Album Review:

Recorded in just 3 hours, The Surf Family was released in 1964 by Dub-Tone Record Co. in hopes of cashing in on Dick Dale's recent success. Two early Dale tracks appear from his pre-surf days. The remaining ten tracks are performed by the Hollywood Surfers. 

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The first track, 'King Of The Stomp' is a gritty surf track with a garage band sound. 'We'll Never Hear the End of It' harkens back to Dick Dale's earliest recording ventures and appeared on a few exploitive Lps following Dales' rise to fame. 'All Night Long'  is another killer instrumental by the Hollywood Surfers. 'Highway 101' is a tribute to the surf route and a great surf track. The second of the Dale 50s tracks, 'Fairest of Them All,' has nothing to do with hot rods or surfing. The familiar 'Last Night' is a fine cover of the Mar-Keys' 1961 hit. 'The Surfer' hits all the right notes and sounds eerily close to David Marks and the Marksmen's 'Cruisin''. 'The Garbage Pit' is a very Dick Dale-like intro and a gravelly sax break. 'White Tornado' features some sweet guitar work, while 'Hully Stomp' is a play on the popular 'Hully Gully' dance craze. 'Hang Five' is another solid rocker. 'Doheny Drums' is predictably a drum-infused track with short guitar breaks.

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Lay down your preconceived notions about what a budget surf album entails because The Surf Family is surprisingly a solid. It took me forever to add this one to the collection and I'm very glad I did.