Exotic melodies are as big a part of surf's oeuvre as clangorous reverb and Fender guitars. So it's no surprise that guitarist Mel Waldorf's paean to his Jewish heritage works so effortlessly. See, after making the connection between the parting of the Red Sea and the curl of the Banzai Pipeline (it's a joke folks, his, not mine), Waldorf got to work arranging traditional Jewish folk songs such as "Hava Nagila," "Driedel, Driedel," and "At the Rabbi's Table" for a rather snappy surf record. Tackling all of the instruments but the drums, Waldorf's arrangements, on first listen, seem fairly standard, sporting equal parts twangy, yet furious double-picking, and splashy, 'verbed-out melodies. But consecutive spins reveals Waldorf's clever use of baritone guitar textures, as well as strategic overdubs to highlight the tune's melody. A fun record -- even for goys like me!

-- Darrin Fox

You don’t have to be Jewish to enjoy Meshugga Beach Party. Subtitled Twenty Songs Of The Chosen Surfers, the basic premise here is mixing the catchiest, time-honored songs of the Jews with rockin’ surf guitar music. The idea in itself is decades old and hundreds of guitar group’s over the past 40 years have covered favorites like “Hava Nagila”. Featuring guitarist Mel Waldorf, the CD takes the concept to it’s logical conclusion and beyond, retrofitting certified Kosher classics like “Shalom Alechem” and “Hatikvah” (what, no “Adon Olam”?) A great idea taken to completion by guitarist Waldorf and his meshugga beach buddies, the album is a done deal with a cover art straight out of Mad magazine!

OK, all you Jewish surfer dudes (are there any Jewish surfer dudes?), raise your hands if you miss the Beach Boys. No worries. “Meshugga Beach Party: Twenty Songs of the Chosen Surfers” is keeping tradition alive, in more than one sense. The CD is a re-release of older recording repackaged with four newly added tunes. Mel Waldorf, the mastermind behind this unusual CD, may have grown up in Westchester County, N.Y., but his heart belonged to the Pacific Coast sea — or at least to its music. Now a Bay Area resident, Waldorf, got the idea of setting some of the traditional Jewish melodies of his childhood to a Beach Boy beat. With himself on guitar and keyboards, Shig Komiyama and Tom Rockwell on drums and a bunch of friends for assorted “hollers and carrying on,” that is just what he did. The result is a hoot. You think “Hava Nagila” had a beat before? Waldorf and the boys put the pedal to the metal for a fast, rollicking ride on a wave of sound. “Shalom Alechem” comes out sounding a tad Hawaiian, which makes sense after you read the liner notes in which Waldorf confesses to a youthful penchant for “Hawaii Five-O” as well as the waves of Waikiki. A trio of Chanukah songs comes right in time for the holiday: “Dreidl, Dreidl” with a country and western twang, a rockin’ “O Hanukkah” and “Maoz Tsur,” no longer the dirge you may recall from junior choir. Neither is Passover neglected. We have a surfer’s rendition of “Dayenu.” Maybe they should have left some of the more serious stuff alone. “Ose Shalom” actually sounds great on the guitar with a beat but purists may take exception to a serious portion of the liturgy being given the surfer treatment. Ditto for the High Holy Day favorites “Kol Nidre” and “Avienu Malkeinu,” although the former is given a respectful, stately and rather lovely rendition. Much more amenable to these arrangements (also by Waldorf, who seems to be something of a one-man band) are the Israeli folk songs, “Zum Gali Gali,” “Artza Alinu,” “Shalom Haverim” and “Mayim.” You’ll think you’re back at summer camp. And a trio of klezmer numbers comes off even better, the “Sherele” possibly being the coolest cut on this very cool disc. So maybe it was a little tacky to finish the whole thing off with “Hatikvah,” but taste has never been a high priority with the beach blanket bunch. Hey, these dudes just want to have fun — and listening to this compilation, you will too. Surf’s up!

Suzanne Weiss

Surf guitar guru Mel Waldorf has brought together the seemingly unlikely pairing of traditional Jewish songs and instrumental surf guitar into a funny CD, "Meshugga Beach Party: Twenty Songs of the Chosen Surfers." The marriage of surf and guitar and traditional Jewish music is not new. Dick Dale, the King of Surf Guitar, did a surf guitar version of "Hava Nagila" in 1963. The exotic melodies that Dale and other surf guitar aficionados integrated with their twangy reverb and power chords are so similar to traditional Middle Eastern and religious instruments and melodies that this is not such a strange concept. For Mel Waldorf, the true motivation behind Meshugga Beach Party goes much deeper than just two musical sounds that mesh well. Following in the tradition of rock and roll bands like Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, Paul Revere and the Raiders, and Devo and modern surf groups like Los Straitjackets and The Ghastly Ones, Meshuggah Beach Party makes a total commitment to their entertainment by dressing in full chasidic garb for performances. The music chosen for the album run the gamut from "Hava Nagila" to "Dayenu," "Dreidel, Dreidel" to the more religiously serious "Kol Nidre."

