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I really like this album. Lots of fun.
Here we go.

12. A Young Man Is Gone - Beautiful tune, but it sounds better as Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring.
11. No-Go Showboat
10. Be True To Your School - I think I might be the only one that likes the corny cheerleader version better.
9. Cherry, Cherry Coupe
8. Custom Machine - That chorus is awesome!
7. 409
6. Spirit Of America - I really like these harmonies. The blend sounds pretty different to me.
5. Our Car Club
4. Car Crazy Cutie
3. Shut Down - Can't say much, other than it's awesome.
2. Ballad of Ole' Betsy - A love song about a car? Genius!
1. Little Deuce Coupe - I was a little harsh with this one on the last thread, but that's just because it rules this album.

I also prefer the single version.  Not just for the cheerleaders, but because it seems to be much more energetic somehow.  The album version plods along by comparison.

Agreed.  I never seem to listen to the album version.

1.   Little Deuce Coupe
2.   Ballad of Ol' Betsy
3.   Spirit of America
4.   Shut Down
5.   Custom Machine
6.   Car Crazy Cutie
7.   409
8.   Our Car Club
9.   A Young Man is Gone
10. No Go Showboat
11. Cherry Cherry Coupe
12.  Be True to Your School

1.   409
2.   Our Car Club
3.   Shut Down 
4.   Car Crazy Cutie                 
5.   Little Deuce
6.   Be True
7.   Cherry Cherry Coupe
8.   No Go Showboat
9.   Custom Machine
10. A Young Man Is Gone
11. Sprit Of America 
12. Betsy 

1.   Shut Down
2.   Little Deuce Coupe
3.   Ballad of Ol' Betsy
4.   Custom Machine
5.   Be True to Your School
6.   No Go Showboat
7.   409
8.   Cherry Cherry Coupe
9.   Our Car Club
10. Car Crazy Cutie
11. Spirit of America
12.  A Young Man is Gone

1. Ballad of Ole' Betsy
2. Little Deuce Coupe
3. Our Car Club
4. Spirit of America
5. Car Crazy Cutie
6. Cherry, Cherry Coupe
7. Be True to Your School
8. A Young Man is Gone
9. No-Go Showboat
10. Custom Machine
11. Shut Down
12. 409

I'd say it's a notable step down from Surfer Girl, but some of the vocals on the new tracks make it easy to see this as a stepping stone to the next album.  I think it's missing an all-out classic to put it over the top, but it's an enjyoable enough listen.

Not really a big fan of the car stuff so I don't have much to say.  The last three tracks on my list are pretty much meaningless to me.  :-\

1. 409
2. Little Deuce Coupe
3. Be True to Your School
4. Shut Down
5. Custom Machine
6. Ballad of Ol' Betsy
7. Spirit of America
8. A Young Man is Gone
9. Cherry Cherry Coupe
10. Our Car Club
11. Car Crazy Cutie
12. No Go Showboat   

I hate cars but I love Roger Christian's lyrics. I'd much rather hear technical specifications that I don't understand in a pop song than "little girl, with heart of gold/little girl, with lips untold"-type stuff

1. Cherry Cherry Coupe
2. Little Deuce Coupe 
3. No Go Showboat
4. Car Crazy Cutie
5. Shut Down
6. Custom Machine
7. Spirit of America

8. Be True to Your School (much less exciting than the single version, which would be top of the list)
9. Our Car Club
10. 409

11. Ballad of Ole' Betsy
12. A Young Man is Gone ("without a cause" doesn't rhyme with "without a cause")



 

1.   Shut Down 
2.   409
3.   Little Deuce Coupe
4.   Car Crazy Cutie           
5.   No Go Showboat
6.   Our Car Club
7.   Cherry Cherry Coupe (I like Land Ahoy more, though the drums on this track are kick-ass)
8.   Be True to Your School (I prefer the single version)
9.   Custom Machine
10. A Young Man is Gone
11. The Ballad of Ole' Betsy
12. Spirit of America

Couldn't possibly rank them. Love every track. But Be True Your School is below the others, as the single version is far superior.

