Customer Reviews

Living Water (A Surfer's Mass)

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They've been around the surf music scene... forever! Or so it seems. Best known for Beach Boyish vocal harmonies, The Malibooz have turned in a surprisingly deep, haunting album of spiritual music. Don't run away. The music evokes the power and emotion of the sea, and that seems to be where John Zambetti and company have found God. The production is thick, a crime on most recordings, but in the context of Living Water it works with the music to create a dizzyingly beautiful aural painting that will take your breath away if you allow it to. It's difficult to describe music like this. Try to imagine Brian Wilson in the middle of a profound religious epiphany. The result is magical; enough reverb, crash and roar to turn on the surf crowd and enough ethereal beauty to please new age fans. It's likely none of that matters much to The Malibooz. This seems like an extremely heartfelt declaration of devotion to God and ocean, and we're just happy to listen in.

This one caught me totally off guard! After just listening to Malibooz Rule! I popped in the CD expecting to hear Surf with all the typical reverb, twanging and teen beach stories. What I heard was surf music but the major difference being it was a series of beautiful, lush, melodious harmonies and soaring Beach Boy like vocals all taken from prayers. You heard me right, prayers. So right from the get go you have the feeling that this is going to be a unique and out of the ordinary experience, trust me it is. John Zambetti, one of the founding members of Malibooz was backing up his church choir on guitar and was inspired to conceptualize this whole project. This is some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard. Divinely inspired from the heavens this gorgeous group of songs will give you chills and fill your heart with the joy and inspiration of life itself. What an ingenious blend of surf, soft rock/pop and religious passages this is! The subtlety of the tide is accompanied by angelic voices and equally heavenly guitar breaks. If you are not one who attends church or is very religious it doesn't really matter, this is great music that can be appreciated by a wide range of discerning tastes. Listen closely and let the music speak to your heart. The love and respect for God and nature is conveyed through the music. A spiritual dance that's a slice of heaven awaits you. Extraordinary!

I usually don't review vocal material at all, because there's not much of the trad harmony genre that I like at all. The Malibooz are the exception, and with this most unusual album, it seems appropriate to let you know about this fine CD. This is the first surf concept album, a celebration of the the aqua basin, the fluid birth mother of life on earth. In some respects, this is like a mass, and in others it's like very high quality surf vocal pop, and in all respects it pays homage to the water. Almost religious in it's sound and feel, these tracks display a real sense of honest and humble awe towards the sea. You can feel the pure emotional worship in their voices and playing. It is a religious CD, but unlike many such releases, it does not put off the average Joe open to contemplating mysteries of life. The most deeply felt tracks are the ones about the sea itself, and how magical it is to interact with the waves. This is a real work of art, a labor of love. Beautiful harmonies, delicate balances between sounds and textures, and extremely clear recordings. This CD demands that you sit and listen in a quiet place, and reflect on the wonder of the sea.

This album by the venerable surf band was borne from an idea by leader John Zambetti, who decided to put his church's mass prayers to music to convey the essence of the ocean. It was a noble gesture that paid off in spades, as Living Water (The Surfer's Mass) is an absolutely beautiful album that fans of the Beach Boys and Jeffrey Foskett will love. The album basically intertwines soft, harmony filled introspective tunes with shorter, uptempo surf pieces, and this approach works well. Songs like "Gloria" and "Lamb of God" are breathtaking. "Bitter Water" and "Caught a Wave" could easily have fit on the Beach Boys' L.A. (Light Album) or Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue. "Summer Wind" is the "Don't Worry Baby" of the 90s. The low tones from Walter Egan's guitar carry the surf tunes like "Kyrie," "Alleluia," and "Doloxogy/Amen." The production on this disc is as crystal clear as island waters. You certainly don't have to be a devoted Christian to bathe in Living Water (The Surfer's Mass).

Living Water: The Surfer's Mass. This CD was released in 1999, so admittedly I am a janie-come-lately to it, but I figure better to find it later than to never find it at all. Living Waters really is a hidden treasure.

Living Water is basically a song cycle. A Catholic Mass set to surf music...however, you needn't be a surfer or a Catholic or particularly religious to appreciate the beauty and simplicity of this musical style. Like jazz or blues, surf music is a uniquely American musical tradition...one that is open to many interpretations. This CD is considered somewhat experimental because it applies a contemporary music form to an older tradition of music. To me, it's a beautiful and meaningful combination of the ancient and modern. It's clear that there's a Beach Boys influence but you can also hear shades of Paul Michael Talbot as well.

There are several original contemporary compositions on this CD, written by the band's frontman John Zambetti, but most of the songs on the CD are traditional and timeless Catholic hymns and prayers you can hear at any Mass anyplace in the world.

