The Blue Stingrays were a 90’s band that played surf rock, with some country and western mixed elements, all with a very cool Hawaiian atmosphere. The band was composed of the members of The Heartbreakers, Tom Petty’s backup band, who took a short break from their work with Petty to record one album, Surf-N-Burn.

It’s heartbreaking to realize how few people have heard of the Blue Stingrays, much less know the names of the group members. The CD’s cover photo, the liner notes, even including Side 1 and Side 2 for the song titles, all remind me of those great surf instrumental albums of the early sixties. You can almost hear the sound of the needle dropping onto the vinyl as the party sounds fade in, followed by the opening notes of “Monsoon.”

The appropriately named “Echo Park” is drenched in reverb, and sounds as fresh today as when it was first recorded. Covering “Goldfinger” was no doubt a tip of the hat to the Ventures, who have played that song in concert countless times. The 1-2 punch of “Surfer’s Life” and “Stingray Stomp” elevate this CD to classic status. After the closing notes of the last song, “Super Hero,” you can almost hear the scratchy fadeout of a vinyl album.

Speaking of albums, “Let’s Go!”, “Surf Party” and “Valley Of The Rays” are virtually impossible to find. Maybe a major rock star could help to get the Blue Stingrays’ back catalog reissued. I understand that Tom Petty is a big fan of the group!