Starr, Thom & The Galaxies – “South Bay Surf Anthology 1963-1964” – [Sundazed Records]

Cousin Mary   2/11/2011   12-inch, A Library

Surf band Thom Starr and the Galaxies formed in 1962 and mostly played around the South Bay, that is, the Pacific coastline between Orange County and Los Angeles. All tracks were previously unreleased and were recorded in 1963 and 1964. Some come from a test pressing of the never released “Sons Of The Beach” album, others from archive tapes from Thom Starr’s estate.

The quality of the sound could be better, but the energy, fine instrumentals, and the catchiness of the tunes comes through. It’s important to surf music history, but also provides lots of great “first wave” tracks to play.