I looked for this South African release for many years. Existing to promote a Clairol hair product, Summer Blonde Beach Party is a mixed bag of hard-to-find South African artists covering various tunes - none of which have anything to do with the beach, surfing, or parties. Most notably, however, it includes rare tracks from the South African version of the Fantastic Baggys played by the Falling Leaves. Below I have broken down my review into two categories:

​

Non-Falling Leaves/Fantastic Baggys tracks

Both the Group '66 tracks; 'I'm A Believer,' 'Save Me' are noticeably poor 60s fares. Los Toros' manage to tackle Donovan's smash 1967 hit 'Mellow Yellow' and the Vandellas' 'Dancing In the Street' with almost none of the energy of the originals. Both these tracks are far inferior to the hit versions. The one Four Jacks and a Jill contribution, 'You Baby' is an interesting addition because it was written by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri - the voices behind the original Fantastic Baggys. Doris Days' 'Secret Love' is another forgettable 60s cover butchered by the Staccatos. The Flamingos' doo-wop classic 'The Great Pretender' also gets a clumsy 60s makeover. Credited simply to Beau Brummell this track has no relationship to the well-known American group of a similar name. Perhaps the most confusing inclusion on the album is Jody Wayne's version of the spiritual 'He's Got the Whole World In His Hands' sung in an acoustic style. Wayne's 'Hooray for Hazel' is my least favorite song I've ever listened to. 

​

Falling Leaves/Fantastic Baggys tracks

Although played by the same group, Clairol chose to divide the credit between songs attributed to the Fantastic Baggys and Falling Leaves. Both 'Surfer Girl' and 'Papa Do Ron Ron' had appeared a year earlier on the Baggys' Ride the Wild Surf album and are passable covers at best. Under the guise of The Falling leaves, the group then gives an uninspiring performance of the Trogg's 'I Can't Control Myself.'

​

Anticipating a long-lost surf gem, the main track 'Summer Blonde' is the whole reason I had spent years searching for this album. Unfortunately, it is not the diamond-in-the-rough I had hoped for. At 1:54, this track is an unassuming commercial jingle praising the aforementioned hair product sung by the Leaves.

​

After years of searching, I can finally report that Summer Blonde Beach Party is not the great summer masterpiece we were hoping for. It is, however, perhaps the album we deserved....