Here's what the
press has said about 'War
Of The Surf Guitars':
32 cuts of surf instro madness, much of
it garagy, and for some reason mostly in mono (or very narrow stereo).
Just a few tracks appear here for the first time, but then again, it's a
two-label showcase. Lots of fiery performances from a variety of bands and
places.
--Phil Dirt (www.reverbcentral.com).
There are 32 tracks packed into this
excellent 78 minute compilation, a joint release by two of the premier
independent labels (Golly Gee Records and Double Crown Records). 32
recordings, all guitar, and all instrumental. Now that’s not necessarily
a recipe for success, there have been a number of minor label instrumental
comps which were uninspiring. Here, however, there is a very high
percentage of excellent tracks.
The labels alternate tracks and each
band’s contribution is scattered about the list. The first eight are
from Ralph Rebel, The Boss Martians, Supertones (x2), Volcanos, Coffin
Daggers, Krontjong Devils and The Penetrators are all top rate numbers. In
all there must be at least 20 here of that standard, quite a success rate.
This is a useful chance for newcomers to
sample material from the various bands. But there are also some unreleased
items to tempt the serious collector too. One essential item is a fabulous
unreleased version of Black Boots & Bikes from The Krontjong Devils
with an emotive, distant metallic echo lead. New band The Coffin Daggers
have two unreleased tracks, Avenue X is good and Stella Vista confirms
them as a mighty powerful outfit with a more modern guitar sound.
War of The Surf Guitars could be the
biggest ever Battle of The Surf Bands, but I’m not going to be bold (or
daft) enough to pick a winner when so many are so good. I’ll just leave
you with the recommendation that this is one compilation you definitely
should not miss.
--Alan Taylor, Pipeline #56, Summer 2002
"Blistering, 32 track compilation of some of the best
surf/instrumental bands in the world, on Double Crown and Golly Gee
Records. 16 tracks from each label, including rare, unreleased and/or
previously vinyl-only cuts. Includes two unreleased Krontjong Devils cuts,
two previously vinyl-only cuts from Boss Martians, alternate instrumental
take of "It's So Easy" by Jonny & The Shamen and unreleased
cuts by The Coffin Daggers and Supertones. So many to choose from on this
superb collaboration bwteen Double Crown & Golly Gee but - among many
- favorites include The Supertones "Shanghai Surf"; "Bad
News" by The Volcanos is a speedy "Church Key"; huge twang
of Coffin Daggers. This is spaced out high energy, manic and party
animal's dream - it's a roaring success."
--Davy Peckett, New Gandy Dancer, Issue# 65, July 2002
Surf rock long ago passed from relevance
into kitsch, and now has entered a post-kitsch phase that is difficult to
explain. While there's little here that wasn't covered by Dick Dale, Link
Wray, and many others several decades past, there's plenty to like on this
disc. Billed as a battle between Double Crown and Golly Gee Records, it's
a compilation of 32 tracks from about fifteen bands, equally split between
the two labels. "Sol Si Do Si Mi Re La" by Estrumen'n'tal stands
out -- its modern pop-punk guitar attack differs rather sharply from the
era-appropriate reverb of all the other tracks. It's an enjoyable song,
though, even if I kept half-expecting a snotty kid to start singing with a
fake British accent. Other tunes will grab your attention by dropping bits
of popular melodies into their compositions; Ralph Rebel's take on the
James Bond theme stands out for being eminently recognizable, but also
because the song lends itself very easily to twangy guitars and a dark
surf sound. The Volcanos do a tune called "Bad News" that's
unremarkable, but makes itself known due to a ridiculous Captain
Caveman-style vocal noise that is sure to cause a chuckle each time it
comes on. "50 Bucks a Midget", meanwhile, deserves a mention on
the basis of its title alone.
There are a few references to that
strange alliance (probably solely through the force of Man...or Astroman?)
between surf and outer space, and also to the other modern surf sub-genre
(probably because of The Mummies) interested in monster movies and horror.
The bands here actually seem to be influenced by these neo-surf
affiliations through name alone; The Boss Martians don't use spacy samples
or anything, and The Honkeys' "The Wayback Machine" isn't any
more science-fictiony than the other cuts. Similarly, Big Ray and the
Futuras' "Horrorscope" isn't really scary, nor does it try to
be. It is, like every other song here, a solid instrumental surf cut. It's
hard to pick a winner between the two labels, and really, the true winners
are surf instrumental fans.
