Made in U.S.A. [IMPORT]

The Beach Boys

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Format: Import
• ASIN: B00000C333
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #246,210 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beat the Beatles, January 25, 2004

By	running_man (Chesterfield Twp., MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Made in U.S.A. (Audio CD)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yet another "Hits" compilation on the Beach Boys, March 24, 2005

By	Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Made in U.S.A. (Audio CD)

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.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the One!, January 4, 2002

By	A. Wolverton (Crofton, MD United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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?