Album Review:

The Rhythm Rockers were a surf instrumental group from Southern California that played regularly with Dick Dale at the Rendezvous Ballroom. They released one album which carries some of the most energetic, high-octane tracks of the early surf wave.

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'Surfin' at Matzatlan' opens up with a sultry guitar solo before launching into an otherwise rambunctious rocker. 'Rendezvous Stomp' is an off-kilter number with accents on the 1 and 2 rather than the usual 2 and 4. A slick cover of 'Ramrod' is followed by the bouncy 'Nine Toes' while the Gamblers' 1959 hit, 'Moondawg' gets a well-executed surfy makeover. 'Wipeout' (not the Surfaris' song) finds the band sitting comfortably in the surf/dance style as they trade solos with each other. 'Breakfast at Tressels' has appeared on various compilations since its release, while an airtight cover of  'Movin' N' Groovin'' (this time spelled 'Moovin') pays close attention to Duane Eddy's 1958 version. Both 'Get It On' and 'Caravan' don't excel much past the realm of 'filler material.' The Rhythm Rockers finally slow down just long enough to cut the soothing 'The Breeze and I', which draws on Billy Vaughn's twin sax sound to create an atmosphere of freshness. Analogous to the closing of a Ballroom concert, the band concludes the album with the familiar 'You Can't Sit Down.' 

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One of the very first surf albums, Soul Surfin' is a candid snapshot of what kind of music went on inside the hallowed walls of the fabled Rendezvous Ballroom. A regular attraction along with Dick Dale, the Rhythm Rockers' first and only album rides high among the first wave of releases.