Search - Tornadoes :: Beyond Surf

Not To Be Confused With The Tornados Of "Telstar" Fame

Mike King | Taunton, MA United States | 10/11/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Tornadoes consisted of Gerald Sanders on lead vocals and bass guitar, Norman "Roly" Sanders on lead guitar, Jesse Sanders on rhythm guitar, George White on saxophone and Leonard Delaney on drums. Their signature song, "Bustin' Surfboards," was one of the first regional, surf instrumental hits to receive national airplay in 1962. The sound of crashing waves gives way to the drums playing a stomping beat, followed by a twangy guitar playing the memorable melody. "Beyond The Surf" was a slow song, which featured a heavily echoed guitar, while the drummer played the cymbals to simulate the sound of waves. Gerald Sanders sings the tale of the "Phantom Surfer," an unfortunate dude who died in a mean riptide, and whose ghost surfs the waves for all eternity! This collection concludes with a 1999, 25 minute talk by all five members of the group discussing the good old days. Like most early surf instrumental groups, the Tornadoes only lasted long enough to release one album in 1964, before Beatlemania put an end to the surf instrumental craze. Quentin Tarantino included the song "Bustin' Surfboards" in his movie Pulp Fiction and its subsequent soundtrack album. The popularity of that led to the Tornadoes reuniting and recording the album "Bustin' Surfboards '98," some 34 years after their first album!"

Get Caught In The Storm

Stanley Runk | Camp North Pines | 08/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a good cd....a damn good cd. The tornadoes were one of the heavyweights of the surf music scene(and the first band to have a "surf" related single) back in the good ol' days. Any big fan of surf music knows this. For those just getting the surf bug and are looking for some excellent recordings from the early 60s, this is definitely a cd you should invest in. It can be difficult for a newcomer to know what to purchase since there is so much available out there. Well, personally I have yet to hear any surf music I think "sucks", so you can't really go wrong with any 60s surf bands, but the Tornadoes are certainly top drawer. This cd gives you some slow, haunting tunes(Beyond The Surf), some more up tempo stuff(Vaquero), some humor(The Gremmie), some cover tunes(Johnny B Goode). Even the few tracks with vocals are very good! The Phantom Surfer(a vocal tune) is an excellent, creepy little number. Not bad for a bunch of kids."