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Post by Kapitan on Jul 21, 2022 12:55:45 GMT
In fairness, Do You Remember is an actual song though. Yes indeed. I just prefer "OFRS"... Which of course can't be the logic by which threads are managed, considering opinions are like ... (well, you know the saying).
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Post by kds on Jul 21, 2022 15:03:53 GMT
Thanks to B.E. for the assist with the final votes for The Beach Boys Debut Album - Surfin' Safari. Eight total voters.
Best Surfin' Safari - 6 votes 409 - 1 Vote The Shift - 1 Vote
Worst Summertime Blues - 4 votes Ten Little Indians - 3 votes Surfin' - 1 Vote
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Post by kds on Jul 21, 2022 15:09:37 GMT
Now, it's time to weigh in on the second album by The Beach Boys
Surfin' USA (1963) Best Worst Surfin' U.S.A. 5 Farmer's Daughter Misirlou Stoked Lonely Sea 3 Shut Down Noble Surfer 1 Honky Tonk 6 Lana Surf Jam Let's Go Trippin' 1 Finders Keepers
Best - Surfin' USA - I had a tougher time with this one than the debut album. With that album, the title track seemed obvious to me. This one, there was more competition. I came very close to going with The Beach Boys first ballad, The Lonely Sea, but I just don't find myself listening to it as much as I did when I first got this album. Farmer's Daughter was also in contention. But, I had to go with the title track, which is possibly The Beach Boys first truly iconic song. And, despite having heard it a ton since I was a little kid, I really don't find myself tiring of it.
Worst - Let's Go Trippin' - Like the debut, I really don't think there are any bad tracks here. But, on an album that's already a bit instrumental heavy, I think a second Dick Dale cover was one too many.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 21, 2022 16:02:30 GMT
This is really a two-horse race for me for the best song. I'll need a little more thought to really size up the worst, though. I'll say this, I sure prefer listening to this to make these decisions than I did the debut. It's so much better overall.
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Post by kds on Jul 21, 2022 16:09:06 GMT
This is really a two-horse race for me for the best song. I'll need a little more thought to really size up the worst, though. I'll say this, I sure prefer listening to this to make these decisions than I did the debut. It's so much better overall. I agree, the overall quality on SUSA far exceeds Safari.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 21, 2022 17:00:15 GMT
If I was voting for my favorite song on Surfin' U.S.A. it would probably be "Lonely Sea" which has really resonated with me through the years. Such a great Brian lead vocal. But, if I'm voting for the best song on the album, it would have to be "Surfin' U.S.A.". It really is a perfect production. Formula-wise it isn't much different than "Surfin' Safari", but Brian added a few touches/flourishes which made it a hit record and an all-timer. I'm guessing it's the most played surf song of the bunch over the decades, including Brian's solo performances.
For the worst song on the album, it was between "Let's Go Trippin'" and "Honky Tonk". "Let's Go Trippin'" has more life and is actually a surf song for a surf album (duh), where "Honky Tonk" doesn't do anything for me. So, I'll go with "Honky Tonk" as the worst song on Surfin' U.S.A.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 21, 2022 17:05:41 GMT
Best: "Surfin USA."
I'm not a surf-song fan in general, but this one really is a masterpiece of a recording. The opening guitar lick just crackles (if that makes sense), you can almost feel the shaking from the amp. And it's a great rearrangement of a good Chuck Berry song, with a brilliant result. The biggest competition for this was "The Lonely Sea." But I actually at least like all of the vocal songs on this album.
Worst: "Honky Tonk." This could have been any of the instrumentals, with the possible exception of "Misirlou" (just because that's a pretty good song, though I have no need for it on this album). Honestly even giving them much thought was a little tedious because I just don't care at all. This kind of music doesn't really appeal to me the way their vocal harmony music does. I love some of the later instrumentals. But these? Not my thing. I know some fans--I'm thinking Dominic Priore or Jon Stebbins--might talk about how important this style was to California culture of the time, etc., and that's fine. It's just irrelevant to me.
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Post by kds on Jul 21, 2022 17:07:36 GMT
If I was voting for my favorite song on Surfin' U.S.A. it would probably be "Lonely Sea" which has really resonated with me through the years. Such a great Brian lead vocal. But, if I'm voting for the best song on the album, it would have to be "Surfin' U.S.A.". It really is a perfect production. Formula-wise it isn't much different than "Surfin' Safari", but Brian added a few touches/flourishes which made it a hit record and an all-timer. I'm guessing it's the most played surf song of the bunch over the decades, including Brian's solo performances.
For the worst song on the album, it was between "Let's Go Trippin'" and "Honky Tonk". "Let's Go Trippin'" has more life and is actually a surf song for a surf album (duh), where "Honky Tonk" doesn't do anything for me. So, I'll go with "Honky Tonk" as the worst song on Surfin' U.S.A.