I can't say that I truly love any songs on this album.

1. Ballad of Old Betsy (a nice pretty song)

2. Custom Machine
3. Cherry Cherry Coupe
4. Our Car Club
5. Be True to Your School
6. No-Go Showboat (These songs are nice and catchy songs)

7. Spirit of America
8. A Young Man is Gone (Pretty but I don't really care for them)

9. Car Crazy Cutie (Meh)

10. Shut Down
11. 409
12. Little Deuce Coupe (I don't like the idea of reusing songs.)


 

12. A Young Man Is Gone - Beautiful tune, but it sounds better as Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring.




7. 409
6. Spirit Of America - I really like these harmonies. The blend sounds pretty different to me.

4. Car Crazy Cutie
3. Shut Down - Can't say much, other than it's awesome.

1. Little Deuce Coupe

No-Go Showboat
Cherry Cherry Coupe
Little Deuce Coupe
Spirit of America
Shut Down
Custom Machine
Ballad of Ole' Betsy
Our Car Club
A Young Man is Gone
409
Car Crazy Cutie
Be True to Your School

12: 409 - just sounds outdated by now
11: Our Car Club -  Good production, but that's about it
10: Shut Down - See 409
09: Little Deuce Coupe - I think I've just heard it too much :(
08: Be True To Your school - nice, but plodding compared to single Version
07: A Young Man is Gone - Beautiful, but this is a very strong album, so it lives down here
06: No-Go Showboat - now we're getting into territory without reason
05: Car Crazy Cutie
04: Spirit Of Soviet Russia America
03: Ballad Of Ole' Betsy
02: Cherry Cherry Coupe
01: Custom Machine - that's how you close an album of car songs!

I'm with Ian on this, the second Beach Boys album I ever heard and I've loved it ever since. Surprised to see A Young Man Is Gone so low down on peoples lists, I actually like the James Den lyrics and for me it ranks only second to Our Prayer in showing just how fucking brilliantly these guys could sing.

I think it's a brilliant track, but When you have a Brilliant album rankings suffer...

Plus the track used to skip on my LP (I sorted it out though - quick thumb wipe does everything ;D)

No Go Showboat
Little Deuce Coupe
Car Crazy Cutie
Cherry Cherry Coupe
Our Car Club
Ballad Of Ole Betsy
Custom Machine
Be True To Your School
Shut Down
Spirit Of America
409
A Young Man Is Gone

1.   Spirit of America
2.   Our Car Club
3.   Cherry Cherry Coupe
4.   No Go Showboat

5.   Shut Down
6.   Little Deuce Coupe
7.   409
8.   Custom Machine

9.   Ballad of Ol' Betsy
10. Car Crazy Cutie
11. A Young Man is Gone
12. Be True to Your School

 

The fans of the single version of BTTYS seem to be a silent bunch based by the outcry in this thread, I always thought the large consensus here was that the single version is inferior.

Yeah, that's what I thought.
I think the single version is wayyyyy better.

1. Shut Down
2. Little Deuce Coupe
3. Custom Machine
4. No-Go Showboat
5. Be True To Your School
6. Ballad of Ole Betsy
7. Car Crazy Cutie
8. Our Car Club
9. Cherry, Cherry Coupe
10. Spirit of America
11. 409
12 A Young Man Is Gone

I slept on this album for a while because it was full of so many songs I'd heard already, but when I finally played it I was more than pleasantly surprised. It stayed in the deck for several weeks during summer '09.

