Surfin' Safari/Surfin' U.S.A. [EXTRA TRACKS] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REISSUED] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

The Beach Boys

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 13, 2001)
• Original Release Date: May 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00005A1MT
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #51,301 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  Music > Rock > Oldies & Retro > Surf Rock

Editorial Reviews

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Seeking to Capitol-ize on their local L.A. indie-label novelty hit, "Surfin'," the Beach Boys and their nascent sound (tales of innocent SoCal hedonism set to equal parts doo-wop vocal influences and Chuck Berry licks) were produced on these initial releases by the A&R exec who signed them, Nik Venet. But if Brian Wilson's production genius was yet untapped, his songwriting knack, trademark arrangements, and soaring falsetto were already coming to the fore, even on Surfin' Safari, the band's hastily recorded, low-budget debut album--"Surfin'," "Surfin' Safari," and "409" are ample testament to his hitmeister potential. Released just five months later, Surfin' USA both insured the band's national appeal and testified to the rapid development of their harmonies on cuts such as "Farmer's Daughter" and "Lana." The band sounds more confident throughout, and Wilson hints at the greatness to come with the moody ballad "The Lonely Sea." The flip side to Wilson's fragile emotionalism is, of course, Mike Love's nasal, fun-seeking twang; those voices revolving--often tensely--around a hub of incomparable harmony became one of rock's most indelible archetypes. These are the humble, charmingly awkward beginnings of that legend. Three unreleased bonus cuts are also featured: "Cindy, Oh Cindy," "The Baker Man" (a nursery rhyme take on the Olympics' "Hully Gully"), and the nautical "Land Ahoy." The latter two tracks are notable as Brian's official producing debut. This twofer edition features comments by Brian and the astute liner notes of music historian David Leaf. --Jerry McCulley

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Let's go surfing now, February 6, 2003

By	K. P. (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

As is typical for albums released about this time, their souls were owned by the record company. They had little creative control, and wouldn't for a few albums. So the results of this debut album are predictably sketchy. The album was rushed out REALLY fast, recorded very quickly with whatever songs the group happened to have lying around in their songbooks, plus a single or two. As you could imagine, the album is thus really inconsistent, with just a few indicators of their genius for singing and crafting melodies. As you would expect, the singles are the best songs here. And one of them is totally classic. The opening "Surfin' Safari" is the ultimate surfing ode, loaded with great vocal hooks. Sure, it's naive, but it's fun! Another big single, "409," is also a fun, catchy, hook-filled song, this time about cars instead of surfing, and it's pretty good. The Boys' vocals on these tunes aren't as excellent as they got later, and most songs really don't even have vocal harmonies of any merit, but that's to be expected. Brian was still learning, and this album was slapped out quickly.

The other 9 songs that make up this album are mostly goofy novelty numbers. They all last about 2 minutes, have dumb lyrics, and sound pretty much the same. They aren't horrible, but they really don't have any reason to exist now that 1962 is long gone. Dated in the extreme. The highlight of this section is easily "Moon Dawg," which is a fun surf instrumental, and I've got a thing for fun surf instrumentals. I like "The Shift" too, which is a fun rock number. Elsewhere, though, mediocrity abounds. Songs like "County Fair" (with a stupid voice over section), "Heads You Win, Tails I Lose," "Chug A Lug," and "Little Girl (You're My Miss America)" are okay, but really now, is there any reason to pull out this album and listen to them? Not really. And even the highlights don't hit me THAT hard - let's face it, as cool as "Surfin' Safari" and "409" are, neither is exactly that great.

The Surfin' USA LP was a huge improvement over its predecessor. "Surfin' USA" was tearing up the airwaves as people listened in awe, completely unaware that the song was stolen note for note from Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen." Ripoff or not, the song is undeniably catchy, and, in my opinion, is a lot better than the Berry original. The song featured use of vocal overdubs and lots of backup vocals, which were soon to become a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson mainstay. If there was ever a track that announced that the Beach Boys were here to stay, that was the one.

Huge hits aside, though, what is it about this album that makes it better than the last one? Well, there's lots of stuff. For one, the band had more money this time, so the production is a little fuller sounding. The vocals are also much better than before - the leads are more in tune and gorgeous (as on the fantastic dark ballad "Lonely Sea"). Plus, as I mentioned, due to overdubbing, the background vocals have elevated to an important part of the music. The songwriting is better, too. The songs don't seem like novelties anymore, for the most part (well, the album closing "Finders Keepers" certainly reminds me lyrically of "Head You Win, Tails I Lose"). Plus, the arrangements are light years ahead of the ones on the last album. Brain was learning fast, and though he was far from the peak of his abilities here, you could tell he was evolving quickly.

Now, as for the actual songs - they actually sound sort of like the ones on the last album, only with more precise instrumentation and better production. There are no real embarrassments here, though. Plus, there are a handful of really good songs. The highlight is the haunting ballad "Lonely Sea," which presages some of their best later work. "Farmer's Daughter," another ballad, has a great vocal arrangement. And there's the song here everyone knows - "Shut Down," a thrilling rocker about drag racing. Out of the bonus tracks, "Cindy Oh Cindy" is my favorite.