Before I add your votes, I just wanted to repeat that "best" and "worst" in this case is not necessarily definitive. So, you don't need to take it literally, as I'm going with my favorite / least favorite, and JK is going with the criteria of most / least "memorable." So, I just wanted to make sure that you're sticking with "best" before I add your vote.
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Post by kds on Jul 21, 2022 18:22:16 GMT
Best: "Surfin USA."
I'm not a surf-song fan in general, but this one really is a masterpiece of a recording. The opening guitar lick just crackles (if that makes sense), you can almost feel the shaking from the amp. And it's a great rearrangement of a good Chuck Berry song, with a brilliant result. The biggest competition for this was "The Lonely Sea." But I actually at least like all of the vocal songs on this album.
Worst: "Honky Tonk." This could have been any of the instrumentals, with the possible exception of "Misirlou" (just because that's a pretty good song, though I have no need for it on this album). Honestly even giving them much thought was a little tedious because I just don't care at all. This kind of music doesn't really appeal to me the way their vocal harmony music does. I love some of the later instrumentals. But these? Not my thing. I know some fans--I'm thinking Dominic Priore or Jon Stebbins--might talk about how important this style was to California culture of the time, etc., and that's fine. It's just irrelevant to me.
When I was really starting to explore The Beach Boys, I decided to also check out some other surf music from the early 60s. While I did enjoy the occasional surf guitar instrumental (ie. Walk Don't Run by The Ventures or Misirlou by Dick Dale) I found that whole albums worth of that sort of material was a tad much for me.
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Post by carllove on Jul 21, 2022 18:23:18 GMT
If I was voting for my favorite song on Surfin' U.S.A. it would probably be "Lonely Sea" which has really resonated with me through the years. Such a great Brian lead vocal. But, if I'm voting for the best song on the album, it would have to be "Surfin' U.S.A.". It really is a perfect production. Formula-wise it isn't much different than "Surfin' Safari", but Brian added a few touches/flourishes which made it a hit record and an all-timer. I'm guessing it's the most played surf song of the bunch over the decades, including Brian's solo performances.
For the worst song on the album, it was between "Let's Go Trippin'" and "Honky Tonk". "Let's Go Trippin'" has more life and is actually a surf song for a surf album (duh), where "Honky Tonk" doesn't do anything for me. So, I'll go with "Honky Tonk" as the worst song on Surfin' U.S.A.
Well Sheriff - I had "Lonely Sea" at #13 and "Surfin' USA" at #65 on the "Sheriff John Stone's 100 Greatest Beach Boy's Songs" thread - so I am picking "Lonely Sea". Just not sure about the worst song yet. Looks like I have a few days to ponder my choice.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 21, 2022 18:45:45 GMT
Best: "Surfin USA."
I'm not a surf-song fan in general, but this one really is a masterpiece of a recording. The opening guitar lick just crackles (if that makes sense), you can almost feel the shaking from the amp. And it's a great rearrangement of a good Chuck Berry song, with a brilliant result. The biggest competition for this was "The Lonely Sea." But I actually at least like all of the vocal songs on this album.
Worst: "Honky Tonk." This could have been any of the instrumentals, with the possible exception of "Misirlou" (just because that's a pretty good song, though I have no need for it on this album). Honestly even giving them much thought was a little tedious because I just don't care at all. This kind of music doesn't really appeal to me the way their vocal harmony music does. I love some of the later instrumentals. But these? Not my thing. I know some fans--I'm thinking Dominic Priore or Jon Stebbins--might talk about how important this style was to California culture of the time, etc., and that's fine. It's just irrelevant to me.
When I was really starting to explore The Beach Boys, I decided to also check out some other surf music from the early 60s. While I did enjoy the occasional surf guitar instrumental (ie. Walk Don't Run by The Ventures or Misirlou by Dick Dale) I found that whole albums worth of that sort of material was a tad much for me. That's how I feel about them, too. It's not that I really HATE that style or anything. But it gets really boring, really fast, at least for me. It's like bar-band blues-rock guitar: a little goes a long way. If you're sticking to the format, which is very often really simple chord changes, there just isn't a lot going on. The guitar tone, the attitude, the specific lick or melody makes a difference here or there. Of course the band's proficiency matters. But even if it's all perfectly executed, it's just not going to be something I want to spend even 10 minutes on, much less a whole album or concert.
I say that knowing that there is plenty of "classical" or jazz or even instrumental rock or fusion that I can listen to for hours at a time, but others would say gets tedious in short order. It's just a matter of taste.
