VA - Pulp Surfin' (1995)

Mixing '60s surf classics with contemporary retro efforts in the style isn't a great idea. It doesn't sink this surf compilation, though, because surf revivalists only occupy about a third of the disc; the rest include classics, or at least interesting obscurities, by the Bobby Fuller Four, the Lively Ones, Link Wray, the Centurions, the Sentinals, and others. Eden Ahbez sneaks in with a number from his off-the-wall 1960 exotica LP, and the weird 1963 horror-rock novelty by Mr. Guy (not a surf tune, but who's talking) was produced by a young Frank Zappa. Lolly Vegas, later to help found Redbone, plays lead guitar on the neat and hard-to-find cut by the Deuce Coupes. One of the latter-day efforts is a rare outing by Brian Wilson, who collaborated with Andy Paley for "In My Moondreams." Several of those songs, it should be noted, can be found on better surf compilations (some on the Del-Fi label itself), but this is a respectable collection.~Pulp Surfin' Review by Richie Unterberger