST OF DICK DALE & HIS DEL-TONES is a collection that will appeal most to surf music completists, and historians of the "California Sound."

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 41:54 March 5, 2007

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