![]() ![]() Eliminator is the fourth studio album of surf music by surf pioneer Dick Dale (and his Del-Tones), released in 1964 as a loose conceptual successor to the previous album Checkered Flag. Vinyl rip from the original Tower records 1967. This all-instrumental album represents sort of a last gasp of the first surf guitar era, as psychedelia was breaking out. With its emphasis on wild guitar effects and mysterioso fake-Eastern chord changes, surf music was perhaps the main precursor of psychedelia in pop music. This is a fun collection of songs in the Dick Dale vein with some adventurous fuzzed-guitar throughout. The line between surf rock and garage rock gets very blurry with Davie Allan and the Arrows’ “Blues Theme”. With this in mind, the “Blue’s Theme” album was a quick and cavalier cash-in by the record company. “Blue’s Theme” was a massive enough regional hit (staying on regional American charts from March until September of 1966) that an album was quickly assembled around this great fuzz-toned hit instrumental which took a riff from “The Last Train To Clarksville” and unfolded over itself into a soaring ribbon riff across the sky forever. Vinyl rip from Sundazed vinyl reissue in Surfadelic stereo. If you dig vintage surf sounds or classic-era instrumental rock, then Surf Age is right up your alley. Cole’s guitar work lacks the feral intensity of Dick Dale, but he’s an agile picker and his tone choices are excellent, ranging from the bright cleanliness of the title track to the reverb-soaked “Deep Surf” and the raunchy fuzz on “One Color Blues.” And this album is a testament to the effortless skill and enthusiasm of the great Los Angeles session players of the ’60s, who could knock out records this good as easily as some kid at McDonald’s flips a hamburger. Cole and co-producer Jim Economides wrote all the songs on this set, which tend not to have a lot of personality of their own (and “Racing Waves” bears a curious resemblance to Lonnie Mack’s “Wham”), but this isn’t an album about songcraft - this is a blowing session where a bunch of talented studio cats have some fun knocking out rock & roll that’s polished and frantic at the same time, and on that score, this album delivers the goods. ![]() Cole’s 1964 LP Surf Age featured a dozen wordless rock tunes in which he laid out some impressive twangy leads over rather generic-sounding melodies, with a tight rhythm section behind him (Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer both played drums on these dates) and some honking sax thrown in for good measure (courtesy of Steve Douglas). Jerry Cole was a first-rank studio guitarist who, like many members of the Wrecking Crew, cut a few instrumental albums under his own name during the 1960s when he wasn’t busy playing hot licks on other folks’ records. This is vinyl rip of Wah Wah Records reissue from 2002. He would later form Poco and record some albums with Kenny Loggins as Loggins and Messina, but probably he never recorded such a piece of excitement as “The Dragsters!”, a true instro surf classic on its own originally issued in 1964. Messina produced Buffalo Springfield’s second album, Buffalo Springfield Again, and joined the group as its bass player. His work involved producing albums for music legends such as the Doors, Lee Michaels, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass - and, in the mid-’60s, Buffalo Springfield. Messina would go on to enjoy a successful career both as a producer and musician. ![]() The band includes Jim Messina on lead guitar, Glenn Frey, Bill Beckman, and Ron House on dual rhythm guitars, Jim Sholstedt on bass, Dave Archuleta on sax, and Larry Cundieff on drums. Wow! Heres a forgotten piece of instro surf a go go! It is definetely one of the best instro surf LP ever, and Wah Wah is reissuing it on its original heavy cardboard sleeve and remastered sound. ![]()
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