Surf guitar god Dick Dale's family traces back to Eastern Europe and the Middle East, so it might not be surprising that quarter-tone melodies and "Hava Nagila" made it into his early songbook. Sporting a similar background, New York bar-band veteran Mel Waldorf had a love not only for the traditional Jewish melodies he heard his Polish grandfather sing but also for Dale's music. After falling for the sharp suits that both the Hasidim and the guitar bands wore, Waldorf's path was clear. Employing the familiar twangy, reverb guitars and two-minute time limits, Meshugga Beach Party is a traditional-yet-modern band, even if surf music is a few decades old by now. The mixture of holiday songs from Passover, Hanukkah and Yom Kipper services, and klezmer and Israeli folk songs on this album actually makes an impressive tour of Jewish musical heritage. "Hava Nagila" naturally leads off, while "Shalom Alechem" is a catchy mofo that even lapsed Jews remember as well as they do Hebrew party anthems like "Dayenu" and "Zum Gali Gali." If the "Rock of Ages" here doesn't hit as hard as the Def Leppard song of the same name, it easily beats out the traditional Christian tune of the same name. As sick as you might be of them, these tunes survived the ages for a reason. Even my rock-hating parents loved this album, with my mom swearing that she'd never heard a better version of "Hatikvah" in her life. That's kosher, indeed.

JASON GROSS

Outrageous, eclectic, and just plain cool! Put down the bagel and lox and paddle out!

Hysterical! Meshugga Beach Party: 16 Songs of the Chosen Surfers is worth the price of the CD just to see the cover photo. This is an all instrumental CD which takes traditional, well-known Jewish tunes and puts them in the style of Hawaii Five-O. Look out Don Ho, there is plenty of bubbly music complete with heavy bass, twangy guitar, and lots of snare percussion. It makes you want to jump up and hit the dance floor doing the "Swim". I did not know how I would feel about hearing Kol Nidre or Hatikvah "surf-i-fied", but I think they were handled as tastefully as they could be. If you like Dr. Demento and Weird Al, you'll love this tongue-in-cheek CD.

And now for something completely different. If you don't have your copy of "Tummelin' the Freilachs," from the '60s handy, Jewish surf music is back. "Hava Nagila" does really well as a Dick Dale masterwork. "Siman Tov" was born to surf. "Hatikva" is much improved. "Zemer Atik", picked up a bit, makes a great transition. But, dig "Dayenu". Now that's a party! And "Ose Shalom", especially with the perfect organ fade? Oy! ... It has no redeeming social value, particularly, but it's a lot of fun, and you can dance to it.... Halakhic surf music for Waikiki, indeed.

My question is, why did it take 40 years to go from "Miserlou" and "Hava Nagila" to a full album of this marvelous music converted to surf? A completely enthralling album of beautiful tracks, well arranged, and perfectly enjoyable. All that's missing is "At The Rabbi's Table." Mel Waldorf plays all instruments, with the exception of Shigemi "Shecky" Komiyama's impeccable drums. Five Stars!

Phil Dirt

Celebrated surf guitarist Mel Waldorf (The Mach IV, Los Meltones, The Alvarados) brings together his three great loves, surf music, Jewish culture and kitsch in this fun collection of 16 traditional Jewish songs played in a heavy reverb style. Backed up by Shig "Shecky" Komiyama and a studio full of vintage tones, Mel delivers the melodies with chutzpah! Great, humorous liner notes and packaging. Buy one for your Bubbe!

Mel is known as a surf guitar player for such bands as Los Mel-tones and The Mach IV. He has also been a Jew all his life, so if anyone is qualified to hang surf music arrangements on a bunch of traditional Jewish melodies then it's Mel. Well it worked for Dick Dale on Hava Nagila, so why not.
Mel plays all of the instruments (guitars, bass, organ) except for the drums which are provided by Shig Komiyama. The sounds and arrangements are authentic '60s surf style, and this is the big plus, as these are all traditional melodies and they all have a darn good tune. You may prefer to isolate them from the concept, but whatever way you look at it this is a great album of '60s style surf music that's full of quality tracks from start to finish.