This song, Benedicite, is the original processional hymn that kicks off this CD. It starts off with the following Latin phrase:

Aqua vitae, benedicite

Aqua vitae as you can guess means "Living Waters." Benedicite is an exclamation which means "bless you!" This song is a greeting and a praise to the sea and all life forms that exist within the sea. It's an impressive mix of the old and the new musically. In terms of melody, it fits right in with Gregorian chants but still retains a present day feel. Lyrically, despite the modern words, the sentiment reminded me very much of some of the ancient Psalms, especially Psalm 148...and also this verse from the book of Isaiah

Isaiah 42:10 Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.

I really dig the visuals in this video, too, especially the dolphins. Reminds me of the times I've vacationed in Malibu and saw the dolphins swimming by in the early morning while standing on Carbon Beach. Dolphins are considered sacred in many religions and cultures, and even in Christianity the dolphin has a special place.

2 Kyrie -- traditional Greek Kyrie Eleison (Lord Have Mercy) Christe Eleison (Christ have Mercy)

3. Gloria -- Glory To God In the Highest

4. Bitter Water -- this song is a somewhat somber but hopeful song about Miriam, the sister of Moses. The song's lyrics speak of of how the ocean can bring retribution (as in Pharoh's soldiers being tossed into the sea) and also how it brings solace (finding solace at the sea...as many people have done for centuries.)

5. Alleluia * This is traditionally sung before the reading of the Gospel...and there are many different "Alleluias" available in song, but this one is really special.

6. Crest then Broken (instrumental)* The harmonizing on this song is beautiful and will move you to tears. Very Beach Boys in its execution. Great for reflection and meditation.

7. Holy, Holy -- aka the Hosanna. This is the song before the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins.

8. Doxology/Amen * - traditional but with many variations

9. Lamb of God -- traditional but with many variations

10.Summer Wind *

For me, this song is reminiscent of my teenage years in the 1970s when I would play my guitar at Catholic folk Masses and Protestant summer tent revivals.

What's a folk mass, you ask? It's a Mass in which folk music is used as part of the service instead of liturgical music. Some people think of "folk Mass" as a hippy-dippy thing, but Folk masses actually got their start in the 1960s after Vatican II, and then grew in popularity throughout the 1970s and 1980s. For many people, the folk Masses were and still are somewhat controversial. They don't consider it a "real" Catholic Mass because it's not in the old Tridentine traditon (all in Latin). Some parishes refused to hold folk Masses, and even in more forward thinking parishes the folk Masses were usually relegated to being celebrated on Saturday nights rather than during "prime time" high Mass Sunday morning where the organ and full choir was expected.

However, I can remember very well that the people who really loved the folk Masses would come in droves on those Saturday nights...even in summer where Mass attendance is known to drop off. Sometimes, we'd even have Mass outdoors (gasp!). Back then, the 'fans' of folk Masses especially liked it when our group would sing songs which to some had a spiritual feel, but were clearly secular pop songs or even love songs. I would sing Rick Springfield's "Speak To The Sky" from 1972, or John Denver's "Annie's Song" from 1974. So chances are if this song, Summer Wind, had been around back then, I would've played it at Mass. Yes, "Summer Wind" does have sort of a 'love song' feel to it, but it's not a self-indulgent sort of song...so it's still appropriate for a Mass of any style.

11.Caught A Wave

Now this is the song that reminds me most of "Surf's Up" on the Brian Wilson SMiLE CD. The lyrics are quite lovely. It's obviously about surfing, but the words can also have other meanings, too, such as spiritual cleansing and being refreshed by healing waters.

12.Benedicte (reprise)...same as the beginning song, serves as a recessional hymn. I'd love to hear this as a round.

This CD got very positive reviews at the beachboys.com website. They said that the Malibooz have "the most authentic credentials and sound" of all of the Beach Boys hybrid groups. It also has a five star rating at amazon.com

Unfortunately, some reviewers were not very kind. In fact, I found one review somewhat condescending bordering on rude. The reviewer said Living Waters had that "only in California" quirkiness to it that listeners will find more humorous than inspiring. Well I completely disagree with their assessment of this CD. It's so clear that the review just doesn't get it. His or her loss, I say.

I have only one criticism of this CD. Where is the Lord's Prayer? That's an integral and traditional part of any Catholic or Anglican Mass! So I was somewhat disappointed by the omission of the Pater Noster. I've heard and have sung many renditions of the "Our Father" in the past (including a Jamaican 'raggae' style version that I sometimes sing at the Farmer's Market)...so I would welcome a "surf" version of this beautiful and timeless prayer.

Otherwise, this CD is almost perfect. Yet, despite the omission....

Musically, I fell in love with this CD the very first listen. I really, really dig this CD, especially these three videos and how they're set right on the beach. As I've said many times before I feel closest to God when I am in nature, especially at the beach, so this is the perfect inspirational CD for me.

Hopefully more people will take notice of it very soon and appreciate it as much as I do. To me, Living Waters is an original and pure expression of spirituality through music...it's exactly what our world needs in such uncertain times.