Description
Surfonic Water Revival is a multi-artist project featuring surf music released on KMG Records in June 1998. Most of the tracks were recorded and mixed by Gene Eugene of Adam Again and Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos at The Green Room in Huntington Beach, California; with Taylor producing. In January 1999 Surfonic Water Revival was nominated by the Gospel Music Association for a Dove Award.
The album pays tribute to the pioneers of Surf Music like Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, the Belairs, the Hondells, the Surfaris, the Ventures, Dick Dale and many others. (The recording was actually dedicated to the late great Carl Wilson of The Beach Boys, who recently had passed away). Nearly every track on the album teams up multiple artists or bands who then join forces to deliver their best tribute to the genre. Terry Taylor wrote the majority of the songs, which were all recorded exclusively for this album, and as well provided backing vocals and played guitar on all tracks.
Surfonic Water Revival (“surf music for the redeemed masses”) is the brain child of Terry Scott Taylor, one of the greatest song writers ever. With a nod to Brian Wilson, Jan and Dean, the Ventures, Beach Boys, Dick Dale and many others, Terry has directed a musical trip, featuring some of Christian music’s finest talent – making waves unlike any other to come from the Christian music community. Surf music has a sound that you know when you hear it, a twangy, echoing guitar, a tom tom beat that moves you, harmonies that you can listen to over and over. Terry Taylor and company have taken those elements and made an album combining the music and beat, with lyrical themes that are glorfying to God, that stands on it’s own. The result is distinguished, erratic, and extraordinary.
The record kicks off with a surf master piece called «Wave Perfect». A surfer’s praise song, performed by Smalltown Poets and surf guitar master Paul Johnson, exalting the Lord for His masterful creation, and declaring the surfer’s devotion to God, who moves though His creation like a Wave Perfect. The second song is also a classic rock song. «California Blue», performed by Brother’s Keeper with the great Phil Keaggy on guitar, is faster than the previous track with great harmonies and wild rock guitar reminiscent of the old California hits. Keaggy’s playing is as masterful as ever. Next up are the Insyderz, presenting the first possible problem with the album, this is straight ska music. For the surf purist this song will never do, but in reality it starts to set the stage for the diversity underlying the entire album. The lyrics and the song are great, one of the best on the record, but one must get over the style to appreciate this one.
«Endless Summer Pt.2» and «Surfer Girl Replies», the next two songs, are performed by Chuck Girard of Love Song (with Paul Johnson again contributing his guitar skills) and Plumb. Both songs seem to be answers to previously recorded verses, the first one to one of Terry Taylor’s own songs from Alarma! called «Endless Summer», about the search for an endless good time and the hard results of that search. This song in response to that says that the search is over, we’ve found an endless Love, One who fulfils our yearnings. The «Surfer Girl Replies», with Plumb’s Tiffany Arbuckle sounding very pretty, answers Brian Wilson’s classic, saying that “I am not perfect, or even good, but I’m willing to be your girl, Lord.”
Mr. Taylor has written some surprising, superior songs for this record, with out clouding the meanings in figurative phrases like he is would to do on his own projects. On Surfonic he has expressed his love of God and his appreciation of His mercy and grace quite openly, compared to most of his work through the years, masterfully matching different styles, and different artists. But, Terry gets to sing his own song on the sixth track, a melancholy tune with rich harmonies called «Into the Deep» and dedicated to Kerry Livgren. The song speaks of how a deep tragedy can bring one back to love and life. Then handing the mike over to his friend Randy Stonehill, Taylor has written a song for Stonehill and Havalina Rail Co., that sounds much like some of the material from their colaborations on Wonderama «The Sun Comes Out Again» comes in with the bells, staccato keyboards, and guitars featuring a classic boardwalk tone. Terry is back again on the next track with his band Daniel Amos, singing a more trademark Terry Taylor song, in that it is a bit more symbiotic than the other songs he’s penned for this project. He sings of the angst of looking for real life (surf) in a plastic, faked, unreal world (a pool).
The last half of the record is a little more up and down. For the most part, the waves (songs) we’ve been catching, up until now, have been tubular. «Gold Coast» is the first non Terry Taylor song we come to. Sung by Rebecca St. James in a scary, soft, moody voice, it’s a fine modern rock tune, but not surf music, per se. The next two songs are again penned by Taylor, and performed fairly well by Silage, and All Star United with Phil Keaggy making another appearance. Phil’s chops in «Surfer’s Paradise» are great once again, but the music does not strictly fit the theme of surf music. Rick Altizer’s «Oyster» and his «Last Day of Summer» as performed by Skillet are just okay. «Oyster» was obviously written to be a Beach Boys nod but comes out more like a Beatles touched, slow tune. Skillet’s performance is not bad but belongs on the next hard rock sampler, with distorted vocals, fuzzy guitars, and electronic drums.
The last three songs are super! Starting with the Supertones doing an instrumental «Caught Inside». A fun ska-urfer number that bounces along the white caps. The record calms down some at «The Net», with Mike Roe and the Lost Dogs in front of Rich Young Ruler. Mike Roe’s vocals are just beautiful on this Taylor composition, and a worthy Beach Boys homage. The record’s grand finish is to revisit the first song, «Wave Perfect», but done instrumentally with the great surf guitar of Paul Johnson appearing once again.
The idea is novel. The final product is also novel, and fun, and should become a classic. This is an over all wonderful record. Well written and well performed, hopefully they will sell a million of them. If you’re reading this and don’t have one yet, what are you waiting for? Get in your woody, head for the dangerous beach head that is your local book store, and ride this water revival all the way in. [Tony LaFianza, The Phantom Tollbooth, 8/14/98]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/surfonic-water-revival/390571080)
CD tracklist:
01. Smalltown Poets with Paul Johnson – Wave Perfect
02. Brother’s Keeper with Phil Keaggy – California Blue
03. The Insyderz – A Good Sailor Knows
04. Chuck Girard with Paul Johnson – Endless Summer (Part 2)
05. Plumb – Surfer Girl Replies
06. Terry Scott Taylor – Into the Deep
07. Plankeye – ThrillSeeker
08. Randy Stonehill with Havalina Rail Co. – The Sun Comes Down Again
09. Daniel Amos – Pay For Surf
10. Rebecca St. James – Gold Coast
11. Silage – Sister Mariana Trench
12. All Star United with Phil Keaggy – Surfer’s Paradise
13. Rick Altizer – Oyster
14. Skillet – Last Day of Summer
15. The O.C. Supertones – Caught Inside
16. Lost Dogs with Rich Young Ruler – The Net
17. Instrumental feat. Paul Johnson on lead guitar – Wave Perfect
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by KMG Records.
Cover and Insert featuring liner notes by the album’s producer, Terry Scott Taylor.
A full-page advertisement for the multi-artist project Surfonic Water Revival was featured in the May 1998 issue of CCM Magazine.
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