MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean is a compilation album trilogy produced by Surfdog Records to benefit the Surfrider Foundation.[1] The albums feature original songs as well as covers – many sharing a surfing or summer theme – by a range of popular artists.[2][3]
| MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean | |
|---|---|
 Cover of the first volume in the series | |
| Compilation album by | |
| Released | Vol. 1: July 2, 1996 Vol. 2: August 26, 1997 Vol. 3: August 10, 1999 |
| Label | Surfdog, Interscope, Hollywood |
| Producer | Dave Kaplan, Pierce Flynn |
Reception
editEntertainment Weekly's Mike Flaherty gave Volume 1 a "B" rating. He called the compilation less sanctimonious than traditional benefit albums, noting the number of celebrity artists, and he singled-out Pearl Jam's cover of the "loopy" "Gremmie Out of Control" and Helmet's "ham-fisted" cover of "Army of Me".[2] Marcus Greville of the Green Left Weekly stated that due to the inconsistent song styles the album was "appealing, but difficult to become engaged in". He gave the album 7/10, and recommended the album as a "gift for a surfer friend".[1] David Yonke of the Toledo Blade called it "one of the most enjoyable compilation albums to be issued in a while", but noted that the "MOM" abbreviation should have been "MOMO".[4]
Volume 2 received a "B−" from Entertainment Weekly's Steven Mirkin. He preferred the "freshness" of ska bands like 311 and Mighty Mighty Bosstones to the more surf rock-inspired tracks, calling the Beach Boys' "Summer in Paradise" "especially tired". He commended Dick Dale's "Misirlou '97" as being the only track to successfully bridge the old and new styles, and called Jewel's "V-12 Cadillac" "a loser, ecologically and musically."[5]
In his review of Volume 3, Steve Crawford of the Houston Chronicle called the series both a "terrific product" due to the disparate musicians working to help the environment, and "tepid bathwater" due to many "halfhearted" tracks. He called the covers of "Little Deuce Coupe" from Brian Setzer, "Here Comes the Sun" from Allison Moorer and "Summer in the City" from the Butthole Surfers as "tame and routine". He viewed some songs more favorably, calling Everclear's "Walk, Don't Run" "rip-roaring", and Sprung Monkey's "Coconut" "clever and bouncy".[3] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the Surfrider Foundation credit for compiling exclusive "first-rate" tracks performed by major artists, but called the result a balance "between the good and the mediocre". He was the most positive about the "frazzled beach party song" "Electric Music and the Summer People" by Beck, the "strangely ambitious" "The Whale Song" from Pearl Jam, and the collaboration between Snoop Dogg & Rage Against the Machine, "Snoop Bounce". Also mentioned favorably were "Little Deuce Coupe" from Brian Setzer & Brian Wilson, "Walk, Don't Run" from Everclear "Winter Waves" from Chris Isaak, and the "fun punk throwaway" of the Beastie Boys' "Nothing to Say". Sprung Monkey's "Coconut" was mentioned as one of the few "trying moments", and he did point out that tracks from Paul McCartney and James Taylor had been previously released, but felt "the good intentions outweigh the end result". Ultimately he felt that the varied nature of the tracks would prevent listeners from enjoying the entire album, but that it was still more enjoyable than typical benefit albums.[6]
Track listings
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro: Ancient Dolphin Dance" | Chumash people | 0:18 | |
| 2. | "Good Times" | Steve Summers, Mike Summers, William Riley, Tony Delocht, Ernie Longoria | Sprung Monkey | 2:56 |
| 3. | "Gremmie Out of Control" (originally performed by The Silly Surfers) | Jimmie Haskell, Gary Usher | Pearl Jam | 2:24 |
| 4. | "Honky Tonk" (originally performed Bill Doggett) | Billy Butler, Shep Shepherd, Bill Doggett, Clifford Scott | The Brian Setzer Orchestra | 4:29 |
| 5. | "California Sun" (originally performed by Joe Jones) | Henry Glover, Morris Levy | Ramones | 1:47 |
| 6. | "Bali Eyes" (from Good God's Urge, 1996) | Perry Farrell, Stephen Perkins, Peter DiStefano, Martyn LeNoble | Porno for Pyros | 3:26 |
| 7. | "Surfin' U.S.A." (originally performed by The Beach Boys) | Chuck Berry, Brian Wilson | Pennywise | 1:44 |
| 8. | "Surfin' Bird" (originally performed by The Trashmen) | Turner Wilson, John Harris, Carl White, Alfred Frazier | Silverchair | 2:20 |
| 9. | "Wipe Out" (originally performed by The Surfaris) | Bob Berryhill, Pat Connolly, Ron Wilson, Jim Fuller | Gary Hoey with Donavon Frankenreiter | 3:30 |
| 10. | "Never Give Up" (from Psychedelic Surf Groove, 1996) | Jai Vatuk | Common Sense | 4:17 |
| 11. | "I Can't Surf" (from Liquor in the Front, 1994) | Jim Heath, Jimbo Wallace, Taz Bentley | Reverend Horton Heat | 2:40 |
