Mr. Eliminator by Dick Dale & His Del-Tones

1964’s Mr. Eliminator, the second album of hot-rod songs from Dick Dale, is another fuel-injected fun ride down the asphalt aisle! Once again, Dick shreds his way through scorching guitar instrumentals like “The Victor,” “Nitro Fuel” and the tenacious title track. But that’s not all! Vocal selections like the Bo Diddley-beat-driven “50 Miles to Go” and “My X-KE” paint vivid portraits that any gear-head can appreciate. The studio pit-crew assisting Dick includes top-notch players Glen Campbell, Jerry Cole, Earl Palmer, Plas Johnson and future Beach Boy Bruce Johnston. Talk about firing on all cylinders! From start to finish, Mr. Eliminator sets them up and shuts them down.

In the early '60s, Dick Dale was worshipped by Southern California youth culture as the founding father of surf music as well as its next-of-kin, hot-rod rock. Dale was a fretboard whiz whose heavily-reverbed Fender guitar and frenzied, string-busting attack created a sound that would forever define surf music.