Dick Dale & His Del-Tones - Checkered Flag / Mr Eliminator

The surf guitar king takes to wheels

After defining the key sounds of surf music, Dick Dale joined Capitol and became part of their major sales push for West Coast music. When The Beach Boys’ car songs began to sell, it was natural that Dale be eased towards dragthemed work, and so these rare albums emerged in 1963 and ’64.

Not much changed with the man’s power playing, though there are more vocals here, aided in part by the usual suspects of the Californian session scene of the time. Checkered Flag has Dale’s guitar prominent on Ho-Dad Machine and The Wedge, with him sounding a tad uneasy on the vocals on 426 Super Stock. The album is rounded off with two beach movie bonus tracks.

Mr Eliminator may satisfy both vocal and instrumental fans more. Flashing Eyes, The Victor and the title track return to full white-hot Dale playing, while My X-KE and Wild Wild Mustang are more convincing genre vocals (the latter being one of two rare singles that come as bonuses). Also newly available in the exellent Sundazed Dale reissue series are two other surf albums, King Of The Surf Guitar and Sunset Surf.

Sundazed | SC 6252 / SC 6253

Reviewed by Kingsley Abbott
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