Album Review:

After some minor chart success with ‘Surfer’s Stomp’ (#31) the Marketts had a bigger hit the following year with ‘Out of Limits’ (#3), another Michael Z. Gordon number. Accordingly, another album was in order - and so, once again, Los Angeles’ best musicians were rounded up with Gordon at the helm.

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‘Out of Limits’ is the hit version and is a fine piece of instrumental surf music, complete with blaring french horns and a Duane Eddy styled guitar solo. ‘Love 1985’ shows off Hal Blaine’s excellent drumming skills while ‘Collision Course’ offers much of the same. ‘Hyper-Space’ differs slightly from its predecessors and again features French horns among the other standard rock instruments. ‘Other Limits’ handles the same chord progression as the opening track, and the slow ‘Bell Star’ features a duet between saxophone and a processed Hawaiian guitar while Leon Russell tickles the ivories underneath. ‘Twilight City’ opens up very much like ‘Bell Star’ but soon launches into a march-like rhythm on the snare, though easily a rewrite. Both ‘Borealis’ and ‘Bella Dalena’ sounds are very much influenced by ‘Surfer’s Stomp’ while ‘Limits Beyond’ hesitates to offer anything new.  By the time ‘Saturn’ rolls around, it’s obvious that the Marketts are set on repackaging their title hit as many times as possible, merely adding minor alterations in melody and accompaniment. The album concludes with a flurry of castanets and snare rolls in ‘Re-Entry’.

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Musically, Out of Limits isn't the band's most interesting album - though it does boast exquisite playing by L.A.’s Wrecking Crew. For fans of Space-age surf-pop, this album will please, no doubt. However, for the casual listener, there is little distinction from song to song, and as a result, the whole album may play like one astronomically long track.