Could've they started better than "Surfin' Safari"?

[Quzi]

I've grown to appreciate the self-contained garage quality Beach Boys material from '62 has, but as a major debut of a band known as one of the best in the world, Surfin' Safari is a little lacklustre. To the people who like to check out bands by listening to things chronologically, I can't imagine Surfin' Safari being anything but anti-climatic given the degree of hype the Beach Boys receive for production and songwriting strength.

With 20/20 hindsight, I'll say the stuff on Surfin' Safari was strong enough to deserve release at the time, just perhaps not under "The Beach Boys" monicker. I recognise this might have been near impossible with label pressures etc. etc. but it would've been cool if the boys + Gary Usher cobbled a release together as "The Pendletones" in late '62 as a sort of practice run before Brian tried his hand at a solid "Beach Boys" debut for the summer of '63.

What do you guys think?

[Iron Horse-Apples]

I know, it's inexcusable, what with that "hindsight" machine Capitol records had in their studio.

[Niko]

I love the singles long time (Surfin Safari, 409), but I don't listen to anything else on the album much really. But for the time, I think it was a good release, even if it doesn't hold up so well today.

Surfin USA, on the other hand, would have made a great first LP under the Beach Boys name. I love all the tracks on it. Stoked is my jam.

I bought Surfin USA on vinyl a month ago...and Surfin' Safari was inside. The store I bought it from was too far for me to return it. Godamnit.

[Alan Smith]

Standard record company procedure was (is) to get ANYTHING out as quickly as possible to extract hot cash from willing wallets/purses before the willingness wilted.

Hence Surfin' Safari is what it is.

I do wonder why Brian wasn't inspired to finish off Surfer Girl on this album (rather glad he let it wait, tho').

[Jay]

Could've you made a more grammatically incorrect thread title?  

[Quzi]

I know, it's inexcusable, what with that "hindsight" machine Capitol records had in their studio.

Well, with hindsight, I think something like the following would've been cool for late '62 permitting Usher was on board with contributing Four Speeds stuff.

The Pendletones
Side A
"R.P.M."
"Cuckoo Clock"
"Land Ahoy"
"Karate"
"Lonely Sea"
"Heads You Win - Tails I Lose"

Side B
"My Sting Ray"
"The Surfer Moon"
"Chug-a-Lug"
"Gonna Hustle You"
"The Shift"
"Visions"

Additional notes I'll deliver through my time machine:
* Leave "Surfin'" credited to "The Pendletones", let "Surfin' Safari" be The Beach Boys' first official single.
* Use covers like "Cindy" and "Little Girl" as B-sides. Offer those with the album something new.
* Earmark "Surfer Girl" and "County Fair/I Do" for later use.
* Under no circumstance should the existence of "Ten Little Indians" be admitted to.

[Quzi]

Could've you made a more grammatically incorrect thread title?  

I'll ensure that when I pull out my next "wouldn't've" or "shouldn't've" that you're not around 

[Nicko1234]

Ten Little Indians is 91 seconds of cuteness. And it was a single. No way they were going to omit that.

Their Hearts were Full of Spring should have been included though.

[bringahorseinhere?]

i disagree.... sorry lol

you have to remember in 1962, who was Brian Wilson or The Beach Boys?.....

they were not established at all! they had one single out on an independent label.......and here the boys were in a real studio,

the legendary Capitol studios, they would have been no doubt a little nervous, unsure of protocol, and naturally a little undeveloped....

and also, as if Capitol would have let an unknown 20 year old kid, take over engineering, producing and directing in the studio...

obviously, Brian and Murry and the boys, took to it all quickly, and shaped up the way to do things...

also, in terms of material used for 'surfin safari', who knows who was pulling the strings as to what was to go on the first album....

at the time, rock n roll bands weren't really considered 'serious' music..... a singles driven era, not LP's....

give the fella's a break...... its a good record.... 

Cheers, RickB

[MBE]

It isn't a GREAT album but OK considering the period. Surfin USA is when some depth really became apparent.

[bringahorseinhere?]

good topic by the way....

but also remember, the oldest Mike, was about 21..... and the youngest Dave, was about 14......

not bad for a bunch of unprofessional young adults i would say.

RickB

[Quzi]

It isn't a GREAT album but OK considering the period. Surfin USA is when some depth really became apparent.

Agreed.

A bit off topic, but I was just thinking how it's a little silly how the internet often evaluates Surfin' Safari against Please, Please Me. If you have to do the tired "Beach Boys vs Beatles" comparison Surfin' U.S.A. seems to be the fairer matchup. Them damn Beatles lucked out since their arguably less-good 1961-1962 material didn't get to reach their official catalogue. Stuff like the Decca audition, recordings with Tony Sheridan etc. etc. seem like the fairer matchup against Surfin' Safari.

[bringahorseinhere?]

Please Please Me is another 'good' album from a new band.....

actually, it's one of my favourite beatle albums....... maybe its the 'rawness' before the 'genius' period that I like.....

and 'sonically' its great listening.......... I even like the stereo mixes.......

maybe I just like music whether its good or bad..... hehe       :smoking


maybe its the drugs hehe

[Quzi]

Standard record company procedure was (is) to get ANYTHING out as quickly as possible to extract hot cash from willing wallets/purses before the willingness wilted.

Yeah, I totally get that. I doubt Capitol would've granted the band a green light to give them more time to cobble together an album when the opportunity was present to make money on the success of "Surfin' Safari" with a Beach Boys LP.

That said, they could have potentially capitalised through a Surfin' Safari compilation. They weren't necessarily a second rate option for a label in that time, Shut Down peaked at seven and stayed on the chart for 44 weeks.

