Album Review:

Formed in 1961, The Pyramids were a surf group from Long Beach, California that had some success between the years 1963 and 1964. 

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The album opens up with the quintessential 'Penetration,' one of the era's premier surf tracks. The everpresent 'Louie Louie' could've used a few more rehearsals. The simply titled, 'Paul' is a great surf tune that was the band's first single in 1962. Fresh off the Beach Boys' In Concert album, a cover of 'Long Tall Texan' takes some liberties - mostly to do with some colorful language (do they really sing "a**"? How did this get past Best Record executives?). 'Koko Joe' is a surfy cover of an obscure 1958 single by Don & Dewey. Curiously, 'Road Runnah' is actually an outtake from the Road Runners The New Mustang and Other Hot Rod Hits album released on London Records, though still an excellent track. 'Out of Limits' is a quality cover of the Marketts' hit, while 'Here Comes Marsha' is a doo-wop-inspired single that was the B-side of the hit single. 'Pyramid Stomp' was released with 'Paul' single and is one of the best surf instrumentals on the album. 'Do the Slauson' is possibly the best vocal number on the album, and a cover of Tommy Roe's 'Everybody' isn't of much interest 60+ years later. 'Sticks and Shins' is a drum solo.

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The Pyramids would go on to appear in AIP's Bikini Beach film and release a few more singles into 1965 without much success. They came in contact with Gary Usher in 1964 and together produced two incredible tracks - a phenomenal cover of the Super Stocks' 'Midnight Run' and 'Custom Caravan' - both of which are excellent examples of the genre. Two unreleased tracks, the vocal 'Record Run' (a personal favorite) and 'Bikini Drag,' which appeared in Bikini Beach are also strong examples of some of the best in the genre. The band's final surf-related single - 'Pressure' bw 'Contact' is also a treasure among surf collectors. Unfortunately, none of these tracks appear on Penetration, which is truly a shame because if they had, this would've been one rocking album. For all its collectability, Penetration in its unaltered state is quite an uneven album, but if you do find a copy, grab it because original pressings are hard to come by.