If Stu Phillips had never done anything besides write the gloriously overwrought score for Russ Meyer's masterpiece {#Beyond the Valley of the Dolls}, he'd be a name-dropped by sleaze film enthusiasts to this day, but as it happens, that's only the tip of the Phillips iceberg. Stu's other credits include the iconic biker flick {#Hell's Angels on Wheels}, the bizarre black magic film {#Simon, King of the Witches}, the "bikers go to Vietnam" classic {#The Losers}, and the theme music for both {#Quincy M.E.} and {#Battlestar Galactica}! Phillips' bright, broad style and imaginative sense of orchestration has been helping to make the most of marginal movies since the early '60s, and Surf, Sex and Cycle-Psycho's is a fine collection of great moments from a handful of his scores. The album is dominated by Phillips' bright but dramatic music for the surfing documentary {#Follow Me}, but there are also excerpts from the abovementioned {#The Losers} and {#Hell's Angels on Wheels,"} as well as the draft-dodging comedy {#The Gay Deceivers} and the counterculture drama {#Pickup on 101}. The music is dynamic and compelling listening throughout, and Phillips manages to call up a different and absorbing mood on each track; while some might embrace this as kitsch, frankly the work is good enough that it deserves better than that. The liner essay includes a good thumbnail bio of the composer, as well as notes on the individual scores. Too bad lesser-known but well-deserving film composers haven't been feted with anthologies like this. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide