Customer Reviews

King Of The Surf Guitar: The Best Of Dick Dale & His Del-Tones

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It doesn't seem to make sense if described in words: a Lebanese-Polish kid from Boston who creates the sound of the blond California beach culture at the dawn of the Sixties with a synthesis of Gene Krupa's big band beat, minor-keyed Middle Eastern folk tunes, and the sounds he hears in the water as a tube-surfing daredevil. Makes a machine gun of the guitar, playing it in the frenzied, staccato double-picking style of the mandolin, while drenching it in reverb, a technical innovation of the day. The Sound is something every rock & roll devotee will, at once, recognize and find utterly different than anything he's ever heard. Rhythm sections tighter than James Brown's, brass as bold as Herb Alpert. This compilation traces his development through the daring, gritty "Miserlou" to the infectious "Surf Beat" on to the glistening smoothness of "The Wedge" and beyond. If you thought there was only Motown and Brill Building pop after Elvis and before the Beatles, think again. An absolute must for every serious collector.

I've owned this particular CD for years, but I have been kind of reluctant to review it. Y'see, to me, Dick Dale is kind of like the Tao; "the Tao that is spoken about, is not the Tao..." The Dick dale that I speak about is not really Dick Dale.

Dick Dale needs to be experienced in order to be appreciated. I can't explain his music. It's kind of primal, kind of tribal, it's kind of raw and will gnaw at your gut for hours after listening to it. It takes a "different kind" of soul to not only listen to Dick Dale, but appreciate him. This isn't said out of arrogance, it's just said out of a knowing that not everybody will like him just like not everyone likes the Mills Brothers...

Shine little glow worm...

He is truly amazing. I saw him in concert a few times, but I remember one time he was playing so fast and so furious that he broke a guitar string in the middle of a jam session. Big deal you say? What would you say if I told you he changed that guitar string while he was playing it? He had a stage hand hold the guitar, while he changed the string with his left hand and played with his right. You wouldn't even believe how thunderous the applause was after that happened.

Every time I've seen him, I've been "deaf" for days. I've never left a Dick Dale concert without somehow changing in some way. He's like a Shaman, a wizard, an alchemist. He can transform the ordinary into something pure and golden. He is truly one of the world's greatest (and most overlooked) musicians.

He is the King.

So, buy this album. It's a great little starter and after you learn to appreciate this album, go to another, and another, until you'll finally be able to say, "Wow, I really do know Dick..."

Peace and Blessings, children

Dick Dale is generally regarded as the "father" of surf music. This CD contains 18 of his semi-legendary performances (he didn't actually have any hits). "Let's Go Trippin'" is considered by many to be the first surf record. "Miserlou" is considered by me to be the best surf record. You also get some other great recordings like "Shake 'N' Stomp", "Surf Beat", "Hava Nagila" and "Riders in the Sky". There are also a few missteps, like the vocal songs "Mr. Peppermint Man" and "King of the Surf Guitar", but overall it's a good sampler of Dick Dale's work. Recommended to fans of surf music.

Listening to this compilation of greatest hits captures the spirit and essence of surfing and the Southern Calif. surf music scene of the sixties. Dick Dale was the Surf music scene. Anyone who was a teenager during this time only has to listen to this music to travel back in time and relive what it was like to catch a wave and if you weren't there it makes you wish you were.

I knew of Dick Dale's more well known tunes, his first "Let's go tripping" & "Misirlou", but the lesser known tracks are quite good. It demonstrates Dale's growth from his first to the "Pipeline" remake. The tracks are pretty much layed out on chronological order, and that's good.

His style is all over this cd, no mistaking it. He's described as "High Energy", and I'm not a fan of harsh surf - some of that here, but all good.

I recommend this cd for surf tune lovers and how surf all started with Dick Dale.

This is the guy who invented surf guitar and nobody does it better. A great summer album and a great album for bringing the summer into the rest of the year. It's also a good soundtrack for surfing the web!

Dick Dale was left-handed, yet didn't reverse the strings on his guitar. His technique is most accurately described as electrified mandolin that was augmented in 1962 with a portable Fender reverb unit. He is widely considered the father of surf music and there's no denying that those who came after Dale used his music as a starting point.

The Del-Tones never had a hit record in their time; not even "Misrilou" made much of a splash (forgive the pun). That song and Dale enjoyed a sort of notoriety 30 years after the track's release thanks to the film PULP FICTION. It was featured in the movie's opening credits.

In comparison to the surf music that followed in Dick Dale's wake (pun again), his stuff had more energy perhaps, but it just wasn't as good. Dale had a penchant for reworking tunes to his style that probably should have been left alone-- "The Wedge," "Riders In The Sky" and "Hava Nagila" are good examples of this.

The last selection, "Pipeline," features Stevie Ray Vaughan, and was recorded in 1987. RHINO did a fine job of remastering the older sides, and their liner notes are informative. THE BEST OF DICK DALE & HIS DEL-TONES is a collection that will appeal most to surf music completists, and historians of the "California Sound."

TOTAL RUNNING TIME -- 41:54

Dick Dale is a legend. Dale's influence on the surf community was amazing. He influenced the likes of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. He IS the origin of surf music. The music on this CD is intense, electric, and hypnotic. It's worth the bank!

I bought this album for the sole purpose of contrasting Dick Dale and the Del-Tones to The Surfcoasters. The Surfcoasters are a Japanese surf guitar band that Dale has called "the best surf guitar band ever". High praise from the sensi of surf guitar indeed.

The album is all those classical riffs we of the '60's grew up with, nicely mastered and sounding the way they would have in 1968 if we'd had CDs back then. Wonderful nostalgia in the listening.

Oh, the contrast of the two groups? Dale's work is clean, mellow and sets the "gold standard" for surf guitar. In contrast, the Surfcoasters are a bit more edgy, more "modern" if you will, with at times a heavier beat and more modern compositions and riffs. Nuances, to be sure, but I can see why the Master has complemented and toured with these relative newcomers.

Amazon doesn't carry The Surfcoasters, although some of the zShops might. tokyorecohan.com and cdjapan.co.jp do occasionally have their albums. Amazon, if you're reading this, please add The Surfcoasters to your repitoire!

I am more partial to metal and hard rock, but Dick Dale is great! The first man to blow up amps and melt guitar picks. He used to start with a handful and flick them off into to audience.

Most of the tracks are a good cross section of the times; has artist as well as studio written and produced tracks. If you are interested in pre-Beach Boys 'surf guitar', this is one to get.

Most people will recognize Banzai Wipeout, but there are some 'studio produced' tracks as well that Dale was forced to record. They are insipid, but a good contrast to the artist's material. Dale wanted to see what he could do with a traditional melody, Hava Nagila has to be experienced . . . .its a great revenge track for all the boring whiny gangsta rap you hear in the summer.