Too-short surf tracks bail before shooting the curl

These twenty-six tracks were drawn from the like-titled documentary on custom car legend Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. Unfortunately the tunes were purpose-written as transition music for the film, so rather than complete compositions excerpted for use on the soundtrack, the originals range from 0:35 (“The Milky Way”) to 1:35 (“The 3-B”); the album’s only full length track is the closing “The Double Wide.” That said, what’s here are superb, richly detailed and reverb drenched surf-styled instrumentals whose melodies could certainly sustain three or four minutes each. At these short lengths, however, the songs just get their established when it’s time to move on to the next track. It’s as if they’re paddling towards onto a primo wave and bailing before catching the lip. ADD surf music lovers may love the quick turnarounds, but most listeners will wish the group had fleshed out a dozen of these ideas to more satisfying lengths. What’s here is tuneful and twangy, but it’s most satisfying as transitional music for the film. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]