The Smiley Smile Message Board

Discuss, review and rate Made In USA, released August 1986.

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My 2nd BB LP and still a favorite. It had Heroes And Villains, what can you say?

5 for the music, 3 for the lack of many other great songs.

I've got to give it a five for being one of the better sounding Beach Boys CDs on the market.

5 for the great pics of Brian in it  ;D

My very first BB album, which makes it a 5 to me.  Plus I totally love the two new tracks.  California Dreaming is better here than by the Mamas and Papas to me -- the vocals are made for the BB, and Roger McGuinn's guitar is wondrous.  Though since then I HAVE heard the Free Design version, which is nice as well...

One of the few places where R&R to the Rescue can be heard.

5 for the great pics of CARL on it. ;)

Boo-yah to the extended Beach Party mix of Rock And Roll To The Rescue.

A great introduction for uninitiated.  5.

My first cd of them (so long ago) and a great introduction on a single disc.  Additionally the liner notes are worthwhile too for beginners.  I am sure that this one is long out of print and has been replaced more than once with other comps, but this one was probably the best one until the most recent single disc hits package.

Great overview of the hits.  I can't say that I am to crazy about the new tunes (R&R To The Rescue and California Dreaming) but worse things were sure to come!!

This album scarred me.  For real.  It was the first BB album I ever bought -- as a cassette in 1987.  I loved it, listened to it constantly.  So how did it scar me?

It scarred me by giving the distinct impression that after 1967 the Beach Boys made no music that was worthy of inclusion on a greatest hits compilation.  Aside from the two "new" songs (R & R to the Rescue and California Dreamin) the only post-67 cuts on this album are Do It Again, Rock and Roll Music (which may be the worst track the BBs ever recorded), Come Go with Me, and Getcha Back.  Wild Honey, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Carl & the Passions, Holland, Love You, Light Album, and KTSA are completely unrepresented on this comp.  No songs written by Brian after 1968.  No songs written by Carl or Dennis at all.

In a way this album really fits perfectly with Mike Love's current vision of the Beach Boys -- confined strictly to their Top 40 powerhouse era (1962-66), with a few oldies covers and the only new songs being attempts to recapture the "fun n' sun" sound. 

Because of this album, I had absolutely no idea that the Beach Boys made so much incredible music from 1967-80.  If this had included "Darlin'," "This Whole World," "Surf's Up," "Marcella," "Sail on Sailor," "The Night Was So Young," "Good Timin" -- I would have gotten into the rest of the Beach Boys' catalog about 10 years earlier than I did.

My first BB purchase. It gets a 5 from me. I wore this tape out, completely.

my favourite late period Beach Boys song, brilliant :)

It was a hits comp so it had a lot of top 40 tracks. It wasn't the kind of comp to get for a complete overview, it wasn't ment to be. I like it but would change 3 things.
One mix on WIBN
Two Chronological order corrected,
Three 45 mix of RnR music.

Give it props for included all the Pet Sounds and Smiley 45s

I'm surprised Darlin' wasn't on this.

True, it's one very good GH-compilation. I absolutely love RnRTTR. One of Brian's best lead-vocals EVER. The design is very nice. Cool pics of the boys.

I'm pretty sure that this was my first introduction to The Beach Boys. I had it on cassette, about two or three years after it came out. I still have the original cassette, but it barely plays.  :lol The most important thing about this greatest hits compilation was that it had Heroes and Villians. "H&V" was the very first recording that showed me that this Brian Wilson charactor might have something special about him. This was a big monumential revelation for my five year old mind. As a result, "Made In USA" will always have a soft spot in my heart.  :)

My very first Beach Boys cd. Lots of great memories of listening to this back in 10th grade. My first time ever to hear 'Heroes and Villains', and THAT experience alone is worth a 5.

This was the first Beach Boys release that I bought with my own money. All in all, it was the aural equivalent of blonde hair, warm summer sun and seeing really cute girls walking around in their swimwear.

The only revelation here, for me, was "heroes & Villains." I was 11 when I got this and that song make me do a double-take. Have to admit to liking "Getcha Back."

4.  This was the first album I ever got by the Beach Boys.  Since then I've been hooked.  My favorite track was California Dreamin'. 

Heroes was on a copy of 'Beach Boys Forever' (greatest hits) and it was the first time I had heard it...w/ all the other hits, this one made me wonder, what the heck was that?

There are worse BBs compilations out there, but it almost brings tears to my eyes that 'Getcha Back' is on here and 'The Warmth of the Sun' isn't. What were they thinking? A 3.

Well, Getcha Back was a Top 30 hit, and was their most current hit at the time the set was compiled. The Warmth of The Sun was a B-Side/album track that didn't chart.

i know but it doesn't make it right. Imagine people who wanna buy a collection of great Beach Boys classic hits. They're sure as hell gonna want 'the Warmth of the Sun' over 'Getcha Back'. They won't even know wtf 'Getcha Back' is and, if they have ears, will note that it's a terrible song.

Says you, but there are others who think otherwise. Think about it, it is like adding TWGMTR to 50 Big Ones. Getcha Back was a Top 30 hit, so not too terrible.

Of course album buyers in 1986 would want Getcha Back to be on the record - it was all over the radio the year before, even had a popular video shown on MTV, and as noted earlier, made the top 40.

I still listen to this collection of songs, and I think's its worthy of a 4/5.

:) Mark

Worth getting mainly for "California Dreamin'" and the underrated "Rock and Roll to the Rescue".
3.5 out of 5

Also worth getting for sound, if you like flat transfers.

This was the first official Beach Boys album I ever owned. Got it for Christmas in '87, I think. I was a pretty new fan at that point and 13 or 14 years old. I think it's a great retrospective of their career to that point. There are *countless* great songs they could've included, but decisions have to be made, ya know? I never got much into side 4, but I enjoyed it alright. Getcha Back is a fine tune, competent and well-performed apart from the huge 80s reverbs. R&R to the Rescue didn't get much traction at the time which is unfortunate because I've listened to it a few times recently and it's a pretty darn good pop/rock tune. It drives with guitar, piano, sax, bass and drums. Brian's lead vocals are very solid, too.

I don't really know how to rate compilation albums, though, because they aren't really "an album" in the sense that they're just culling material from previous albums like a sample platter. I will say I played it A LOT and really enjoyed it because the music is great.

Aric

5/5 Excellent compilation and great sound and 2 new tracks.. This the 1st cd I ever bought along with BB 1985.. I wasn't sold on the new technology..  Like vinyl too much.. And the album art of course to.. I remember goin into tower records and all cd's at the time in separate bins like video.. 28 years ago a music store was mostly vinyl.. Jeez im getting old.. :violin

I have fond memories of those days. What a drag it is getting old.

I can't fault this collection, gets the biggest hits along with a couple new tracks; David Leaf's liner notes are well written. Brian looks just like he did in 1966 on that back cover photo!