THE PHILIP COHEN COLLECTION: SURFER’S MOOD
July 18, 2010 – 3:53 am
Click on the panels for a better view or to download artwork.
VARIOUS
Surfer’s Mood [no label, 3CD]
Vinyl transfer - source singles and acetates crackly but highly listenable.
Before The Beach Boys, “Surf Music” meant instrumental guitar bands, though in fairness, The Beach Boys did record some instrumentals on their second album “Surfin’ U.S.A.”, though they wisely realized that their strength was in vocal songs. Anyhow, these three unofficial US vinyl LPs bring together an assortment of surf obscurities. The first thing you are going to say is “Wow - these LPs are very scratchy!” But they aren’t scratchy. The LPs were pressed on superb vinyl, they are in excellent condition, and they were transferred to digital on the second play. But the albums were mastered from very crackly vintage singles and acetates. For the most part the artists and labels are long-gone, as are the master tapes. In most cases (that is for the tracks that were released), it was a case where the artist released their own singles to sell at their shows. The releases of these compilations were vinyl-only, because the sources are simply not good enough for CD releases. Still, some interesting examples of “Surf Guitar” are preserved here. - Philip Cohen
Summer’s already here but this year, mention the word “beach” and one cannot help but think of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico; the lives that were lost and the damage to the environment.
But for many music fans, summer (like Christmas) is a magical time, especially in their memories. Going by these records and the whole surf music genre, summer harkens back to carefree days spent on the beach; girls in bikinis; and listening to your latest singles on your record player or radio.
And because of the source material used to press the original vinyls in this compilation, the scratchy sound does help to approximate the “original” listening experience for those who can still remember. There is really no need (like Quentin Tarantino did with those faux Grindhouse trailers) to touch up the sound for that lost-in-the-’60s feel.
Anyone who had ever tapped their foot to the sounds of Dick Dale, The Ventures and The Beach Boys would have no problem digging this. Standouts include The Baymen’s Daybreak and Bonzai; The King Pins’ Siboney; The Breakers’ Kamikaze and The S’Squires’ Green Surf - a surf update on a trad classic. And not forgetting The Breeze & I, used in countless Chinese radio programmes in Malaysia back in the day.
Thanks to Phil for sharing the tracks.
Note: A longtime music fan, Philip Cohen was a contributor to the now-defunct ICE Magazine and compiled the boxsets for The Yardbirds, The Small Faces, Humble Pie and Nice.
Click on the highlighted tracks to download the MP3s (these are high quality MP3s - sample rate of 192 kbps). As far as we can ascertain, these tracks have never been officially released on CD.
Due to the size of some of the files, please be very patient when downloading the tracks. It could be that the server was very busy. Please try again later. Kindly email us at mybigo@bigozine.com if you encounter persistent problems downloading the files.
Disc 1
Track 101. Enchanted Surf - The Pagents (2.9MB)
Track 102. Green Surf - The S’Squires (3.7MB)
Track 103. Teenage Express - The Expressos (3.6MB)
Track 104. Wandering - The Expressos (3.9MB)
Track 105. Surfer’s Mood - Gene Gray & His Stingrays (3.2MB)
Track 106. Nite Mare - The Illusions (3.3MB)
Track 107. Tum-Tiki - The Enchanters (3.4MB)
Track 108. Jungle Fever - Dick Dales & The Deltones (3.2MB)
Track 109. Daybreak - The Baymen (3.2MB)
Track 110. Siboney - The King Pins (3.1MB)
Track 111. 94 Second Surf - The King Pins (2.7MB)
Track 112. Moon Shot - Kenny & The Fiends (2.1MB)
Track 113. With Vigor - Kenny & The Sultans (2.4MB)
Track 114. Beach Girl - The Nodeans (5.3MB)
Track 115. High Wall - The Debonaires (3.5MB)
Track 116. Big Surf - The Sharks (2.8MB)
Disc 2
Track 201. Rumble On The Docks - The Aquanauts (3.0MB)
Track 202. Bonzai - The Baymen (3.0MB)
Track 203. Kamikaze - The Breakers (3.8MB)
Track 204. Surf Breaker - The Breakers (3.1MB)
