Album Review:

You may not know the name Chuck Rio (originally Danny Flores), but you most definitely have heard his work. At age 29 in 1958, while a member of the Champs, he penned one of the most recognizable rock anthems of all time - 'Tequila'. Although he signed away the rights to the song and left the Champs shortly after, Mr. Rio continued to be involved in other groups and projects throughout the 60s; one of these was the Persuaders.  The Persuaders consisted of Andy (Frankenstien) Andrews on lead guitar, Gary (the Wolf Man) Carino and Chuck (the Hatchet Man) Gocha on rhythm guitars, Wally Henderson and Pat Zacari ("two of the nicest Ghouls you'll ever meet") on saxophones, Jerry (the Slasher) Simon on piano, and Laurin (The Vampire) Rinder on drums. According to the back cover, the Persuaders had recently merged with a San Jose group, the Embers, which may explain the excessive plethora of group members listed.

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'Let's Go Surfside' is a great surf number with a driving beat. You can really hear the room energy on this recording. 'Taking Off On A Wall' is a thinly veiled rewrite of Les Paul & Mary Ford's 'Love Is Strange', though it doesn't matter as A third Andrews composition, 'Hanging Ten' has just about everything you'd want from a surf track. Based on popular riff from the Robins' 'Riot in Cel Block 9', 'Surfer Strip' is yet another fantastic surf jam. To modern ears, 'Surfer's Lullabye' sounds a great deal similar to Leonard Cohen's 'Hallelujah', though both were written decades apart. If you can get over that, it's a slickly performed little surf tune. It wouldn't be a true surf album if it didn't contain a surfed-out cover of an old public domain tune, and you guessed it, 'Gremmie Bread' is 'Shortnin' Bread'. 'Surfin' Blues' is a slow rolling tom jam while 'Toes On the Nose' rocks heavier than a surfboard at sea. Chuck Gocha's 'Kahina Stomp' features Simon on organ. 'Caught in the Soup' is a solid surf tune. The real treat is 'Surfer's Nightmare', which not only features the electric stylings of Andrews, but also highlights the trio of saxes well. 'The Raid' is a frantic bop with a frenzy of solos.

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This album may be a private press with a generic cover that can be found on many other release, but man! does it rock! Finding unsung genre treasures like this is why i love this type of music! Filled with originals, energetic performances, and ghoulish whimsey Surfer's Nightmare is about as good as it gets!