2-Disc Dick Dale Anthology to Be Released Today

The most extensive anthology of Dick Dale’s recording career, “Better Shred Than Dead,” will be released todayby Rhino Records. The double-CD set synopsizes the surf-guitar hero’s career in 39 tracks.

The first disc proceeds from Dale’s earliest, do-it-yourself singles--derivative rockabilly songs with vocals dating from 1959-60--through the groundbreaking instrumental surf classics of 1961-65. While it didn’t lead to a sustained career outside of Southern California, Dale’s work in the early ‘60s established him as Orange County’s first major rock figure, whose careening, driving sound laid the groundwork for much of the aggressive guitar-rock that was to follow.

Disc two moves from the ‘80s, when Dale was trying to keep up his profile with locally released recordings and a Grammy-nominated guitar duet with Stevie Ray Vaughan on the Chantays’ classic, “Pipeline,” through his acclaimed comeback in the ‘90s.

Since 1993 Dale has released three albums and established himself as a national and international touring act playing to a new generation of alternative-rock fans. Rhino released a single-disc, 18-song Dale retrospective in 1989.