Track 205. 502 (Like Getting Pinched On A 502) - The Rhythm Surfers (3.4MB)
Track 206. Butterfingers - The Crunchendoes (3.2MB)
Track 207. Squirt - The Bel-Airs (3.5MB)
Track 208. Flip Side - Rich Clayton & The Rumbles (3.3MB)
Track 209. POP Jingle - unknown (1.4MB)
Track 210. Ghost Wave - The Vistas (2.7MB)
Track 211. The Last Race - Jack Nitzsche (3.6MB)
Track 212. Rip Tide - The Majestics (3.3MB)
Track 213. Surf Walk - Manuel & The Renegades (3.4MB)
Track 214. The Wipe Out - Kenny & The Sultans (3.1MB)
Track 215. Fiberglass Jungle - The Crossfires (3.0MB)
Track 216. Here Comes The Rain - Our Gang (3.3MB)
Track 217. Driftin’ - Dave Myers & The Surftones (4.4MB)
Track 218. POP Jingle 2 - unknown (2.0MB)
Disc 3
Track 301. Beach Head - The Knight Trains (3.0MB)
Track 302. El Toro - The Surfmen (2.8MB)
Track 303. Loophole - The Royal Coachmen (3.5MB)
Track 304. Mr X - The Velvetones (3.3MB)
Track 305. Bird Walk - The Heyburners (3.2MB)
Track 306. The Islander - The Sunliners (3.3MB)
Track 307. Night & Day - The Lively Ones (2.9MB)
Track 308. Harlem Nocturne - Star Tones (4.1MB)
Track 309. The Breeze & I - The Vibrants (3.4MB)
Track 310. Surfer’s Paradise - The Counts (3.7MB)
Track 311. The Arabian Knight - Jerry & The Catalinas (3.3MB)
Track 312. Surfer’s Cry - The Torquays (4.1MB)
Track 313. Children Of The Sun - The Mockers (2.6MB)
Track 314. Blue Surf - Temptations (3.0MB)
Track 315. Missing - The Invictas (3.4MB)
Track 316. Midnight On Pier 13 - The Tempomen (3.6MB)
A good introduction to surf music is Cowabunga: Surf Box
24 Responses to “THE PHILIP COHEN COLLECTION: SURFER’S MOOD”
Wow! What more can one say than “Kowabunga!” Thanks for this; I look forward to Disc’s 2 & 3.
By Dennis on Jul 18, 2010
Really a nice collection…Looking forward to the remaining two discs…Any chance of getting any information as to at least the year in which each of these songs were recorded? Thanks…
By Pete on Jul 18, 2010
There was no information on the original album covers, beyond some very vague liner notes. By the way, the slightly off-center left/right balance on some of these tracks, is inherent in the original L.P.’s themselves.
By Philip Cohen on Jul 18, 2010
What fun!
By Bill on Jul 19, 2010
These surfin’ compilations were all released by Romulan Records on vinyl in…the 1990’s (?). You could obtain them, and trillions of other like items, via the awesome and legendary Norton Records. There’s a fourth lp in the Surfer’s Mood series called “Latinia Luna,” which is Spanish themed surfin’ music.
In my own case, I never caught up with Vol One. It was already out of print by the time I caught up with the series. So…once again thanks for the musical treasures.
–Scott
By Scott Brookman on Jul 19, 2010
Pete,
Here’s what I have on the release years - the ones with ? I don’t know for sure but probably 1963.
Disc 1
Enchanted Surf - The Pagents - 1963
Green Surf - The S’Squires - ?
Teenage Express - The Expressos - 1960
Wandering - The Expressos - 1960
Surfer’s Mood - Gene Gray & His Stingrays - 1963
Nite Mare - The Illusions - 1963
Tum-Tiki - The Enchanters - 1963
Jungle Fever - Dick Dales & The Deltones - 1963
Daybreak - The Baymen - 1963
Siboney - The King Pins - 1963
94 Second Surf - The King Pins - 1963 (Although, they released the song “Door Banger” in 1966 which was really remake of “94 Second Surf”)
Moon Shot - Kenny & The Fiends - 1964
With Vigor - Kenny & The Sultans - 1963
Beach Girl - The Nodeans - 1963 (Actually, I’ve seen info that this is actually Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson)
High Wall - The Debonaires - ?
Big Surf - The Sharks - 1964
Disc 2
Rumble On The Docks - The Aquanauts - 1964
Bonzai - The Baymen - 1963
Kamikaze - The Breakers - 1963
Surf Breaker - The Breakers - 1963
502 (Like Getting Pinched On A 502) - The Rhythm Surfers - 1963
Butterfingers - The Crunchendoes - 1963
Squirt - The Bel-Airs - 1963
Flip Side - Rich Clayton & The Rumbles - 1963
Ghost Wave - The Vistas - 1963
The Last Race - Jack Nitzsche - 1964
Rip Tide - The Majestics - 1963
Surf Walk - Manuel & The Renegades - 1963
The Wipe Out - Kenny & The Sultans - 1963
Fiberglass Jungle - The Crossfires - 1963 (Who later became The Turtles)
Here Comes The Rain - Our Gang - ?
