'Spacial Disorientation'
'Calling Up Spirits'
What The Critics Say
After guitar legend Dick Dale's classic "Misirlou" was used in the 1994 film Pulp Fiction, a new generation of listeners were introduced to Dale's influential and endlessly energetic brand of surf rock. With a renewed interest in his work, why would Dale release a featherweight album like Calling Up Spirits? If listeners wanted another tired retread of jazz standards like "Fever," they'd buy a Kathie Lee Gifford album. Dale only manages to capture his manic energy on the cover version of Jimi Hendrix' "Third Stone From the Sun." If Dale's new fans want to truly appreciate his musical gifts, they should check out some of his early work -- as represented by the 1989 Rhino compilation King of the Surf Guitar: The Best of Dick Dale for example -- and do their best to avoid Calling Up Spirits. ~ Jon Azpiri, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With the studio team that recorded the triumphant comeback Tribal Thunder, including legendary Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, Dale peeled off another smoking set of originals, covers and reinterpretations of older material. The energy and fire in opening track "Scalped" alone means that the title could apply to just about any miserable hair-metal guitarist who thinks challenging Dale is a good idea. Unknown Territory also features a neat cameo -- none other than Huey Lewis provides the honking harmonica on two tracks. One of them, "F Groove," is a duet between Lewis and Dale over a slow, funky beat -- listening to the two trade off is a delight. The titles and music of Dale's originals capture his vibe and Southern California's to a T. The rollicking "Terra Dictyl" and "Maria Elena" are more reasons why Dale is The Man, and who else but a surfer would write a song called "Fish Taco"? As always, Dale's choice of covers is idiosyncratic and successful, beginning with Boudelaux Bryant's "Mexico." The drumming arrangement on this one is a dream, matching Dale's joyous guitar runs perfectly. Other covers include a kicking "Ghostriders in the Sky," the album-closing "Ring of Fire," and an only appropriate rip through the Rivieras' frat-rock classic "California Sun," the latter two featuring Dale's only main vocals on the album. Perhaps the most jaw-dropping revamp is of the Jewish standard "Hava Nagila" -- given Dale's own Middle Eastern musical and family roots, the choice was inspired, and the job he does on it is perfection. Add in the eight-minute atmospheric strut of the title track and his cautionary environmental tale "The Beast," and Dale does it again in spades. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The king of the surf guitar returns with a vengeance on his first new recording in almost a decade. Every track's a gem, but "Nitro" and the title track certainly do pack a particular wallop all their own. ~ Cub Koda, All Music Guide
'Rock Out/Live at Ciro's'
What The Critics Say
On his fourth album for Capitol Records, 1964's Summer Surf, Dick Dale seemed to be aiming for a glossier and more elaborate sound, and the production shows the occasional influences of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, then the reigning titans of West Coast studiocraft. With banks of vocal choruses on several tunes, additional percussion fancying up the arrangements, and no fear of horns and keyboards, Summer Surf was the most polished Dick Dale set to date, and on tunes like the Spanish guitar exercise "Spanish Kiss" and the Hebrew-flavored "The Star (Of David)," Dale's ambitions paid off -- although not exactly rock & roll, they are compelling and absorbing instrumentals that find the guitarist expanding his boundaries. Similarly, "Banzai Washout" marries Dale's trademark guitar attack to a big studio band, and this time the concept works like a charm. However, for every successful experiment on Summer Surf, there are some severe miscalculations, such as the groan-inducing novelty tune "Mama's Gone Surfin'," the curious gospel-influenced "Glory Wave," and Dale's wobbly trumpet-led cover of "Never on Sunday." (Just as significantly, these three songs make little if any room for Dale's guitar work.) And many of the other tracks are simply dull, hardly disastrous but not much to write home about, either. Summer Surf proved to be Dale's last studio album for Capitol, and since then he's preferred to work with independent labels where he's allowed to follow his own muse on his own terms, a lesson that seems especially valuable after listening to this album. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'King of the Surf Guitar'
What The Critics Say
Dick Dale was becoming one of the biggest rock & roll acts in California's history in 1962 when he was signed to Capitol Records, who reissued his album Surfer's Choice (which had already moved close to 90,000 copies on Dale's own Deltone label) and put him into the studio to cut some fresh material for his new sponsors. Overall, King of the Surf Guitar was probably Dale's best album for Capitol, but it also suggested a fundamental misunderstanding of Dale and his music by the label. King of the Surf Guitar begins with the title tune, in which female vocal group the Blossoms (featuring Darlene Love) urge us to "Listen! Listen to the King!" as Dale reels off trademark riffs, as if anyone who bought the record would be likely to do otherwise, and the curious opener pointed to the album's flaw. Capitol seemingly wanted an album that would have something for everyone, so along with Dale's ripsaw surf guitar vehicles it includes folk tunes ("Greenback Dollar"), rock & roll oldies ("Kansas City"), country standards ("You Are My Sunshine"), lovelorn ballads ("If I Never Get to Heaven"), and plenty of vocal numbers, though Dale goes out of his way to inject his forceful personality into every tune and his singing, while not as impressive as his guitar work, was nothing to complain about. Still, this album truly shines on tunes when Dale gets to play guitar at full force, and "Hava Nagila," "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky," and "Mexico" are as fiery as anything he would cut for the label. If King of the Surf Guitar isn't a Dick Dale album for purists, at the very least it leaves no doubt that he came by the title accolade honestly. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
'Silver Sounds of the Surf'
What The Critics Say
Cars were second only to surfing as a teenage obsession in California in the early '60s, and after establishing himself as the King of Surf Guitar, Dick Dale set out to conquer new worlds by turning his attention to hot rods on his 1963 album Checkered Flag. Like most of Dale's albums for Capitol, Checkered Flag is divided between the meat-and-potatoes instrumentals that were Dale's stock-in-trade and vocal numbers that usually featured elaborate production and the work of outside songwriters. Dale was producer on the sessions for Checkered Flag, and he sounds like he's having more fun than usual on vocal numbers like "Hot Rod Racer," "Grudge Run," and the backhanded tribute to the Volkswagen Beetle, "It Will Grow on You" (and he manages to keep a straight face when he tells listeners about the "Big Black Cad" -- "Believe it or not, it's easy on gas!"). Of course, what most Dick Dale fans are looking for are tunes where the great man goes wild on guitar, and Checkered Flag certainly has its share, including the slow and slinky "Ho-Dad Machine," the frantic "The Wedge," and the supercharged closer, "Night Rider," and Dale had some great players backing him up for these sessions, including Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer on drums and Steve Douglas and Plas Johnson on sax. While Checkered Flag devotes a bit too much of its playing time to novelty-oriented vocal numbers, it packs enough punch to be one of Dale's better albums with Capitol. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