| 12. | "Mama Nature" | Pato Banton, Stephen Morrison | Pato Banton and the Reggae Revolution | 4:28 |
| 13. | "Mr. Know It All" (live) | Les Claypool, Larry LaLonde, Tim Alexander | Primus | 4:23 |
| 14. | "Sailin' On" (originally performed by Bad Brains) | Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know | No Doubt | 3:35 |
| 15. | "Army of Me" (originally performed by Björk) | Björk, Graham Massey | Helmet | 4:28 |
| 16. | "My Wave" (from Superunknown, 1994) | Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil | Soundgarden | 5:12 |
| 17. | "Quiet Warrior" | Jewel | Jewel | 4:07 |
| 18. | "Hateful" | Art Alexakis, Craig Montoya, Greg Eklund | Everclear | 1:36 |
| 19. | "Blackwing" | Jason Ross, Jason Pollock | Seven Mary Three | 3:47 |
| 20. | "Netty's Girl" (from "Pass the Mic", 1992) | Mike D, Ad-Rock, Adam Yauch, Money Mark | Beastie Boys | 3:28 |
| 21. | "Badfish" (from 40oz. to Freedom, 1992) | Bradley Nowell | Sublime | 3:05 |
| 22. | "Waggy" (from They Came to Conquer... Uranus, 1995) | Mark Hoppus, Tom DeLonge, Scott Raynor | Blink-182 | 2:54 |
| 23. | "Closing: Mahalo Ke Akua" | Mikaele Opio | 1:23 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Performer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | Dick Dale, Pierce Flynn | Dick Dale with Pato Banton | 0:30 |
| 2. | "Misirlou '97" | Nicholas Roubanis | Dick Dale and Gary Hoey | 3:02 |
| 3. | "I Get Around" (originally performed by The Beach Boys) | Brian Wilson, Mike Love | Pennywise | 1:56 |
| 4. | "Atta Girl" | Steve Summers, Mike Summers, William Riley, Tony Delocht, Ernie Longoria | Sprung Monkey | 2:18 |
| 5. | "V-12 Cadillac" | Denny Aaberg, Ernest Knapp | Jewel | 3:26 |
| 6. | "Ocean" (originally performed by The Pietasters) | Todd Eckhardt, Tom Goodin, Steve Jackson | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones with The Pietasters | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Fly Juice" | Brian Setzer | The Brian Setzer Orchestra | 3:38 |
| 8. | "Tonight" (cover version of song from West Side Story) | Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim | Porno for Pyros | 3:37 |
| 9. | "Hydroponic" (from Music, 1993) | Chad Sexton, Nick Hexum, Doug Martinez | 311 | 3:55 |
| 10. | "Barflies at the Beach" (based on "Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)" by Louis Prima) | Eddie Nichols, Louis Prima | Royal Crown Revue | 3:01 |
| 11. | "Paddle Out" (from Sublime, 1996) | Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson, Bud Gaugh | Sublime | 1:15 |
| 12. | "The Other Side of the World" | J. R. Richards, Rodney Browning Cravens, Scot Alexander, George Pendergast, Jim Wood | Dishwalla | 3:45 |
| 13. | "Acid" | Glen Phillips, Todd Nichols, Dean Dinning, Randy Guss | Toad the Wet Sprocket | 3:57 |
| 14. | "Get It Right" (from Ignition, 1992) | Dexter Holland, Noodles, Greg Kriesel, Ron Welty | The Offspring | 3:05 |
| 15. | "Excuse Me Mr." (from Fight for Your Mind, 1995) | Ben Harper, J.P. Plunier | Ben Harper | 5:24 |
| 16. | "Angels of the Silences" (from Recovering the Satellites, 1996) | Adam Duritz, Charlie Gillingham, David Bryson, Matt Malley, Ben Mize, Dan Vickrey | Counting Crows | 3:38 |
| 17. | "Trouble on the Horizon" | Jimmy Buffett | Jimmy Buffett | 6:33 |
| 18. | "Summer in Paradise" (live June 29, 1993, at Wembley Arena) | Mike Love, Terry Melcher, Craig Fall | The Beach Boys | 4:21 |
| 19. | "The Blue Light of the Underwater Sun" (from "Everytime You Touch Me", 1995) | Moby | Moby | 4:19 |
| 20. | "Ocean Warriors" | Pato Banton, Pierce Flynn, Dave Kaplan | Pato Banton | 3:56 |
| 21. | "Giver Man" | Donavon Frankenreiter, Sunchild | Sunchild | 4:27 |
| 22. | "Closing" | Dick Dale | Dick Dale | 0:47 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Good gift for a surfer | Green Left Weekly". Greenleft.org.au. 1996-10-30. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ a b Mike Flaherty (1996-07-26). "MOM: Music for Our Mother Ocean Review". EW.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2008. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ a b "RECORDINGS 09/05/1999 | Archives | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ David Yonke (4 August 1996). "Good music for some good causes". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
- ^ Steven Mirkin (1997-08-22). "MOM II: Music for Our Mother Ocean Review". EW.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (1999-08-10). "M.O.M., Vol. 3: Music for Our Mother Ocean – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (1996-07-02). "M.O.M., Vol. 1: Music for Our Mother Ocean – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William (1997-08-26). "M.O.M., Vol. 2: Music for Our Mother Ocean – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ Thomas, Stephen (1999-08-10). "M.O.M., Vol. 3: Music for Our Mother Ocean – Various Artists". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-11.