Jim Waller and the Deltas were an instrumental surf band from Fresno, California. The band featured Jim Waller on piano, Terry Christofsen on guitar, Ray Carlson on sax, Edie Atkinson on bass, and Jeff Christensen on drums. Reportedly, they turned down a management offer from Murray Wilson at one point. Besides two singles, Surfin' Wild is the band's only album release. 

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'Surfin' Wild' may be little more than a riff on the Dovells' 'You Can't Sit Down' compositionally, but nevertheless rocks hard. 'Exotic' evokes wistful melodies of the far-east, while 'Trippin' and Trestles' finally allows the band to delve into some material more rooted in 'surf'dom. The reverby qualities added to Cannonball Adderly's 'Work Song' really work well here. A far more acoustic rendition of 'Latin'ia' feels somehow more authentic to its' cultural source than the electric rhythm most surf bands approached it with. The ever-dependable 'Church Key' is another highlight. 'Body Wompin' certainly deserves a place among the top surf tracks of the era and does the steady groove of 'Surf Walk.' Other tunes such as the Beach Boy's 'Surfin'' get a strong instrumental makeover. A fairly straightforward cover of Dave Myers and the Surftones' 'Vesuvius' is brief, yet potent. Interestingly, original pressings carry a mastering mistake with an early fadeout coupled followed by an ill-placed snippet of the tune directly before the comparatively tame surf jam 'Waikiki Wipeout' begins. '"Bal" Beat' may be a jam, but it's a darn solid one.

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Yes, Surfin' Wild is definitely work seeking out. It's hard to find a better collection of surf tunes anywhere.