Surf's Up (1971) The Beach Boys
I grew up surfing in SoCal, and hating The Beach Boys.Cars, Girls, and Surfin' delivered in clean cut harmonies over the uncoolest lightweight music imaginable.
I listened to my desk lamp/clock/radio all the time, tuned to KHJ, KRLA, and KFWB, when DJs were spinning records on air, and occasionally playing the B side of a single or a song that didn't chart. Two or three of these only-heard-once anomalies became life long obsessions.
When "Surf's Up" was released as a single in November 1971, the DJ introduced it, and I listened. Ballads often bore me, but this majestic vision grabbed me immediately.
I didn't hear it again until 1973, while hanging out with another surfing buddy at his family's dysfunctional house. We were lounging on the unclean sculpted off-white carpet, while playing his big sister's records on the floor strewn stereo system, when I found "Surf's Up". She'd just yelled downstairs, accusing her little brother of stealing a light bulb from her room. It was true, he'd done it.
These Beach Boys were cool.
"Surf's Up" remains one of my all time favorite songs, inspiring me in the early 90's to research and collect all I could pertaining to "SMiLE!", the legendary unreleased masterpiece it was intended for. Originally recorded in 1966, it was assembled and finished for the "Surf's Up" album.
If I owned a vinyl copy of "SMiLE!", instead of multiple CDs, including bootlegs, it would be here, and taken a week to write about.
By now I'm a big fan Brian Wilson and his work with The Beach Boys even with Mike Love involved.
"Surf's Up" stands out as my favorite post Brian Wilson meltdown album. Brother Carl really came through with "Feel Flows", and "Long Promised Road". Brian's "Til I Die" is another masterpiece, with "Take Good Care Of Your Feet" also a "SMiLE!" remnant.
I found this original copy, virtually unplayed, with the shrink wrap intact, in Palmer, Massachusetts at The Antique Flea Market, in Palmer Massachusetts, a few months ago for $8.
-BBJ
12 comments:
From the cover to Carl's emergence as a great songwriter, this one's a total keeper. Whether the Beach Boys were "relevant" in 1971, this record is proof that "cool" and good aren't necessarily synonymous.
I also love "Lookin' At Tomorrow" and "A Day In The Life Of A Tree" I think the only dud here is "Student Demostration Time"
A mate had the album back then but I was headbanging like a good 'un and had little room for the Beach Boys. I'll hold my hands up and confess it took a good few years (try decades) to fully appreciate Surf's Up in all its multi-layered complexity of lyrics, instrumentation and vocals. Good to hear the track again. Cheers!
I liked "Student Demonstration Time" in 1973, and today I allowed myself to enjoy it while writing this post. I think it's aging a little better now.
Isn't that just good stuff?
It's a go-to introduction when a friend tries to dismiss the Beach Boys as lightweights. And I agree fully that Til I Die is an absolute masterpiece
BBJ: Dunno if you ever saw this -- from a Leonard Bernstein special that actually aired on CBS. Brian doing "Surf's Up" solo at the piano. Let's just say that when the official version finally came out, it was almost an anti-climax for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTifX3mpnV4&t=16s
I actually prefer the three albums right before it: Friends, 20/20 and Sunflower but there's a lot to enjoy from that era of the Beach Boys post Pet Sounds (yes, it's a masterpiece; stop your kvetching, people!) . But the cover alone keeps drawing me back to Surf's Up. Your enthusiasm will have me give it a spin again soon.
Holland is my favorite album of that Beach Boys period. Several strong albums as Michael Glitz mentioned, but Trader puts that one over the top for me
Long Promised Road
First time I heard anything from the Surf’s Up album was at the beach. Huntington Beach. Sandy and I were laying out near Huntington lifeguard tower 7. We were ditching school as we did 40% of the time. We took along my mid-60’s AM/FM/Shortwave portable radio. My parents bought it for me when I was in elementary school. For its time, that thing really threw out the sound. It was pretty big and needed a lot of batteries. I can’t remember whether it was 4 D’s or 6 C’s, but it took a lot of power and was cool for beach parties. Whenever I went to the beach, I extended the antenna and tuned the radio to KYMS-FM. It was an obscure underground station out of Santa Ana with light-bulb wattage. But it was cooler than KMET.
So, it’s late spring and school’s about ready to let out. I just got my driver’s license a month before. I’d been driving around since I was thirteen, but now I was officially legal. I bought a cheap red 1965 Volkswagan convertible with my savings and nicknamed it Rudolph. Whenever we went to the beach, I stashed my weed in the trunk behind the spare tire. I didn’t want any trouble. Parts of Orange County had some Nazi-ass cops. I’d been busted for a seed and a roach clip in Tustin a year before. They took me and my friend Denise straight to fuckin’ juvy to give us a scare. It didn’t help that I was too young to drive. Despite the unpleasantries, and considering the times, I didn’t fare too badly. First offence juvenile female good looking and dressed wholesomely feigning repentance. That was me. I got the drug lecture from the juvenile court “judge”, whose name was Felix. My dad looked on. It was a private chambers appearance. That “judge” knew that a seed and a roach clip was a joke for a possession charge. Hell, his own kids were probably dopers. But he had to be stern. Possession could be charged as a felony back then but I got lucky. Misdemeanor charge and $250.00 fine with probation till age of 18. #50.00 additional fine for driving without a license. On the way out of the “judge’s” office I gave him a wanton look and said “Thanks Felix, any time. Any time at all.” I paid the clerk on the way out with my own money.
Anyway, back at the beach, the radio announced that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band would be playing the Golden Bear for an extended stay beginning later in the week. I liked their latest LP, Uncle Charlie & His Dog Teddy. We asked the dudes next to us, who were Hollanders, to watch our shit while we walked across the street and scored some Friday night tickets. When we got back to our spot, the radio was playing Bobby Bland’s Turn On Your Lovelight. The Dutch tourists were loving it. They asked us if we wanted to grab something to eat with them later. They spoke good English, the vibe was good and they weren’t losers, so we agreed. They wanted to discuss where we would eat. I told them to surprise us, but not a coffee shop. After Lovelight finished, the DJ, a guy named Bill Bowker, did some PSA’s and community switchboard stuff before he announced he had the new Beach Boys single. As longtime loyal fans of the band we were excited. Sunflower grew on us to the point that we loved it. The needle dropped and Carl’s voice came forth with:
So hard to answer future's riddle when ahead is seeming so far behind. So hard to laugh a child-like giggle when the tears start to torture my mind. So hard to shed the life of before to let my soul automatically soar. But I hit hard at the battle that's confronting me, yeah.Knock down all the roadblocks a-stumbling me. Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down.
What a liberating first taste of the collection of songs that would become Surf’s Up. It sounded so great coming out of that beach radio. It was as if it had a magic speaker. But the magic was in the way our imagination colored in all the details and made it a thing of wonder. The single bombed. It was reissued with a different B-side five months later and bombed a second time. Go figure.
VR
106.3 KYMS was my station once I found FM.
I believe that Leonard Bernstein performance supplied Brian's piano and vocal section of the song.
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