Customer Reviews

Made in U.S.A.

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A search of "Beach Boys" "Greatest Hits" on Amazon.com will turn up 18 hits. And that doesn't even include the many compilations that don't even include the words "Greatest Hits", such as this one. So, if you're not interested in an extensive collection of 'the Boys' 1960's albums, which hits compilation do you choose? If there are some 'must-have' numbers on your list, start scanning the songlists. But the 'upside' to this particular choice is that, as of this writing, a 'like new' copy can be had for under $2, and it probably contains most of what you want, not that there aren't some omissions...

The Beach Boys were often hailed as "The American Beatles", but the reality is that the Beach Boys beat the Beatles out of the gate, so maybe it would be more fitting to call The Beatles "The British Beach Boys". 'Made In the U.S.A.' does a pretty good job of chronicling 'the Boys' early years, reaching back to 1962 for 'Surfin' Safari' and '409'. The Beatles were just breaking out of their larval stage in 1963 when 'the Boys' scored their first big hit, 'Surfin U.S.A.' which rose all the way to #3 on the national charts. That was followed by 'Surfer Girl' and 'Be True To Your School' in the same year, and they're all included here. Completists may lament the omission of songs such as 'Little Deuce Coupe' (a lament rising to the level of Job), or 'Shut Down', especially as the disc concludes with some of 'the Boys' lesser 1980's fare.

But the hits just keep on coming, including all three number one Beach Boys hits, 'I Get Around' from 1964, 'Help Me Rhonda' in 1965, and 'Good Vibrations' in 1967. 'The Boys' scored a number two hit in 1965 with 'Barbara Ann', and two other number three hits, 'California Girls' in 1965 and 'Sloop John B' in 1966. 'Sloop John B' is from the much heralded 'Pet Sounds' LP, which the Beach Boys said was inspired by The Beatles 'Revolver'. True to form, The Beatles always said 'Sgt. Peppers' had been inspired by 'Pet Sounds'. 'Made In the U.S.A.' includes three other 'Pet Sounds' classics, 'Wouldn't It Be Nice', 'God Only Knows', and 'Caroline, No'. Missing from this productive era in 'the Boys' catalog is 'Little Old Lady From Pasadena'.

As the 1960's progressed, 'the Boys' became less influential while The Beatles went on to produce their milestone 'White Album' and 'Abbey Road'. 'Made In the U.S.A.' does include 'Hero's and Villians' from 1967, but makes another serious omission by not including 'Wild Honey' from the same year. The CD concludes with several releases from the 1980's, 'Come Go With Me', which reached #18 in 1981, 'Getcha Back', which reached #26 in 1985, a rendition of Chuck Berry's 'Rock and Roll Music', 'Rock 'N' Roll To the Rescue', a Mike Love composition, and a nice cover of The Mama's and The Papa's 'California Dreamin', a recording that proves there is such a thing as fate. While all of these recordings are adequate, I must say that I would much rather have 'Little Deuce Coupe', 'Shut Down', 'Wild Honey', and 'Little Old Lady...', or even another 1980's effort by 'the Boys', 'Kokomo'... but it's splitting hairs when you already have your hands on 20 great hits for less than $2.

Even more hits, and I do mean hits, have gone unmentioned here. The point is, this is a fine CD at an ultra-fine price. There are some nice liner notes and thumbnail photo's of the band as well. Since a copy of 'the Boys' 1960's output is essential (what else is appropriate to a summer beach party or a Sunday cruise in a '67 GTO convertible?), this is a way to plug the gap at a price that would make The Gap gape. Go agog for it.

Two types of people will look at this: completists who want anything at all that says "Beach Boys" on it (for the rare performance w/Bob Dylan on "Rock and Roll to the Rescue" and the band's cover of Mamas and Papas classic "California Dreamin'") and casual fans who are looking for a cheaply priced greatest hits.

