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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 24, 2022 13:47:15 GMT
Looking at Beach Boys Concert - and I knew it had several covers but only now realized just how many - I guess that particular album falls in line with lonelysummer 's theory. Look at all the covers on Beach Boys Concert:
- The Little Old Lady From Pasadena - Long, Tall Texan - Monster Mash - Let's Go Trippin' (well, it is a cover ) - Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow - The Wanderer - Graduation Day - Johnny B. Goode
Geez, that's almost the whole album! So, I guess the record company wasn't pressuring the band for hits in this case. And, I'm sure Brian took pride in recording just what he wanted, too.
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Post by carllove on Jul 24, 2022 14:34:18 GMT
The best song on Surfin’ USA - “Lonely Sea”. Brian’s vocal is just haunting. It gives me chills. The first Beach Boys track that portends of wonderful, beautiful songs to come about loneliness and longing.
It was close but “Honkey Tonk” gets my vote for worst song, just edging out “Let’s Go Trippin’”. “Honkey Tonk” is Meh and doesn’t really fit with the vibe of the album. There are also 20 better versions out there.
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Post by B.E. on Jul 24, 2022 15:04:19 GMT
Looking at Beach Boys Concert - and I knew it had several covers but only now realized just how many - I guess that particular album falls in line with lonelysummer 's theory. Look at all the covers on Beach Boys Concert:
- The Little Old Lady From Pasadena (1964; #3) - Long, Tall Texan (1963; #51) - Monster Mash (1962; #1) - Let's Go Trippin' (well, it is a cover ) (1961; #60 - #4 in LA)- Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow (1962; #48) - The Wanderer (1962; #2) - Graduation Day (1956; #27) - Johnny B. Goode (1958; #8)
Geez, that's almost the whole album! So, I guess the record company wasn't pressuring the band for hits in this case. And, I'm sure Brian took pride in recording just what he wanted, too.
All of these songs are popular/hit songs. Out of curiosity I looked up the chart placements and added them in bold above. Is playing popular songs unique? Were any songs added to the setlist specifically for the album? I'm not sure how regularly they performed "Little Old Lady From Pasadena", but the rest were regularly performed by the group, weren't they? In some cases, long before the live album materialized. And while I think the Boys added recent hits like "Fun Fun Fun" and "I Get Around" to their setlist on their own accord, I imagine there must have been some pressure to include them on the album (probably both internal and external pressure) seeing as how they went to great lengths to include fake live versions of the songs on the album.
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Post by B.E. on Jul 24, 2022 15:12:22 GMT
The best song on Surfin’ USA - “Lonely Sea”. Brian’s vocal is just haunting. It gives me chills. The first Beach Boys track that portends of wonderful, beautiful songs to come about loneliness and longing. I love the song, too. One minor thing that kinda irks me, though, is that it sounds like it belongs on Surfin' Safari. So, to me, it feels a little out of place here.
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Post by jk on Jul 24, 2022 15:58:24 GMT
The best song on Surfin’ USA - “Lonely Sea”. Brian’s vocal is just haunting. It gives me chills. The first Beach Boys track that portends of wonderful, beautiful songs to come about loneliness and longing. That is so true. I'd put "Lonely Sea" on a par with the otherworldly "Thank Him":
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Post by kds on Jul 25, 2022 12:25:35 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. I'm just curious if you'd had a chance to think of a "worst" song for this album as we're going on to Surfer Girl later.
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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jul 25, 2022 12:35:05 GMT
Jumping in really quick to add:
Best: Surfin' USA
Worst: Honky Tonk
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 25, 2022 12:43:09 GMT
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. I'm just curious if you'd had a chance to think of a "worst" song for this album as we're going on to Surfer Girl later.
It was close but “Honkey Tonk” gets my vote for worst song, just edging out “Let’s Go Trippin’”. “Honkey Tonk” is Meh and doesn’t really fit with the vibe of the album. There are also 20 better versions out there.
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Post by kds on Jul 25, 2022 12:51:14 GMT
I'm just curious if you'd had a chance to think of a "worst" song for this album as we're going on to Surfer Girl later.
It was close but “Honkey Tonk” gets my vote for worst song, just edging out “Let’s Go Trippin’”. “Honkey Tonk” is Meh and doesn’t really fit with the vibe of the album. There are also 20 better versions out there.
Thanks, I missed that.
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Post by kds on Jul 25, 2022 12:53:16 GMT
Seeing the love for Lonely Sea, I think that's the song I'd have probably voted for had I done this thread a few years ago.
When I first listened to the album back in 2013 or so, I really loved the track. But, while I still like it, I find myself listening to it less as the novelty has worn off a bit. Still a very nice deep cut though.
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Post by carllove on Jul 25, 2022 14:05:28 GMT
Seeing the love for Lonely Sea, I think that's the song I'd have probably voted for had I done this thread a few years ago. When I first listened to the album back in 2013 or so, I really loved the track. But, while I still like it, I find myself listening to it less as the novelty has worn off a bit. Still a very nice deep cut though. Several years ago - I would have voted for “Surfin’ USA”, because I had never heard “Lonely Sea”. Also - the fact that SUSA is a rip off of “Sweet Little 16” kind of diminishes the song for me.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 25, 2022 14:06:39 GMT
I definitely would have gone "Lonely Sea" in the past: that kind of song is more to my liking, historically. But I have come to appreciate the energy and sound of the title track more through the years. I almost surprised myself in picking it.
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Post by kds on Jul 25, 2022 14:08:17 GMT
I definitely would have gone "Lonely Sea" in the past: that kind of song is more to my liking, historically. But I have come to appreciate the energy and sound of the title track more through the years. I almost surprised myself in picking it. I really think I overrated Lonely Sea when I first heard it. Granted, it's still probably my second favorite song off the album, but I also think that The Beach Boys did so many better ballads over the next ten years.
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Post by kds on Jul 25, 2022 14:10:30 GMT
Seeing the love for Lonely Sea, I think that's the song I'd have probably voted for had I done this thread a few years ago. When I first listened to the album back in 2013 or so, I really loved the track. But, while I still like it, I find myself listening to it less as the novelty has worn off a bit. Still a very nice deep cut though. Several years ago - I would have voted for “Surfin’ USA”, because I had never heard “Lonely Sea”. Also - the fact that SUSA is a rip off of “Sweet Little 16” kind of diminishes the song for me. I can see that, having heard Surfin USA years before I ever head Sweet Little Sixteen, I don't think that really ever bothered me. Like Kap, I think I almost surprised myself with my vote, but I think considering I listened to Sounds of Summer several times after its release, Surfin' USA really jumped out.
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Post by carllove on Jul 25, 2022 14:30:50 GMT
Several years ago - I would have voted for “Surfin’ USA”, because I had never heard “Lonely Sea”. Also - the fact that SUSA is a rip off of “Sweet Little 16” kind of diminishes the song for me. I can see that, having heard Surfin USA years before I ever head Sweet Little Sixteen, I don't think that really ever bothered me. Like Kap, I think I almost surprised myself with my vote, but I think considering I listened to Sounds of Summer several times after its release, Surfin' USA really jumped out. Well - I’ve never been a big fan of the early Beach Boys music. It’s fun to hear in the Summertime floating in a lake with a beer, but I don’t seek out tunes like “Surfin’ USA” or “Fun, Fun, Fun”, to listen to. Songs like “Lonely Sea” are songs that changed my mind about The Beach Boys. Songs I will seek out to hear and add to BB comps. I only listen to SUSA if it randomly appears on Pandora or I’m listening to the entire SUSA album on Apple Music. It’s a great song - just not my cup of tea.
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