Cowabunga! Surf guitar freaks, have you heard this record?

[bordeno]

In 1984 I heard a 10 minute surf instrumental medley on the local progressive station that absolutely blew me away - Splashback by Jon and the Nightriders. Couldn't find the album anywhere in Annapolis, went to D.C. and located it. The name of the album is Charge of the Nightriders, the record I have is an import from Holland. The recording is fabulous. The are several killer cuts including Splashback, the title cut, and the Wedge, but nary a bad song on it.

AFAIK the record is very rare. I never see it on eBay, then again I don't look that often. It definitely ain't on disc. There are a few Jon & Nightriders CDs around, but not this one, and this is by far the best.

I was just wondering if any of the other surf freaks on AK had heard this record.

 

[fotno]

That group is news to me, but thanks for the heads up Bordeno. Man I loves me some surf music!

 

[Mystic]

Produced by Shel Talmy...now that is something.

 

[Grainger49]

True, I have several of his "productions" in the form of Britt pressings of early Pentangle LPs from

 

[thunderroad]

Thanks for the heads-up on the Nightriders album. I'm a surf music fan and not familar with this group at all. Sounds like something I'd really like too. Time to start looking for this one.

In the spirit of returning the favor, I stumbled upon a Surf Music Unplugged CD by the Duo-Tones some time ago that is really good! They play a lot of the old traditional hits like Pipeline, Mr. Moto, Apache, etc. in the surf music style, but with acoustic guitars. Really a good disk! Sounds alot like flamingo guitar. Unfortunately Penetration isn't on the disk, but I guess you can't have everything. Here is the link on amazon, where you can listen to some of the cuts. Enjoy! http://www.amazon.com/Surf-Music-Unplugged-Duo-Tones/dp/B00004ZEIG

 

[bordeno]

Time to furnish my mini Splashback medley review. The piece is just brilliantly done. If you like surf instrumentals, it'll raise the hair on your arms and back, its that good. It actually weaves two other music styles around the surf instrumentals, and does so seamlessly such that you hardly notice. The effect is mesmerizing. The song begins with a sleuth/detective theme with brief parts of Secret Agent Man, Batman and the James Bond theme. They are intertwined, back and forth, before the surf portion begins with the classic reverbed e minor of Pipeline. It is slightly drawn out as to announce that the business part of the nine minutes follows. Then you get pieces of Apache, Walk - Don't Run, Telstar, Wipeout, Misirlou and, ending this section of the medley, Tequila. Yup Tequila ain't a surf tune but when they're supposed to shout "Tequila," they shout "SPLASHBACK!".

Thus ends the first half of the medley. Immediately after the exclamation, we start the second half with an inspired western theme with a country splash that absolutely blows you away. The pace is not slowed, it builds up like a ramp. It is immediately after the exclamation that the piece continues building to a crescendo. It starts with, oh yes, the jolting power A chord in Ring of Fire. Then a smidgen of Del Shannon's Runaway of all songs but trust me it works wonders....followed by a tribute to Red River Rock, the Johnny & the Hurricanes classic. The next song represents the climax of the piece and I had to consult an encyclopedic buddy to find out what the heck it was. Answer, High Noon. And not a slow plodding High Noon to say the least. Wow. Then we wend our way into El Paso, Wheels and Rebel 'Rouser which concludes the production.

I have been listening to this medley for years. I will never tire of it. They hit the proverbial nail on the head with it. I have never surfed, but hearing this music is what it must feel like at the point of standing up when catching a wave.

And yet it is little known, even by surf music enthusiasts.

Cowabunga.

 

[Grainger49]

. . . I stumbled upon a Surf Music Unplugged CD by the Duo-Tones some time ago that is really good! They play a lot of the old traditional hits like Pipeline, Mr. Moto, Apache, etc. in the surf music style, but with acoustic guitars . . . .

That reminds me of the medley on Fairport Convention's album, Expletive Delighted, called Hanks for the Memories.

IIRC it combines Pipeline, Apache and Peter Gunn.

Had to jump in.

P.S. I was a HUGE fan of the Ventures. And I am collecting the classics on LP. Probably because little is on CD these days.

 

[thunderroad]

I'm a big Ventures fan myself and still have my LPs from back in the day. Lots of good Surf Music in them as well. This thread got me thinking about some of the older surf albums. So, I checked amazon to see what they had on CD in Surf Music and I was real surprised at some of the stuff that showed up. Looked pretty interesting!

bordeno! I used to surf a little in my younger days and you are right on target! The high energy driving beat of the music really captures the feeling of riding a wave. There is nothing like it! By the way, we just had the Mavericks big wave competition over here in Half Moon Bay! Wow! Those boys have to have cahones the size of bowling balls to ride those water mountains! But, I guess if it was easy everyone would do it......

 

[screenersam]

surf/retro guitar stuff...look for Los Straitjackets, esp the songs 'Lone Apache' and 'Pacifica'. reeeeally good stuff.