1. Ballad of Ol' Betsy - Love the way this is sung. Love the chord change during "all the way from Detroit City," etc.  Sounds like they're choking up when they go acappella at the end. Pretty sure I cried when I first heard it too!
2. Be True To Your School - I like this version of the song. I fucking love any version of this song.
3. Shut Down - Don't like songs being re-used across multiple albums, but this song is an ass kicker.
4. Spirit of America - Such a dope idea for a song. I love the words. Great chord change when it goes to that "once as a jet, she played in the stars" section.
5. Custom Machine - I get such a kick out of the melancholy "A Young Man..." ending ,and then hearing "CHECK MY CUSTOM MACHINE!!!" I love Brian and Mike's parts of the "waaa-ahhh-ahhh" harmony bit.
6. No Go Showboat - Brian was really growing with these songs. That's one thing I think fans should recognize this album for. "Betsy," "Custom Machine," "Be True..." and this song are all a fine display of some really interesting compositional techniques he was using.
7. Cherry Cherry Coupe - Just a really cool one. Mike sings these awesome words so well.
8. Car Crazy Cutie - I prefer "Pamela Jean" for being a ballsier track and having better subject matter. But this song still does it for me.
9. Our Car Club
10. A Young Man Is Gone - Like a few others, I like the James Dean thing more than "Their Hearts..."
11. Little Deuce Coupe
12. 409

A
No-Go Showboat
Shut Down

B+
Be True To Your School
Custom Machine
Car Crazy Cutie

B
Little Deuce Coupe
Cherry, Cherry Coupe

B-
Ballad of Ole' Betsy
Spirit Of America
409

C
Our Car Club

D
A Young Man Is Gone

1. Ballad of Ole Betsy (Gave me chills first time I heard it, amazing lyrics and melody)
2. Be True To Your School (I absolutely love this version! The laid back and seemingly cleaner sound gets me)
3. Car Crazy Cutie (RunRun A-Doo RunRun, man this screams 60's!)
4. Little Deuce Coupe (Classic track, who doesn't like this?!)
5. Cherry, Cherry Coupe (Mike's bass vocals are awesome here!)
6. Spirit of America (Sang like only Brian could do it.)
7. Shut Down (When the verse comes in the lyrics and drums punch you in the face, I love it.)
8. Our Car Club (Man.. Mike and Brian's voice together around this time is unbeaten.)
9. 409 (Fun tune, I always have to groove to it)
10. No-Go Showboat (Love the chorus)
11. Custom Machine (Good melody kind of a throw away song)
12. A Young Man Is Gone (If it had the "Hearts.." lyrics then it would be definitely been higher up)

1. No-Go Showboat
2. Spirit of America
3. Our Car Club
4. Be True To Your School
5. Cherry, Cherry Coupe
6. Shut Down
7. Ballad of Ole Betsy
8. A Young Man Is Gone
9. Custom Machine
10. Little Deuce Coupe
11. 409
12. Car Crazy Cutie

1.ballad of ole betsy
2.cherry cherry coupe
3.no go showboat
4.our car club
5.be true to your school
6.spirit of america
7.little duece coupe
8.car crazy cutie
9.custom machine
10.shut down
11.409
12. a young man is gone

1.  Be True To Your School
2.  Shut Down
3.  Little Deuce Coupe
4.  Custom Machine
5.  No-Go Showboat
6.  Our Car Club
7.  Cherry, Cherry Coupe
8.  Car Crazy Cutie
9.  409
10.Ballad of Ole Betsy
11.Spirit of America
12.A Young Man Is Gone

There may be duplicate songs from other albums, but the album taken as it is presented is one damn fine album. There is not one bad song in the whole bunch of them. I real favorite of mine over the years.

Not a weak song in the bunch.  I'd have to put Shut Down and 409 at the top, followed by Ballad of Old Betsy, Car Crazy Cutie, No Go Showboat and with Be True To Your School, even if it isn't the better single version. As a "child" if you will of the 60's hot rod era, those songs are simply timeless to me. I love Mike's singing on Shut down and particularly 409.

1. Little Deuce Coupe - Same as what I said on Surfer Girl tracks. Classic.
2. Shut Down - Ditto with what I said on Surfin' USA tracks. Awesome.
3. Car Crazy Cutie - Love it! I think it might be better than 'Pamela Jean'; I think the lyrics fit the melody better.
4. Spirit of America - Sweet.
5. 409 - As I said with the tracks on Surfin' Safari, it's a keeper.
6. Ballad of Ole Betsy - Uh, pretty! Like it a bunch.
7. Cherry, Cherry Coupe - Really quite underrated, I feel.
8. Custom Machine - "Step on the gas, she goes waaaaaaah" is just plain bitchin'.
9. No-Go Showboat - Very cool song.
10. Our Car Club - Again with what I said on Surfer Girl tracks, it's nice and has a great track.
11. A Young Man Is Gone - I like it quite a bit, actually.
12. Be True To Your School - WAY prefer the single version and it always stuck out a little on this album as it's not as much about cars specifically as the others are. Still good anyway.

