DICK DALE: "Checkered Flag"

Original released on LP Capitol ST 2002

(US, November 1963)

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 this 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 in AllMusic)

The Best Of DICK DALE

DICK DALE: "King Of The Surf Guitar"

Original released on LP Capitol ST 1930

(US, June 1963)

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 in AllMusic)