Lost & Found 1961-1962

The Beach Boys | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 20, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Dcc Compact Classics
• ASIN: B00000019C
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #166,546 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Luau [#]

2. Surfin' [#]

3. Surfin' [first take][#][Excerpt]

4. Surfin' [Master Take]

5. Luau [first take][#][Excerpt]

6. Luau [Master Take]

7. Barbie

8. What Is a Young Girl Made Of [#]

9. Surfin' Safari [unissued take][#]

10. Surfin' Safari [Master Take]

11. Studio Chatter

12. Surfer Girl [Master]

13. Judy [previously unissued take][#]

14. Judy [Master Take]

15. Beach Boys Stomp (A.K.A. Karate) [Long Version][#]

16. Surfin' Safari [An Attempt at Overdubbing][#][Demo Version]

17. Lavender [#][Demo Version]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best quality CD produced of the band's pre-Capitol sessions., October 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lost & Found 1961-1962 (Audio CD)

In its wisdom, RCA bought Elvis' original Sun recordings -- masters, alternates, outtakes, etc. and compiled them on the SUN SESSIONS CD. Likewise, the greatest American pop band has this offering, in two different sets of artwork. Tho' the group photo cover is shown above, it's inaccurate by about two years and the absence of guitarist David Marks. The material consists of early versions, working demos, & final masters of the dozen or so songs the young Beach Boys record- ed with Hite & Dorinda Morgan, publishers/producers. This is an historical CD, and not really meant to be put on at a party (try the PARTY! or 20/20 or SUMMER IN PARADISE CDs for that). It's also an excellent insight for young musicians to see how teenagers can put together demos, which in this case, impressed Capitol Records enough for a contract.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Surfin' is the only life., February 28, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: Lost & Found 1961-1962 (Audio CD)

This CD features the pre-Capitol recordings of the Beach Boys. Before signing with Capitol Records, the Beach Boys recorded six songs for producer Hite Morgan. Six songs would make a pretty short CD, so the CD is padded out with alternate takes, audition demos and two songs by "Kenny and the Cadets" with Brian Wilson on lead vocals. "Surfin'", their first single, got to #75 on the Hot 100 and got them signed to Capitol Records. And the rest is history. The recordings on this CD aren't bad, but they aren't nearly as good as the Beach Boys later recordings. And it's a bit repetitive hearing "Surfin'", "Luau" and "Surfin' Safari" three times each. Still, this is a historically important CD that should be of interest to Beach Boys fans.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not one for casual fans, March 16, 2005

By 

Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lost & Found 1961-1962 (Audio CD)

You won't have heard any of these on your local "oldies" station. What this collects is very early material the group recorded with producer Hite Morgan and his wife.

It's interesting for the group's biggest fans to hear the demos of "Luau" and "surfin'" (the songs from their very first single ever released on Candix records). You'll also get a rare recording of Brian Wilson and his mother performing together as "Kenny and the Cadets", a rare instrumental ("Karate", also sometimes referred to as "Beach Boy Stomp"), an ode to Brian Wilson's girlfriend ("Judy") and a previously unissued demo from 1961 ("Lavender")

High Points: Track 6 "Surfin'" is the template for the earliest hits the band would have in their "sun and fun" period. It doesn't stand alongside finer material like "Surfin' U.S.A." but it points the way toward what they would become. "What is a Young Girl Made of?" is the better of the Kenny and the Cadets songs, an uptempo tune that sounds like a lost 50s track. An early version of "Surfin' Safari" has some minor lyric differences. (Track 14) The Candix rendition of "Surfer Girl" shows a much more garage band influence as Dennis Wilson struggles to hold the brushed snare rhythm. The guitars are also mixed much lower here than the more familiar hit. "Judy" is a nicely sloppy lovesong with a chugging bassline.

Lows:
"Barbie" suffers from horrid background tracks, a treacly lyric, and a poor falsetto from Brian. "Beach Boy Stomp" is an interesting instrumental but the band isn't tight enough to really pull it off. An early overdub attempt on "Surfin' Safari" (Track 20) was wisely left in the can at the time. (Brian attempted to paste a Duane Eddyish guitar into one channel). "Lavender" is a Four Freshmen styled acappella tune that shows the band's harmonies are close to full bloom but it's just a demo. With full production, it might have been as special as "Their Hearts were Full of Spring" in the Beach Boys canon.

Bottom Line:
Mostly useful as a historical document. It's hard to hear some of these tracks and realize that they would go on to become one of the (THE?) most influential and creative pop groups ever.