J. Berk, Splendid E-zine
The BEST surf instro CD of the year with
32 tracks of the coolest Surf music from Golly Gee Records and Double
Crown Records. With almost 80 minutes of music from 15 of today’s
hottest Surf Instro bands - You need to own this disc. All killer - no
filler! Amazon.com Review
"This is instrumental surf that the Big Kahuna could play on
his boom box while cresting a tsunami casued by El Nino weather patterns
as it obliterates some silently doomed seaside town... or something like
that. Every time I get a surf CD I am always tempted to whip out some sort
of ocean metaphor, and as you can see, I'm not one to resist temptation.
Though my imagery is lame, the music on here is top notch. Ralph Rebel
kicks it off with the swaggering strut of "Sabre Jet", followed
by the Boss Martians with their flowing guitarwork. In fact, I can't go
through these excellent 32 tracks one by one. Let's just say you get
instrumentals that are spy-fi, exotic, psycho, smooth lounge, sixties
garage, and more: all delivered with great talent and a mixture of guitar
tones and phrasings. With so many instrumental tracks you might think this
would get monotonous, but it really doesn't. I can't imagine any fan of
surf music being disappointed with this split between Golly Gee and Double
Crown Records. Some bands included are: Estrume'n'tal, The Retroliners,
The Supertones, The Volcanos, The Penetrators, The Honkeys, Big Ray and
The Futuras, The Del-Vamps, The Untamed Youth, and more. A few of these
songs are unreleased by The Coffin Daggers, Jonny & The Shamen, The
Krontjong Devils, and a live track by The Supertones. Pick it up and love
it."
--Ben Lybarger, Rock n' Roll Purgatory, Issue #8 (2002)
Kowabunga hodads and gremies!! This 32-track blitz of instrumental
fire-power is a joint effort of Golly Gee Records and Double Crown
Records. All the bands are part of the latest wave of guitar crazed kids
trying their hand at recreating the magic of ‘63 as made popular by
folks like Dick Dale, the Ventures and thousands of others. The bands here
are Ralph Rebel, the Supertones, the Coffin Daggers, the Retroliners, the
Honkeys, Estrume’n’tal, the Boss Martians, the Volcanos, the Krontjong
Devils, the Penetrators, Big Ray & The Futuras, the Apemen, the
Footstompin Trio, the Del-Vamps, Johnny & The Shamen and the Untamed
Youth. I’m not sure how many songs are band originals, but there are
plenty of classics such as “James Bond”, “Run Chicken Run”, “Bad
News” and “Malaguena”. There are no clunkers, this is a solid surf
listen throughout.
--Edwin Letcher, Garage and Beat Magazine Issue #7, Fall 2002
The title of this alblum sounds a bit
cheesy but the music in the CD is excellent. The songs sound much better
on my stereo than the little speakers in my computer. This CD is a champ
as far as giving you your moneys worth of songs. I could not find any
songs I did not like to listen to and was very impressed with the
Supertones songs on the alblum. While not quite as authentic as real 60's
surf music I find the collection of songs here to be some of the very best
of whats offered today in the modern day surf guitar sound.
--Amazon.com Review
I picked this CD up after I purchased
the other Golly Gee release "Rockabilly Rumble". Someone had
recommended it and since "Rockabilly Rumble" was such a great
record, I had to have this one as well. I was not disappointed at all.
This is an incredible CD with almost and hour and a half of music! No
boring tracks at all - and surf music can be boring. After listening to it
all the way through I had to listen again and again. "War of The Surf
Guitars" is definitely worth buying - even if you live in Texas and
can't see the ocean ; )
--Jack Barry
Golly Gee Records and Double Crown
Records work together here on a 32 track CD with great instrumentals.
Bands like the Apemen, The Boss Martians, The Supertones, The Coffin
Daggers, The Honkeys, The Penetrators and a bunch of others are here on
this Sun Crazed, Sea Mad batlle for the ultimate in surf domination.
Both Double Crown Records and Golly Gee Records are known for their superb
Rockabilly and Surf releases. And this joined venture on CD is from the
same quality. Bring your swim suit, a cold beer, some Hawaiian dancers
& don’t forget your surfboard it’s Party Time.
--Billybop.be Review
'V/A
- War Of The Surf Guitars'
has been played stations all over the world, including: |
