Album Review:

Diplomat Records was one of those budget record labels that had a seemingly endless stream of cash-in releases pandering to the trends of the day. The label's other hot rod-related releases (Hal Jones and the Wheelers' King of the Hot Rods, Dick Dale & Bo Troy and His Hot Rods Wild Hot Rod Wails, the Scamblers' Motorcycle Music and Sounds,  and Original Surfaris' Wheels) were all misleading cash grabs that recycled some old numbers under new titles with the occasional legit surf track thrown in.

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'Green Hornet Theme' is a bombastic version of the TV theme performed with a lot of gusto. 'The Mask' is a bouncy saxophone and organ-led tune that was likely already embarrassingly square in 1966. 'Black Speed' is an equally excruciating two-step. 'The Green Defender swings along nicely with a bossa nova beat, though surf music it ain't. In what is perhaps the most insincere retitle, 'The Hornet Sting' is a sappy downtempo Latin number. Side 2 has more of a surf adjacent style beginning with 'Would You Believe' (titled 'Would You Believe!!!' on the cover) - essentially 'Greensleeves'. The undisputed surfiest performance on the album is 'Beauty Dragster', which isn't a bad reimagining of Brahms' 'Hungarian Dance No 5.' It's even got some guitar bends. 'Doo Ba Doo' (were they really this low on title ideas?) is Elvis' 'Can't Help Falling in Love' while 'Drive and Drive' is a surprisingly enjoyable, country-tinged tune -perhaps my mind just been numbed by all this drabble? 'Bricks and Stones' is another South American slumberfest. 

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Just where exactly these tunes were lifted from is still a mystery, though my guess is that A2-A5, B5 and B1-B4 were from two different sources. Really, the only so-called surf adjacent tune here is 'Beauty Dragster' which, ironically, would be my musical pick anyhow.