I dunno, it's a pretty solid album. There are some lesser-loved gems on here, and I dig it.

1. Little Deuce Coupe - 180 (3)
2. Shut Down - 175 (3)
3. Ballad of Ole' Betsy - 166 (5)
4. Cherry, Cherry Coupe - 161 (1)
5. No-Go Showboat - 160 (4)
6. Custom Machine - 150 (1)
7. Spirit of America - 145 (1)
8. Our Car Club - 144 (1)
9. Be True to Your School - 140 (1)
10. Car Crazy Cutie - 135
11. 409 - 100 (2)
12. A Young Man Is Gone - 60

My thoughts?  Easily the most uncertain of the lists so far.  The top songs in first place votes got the 3rd and 5th positions, respectively, and there's only a 40 point spread between the top nine tracks.  The title track is a reasonable victor, but there never seemed to be much consensus on the lists.  I'm still a bit puzzled at how high Shut Down made it, even with the new songs having a more polished vocal blend.

From Worst to Best:
12. A Young Man Is Gone.
11. Little Deuce Coupe.
10. Our Car Club.
09. Cherry Cherry Coupe.
08. Custom Machine.
07. Shut Down.
06. 409.
05. Be True To Your School.
04. Spirit Of America.
03. No-Go Showboat.
02. Car Crazy Cutie.
01. Ballad Of Ole' Betsy.

P.S. All tracks from 12 to 6 just sucks. It only starts to get good from 5 onwards.

A fantastic rock & roll album!

1. Custom Machine
2. No Go Show Boat
3. Ballad Of Ole Betsy
4. Spirit Of America
5. Our Car Club
6. A Young Man Is Gone
7. Be True To Your School
8. Car Crazy Cutie
9. Little Deuce Coupe
10. Shut Down
11. 409
12. Cherry Cherry Coupe

1.   Spirit of America
2.   Our Car Club
3.   Cherry Cherry Coupe
4.   No Go Showboat
5.   Shut Down
6.   Little Deuce Coupe
7.   409
8.   Custom Machine
9.   Ballad of Ol' Betsy
10. Car Crazy Cutie
11. A Young Man is Gone
12. Be True to Your School

Car Crazy Cutie
A Young Man Is Gone
Be True To Your School
Spirit of America
Shut Down
Little Deuce Coupe
Custom Machine
409
Our Car Club
Ballad of Ole Betsy
No Go Showboat
Cherry Cherry Coupe

12. A Young Man is Gone (When a song rhymes "cause" with "cause", you know you're in for something.)
11. 409
10. Be True to Your School (I actually prefer the album version to the single version. I like the "Wall of Sound" production to this one!)
9. Cherry Cherry Coupe
8. Shut Down
7. Spirit of America
6. Little Deuce Coupe
5. Custom Machine
4. No Go Showboat
3. Ballad of Ole' Betsy
2. Our Car Club (What a cool-sounding song, I'm shocked it isn't that popular among most other users here!)
1. Car Crazy Cutie (Holy hell, talk about underrated! By far one of my all-time favorite early Beach Boys tracks.)

1. Spirit of America -sublime. THAT voice of Brian.
2. Ballad of Ole' Betsy -sublime, a highlight as well
3. Little Deuce Coupe
4. A Young My Is Gone -I always liked it better than any rendition of 'Their Hearts Were Full of Spring'. Very touching.

5. Custom Machine
6. No-Go Showboat
7. Car Crazy Cutie -Three pure fun tracks, you know.

8. Shut Down
9. Our Car Club
10. 409
11. Be True To Your School -single version is far better
12. Cherry, Cherry Coupe -don't know why it's often praised as if it's a hidden masterpiece. Lame.