COMPLETISTS: "Rock and Roll to the Rescue" really is pretty boring once you get over the chuckle of how funny it is to hear His Bobness with the Hawthorne Five. "Cali Dreamin'" can be found on "Greatest Hits Volume 3" now as well. But heck it's under $3 used, so knock yourself out.

CASUAL FANS WANTING A SINGLE CD HITS DISC: It's this one or SOUNDS OF SUMMER. Let's compare, shall we?

PROS:
If price is the biggest factor, this one will be cheaper used (under a buck) for 25 cuts. It has "Caroline, No" which isn't on SOUNDS but since EVERYONE should own PET SOUNDS that doesn't matter in the end.

CONS: Lots of uninteresting tracks. You can do without "Rock and Roll to the Rescue","Come Go with Me" and "Rock and Roll Music". SOUNDS also has the benefit of having several big 'car songs' that aren't here ("Little Deuce Coupe" and "Shut Down"), their last big chart song ("Kokomo"),"In My Room", a fantastic cover of the Ronettes' "I Can Hear Music", and a couple little known gems that you may discover you like once you hear them ("Darlin'","Wild Honey").

BOTTOM LINE: If you're near broke or a competist, buy this one. If you want one CD with most of the best Beach Boys material on it, get SOUNDS OF SUMMER.

If you could only purchase one Beach Boys disc, 'Made in U.S.A.' is your best bet. The disc opens with early Boys' hits like "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Surfer Girl," and "Be True to Your School," all of which are fun, light, carefree tunes from a light and carefree time. The Boys' music soon begins to get more interesting musically and clever lyrically, as shown in "Fun, Fun, Fun" (which includes my favorite Beach Boys line, "She makes the Indy 500 look like the Roman chariot race"). "Don't Worry Baby" is the first ever "car" song of any depth and it still holds up well. (I wonder if Springsteen was influenced by it?) Every song from "Don't Worry Baby" to "Caroline, No" succeeds in providing great melodies and interesting lyrics, moving far beyond the confines of typical "beach and hot rod" music. These are songs that have stood the test of time. They sound like they are from another era, which they are. They sound even more so since no one writes intelligent "fun" music anymore. They can't because few have the imagination and vision of Brian Wilson. The last six cuts on the CD are good, but can't touch what has gone before. Still, a great CD to have. Isn't it ironic that 'Made in U.S.A' is available only as in import?

The Beach Boys, were, for a time, one of the few bands that could even *come close* to rivaling The Beatles' success. They were huge in England and America, and while their popularity waned a bit in the 1970s, they were still as big as ever in Europe. They had a major comeback in the 1980s, playing at Live Aid in 1985 and even had a #1 hit in 1989, 'Kokomo.' This group has truly lived through it all.

'Made in the USA' is a collection of tracks recorded from 1961-1986, 25 years. Obviously, 'Kokomo' is not included (that was released in 1989 on the 'Cocktail' movie soundtrack -- but that's another review altogether), but every other essential Beach Boys song is. This compilation is loaded with classic tunes, and the average listener is likely to recognize about 75% of what's on here.

This album featured songs from 1962's 'Surfin' Safari' all the way through 1985's 'The Beach Boys' (the self-titled album). Times and technology changed radically during those 23 years, but then again, so did The Beach Boys. 'Getcha Back,' the major hit single from the '85 album is included here, as are two new-for-1986 songs, 'Rock N' Roll to the Rescue' and a cover of the Mamas & The Papas' classic hit 'California Dreamin',' featuring none other than the legendary Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds) on his trademark Rickenbocker guitar.

And, of course, you get almost all of the hits. 'Surfer Girl,' 'Surfin' Safari,' 'Wouldn't it Be Nice,' 'Good Vibrations' and their 1976 first-comeback hit, their cover of Chuck Berry's 'Rock & Roll Music,' as well as countless other hits and classic album tracks.