Driftin’ - Dave Myers & The Surftones - 1963
Disc 3
Beach Head - The Knight Trains - 1963
El Toro - The Surfmen - 1962
Loophole - The Royal Coachmen - 1964
Mr X - The Velvetones - 1965
Bird Walk - The Heyburners - 1963
The Islander - The Sunliners - 1962
Night & Day - The Lively Ones - 1964
Harlem Nocturne - Star Tones - 1962
The Breeze & I - The Vibrants - 1962
Surfer’s Paradise - The Counts - 1963
The Arabian Knight - Jerry & The Catalinas - 1963
Surfer’s Cry - The Torquays - 1964
Children Of The Sun - The Mockers - ?
Blue Surf - Temptations - 1963
Missing - The Invictas - 1964
Midnight On Pier 13 - The Tempomen - ?
By Rick D on Jul 19, 2010
Surf’s up!
By Nick on Jul 19, 2010
Rick - Thanks a whole lot! I’m a nut for recording details…Pete
By Pete on Jul 19, 2010
To Rick D,
There was Brian Wilson involvement on the composing,arranging and backing track of the song by “The Nodeans”. The song was created over the unfinished backing track of a proposed second single by “The Survivors”. Contrary to rumor, “The Survivors” weren’t a pseudonym for The Beach Boys, though Brian Wilson wrote(and did the lead vocal) on the group’s one single “Pamela Jean”. The Survivors were an actual group consisting of three college friends of Brian Wilson. The group’s leader Bob Norberg went on to be a Capitol Records CD mastering engineer. Under the pseudonym “Bob Norman”, he co-wrote The Beach Boys song “Keep an Eye on Summer”.
By Philip Cohen on Jul 19, 2010
The two POP jingles for Pacific Ocean Park really brought back some memories. My older brother would take us as kids there (my twin and I) and man, was that “roly”coaster ever so scary! It was big to begin with, then climb you up as it pointed out straight towards the ocean. It seemed like you were over the water, because you were so high up you couldn’t see the beach, just water! Then down you hurled! Wow! There were a good amount of rides, and concessions. It was the best bargain around! One ride was a huge cylinder with the walls painted inside. It had metal structure inside. The wall would spin ever so fast, and then the floor would pull away many feet down from everyone, and the idea is that you would be pinned to the inside of this cylinder, spinning around. Well, I made the mistake of wearing dress shoes (I was about 8-10 years old), and I started slipping down the wall about 8 feet. The ride started slowing down, and I slipped some more. The floor started coming up and then I realized that the metal structure, which extended to the edge of the floor didnt move with the wall. It was if it was spinning by. The structure was almost flush with the wall as the floor came up. I started kicking each section as it went by, to try to squirm back up the wall each time, though I would still slide some back down. I was down below the top of the metal posts as they were going by, and I then had to hold my feet to the sides, still kicking the posts as they went by, but the wall was finally getting slower, but the floor was now moving up quickly, and I was still 6 feet below everyone. One last kick and the floor grabbed my right heel. It crunched my shoe as I wiggled out of it, and kept kicking with my left foot to get away. So… I guess that was the scariest ride I ever went on. I was unbelievably uninjured, but short a shoe. I must have had fast feet, I ended up running Varsity mile and cross country in high school.
By 2yrsnojob on Jul 20, 2010
I’m glad that all of you are digging these “Awesome”, “Bitchin’ “, “Tubular” surfin’ sounds (I just had to use some surfing expressions!). I didn’t think that these recordings by these obscure artists would have international appeal. I’m surprised and delighted.
By Philip Cohen on Jul 20, 2010
Talking of Brian Wilson..There was a Grammy nominated surf guitar album in the mid ’80s, by a band called “The Wedge,” featuring Probyn Gregory from Brian’s band on guitar.
It would be great to hear this, but it doesn’t exist on CD as far as I know.
By Brian B on Jul 20, 2010
To Phillip
Thanks for the details on “The Nodeans” track. I wasn’t 100% sure of the source but I just remembered it being mentioned years ago.
And, once again, thanks for all the great music you provide.
By Rick D on Jul 20, 2010
Great stuff. I’m going to play this in mid-January after shoveling snow. Thanks…
By TDC on Jul 20, 2010
Ahh..cool waves, both ways. I wonder if the Invicta stereo cassette recording deck took its name from the band The Invictas? I had one of those decks in 1974. It had twin VU meters for both in and out, with sliding bar controls. I used it to put together “A Year In The Life”, a ridiculously long version of the Beatles “A Day In the Life”, using sound effects and throwing in snippits from other songs of the era that fit the monologue lyrics. An example: “woke up - fell out of bed” immediately inserted is a loud “Crunch” sound. A cough follows “had a smoke”, and so on. A reved-up racing car engine with squealing tires follows “caught a bus”. Unfortunately, the whole thing was for my amusement in 1975. Not even Dr. Demento could play it over the air, since it used many dozens of licensed music.
