The Tornadoes’ were a surf rock band from Redlands California (incidentally where I found this copy). Formed in 1962, they recorded one album on the Josie label. Frank Zappa was the engineer on many of the songs. The back cover lists all band members, their ages, and their instruments - giving extra special attention to their bass player and proclaimed leader, Gerald Sanders.

They had one national single, ‘Bustin’ Surfboards’ which peaked at #102 on Billboard in 1962. Most will recognize this track as being a mainstay of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Other than that, the songs on this album have been mostly forgotten which is a shame because there are some pretty good numbers on here - ‘The Gremmie’ being the best of the bunch. ‘The Tornado’ and ‘Shootin’ Beavers’ are also pretty good numbers. The whole album is unfortunately marred by some odd inclusions (namely vocal tracks) like ‘Old Step,’ and ‘Summertime’ which I skip just about every time I put this on.

Today this album is extremely rare and original copies can go for well over $100. My copy is the rarer version without the band’s name on the labels. It was also obviously a staple at many parties because it’s a little beat up, but I doubt I’ll ever find another for $10.