Surfin Bird
Although there's no shortage of Trashmen records out there (a 4 CD box set, a live album, outtakes), and none of it's waste product, this expanded version of the Minnesota surf gonzos' 1964 debut (and only contemporary) album is the best way to find out if their trash is worth your cash. The song they're famous for, "Surfin' Bird," is a frat/surf novelty classic that makes "Louie Louie" sound like "Go Away Little Girl." Two West Coast R&B; novelties by the Rivingtons, "Papa Oo Mow Mow Mow" and "The Bird's the Word," are knitted together by a pulsing Midwest surf beat, with a harsh monotone vocal giving way at strategic moments to some of the most graphic sounds of regurgitation ever recorded.If this sounds appealing (and there's no earthly reason it shouldn't), there are more delights within, although only "Bird Bath" attempts (unsuccessfully) to match the hit. You get some nicely executed surf instrumentals, slightly surf-inflected covers of "It's So Easy" and "Money," and some especially commissioned (from a friend of the band) surf and hotrod songs crammed full of period jargon. Bonus tracks include a demo of "Surfin' Bird"'s too-close-for-comfort followup, "Bird Dance Beat," and a sweetly goofy Christmas single that has Santa and his reindeer doing the Watusi with Peggy Sue, Short Fat Fannie, and other regular partygoers of the era.--Ken Barnes