My brother used to dance at the Rendevous Ball Room in 1961 to Dick Dale and the Deltones. I saw him play ’bout 5 times. He survived cancer and tours with his son, who is a drummer in another band. He performed “Pipeline” (originally by the Chantays) with Stevie Ray Vaughn in the movie “Back to the Beach”. A few of his songs were “Miserlou”, “Let’s Go Trippin”,”The Wedge”, and “Peter Gunn Theme”. Go to dickdale.com to see what he’s up to.
By 2yrsnojob on Jul 22, 2010
BIg O Team and Phillip, thanks for this stellar collection of summer tunes! I’v already passed this link on to my surfing friends for their own enjoyment.
Still, great job all ’round on this excellent resource! Keep up the good work, mates!
By Golgo Hakase on Jul 23, 2010
this was - dare i say it? - BITCHEN!!!!!!!!
Whadda gas, I’m stoked, outasite, etcetc.
thanx!
By lowendbill on Jul 24, 2010
To the people who run this site just wanted to let you know that track #314 Blue Surf. Was the only song I ever recorded it’s nice to see it’s still around. The flip side of that is a song called Egyption surf, it is on an album called New Wave Surf Party.
By Paul Jenkins on Jul 26, 2010
Hello Paul
Thanks for your feedback and glad to hear from you. Cheers.
By bigozine2 on Jul 26, 2010
Hello Paul Jenkins. That Blue Surf sure has a striking sound in it, making it memorable. Have to look for that New Wave Surf Party - a CD, right? What instrument did you play? and dont tell me you were the vocalist! ha ha. And do you remember how did the name Temptations came up? Were there ever any decent live recordings or unreleased studio takes? You might get a World Premier on BigO! At least I think there’s a few here that might be interested…maybe even Philip Cohen. Do you have any connections still?
By 2yrsnojob on Jul 26, 2010
2yrsnojob, Hello this is Paul J. A little story for you.Started playing the drums when I was 12yrs. old I still play today I am 61 damn. I grew up in Garden Grove CA.which is about 15mi. from the Rendevous Ball Room and I played there many times. The other house band there was the Florescent’s. We had a couple of guys running around town called the Rightous Bros.one night they came to the Ball room and are band backed them up for about a 3hr.show the thrill of my life. We also did a benefit in Pasadena with the Beach boys, Johnny Fortune,Dave Meyers and the Surftones lots of other’s I can’t remember. Dick Dale played most of the time at the Harmony Park Ball Room. I went to see him just about evry Fri. When we named are band the Temptations we had never heard about the other group, so not to long after recording those songs we changed the name to the Spatts. I left the band about 1yr. after that. We recorded that song at Western Studios in Hollywood it was just across the street from Capital Records. Check this Site for more Info.Instromania I think it might be a French Web site I don’t no, but they have some records with are songs and some Info.on the Band. P.S. The Temptations played mostly at the Pavalon in Huntington Beach, CA.Thanks for the Music, PAUL
By Paul Jenkins on Jul 26, 2010
A tip of the hat to you, Mr. Jenkins. Thank you for the insight into the early to mid-60’s surf music scene. We (twin and I) would go with our family to the Santa Barbara beaches about every other week as kids growing up, even tho’ we grew up in the Valley. Both parents were from Santa Barbara, many relatives there to visit.
Not very long ago, 6 months before Brian Wilson released a CD collection of his favorite selections of the Beach Boys, with one new song someone else wrote, I dreamt of a little boy walking ahead of his parents, bending down every now and then to pick up rocks or shells. And I realized to myself that someone ought to write a song about what it felt like to grow up in the 60’s on the California beach, and the feelings involved in that. Of course, when I saw Brian’s album in the store six months later, not even being aware that he was working on one, I was shocked by the painted cover of a little boy bent over to pick up something from the sand on the beach. And the one additional song? “California Feeling”. And it was exactly what my dream was about.
By 2yrsnojob on Jul 27, 2010
To Phillip Cohen,I don’t no if you no or not but I played drums on track 314 Blue Surf, the flip side of that record is a song called Egyptian Surf it is on a album Called New Wave Surf Party I would love to see that track on your site also. I also would love to have a copy of the 45 on P&L Records if you no where I can get one, it would be fantastic. Some where some way threw the years I lost my copy. I also would like to tkank you for keeping the music of that day and time alive.Thank you, Paul Jenkins
By Paul Jenkins on Aug 13, 2010
I’m dredging the web for information on The Mockers and hit on your site. ANY information? I’m looking at an obscure 1966 poster with pictures of The Mockers, The Hedds and The Vandals. Who were these guys?
By Tom Quick on Aug 31, 2010