This is where Bo -- or, more properly, Chess Records -- really took a wrong step, starting with the fact that The Originator himself is actually on only about half of the cuts here, the balance having been recorded by guitarist Billy Lee Riley. The idea wasn't as bad as it sounded, at least on paper -- Bo had been an indirect influence on tons of surf bands, with his signature grunge guitar-sound, but the surf music world wasn't ready for a Bo-style instrumental rendition of the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein IIShowboat standard "Ol' Man River," and Bo's own inspiration behind songs like "Surfer's Love Call" was muted, to say the least. Almost as bad -- although more entertaining -- is "Low Tide," Bo's rewrite of Bill Justis' "Raunchy." The best tracks are "Cookie Headed Diddley" and "Surf, Sink or Swim," which come close to matching some of Bo's solid material from earlier albums and singles. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
