Surfin Safari/Surfin Usa [Original recording remastered, Best of]

Both originals featured big hits like "Surfin Safari", "409", "Surfin", "Surfin USA" and "Shut Down".

Even though some of "Surfin Safari" may sound a little primitive, here are clear indications of the big moments that were to come; especially on the "Surfin USA" album. One of the Beach Boys' trademarks, their exquisite vocal-harmonies are all over both original albums, and most of the songs are self-penned.

Aside from the fine singles there are great ballads like "Farmer's Daughter" ( impressive falsetto vocals from Brian Wilson) and "The Lonely Sea" and fun tracks like "Cuckoo Clock".

The 3 bonus-tracks are all good; "Cindy, Oh Cindy" among the best on CD.

Obviously the theme on most songs are either surfing or cars, and lyrically many of these songs may seem very naive, but musically it's impossible overhear the great talent that was in this band.

The very informative 24 pages booklet contains the background story to both albums, comments from Brian Wilson and notes about every track; it a great read, and it makes you want more.

All these "2 on 1" Beach Boys CD's are highly recommendable, and their matching booklets make a very entertaining and informative read.

The Beach Boys were one of the finest American pop-rock groups of the sixties, no questions asked. The band has even become dubbed "The American Beatles" due to their success in the sixties. Their pop tunes from that era have more than stood the test of time. The Wilson brothers and all the others had the ability to make extremely catchy pop tunes, the first one of which was Surfin'. The band used the success of the track to launch their first album, Surfin' Safari. The following year, the band released their sophomore LP, Surfin' USA. Read on for my review.

Surfin' Safari was the first full-length LP that the Beach Boys ever recorded. Rather obviously, the big hit to emerge from this album was Surfin' which was actually released as a single at the end of 1961 (before the full-length album got released.) A series of other hits also emerged from this album, including the title track and 409. The big hits on this album are by far the best songs on it. Many of the lesser tracks are subpar, although some of them get the job done well. I'm not too crazy about County Fair or the band's rock and roll take on the children's song Ten Little Indians, but Heads You Win, Tails I Lose is one of the finest songs by the band that I have ever heard. It's a shame this one didn't become a bigger hit, because it's probably the best non-hit here. My rating for the Surfin' Safari LP is three stars out of five.

Surfin' USA, the band's sophomore LP, was released the following year, 1963. The title track of this record would become its most popular and most successful track - and arguably the biggest hit of the band's career. Shut Down, one of the band's many drag racing numbers, also became pretty popular, and with good reason. And, much like the previous LP that the band had released, the big hits on this one are the best songs. Some of this stuff can come off seeming like "filler" material (the instrumentals, for example), but in the end this is a better LP than the previous one. My rating for the Surfin' USA LP is three and half out of five stars.

In addition to the two full-length albums, there are some bonus tracks featured on the album. These don't really do anything to enhance the albums, but they are fine addition nonetheless, due to their rarity.

Overall the first two Beach Boys LPs are good, but not great. Although these were decent releases, it was obvious that the band hadn't fully developed their sound yet. Take my advice and don't buy this CD unless you're a die-hard fan of the band. If you're anything less, get the new Sounds Of Summer hits compilation.

The other 9 songs that make up this album are mostly goofy novelty numbers. They all last about 2 minutes, have dumb lyrics, and sound pretty much the same. They aren't horrible, but they really don't have any reason to exist now that 1962 is long gone. Dated in the extreme. The highlight of this section is easily "Moon Dawg," which is a fun surf instrumental, and I've got a thing for fun surf instrumentals. I like "The Shift" too, which is a fun rock number. Elsewhere, though, mediocrity abounds. Songs like "County Fair" (with a stupid voice over section), "Heads You Win, Tails I Lose," "Chug A Lug," and "Little Girl (You're My Miss America)" are okay, but really now, is there any reason to pull out this album and listen to them? Not really. And even the highlights don't hit me THAT hard - let's face it, as cool as "Surfin' Safari" and "409" are, neither is exactly that great.

The Surfin' USA LP was a huge improvement over its predecessor. "Surfin' USA" was tearing up the airwaves as people listened in awe, completely unaware that the song was stolen note for note from Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen." Ripoff or not, the song is undeniably catchy, and, in my opinion, is a lot better than the Berry original. The song featured use of vocal overdubs and lots of backup vocals, which were soon to become a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson mainstay. If there was ever a track that announced that the Beach Boys were here to stay, that was the one.

Huge hits aside, though, what is it about this album that makes it better than the last one? Well, there's lots of stuff. For one, the band had more money this time, so the production is a little fuller sounding. The vocals are also much better than before - the leads are more in tune and gorgeous (as on the fantastic dark ballad "Lonely Sea"). Plus, as I mentioned, due to overdubbing, the background vocals have elevated to an important part of the music. The songwriting is better, too. The songs don't seem like novelties anymore, for the most part (well, the album closing "Finders Keepers" certainly reminds me lyrically of "Head You Win, Tails I Lose"). Plus, the arrangements are light years ahead of the ones on the last album. Brain was learning fast, and though he was far from the peak of his abilities here, you could tell he was evolving quickly.

Now, as for the actual songs - they actually sound sort of like the ones on the last album, only with more precise instrumentation and better production. There are no real embarrassments here, though. Plus, there are a handful of really good songs. The highlight is the haunting ballad "Lonely Sea," which presages some of their best later work. "Farmer's Daughter," another ballad, has a great vocal arrangement. And there's the song here everyone knows - "Shut Down," a thrilling rocker about drag racing. Out of the bonus tracks, "Cindy Oh Cindy" is my favorite.

Of course, this was still pretty rushed out and corporally controlled. Plus, the boys weren't at the peak of their skills yet, so the album is far from being great. The album is short (about 24 minutes), and much of it is taken up by instrumentals, one of which is great ("Miserlou") and the other four of which are just okay - the band just didn't have the precise attack to make these numbers come to life, which is a shame, because had they recorded these a couple of years later, they would have been amazing. And some of the songs are a bit generic. Still, this is a very fun record, with some very good material and no truly bad material. Worth picking up if you're into the early surf rock sound, though the band was improving rapidly, and this is still too early to really be one of their best efforts. It shows tons of potential though, which Safari showed in very few places. You don't really need Safari at all, but picking it up as a two-fer along with Surfin' USA is a good deal, as the latter is far more superior. All Beach Boys albums are available as two-fers now, so pretty much any of them make a decent buy.