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★★★ 1/2
Silly Surfers -Sounds.jpg

Music to Make Models By

Gremmie Out Of Control / Hot Dogger Hangin' Ten / Hodad Makin' The Scene With A Six Pack / A Woodie On A Surfari / Beach Bunny Catchin' Rays / Cowabunga! Surf's Up / Huey's Hut Rod / Daddy, The Swinging Suburbanite/ Drag Hag / Davy, The Psycho Cyclist / Digger / Endsville Eddie

The Silly Surfers; Weird-Ohs

// 1964 on Hairy Records (HR 101)

7.0

Album Review:

One of the weirdest, silliest, dumbest, and most enjoyable surf and hot rod albums in the entire canon, the Silly Surfers and the Weird-ohs' joint effort, Music to Make Models By, is as zany as the characters it immortalizes. The album is split into two sides; one dedicated to beach lovers and the other for budding rodders.

SIDE A : (Silly Surfers Side)

       The album opens up with the sound of "120,000 hairs all growing at once" before launching into ''Gremmie Out of Control'; a fun comment on the perils associated with gremmie on surfboards. 'Hot Dogger Hangin' Ten' is yet another weird track only marred with Shary Richards' commentary of the action described. The humorous 'Hodad Makin', the Scene with A 6-Pack', is equally as nutty with lyrics reminiscent of a 6th grader. The first 'serious track' on the album, 'Woodie On a Safari,' is yet another great ode to the wood-paneled automobile. Things get a little odd with the overtly sensual 'Beach Bunny Catchin' Rays' - isn't this a kid's record? 'Cowabunga! Surf's Up' closes outside A as we're once again treated to the sounds of sprouting hairs. 

SIDE B : (Weird-Ohs Side)

     If you were curious if the Weird-Ohs were any less silly than their beach-combing counterparts, then the opening of 'Huey's Hut Rod' will put any questions to rest. A truly strange song, the most memorable part being the double-time chorus which only comes up once. 'Daddy, the Swingin' Suburbanite' has a catchy enough tune though the subject matter is still strange. Probably the most unlistenable of all the tracks on the album, 'Drag Hag' is just plain weird. 'Davy, the Psycho Cyclist', isn't all that bad (though rather unmemorable), while 'Digger' is the obvious standout track from all the Weird-Ohs offerings. The album closes with 'Endsville Eddie,' a track that breaks outside of the surf style in favor of a later 60s sound.

While the writing isn't exactly Edward Allen Poe (most of the verses are repeated again, and again, and again, and....you get the point), the sheer dumb-fun-in-the-sun of it all makes this release a treat. It's important to note that both bands received their own expanded editions, which included six extra songs from each group.

CHOICE CUTS:

WOODIE ON A SAFARI / DIGGER / gremmie out of control / cowabunga surf up

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