To be honest, I prefer 'Made in the USA' over 'Sounds of Summer.' Sure, 'Sounds of Summer' has more music (30 songs), but most of the material on that album was taken from this compilation (and besides, how could 'Sounds of Summer' omit 'Caroline No'?!?). Thus, this album is a far better pick. And, it's cheaper than 'Sounds of Summer.' You can get a cheap used copy here for well under $5. That's a pretty good deal!

It's a shame Capitol didn't re-release this album. It's a great choice for the new Beach Boys fan, or for the casual fan who doesn't want to dive deep into their enormous catalogue. Go for this one. You get a lot of bang for your buck here.

Recommended.

The Beach Boys Made in the USA is one of their best albums. It is dedicated to Dennis Wilson, who drowned in 1983, and contains many of the Beach Boys hits. One song that is tough to find is "Rock and Roll to the Rescue" and that is included on this album. Made in 1986, the CD has been out of print for over 5 years in 2005, but you can find reasonable prices on it. As of 2005, usually you can find it usually in good condition for under $10 including s/h. It is a good CD and is well worth your money, especially if you are a big fan of the Beach Boys.

I wanted this CD for quite a while its a nice mix of simple tounge and cheeck type 60's surfer music with a few 80's songs mixed in. Also worth having for the haunting masterpiece version of " California Dreamin" which was already a classic by the Mama's & the Papa's but made even better in my humble oppinion.

The Beach Boys are the poster boys for classic Americana rock n roll. A group of family musicians, clean cut (at first anyways), groomed, athletic, great vocals, and they sang about cars, school spirit, surfing and having your best girl by your side. How can you beat that?

Well, not only were they good ol' boys from the beach, they were (and are, they still tour!) great musicians. Brian Wilson's songwriting and the groups harmonies were legendary and what stood them out from the rest of the other similar artists of their time like Jan and Dean and The Mamas and the Papas.

This collection is a beautiful reminder of what their music has brough to our heritage. Though not as exhaustive as Sounds of Summer, (to be fair I would have given this album 5 stars if there were no Sounds of Summer) this is still a great collection of classic Beach Boys music. Gems like "In My Room" and "Little Deuce Coupe" are missing, but "Surfin' U.S.A.", "Help Me Rhonda", "Good Vibrations", and "I Get Around" are just a spattering of the 25 tracks you'll enjoy on this album. My personal underappreciated track is their cover of "California Dreamin'" which I think is marvelous with the added harmonies.

So, go and pick up Sounds of Summer. If you can't find it, get Made in U.S.A. It's a worthy second choice.

THIS WAS MY "RE INTRODUCTION" TO THE BEACH BOYS MUSIC BACK IN THE 80'S (PRIOR TO THAT, I HAD OWNED 'BEST OF THE BEACH BOYS). THIS COLLECTION INTRODUCED ME TO A LOT OF COOL SONGS THAT WEREN'T ON 'BEST OF' SUCH AS 'CAROLINE,NO','DO IT AGAIN','DON'T WORRY BABY'. THE ONE COMPLAINT AGAINST THIS COLLECTION IS THAT THE SONGS THEY PUT ON THERE FROM THE 70'S WERE NOT VERY GOOD AND THE BEACH BOYS DID A LOT OF GOOD STUFF IN THOSE YEARS TOO

This is a good compilation of Beach Boys songs. But there are a few curious choices made in song selection. Why is the minor b-side "409" included when there are many bigger hits that were left off? Don't get me wrong, I love "409", but it's not a "greatest hit". But the main fault here is the inclusion of two mediocre new recordings at the end of the CD. Still, it's easy to find a cheap used copy of this, so it's worth getting.

This is a good compilation of Beach Boys songs. But there are a few curious choices made in song selection. Why is the minor b-side "409" included when there are many bigger hits that were left off? Don't get me wrong, I love "409", but it's not a "greatest hit". But the main fault here is the inclusion of two mediocre new recordings at the end of the CD. Still, it's easy to find a cheap used copy of this, so it's worth getting.