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Post by kds on Jul 21, 2022 19:03:35 GMT
When I was really starting to explore The Beach Boys, I decided to also check out some other surf music from the early 60s. While I did enjoy the occasional surf guitar instrumental (ie. Walk Don't Run by The Ventures or Misirlou by Dick Dale) I found that whole albums worth of that sort of material was a tad much for me. That's how I feel about them, too. It's not that I really HATE that style or anything. But it gets really boring, really fast, at least for me. It's like bar-band blues-rock guitar: a little goes a long way. If you're sticking to the format, which is very often really simple chord changes, there just isn't a lot going on. The guitar tone, the attitude, the specific lick or melody makes a difference here or there. Of course the band's proficiency matters. But even if it's all perfectly executed, it's just not going to be something I want to spend even 10 minutes on, much less a whole album or concert.
I say that knowing that there is plenty of "classical" or jazz or even instrumental rock or fusion that I can listen to for hours at a time, but others would say gets tedious in short order. It's just a matter of taste.
I can listen to long prog instrumental passages but there's typically enough changes to keep it interesting. Which really isn't the case with a lot of the surf guitar stuff. I do think the instrumentals are spaced out well enough on the SUSA to avoid them being overly tedious. But, I'm glad they were smart enough to not do an entire album of such material.
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Post by jk on Jul 21, 2022 21:21:51 GMT
Now, it's time to weigh in on the second album by The Beach Boys Surfin' USA (1963) Eeek, I see this isn't going to get easier! I love the "sea of instrumentals", not least because it represents the Carl-Dave guitar machine in full flight. I also love "SUSA" but in terms of memorableness I'll put my money on "Lonely Sea", spoken section and all. And if forced to pick a least memorable track it would have to be "Noble Surfer", if only for the out-of-tune vocalizing on the word "sea".
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 21, 2022 22:55:01 GMT
If I was voting for my favorite song on Surfin' U.S.A. it would probably be "Lonely Sea" which has really resonated with me through the years. Such a great Brian lead vocal. But, if I'm voting for the best song on the album, it would have to be "Surfin' U.S.A.". It really is a perfect production. Formula-wise it isn't much different than "Surfin' Safari", but Brian added a few touches/flourishes which made it a hit record and an all-timer. I'm guessing it's the most played surf song of the bunch over the decades, including Brian's solo performances.
For the worst song on the album, it was between "Let's Go Trippin'" and "Honky Tonk". "Let's Go Trippin'" has more life and is actually a surf song for a surf album (duh), where "Honky Tonk" doesn't do anything for me. So, I'll go with "Honky Tonk" as the worst song on Surfin' U.S.A.
Before I add your votes, I just wanted to repeat that "best" and "worst" in this case is not necessarily definitive. So, you don't need to take it literally, as I'm going with my favorite / least favorite, and JK is going with the criteria of most / least "memorable." So, I just wanted to make sure that you're sticking with "best" before I add your vote. For me personally, I have to separate the two - favorite and best. I wouldn't say it happens on several albums, but on some albums, my favorite track isn't necessarily what I think is the best track. I can and will be objective and try to...realize...which particular track is perceived by most (whatever most is, probably a percentage, the largest percentage of people) as the best track and go with that. Also, when using favorite track, that is more subject to change. Usually, my perception of what is the best track will probably stay unchanged for a longer period of time. However, my favorite tracks do change more often. Hope that makes sense. I guess I'm going with a more unbiased voting system (much like my Top 100 BB Songs).
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 21, 2022 23:01:40 GMT
When I was really starting to explore The Beach Boys, I decided to also check out some other surf music from the early 60s. While I did enjoy the occasional surf guitar instrumental (ie. Walk Don't Run by The Ventures or Misirlou by Dick Dale) I found that whole albums worth of that sort of material was a tad much for me. That's how I feel about them, too. It's not that I really HATE that style or anything. But it gets really boring, really fast, at least for me. It's like bar-band blues-rock guitar: a little goes a long way. If you're sticking to the format, which is very often really simple chord changes, there just isn't a lot going on. The guitar tone, the attitude, the specific lick or melody makes a difference here or there. Of course the band's proficiency matters. But even if it's all perfectly executed, it's just not going to be something I want to spend even 10 minutes on, much less a whole album or concert.
I say that knowing that there is plenty of "classical" or jazz or even instrumental rock or fusion that I can listen to for hours at a time, but others would say gets tedious in short order. It's just a matter of taste.
When I was a BB newbie, I didn't like the instrumentals. I kind of liked the sound of the guitars, but I viewed the instrumentals almost as filler, and the other vocal songs were the real keepers, the ones that mattered. Over the years, I changed my view on that somewhat. I'm not really sure why. I still like the sound of the dual (surf/Fender) guitars, but I also appreciate the energy, the YOUNG energy, maybe even the attitude that the songs represent. It is pure rock & roll to a large extent. I still prefer the vocal songs, and I don't necessarily pull out a CD to listen to a particular instrumental, but I've learned to like and appreciate them more and not skip over them.
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