Of course, this was still pretty rushed out and corporally controlled. Plus, the boys weren't at the peak of their skills yet, so the album is far from being great. The album is short (about 24 minutes), and much of it is taken up by instrumentals, one of which is great ("Miserlou") and the other four of which are just okay - the band just didn't have the precise attack to make these numbers come to life, which is a shame, because had they recorded these a couple of years later, they would have been amazing. And some of the songs are a bit generic. Still, this is a very fun record, with some very good material and no truly bad material. Worth picking up if you're into the early surf rock sound, though the band was improving rapidly, and this is still too early to really be one of their best efforts. It shows tons of potential though, which Safari showed in very few places. You don't really need Safari at all, but picking it up as a two-fer along with Surfin' USA is a good deal, as the latter is far more superior. All Beach Boys albums are available as two-fers now, so pretty much any of them make a decent buy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where the Beach Boys all began, January 18, 2007

By	MarvsC61 "Hot Rod" (Yorba Linda, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews

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Again, it is wonderful to have these classic LP's re-mastered with the sound fresh and vibrant, minus all of the snap, crackle, and pop of an old record. When you listen to these CD's you are reminded that these guys started off as a bunch of fresh-faced, young high school boys. Basically a super-talented local garage band that rented equipment to make a demo. They came from a musically talented family, but no one then knew exactly what a genius Brian Wilson would ultimately turn out to be. In addition to the hit singles, you will recognize there are some songs that are slightly rough musically & vocally. But the potential is clear and the talent shines through the immaturity. With every new album they made you could hear the quantum leaps they were making in musical maturity. It is fun to remember where their journey began back in the early 60's, and it is a reminder to all of us that were fortunate to grow up in So. California back then, of great times past. Get it as an essential part of your collection and fondly remember.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "In the beginning . . .", January 25, 2002

By	Kendal B. Hunter (Provo, UT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

There is something about listening to a band's first album that is quite revealing. Get and play "Please Please Me," then listen to "Let it Be." Or Get "Boy," then play "All That You Can't Leave Behind." Bands evolve, and bands grow, but with the first album there is a universe of possibilities. Some of these possibilities are abandoned, but some of the roads are taken and added upon. These albums give you a glimpse into the early work of the Beach Boys, and hear the different sound that Brian Wilson was experimenting around with.

There was a lively surf music scene, with Dick Dale and the Del Tones, the Ventures, and Jan and Arnie (later Jan and Dean). The Beach Boys started working in this genre as this disc indicates-Moon Dawg, The Shift, Surfin' Safari, Surfin' USA, and the two Dick Dale covers. But the Beach Boys had something different. Not quite a different sound, since they just had Chuck Berry rock and roll riffs combined with the Four Freshman harmonies. But you can feel the soul of their music, specifically Brian Wilson's soul shine through in tracks such as Cuckoo Clock and Farmers Daughter. And Lonely Sea is really the first "Pet Sounds" track, indicating the direction Brian Wilson could and did go.

Yes, music has progressed (somewhat) since these two LPS were recorded, and bands (some at least) have gotten better, but these tracks are engraved moments in time. You see the Beach Boys starting out as just another surf band, but with the seeds of something different. You get shadows of "Pet Sounds" with this music.

On the SURFIN' SAFARI album, there are several track of note. The first is "County Fair," which prefigures "Amusement Parks USA," which was a sideways tribute to "Palisades Parks."

"Heads you win, tails I loose" is one of my favorites, due to the theme and the wit of the lyrics. Libretto-ing was Brian Wilson's weakest point, and he relied primarily on Mike Love to put words to his hymn-melodies. Mike Love (or whomever) came up with some catchy words that would make the Beatles (Please Pease Me, She Said She Said, Hello Goodbye) envious.

The gem on "Surfin Safari" is "Mr. America." What would be a nominal top-ten hit for another band takes on a luminous quality as rough-voiced Denny Wilson croons the lead. This is his first solo recoding and he does exceptionally and memorably well. We see the beginning of such songs as "Forever," "Celebrate the News," "Slip on Through," and "Fourth of July."

SURFIN' USA also has gems. "Finders Keepers" has catch music and an interesting thematic development. It's nice, clean, feel-good music.

The album has some weak covers (rehashes?) of two Dick Dale and the Deltones classics-Misrilou, which was made famous by the "Pulp fiction" Soundtrack, and "Let's Go Trippin." The Concert Album indicated that they still played this song on their tours, and frankly they, especially Carl Wilson, did a better job of it live.

They were still perceived as just another surf band with the inclusion of "Surf Jam," and "Stoked," which is another one of my favorites. It conjures up an opium den or some drug house. I don't know . . .

Plain and simple "Lonely Sea" is worth the price of the CD. It is a classic Wilson ballad, with absolutely heavenly guitar work and an angelic choir. In fact, the Beach Boys singing a capella makes me weep. I am surprised that this track hasn't caught on in movie soundtracks since it is perfect make-out music.

One of the bonus tracks is "Land Ahoy," an out-take from Surfin Safari, and was originally released on "Beach Boys Rarities." It is nice to have this one back.