One Of The Best Surf Albums Ever!
Seattle Brat | Seattle, Wa USA | 02/27/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Al Casey has the best (wettest!) surf tone I've ever heard on this fantastic 1963 album. I love pretty much all the instrumental surf music of this era (from the Del-Fi stuff to The Astronauts, etc.) and this record - along with The Rumblers - is one of my all-time favorites. Some people might say Al Casey was just a studio musican cashing in on a craze, but man the stars were just aligned on this session! The only weak songs are two goofy vocal tracks (really goofy). Aside from those, this is pure reverb heaven. An interesting sidenote: this was produced by cult superstar, Lee Hazelwood (Genius songwriter, Duane Eddy partner and Nancy Sinatra star-maker). He is credited with writing six of these songs. Al Casey also played on almost all of Hazelwood's solo albums. Love it!"
Twangy Twist Beats
Swifty | 07/03/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you like Duane Eddy or Dick Dale, you'll like Al Casey. The three guitarists were peers at the time this record was made and Al pays homage to the others in the title track, masterfully emulating a couple of their licks. Although Al Casey never acheived their noteriety, he did have a long and successful carreer as a "first-call" session guitarist in LA in the '60's, on the level of Tommy Tedesco. His list of credits goes on and on; TV show themes, Beach Boy records...good stuff. "Surfin' Hootenany" is mostly instrumental with some vocal choruses here and there and the sound is overall energetic, pop, even corny in a very enjoyable way. Al also plays vintage surf-style organ on many of the tracks and much of it would be at home in an Austin Powers soundtrack. The twist is that his style embraces Country as much as Rockabilly and Surf; hence the title. Before he moved to LA while living in Phoenix, Arizona, Al was a long time collaborator with record producer/songwriter/singer/DJ, Lee Hazlewood who contributes to the material here. Al Casey's Rockabilly work is usually missing from modern Rockabilly collections but well worth seeking out for devotees of that style. Look for anything by singer Sanford Clark who was another one of the "Phoenix Boys" in the 1950's, Al plays on most of his records.
-Swifty"
We're Gonna Have A Surfin' Hootenanny -- And Much More!
TuneFan | United States | 03/03/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Al Casey was an accomplished session guitar player, appearing on many releases. He finally put out his own LP.
I bought Surfin' Hootenanny mainly for the title song, but was pleasantly surprised with the other songs on the release.
This is worth adding to your surf-instrumental guitar music collection.
"
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1