READING REVIEWS 2

Issues Three and Four

Issues One and Two

A true mission of love if ever there was one. A mission to keep alive all that the 1960’s west coast music scene ever stood for, a whilst it may not all be surf/hot-rod related (tho’ I would guestimate that around 75% of it is legitimately linked …) the four volumes issued so far, issued between 1987 and 2005, are all amazing insights into the fascination that this group of writers, editors and contributors have for the early 60’s music scene.

Casually perusing through the various issues and you come across stunning articles on Brian Wilson, Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth, Gary Zekely, Dick Dale, Jan Berry … all icons inextricably and forever linked with the surf/hot-rod music genre – and whilst the 300-page Volume Two is 100% dedicated to the lost 1967 Beach Boys “SMiLE” album (and is without doubt one of the definitive works on this subject) it still sits comfortably alongside the earlier features scattered throughout the remaining issues.

Dumb Angel Gazette Volume Four, subtitled “All Summer Long” (co-edited by newcomer Brian Chidester), and potentially 16 years in the pipeline, has taken the presentation one step further, offering stunning presentation, full colour pictures and graphics and dedicated articles (including impressive writings on Jan Berry, Steve ‘Shutdown’ Douglas, The Beach Boys and Dick Dale) and has received universal acclaim amongst the music and publishing fraternity – and whilst these are not the easiest publications to locate, with the earlier issues securing limited distribution, they are thoroughly worth the time spent searching …

Check out the Dumb Angel Gazette site for yourself !

Anyone who visits this site MUST surely have an interest in surf music, or else they wouldn’t bother visiting. Therefore, anyone who is interested in surf music must also like hot-rod music as the two go pretty much pedal-to-the-metal. Are you following this ? Anyone who like hot-rod music must appreciate the domination that Gary Lee Usher had in producing this market, and must therefore acknowledge and be interested in his overall contribution. Anyone interested it Gary Lee Usher MUST own this series of books. Ergo – anyone visiting this site MUST own these books. FACT ! Simple really, isn’t it …

The reason why this impressive collection of biographies on Usher is that it is so well documented that there is something in here for everyone. The Beach Boys connection, the drive to put the Hondells and The Superstocks in poll position, the beach movies, Curt Boettcher, The Byrds, Sagittarius, Bruce Johnston, Brian Wilson reunited … Once you start to delve deeper into the incredible input that this one man had in the Californian recording industry then it’s difficult to put down. Yes, very much in the vein of the similar McParland epic, revealing of the early years of Jan & Dean, the reader does need to take a regular breath of fresh air to let all of the detail submerge into the memory bank, and again … there’s an awful lot of it, but you come out the other end with nothing but admiration for this man. His creativity, input, drive and loyalty to the band of musicians he worked alongside is astonishing.

Volumes One and Two in this 5-edition set are the ones that visitors to this site will find particularly enlightening, as they concentrate on Usher’s entry into the L.A. recording fraternity, and the subsequent rise of the surf and hot-rod scene. Indeed, much of the intricate detail that went into compiling this very websites reviews section was gleaned from the text that McParland sought out (and due acknowledgement is passed his way …) and whilst at times it appears quite confusing, as the story leaps from Four Speeds sessions to Superstocks, Kickstands to Knights, Hondells to Ghouls, on to Revells … and back to Hondells again, it only goes to heighten awareness as to the frantic pace that Usher lived his life. And it’s all in here … session dates, studio players, writing and production credits – no stone is left unturned.

Volume Three turns it’s attentions to the expanding “California Sound” of the mid-late 60’s, and covers his involvement with McGuinn and The Byrds, Curt Boettcher and Sagittarius and, most interestingly, his uncredited work for Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, whilst Volume Four reveals details of Gary’s work with the Cowsills, Bruce Johnston and California, and his dealings as Vice President of RCA Records, before winding up the story with a tantalising look at his rejuvenated attempt at building a working relationship with Brian Wilson.

Tragically, Gary Lee Usher passed away on May 25 1990, and his vast legacy is duly acknowledged within these first four expansive volumes – leaving the final edition as a series of appendices and discographies. McParland had first-hand dealings with Usher during his final years, and a lot of what passed between them is recorded within these very pages, making the entire project a worthy, and fitting tribute to a great man …

ADDITION : This fantastic package is now available as a glorious, 640-page hardback publication - five original volumes of detail in one amazing binding - and has to be seen to believed !

A book long overdue by the time it arrived on our shelves during the 2003 was this complete overview into the careers of Jan Berry and Dean Torrence. For so long had this enormous gap in our collections been awaiting such a book, to tell us the full story of the rise, and the tragic fall of their joint partnership, and the subsequent attempts over many years to regain the peaks, and overdue acknowledgement, of such a brief, and tumultuous moment in the spotlight. And does this particular book fill that space ? Well, maybe yes, maybe no … for unlike the previous publications on the duo from Australian author Stephen McParland, this version of events attempts to actually reveal the story, as opposed to presenting and documenting the facts. Both these versions of events deserve their place on the bookshelf, side by side, and yet each undertakes it’s own approach, and I would suggest that the reader is left to decide for themselves which suits best … but one can’t help but believe that this Passmore tome makes the story a little easier to digest.

