[1] Considering the Eastern European bands represented had little opportunity to record, the tracks are primitive in comparison to their Western contemporaries.

Nonetheless, the album includes arguably among the rarest material available in the Pebbles series extensive catalog.

Musical highlights include surf rock-inspired instrumentals by Japanese T. Terauchi, the East German Die Sputniks, and the Romanian Sincron.

Other acts also resided in Czechoslovakia and Poland, with the Slava Kunst Orchestra contributing the most abnormal assortment of nonsensical lyrics, wedding band-like instrumentals, and berserk tempo on "Lucifer In Coelis".

Surfbeat Behind the Iron Curtain, Volume 1 was released on both compact disc and vinyl.