Susan & The SurfTones "The Originals" 2005

This is a compilation of Susan and the Surftones' original tunes, mostly from earlier releases, but several appear here for the first time on CD. Susan Yasinski is among the few female guitarists in the instrumental rock world. Her writing is strong, and her playing is too. Good melodies, excellent arranging, and a tight band. If you aren't familiar with this band, this is a great place to start. Solid surf and rock instrumentals played well with power. This was originally destined for release in Europe, like Susan's earlier work. Label problems brought Susan to issue it domestically, and that's a good thing. - Phil DirtSusan & the Surftones' sixth album, The Originals, serves up more original surf rock. Like Dick Dale, the Surftones flawlessly evoke the Southern California beach and cruising culture of the early '60s. Instrumentals like the sax-centered "Barbados Twist" and the surly, mid-tempo "Tabu" sound right out of the era and would make perfect inclusions on the soundtrack of any surf-craze flick. "Spaghetti Beach" has a beautiful, seedy Los Angeles vibe and "Space Spider" is sci-fi spy music worthy of early Man or Astro-Man?. But, unlike Man or Astro-Man?, the Surftones always feel out of another time; it's nostalgic without being sappy for sure, but lacks the contemporary touches and unique appeal of a band like the Sadies. - Review by Charles Spanotrax:

01 Blue Hammer 99 02 Stinger 67 03 Tiki Kiki 04 Sunburn 05 Clam Digger 06 Spaghetti Beach 07 Tramp 08 Spanish Wave 09 Beat Rider 10 Barbados Twist 11 Tabu 12 Deep Blue Goodbye 13 Space Spider 14 The Blue Hammer