Customer Reviews

Surf Sensation

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had to savor the content of this cd for a couple months before reviewing it. One thing for certain- you don't need to be living in California circa early 1960's to write/perform great surf music. The boys from Montreal are no exception in "Surf Sensation". Tracks such as Kung Fu Saturdays"," Breakers at Hanalei","The Last Papaya","Distant Shores", and "Cabo Del Cabo" are amongst my favorites. Excellent guitar melodies throughout accented with tasty trem picking, trem dives, muted arpegios, with the manditory drenching of Fender reverb! I don't proclaim you'll like all 33 tracks; you have to listen in order for them to grow on you. No words in the music to anoy or offend you. Surf Music-it's a good thing, very cool, and the Meltones/Surf Sensation is all that!!!

The Mel-Tones' "Surf Sensation" smacks of retro '60s surf culture. Each of the album's 33 tracks is a punchy little 2-minute surf vignette with a personality of its own. "Surf Sensations" boasts rollicking, uptempo rhythms, lush reverb guitar sounds, and the occasional gleefully shouted word. Highlights include "Kung Fu Saturdays," "Surfin' Natasha," and "Curl Rider Stomp." The music is vaguely reminescent of Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, but with a fresh new flavor. It occasionally strays from surf to spy, martial arts and spaghetti western, but all while maintaining the same distinct instrumental sound. Hard to believe the Mel-Tones hail from Canada, eh?

If you like up-tempo surf with a 60s flavor, along the lines of the Astronauts, and early Jon & The Nightriders, then you'll love this CD.

This is a modern surf band from Montreal, which is rather ironic. Anyway, the guitar work is superb, the tunes are marvelous, and the overall sound is extremely authentic. Recommended for anyone who loves great instrumental surf sounds from a band with immense talent.
What more can I say; this music will make you feel like you're in Hawaii. And it's a good value with 33 tracks on it at around 77 minutes of music.

Surf music from Montreal? - though surf is hard to find on the St Lawrence, the music is none the worse for it. This CD contains 33 tracks of classic surf sound of the highest quality. Whilst perhaps lacking the more innovative element of some recent California surf rock bands such as the Aqua Velvets, the Mel-Tones have clearly internalised the genre to the extent that I would say if you buy just one surf music CD, this has to be the one. Apart from anything else, with this number of tracks it is excellent value for money with each track worth a listen. In fact you wonder why the Mel-Tones did not issue it as two CDs. Perhaps they thought this was their only chance and we benefit from their efforts to give it their all.

Very well done but tiresome as over drenched reverb/delay guitar can get. With that said it is typical every album type surf music, nothing different or new here but not bad either. One CD by these guys is all you'll ever need by them. Nothing left to play that hasn't been played already by a zillion other surf bands. Worth getting but it might only get one listen because once you have heard a couple songs, you have heard them all. Not sorry I bought this CD, just have a bunch of others very much the same by many different groups. Here are two really fantastic, excellent, great surf CD's;
1) The Fathoms "Fathom This!"
2) The Blue Stingrays "Surf N Burn"
Now those two are surf CD's supreme......I'd buy Surf Sensation again if I lost it or loaned it and never got it back but only because I collect surf music, not that it is great.

Excellent CD and a lot of fun soaking up some rays poolside with a strong rum drink (with an umbrella in it, of course.)

This lead guitarist in this group was one of very best surf music musicians around in the late 90's which is when this music was recorded. He relocated to the Southern California area after the 90"s where his music career fizzled out. He was one of the founders of the surf music "Cowabunga" Yahoo group. This is a killer alblum. I think it's about 78 minutes of music, too much music for one listening. The second half of the alblum drags a bit especially with the length of the alblum but just putting your CD player on random selection makes the alblum more listenable. This is a must have alblum for every serious collector of surf music. These songs are all hard core surf instrumentals and this band is as good as it gets for pumping out authentic high energy surf music.