Sorry to all those who hate these "what if" alternate reality timelines. Can you tell I'm desperate to find new ways to procrastinate?

[MBE]

It isn't a GREAT album but OK considering the period. Surfin USA is when some depth really became apparent.

Agreed.

A bit off topic, but I was just thinking how it's a little silly how the internet often evaluates Surfin' Safari against Please, Please Me. If you have to do the tired "Beach Boys vs Beatles" comparison Surfin' U.S.A. seems to be the fairer matchup. Them damn Beatles lucked out since their arguably less-good 1961-1962 material didn't get to reach their official catalogue. Stuff like the Decca audition, recordings with Tony Sheridan etc. etc. seem like the fairer matchup against Surfin' Safari.

Well that's fair in that the Beatles had more years together playing seriously before their first LP. Though perhaps the Hite Morgan tapes do have to be considered as the equivalent to Aint She Sweet.

[Jason]

For what it is, it's pretty decent. It's not Today or Pet Sounds or Sunflower, but it's just as important as the Surfin' single. Sure, it's mostly filler but at least it's somewhat fun filler.

[coco1997]

"R.P.M."

What's this song?

[Mike's Beard]

It has 3 great, iconic songs on it (Surfin', Surfin' Safari and 409). It has 2 good songs (Ten Little Indians, Moon Dawg). The rest is hurried pap.

Brian seemed a little unsure to use the BBs to promote his more ballad based songs at this early stage. Surfari could have had on it Surfer Girl, The Lonely Sea, The Surfer Moon and a decent studio rendition of Their Heart's Were Full of Spring. There was also stuff available like Thank Him, Visions/Number 1 and Barbie, which although hardly top shelf material was still miles better than the likes of Heads You Win.... and County Fair.

The songwriting issue is only half the problem though, the production/playing is lousy. Was Nik Venet just a crap producer or did having Murry in his ear giving his insights on how the record should sound effect his judgment?

Why other than making those stupid bird noises did Brian sing NO falsetto on the record? In his mid range tone his voice is often buried under Carl and esp Dennis in the stack.

Speaking of Dennis, his drumming is strictly amateur hour here, he plays everything too fast (a classic error for anyone still learning how to play). He would soon improve rapidly but at this point Venet should have pushed for a session pro to record the parts.

So, yeah they could have started better.  

[Quzi]

What's this song?

It's a song by "The Four Speeds" (a studio only Gary Usher outfit) from late 1962. Dennis plays drums. A serviceable enough Beach Boys pastiche that suits its era. Would've been cool if Brian got involved.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8YN1HoMwtc


As for the lack of "Surfer Girl" on Surfin' Safari and Surfin' U.S.A., my wild guess is Brian wanted to ensure he had a solid single to fall back on just in case the well of creativity was running a little dry.

[mikeddonn]

It's all about opinions obviously.  I don't think Thank Him is any better, or even as good as most of the songs on the LP.  As far as a first album by a group of young guys, who were still learning to play goes, it's a good start to their career.  Even at that stage you could see the signs that they were going to stand out.  The chord progressions, with minor chords and stuff, the vocal harmonies, the lyrics that which seemed on the face of it simple but had a little more about them (Chug-A-Lug for example is an early sign of Brian looking at and observing personalities within the band) all add up to a nice introduction to the band who would go on and change the face of popular music.

Also if they had taken some of the songs from the Surfin' USA album what would they have put on the second album?

[Nicko1234]

It's all about opinions obviously.  I don't think Thank Him is any better, or even as good as most of the songs on the LP.  As far as a first album by a group of young guys, who were still learning to play goes, it's a good start to their career.  Even at that stage you could see the signs that they were going to stand out.  The chord progressions, with minor chords and stuff, the vocal harmonies, the lyrics that which seemed on the face of it simple but had a little more about them (Chug-A-Lug for example is an early sign of Brian looking at and observing personalities within the band) all add up to a nice introduction to the band who would go on and change the face of popular music.

Also if they had taken some of the songs from the Surfin' USA album what would they have put on the second album?

I doubt Brian wrote those lyrics.

[mikeddonn]

Sorry I meant Brian, Gary and Mike.  . Still it's a fun early look at the different things the guys were interested in.

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

The songwriting issue is only half the problem though, the production/playing is lousy. Was Nik Venet just a crap producer or did having Murry in his ear giving his insights on how the record should sound effect his judgment?

Yeah, totally agree. All you can hear of the drums is high hat, which is  just about the least flattering sound - and totally not what a relatively new drummer like Denny needed at the time. Loads of the vocals sound like they just needed another few takes, or a bit more time spent on the balance, or maybe a bit of double tracking...there are a million things.

I'd go as far as to say, it's more 'recorded' than produced.

[leggo of my ego]

Standard record company procedure was (is) to get ANYTHING out as quickly as possible to extract hot cash from willing wallets/purses before the willingness wilted.

Yeah, I totally get that. I doubt Capitol would've granted the band a green light to give them more time to cobble together an album when the opportunity was present to make money on the success of "Surfin' Safari" with a Beach Boys LP.

That said, they could have potentially capitalised through a Surfin' Safari compilation. They weren't necessarily a second rate option for a label in that time, Shut Down peaked at seven and stayed on the chart for 44 weeks.

Sorry to all those who hate these "what if" alternate reality timelines. Can you tell I'm desperate to find new ways to procrastinate?

No, alternate realities are cool.

What if the Beach Boys started with a double LP? Harry Belafonte had a double LP back then

[The Shift]

It is was it is, their debut. On the strength of it I'd give them half a century, little more.