Dick Dale - Surfer's Choice

Blistering Southern California guitarist Dick Dale, the undisputed "King of Surf Music," is one of the most influential figures in rock 'n' roll history. He birthed the genre singlehandedly in 1961, and this newly expanded edition, taken from the original masters, contains all the tracks from Surfers' Choice, Dale's scorching 1962 debut LP, spotlighting surf classics "Let's Go Trippin'," "Peppermint Man" and "Surf Beat." Six bonus tracks feature all the appropriate non LP Deltone single sides, including Dale's seminal pre-album version of "Miserlou." This EVENT release is a clock-stopping milestone for legions of guitar, surf and instrumental fans worldwide! Album Description

King of the Surf Guitar

Nice playing by one of the original speed merchants. The sound leaves a little to be desired, in that there is some hiss that translates to the disk from the original recordings. September 5, 2008

Seminal Surf Sounds

Even though I grew up in San Diego and spent a lot of time in the ocean, I never heard of Dick Dale or any of his music until much later in life. To me, surf music was always The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and like sounds. Ironically it was some of the music of Oklahoman Junior Brown that showed me the possibilities inherent in the genre. Then my sister gave me a CD of Gary Hoey's music and I decided to explore the style further. That exploration naturally led to surf rock pioneer Dick Dale and I settled on this album after reading a strongly positive review in an English music magazine to which I subscribe.
When I first listened to Surfer's Choice, I was a little disappointed that it wasn't all what I'd call surf music, but after listening a couple more times I came to like it quite well. Only twelve of the eighteen songs are what I would call "surf" music, the rest are either blues-tinged rock or doo-wop.
My favorites are all instrumentals, I really was a little disappointed that the entire album wasn't instrumental. As another reviewer said, the best and most interesting cut is Miserlou Twist (both versions) which features shredding guitar and exhibits Spanish/Mediterranean musical influences. I also really enjoy Surfing Drums, Death of a Gremmie, and two of the bonus cuts Del-Tone Rock and A Run For Life. Those who are into late fifties/early sixties music should like the yakety-sax which prominently figures in quite a few songs.
Be sure to read the interesting liner notes that carry Dick Dale's commentary on his music, his influences, and how it was starting out. Very enlightening indeed!
When you take into account when this music was first released, it is clear that Dick Dale was ahead of his time. Sundazed Records has embarked on a project to bring obscure old surf music back to the masses. Surfer's Choice is a worthwhile reissue that should find a place in the collection of any connoisseur of the genre. December 19, 2007

Still Sounds Good

I still have the original album.
It sounded good in 1962 and it still sounds good today !
I love surf music,growing up in Long Beach in the 50's and 60's it was just the greatest to hear all that great music ! September 23, 2007

Speed Metal From 61!

It's great the guys at Sundazed finally got the lead out and rereleased these old Dick dale albums. Up until recently, the only way you were gonna get your mitts on them is if you bought the vinyl. Any old Dale tracks on cd could only be heard on "Best of" compilations. Not No Mo!!! Surfer's Choice was the first of the bunch that Sundazed released, and Dale's first album. Excellent stuff. It's easy to see why this singlehandedly started a craze back in 61. It's very energetic, catchy, hell even the vocal tunes are good, and I'm not a big surf vocal guy. A word of warning though to those surf instrumental fans, there are quite a few vocal tunes here. I would prefer a few less with a few more instrumentals. Definitely worth checking out if you want a prime example of the original California surf sound. Plus, you can finally have that version of Miserlou as used in Pulp Fiction without having to suffer through Urge Overkill!! August 21, 2007

i am not a big sufr music fan

i am not a big surf music fan but this is pretty ok. Five stars cause my husband who is a suf music fan really loves it. July 12, 2007

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