Weighing in at just over 300 pages, and filled with dozens (literally) of rare photographs, this is a Jan & Dean enthusiasts dream come true … and the author has certainly had access to a great number of Jan and Dean’s musical acquaintances and collaborators, and even Berry and Torrence themselves have shared the same square footage as Passmore, thus suggesting that this may be as close to the full story as we will ever see –

although the promised upcoming biography of Jan Berry by Mark Moore may well prove otherwise.

Sadly, as we are all aware, the book appeared one year before Jan’s passing and so the final chapter may well have a sad update within the future, but the simple fact that this encompasses the years 1940-2003 highlights the full enormity of what the author was undertaking, and it’s to his credit that he manages to maintain the interest throughout the many highs and lows within. Personally, I cannot fault the authors efforts, although a little more detail at times wouldn’t have gone amiss (which is where the accompanying efforts of McParland comes in necessary) and yet whilst I for one cannot confirm the accuracy of the detail that is included, I understand that others have … Nevertheless, for simply telling the story straight, I recommend the book thoroughly.

Now, if only it had come in a hardback cover …

Zounds ! There genuinely seems to be no stopping this Australian researcher, author and fan of the Californian sound … thankfully. Yet another epic tome is delivered to us direct from the CMusic publishing stable – and this one is simply astounding in the detail uncovered (although I confess that I did feel let down on one area … but more on that later).

Over 200 densely researched pages of information on nigh on anyone who was of the fairer sex and who released music that falls under the surf/hot-rod genre, and heaven only knows how long it took to uncover such detail, and how the contacts came about. Interviews with those who were there, dozens of rare picture and record sleeves, selected discographies … plus full chapters on such heroines of the scene as Annette Funicello, Carol Connors, The Honeys, Jill Gibson, The Surf Bunnies … amongst others. This must have been one hell of a task to undertake, and a genuine labour of love – but to one who craves such information as I do it’s a godsend. Excepting that I came to the book in the hope that it could end a long-running mystery for me …

One of the very first female ‘surf’ records I ever heard, years ago, was the rather banal, and yet quite enjoyable “California Surfer” by an artist known only as Dee D Hope. I could find no further detail on her – and yet for some reason I lived in hope that one day her identity and story would be uncovered – I’ve no idea why, but I just needed to know. Then I got hold of this book, tore through the pages to locate an entry under the surname of ‘Hope’ – only to discover the immortal lines … “the young singer’s particular’s remain a mystery …”. I now rest uneasily in the knowledge that if Mr McParland cannot uncover such information on my behalf, then I guess no-one can, so don’t expect perfection from this book, that’s a hard challenge to set any researcher – just revel in the glorious reading that unfolds before you – and if you are reading this Ms Hope (or may I call you Dee ?), please drop me a line at the website address …

Originally founded by two Beach Boys admirers from San Diego, CA back in 1987, over the course of it’s long history this magazine has gone on to become the world’s premier Beach Boys information source, widely acclaimed not only by fans and collectors worldwide but also by the group members and their associates. Now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, under the guidance of David Beard, this quarterly publication details heavily the activities of all current and former member of the Beach Boys … as well as taking in the many associates of the Californian music scene along the way.

In addition to covering the present movements of Brian Wilson, Alan Jardine, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, many of the recent issues have seen quality articles on David Marks, The Rip Chords, Terry Melcher, Les Williams (the surfer who featured on the original “Surfin’ USA” LP sleeve – but hey, I’m biased on that one as I wrote the article …), beach movies and recently, following the devastating loss of Jan Berry, an entire issue

was dedicated to his memory. And less we not forget the legacy of the late Dennis and Carl Wilson, both of whom still feature heavily within the superbly presented pages, awash with rare and previously unseen photographs …

One nice addition to the benefits of the subscription costs has recently been the tendency to include promotional CD’s within the pages – and the years 2004 / 2005 alone have seen two giveaways highlighting the impact of Brian’s recent “SMiLE” reworking, plus a exclusive collection containing an amazing gathering of tribute recordings dedicated to the memory of brother Dennis. This disc alone is worth the entrance fee to the ESQ ‘club’ containing, as it does, a previously unreleased Alan Jardine track, plus contributions from Billy Hinsche, Adam Jardine, Scott Bennett (with big bro’ Brian), David Marks, Justin Wilson and Carl B Wilson (Dennis’s own son …) amongst the 22 songs featured.

But let’s not get spoilt on our own good fortune – even without these wonderful ‘bonus’ discs the magazine is compiled with such professionalism and, fortunately, reliable sources that one can’t help but eagerly await for the next three months to pass so we can hear the audible ‘thump’ as the new issue falls heavily through the letterbox and onto the mat …