Drag City / Pop Symphony 1

Jan & Dean | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 19, 1996)
• Original Release Date: March 11, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: One Way Records Inc
• ASIN: B000002R1C
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #379,865 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Drag City

2. I Gotta Drive

3. Drag Strip Girl

4. Surfin' Hearse

5. Dead Man's Curve

6. Schlock Rod, Pt. 1

7. Schlock Rod, Pt. 2

8. Popsicle (Popsicle Truck)

9. Surf Route 101

10. Sting Ray

11. Little Deuce Coupe

12. Hot Stocker

13. Frosty the Snowman [*]

14. She's Still Talking Baby Talk [*]

15. The Little Old Lady from Pasadena

16. Baby Talk

17. Honolulu Lulu

18. Dead Man's Curve

19. Surf City

20. It's a Shame to Say Goodbye

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

1996 compilation combines the 1964 album, Drag City with the 1966 album, Pop Symphony, No. 1 with two bonus tracks, 'Frosty The Snowman' & 'She's Still Talking Baby Talk'. 26 tracks in all.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Look at me, I'm hep!, March 28, 2006

By 

Johnny Heering "trivia buff" (Bethel, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Drag City / Pop Symphony 1 (Audio CD)

This CD combines two albums from the 1960s.

Drag City is arguably Jan & Dean's best album. Unlike the typical albums of the era, which used to feature one or two hits plus covers of other performer's hits, this album features almost all original tunes (other than a cover of "Little Deuce Coupe"). The songs are all about cars and they are all good. "Drag City" was the hit single, but "Popsicle Truck" also became a hit later, as did "Dead Man's Curve" (but this isn't the version of "Dead Man's Curve" that was later released as a single). The other songs are all good, too, but my favorite is "Schlock Rod(Parts 1 & 2)", which is a hilarious parody of songs where a guy brags about his car.

Jan & Dean's Pop Symphony No. 1 isn't actually a Jan & Dean album. It's an album by "The Bel-Aire Pops Orchestra" (which sounds like a made up name for a non-existant orchestra). It features orchestral versions of Jan & Dean hits (plus the obscure b-side "It's a Shame to Say Goodbye", for some reason). It's not a very good album, I'm sad to say. A few of the tracks are "interesting", but that's not the same as being good. Pop music and classical music are very different things, and they don't mix well together in this case.

The CD adds two bonus tracks. "Frosty the Snowman" was their Christmas single for 1962. "She's Still Talking Baby Talk" was the b-side of that single, as well as being a sequel to their first hit "Baby Talk". Unfortunately, "She's Still Talking Baby Talk" is not actually on this CD. They accidently put Jan & Dean's remake of "Baby Talk" from the album Jan & Dean's Golden Hits on the CD instead.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The hot rod set meets the white shirt and bow tie crowd., October 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Drag City / Pop Symphony 1 (Audio CD)

Of all the One Way Records Jan and Dean 2-for-1 reissues, this one is arguably the best. "Drag City" signaled a change for the boys. Up till then, Jan and Dean records were composed primarily of cover songs. Although "Surf City" introduced the concept of self-penned material, it was "Drag City" where it really came together. Working with a close knit group of Los Angeles songwriters (including none other that Beach Boy Brian Wilson), Jan brought together a collection of mostly original songs. Standouts include "Drag City," "Hot Stocker," the hilarious "Schlock Rod (Parts 1 and 2)" and my favorite, "Surf Route 101." This is also the album that introduced the classic "Dead Man's Curve."

"Pop Symphony No. 1" is a very special treat. Recorded in 1965, "Pop Symphony" was Jan's attempt to create orchestral versions of Jan and Dean's greatest hits. Working with the Bel-Aire Pops Orchestra and some of Los Angeles' finest studio musicians, Jan presents mini symphonies of Jan and Dean favorites such as "The New Girl in School" and "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena." Although purists may discount this album due to the lack of any apparent involvement from Dean, it is a true milestone in the history of surf music.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jan and Dean meet Ivor Stravinsky at the drag strip, October 12, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Drag City / Pop Symphony 1 (Audio CD)

Of all the One Way Records Jan and Dean 2-for-1 reissues, this one is arguably the best. "Drag City" signaled a change for the boys. Up till then, Jan and Dean records were composed primarily of cover songs. Although "Surf City" introduced the concept of self-penned material, it was "Drag City" where it really came together. Working with a close knit group of Los Angeles songwriters (including none other that Beach Boy Brian Wilson), Jan brought together a collection of mostly original songs. Standouts include "Drag City," "Hot Stocker," the hilarious "Schlock Rod (Parts 1 and 2)" and my favorite, "Surf Route 101." This is also the album that introduced the classic "Dead Man's Curve."

"Pop Symphony No. 1" is a very special treat. Recorded in 1965, "Pop Symphony" was Jan's attempt to create orchestral versions of Jan and Dean's greatest hits. Working with the Bel-Aire Pops Orchestra and some of Los Angeles' finest studio musicians, Jan presents mini symphonies of Jan and Dean favorites such as "The New Girl in School" and "The Little Old Lady from Pasadena." Especially well done are "You Really Know How to Hurt a Guy" and that old chestnut "Heart and Soul." Although purists may discount this album due to the lack of any apparent involvement from Dean, it is a true milestone in the history of surf music.

This CD comes with the original LP artwork, but little else. It would have been nice to see the song writing credits and additional session information. Also, the CD mistakenly labels the song "Baby Talk" as "She's Still Talking Baby Talk." However, the A-side of "She's Still Talking Baby Talk," "Frosty the Snowman," is included for Jan and Dean fanatics.