Twofer polls #13: Surfer Girl vs. Little Deuce Coupe

[TimeToGetAlone]

Not attackin' anyone, but I can't follow the whole "Surfer Girl and All Summer Long are their best early albums" or "best pre-Today" shtuff. Sonically different and maybe not quite as "mature" (PFFF), but those two rank right up there with all their other best albums, for me.

I'd put them a notch below at least Today!, Pet Sounds, Sunflower, and Holland (and the Smile sessions), but I'd say they're have comparable quality to some of the other albums in the 1965-1973 period.  They're albums that I really like even if they don't quite get to the level of my favourites where nearly every track blows me away.

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

This is a case where a track-by-track comparison doesn't seem quite fair, as Little Deuce Coupe takes two of the best tracks from Surfer Girl and one of the best from Surfin' U.S.A..  Little Deuce Coupe also has a number of songs have superior alternate versions ("Pamela Jean" for "Car Crazy Cutie," the single version of "Be True to Your School," and I prefer the original lyrics of "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" to "A Young Man's Gone").

In spite of what I just wrote, I will still go with Little Deuce Coupe because I think that its new album tracks are not only excellent, but also demonstrate growth in Brian's abilities as a producer.  I love "The Ballad of Ole Betsy" (even though I've seen lots of people slamming its inclusion on the recent tour) and "Cherry Cherry Coupe" and "Custom Machine" are also both wonderful.  Some of the album tracks on Surfer Girl are also quite strong ("Catch a Wave," "The Surfer Moon," "Our Car Club") but others are not ("South Bay Surfer," "Surfers Rule").

[rab2591]

Though I love all of the songs on LDC (and Cherry Cherry Coupe has become one of my favorite songs), Surfer Girl is my choice.

Brian now becomes the producer - and this album shows what a brilliant producer he is.

[Lowbacca]

Brian now becomes the producer - and this album shows what a brilliant producer he is.

Definitely. Just listen to "Surfer Girl", "The Surfer Moon" and "In My Room"... brilliant. Timeless production.

[bluesno1fann]

Surfer Girl, Hands Down!

Love a majority of the songs, with only one exceptionally awful song (Do I really need to say what it is?)

[chrs_mrgn]

These earlier albums are so hard for me. They are just TOO similar.

[Julia]

Tough choice because LDC the song is maybe my second favorite 62-64 BB song after Warmth of the Sun. If the latter track were on LDC the album instead of Shut Down Vol 2, that'd be the winner. As is, Surfer Girl is just the more consistent album as well as the more impressive (it's a huge step up from SUSA while LDC was a lateral move).