UNDERESTIMATED LP 1971 PROMO BEACH BOYS - SURF'S UP BRIAN * DENNIS WILSON

$

52

                 The Beach Boys

                    SURFS UP!

                    USA - BROTHER RECORDS - 6453 

RARE...ADVANCED RELEASE WHITE LABEL PROMO

This is a highly UNDERESTIMATED LP ... released after the Beach Boys peak, Brian Wilson & crew rebound and deliver a formidable solid Lp with catchy tunes ala late '60s...

1970 first pressing of one of the greatest, vastly under-estimated Beach Boys albums, filled to the brim with memorable melodies... contains a coyple cuts ("Til I Die" & "Surfs Up") that are arguably as great as any tracks they ever released.

Includes the original glossy fold-out lyrics insert

After the Beach Boys "Sunflower" failed to make a dent commercially, the Beach Boys began work on their next album with new manager Jack Rieley. Under his guidance, the group was encouraged to create an album with an emphasis on ecological themes. With the Smile legacy building over the past four years and the label pressuring them to complete it, they also began work to finish one of that album's big centerpieces and one of (if not the) best song of their career: Surf's Up.

The Beach Boys were no strangers to keeping beautiful unreleased songs in the vaults (Can't Wait Too Long, Soulful Old Man Sunshine), but never did gems more narrowly miss the cut than on Surf's Up. Whereas Sunflower boasted the rising talents of Dennis Wilson, he can be barely heard this time around. This stems allegedly from an argument about tracklisting between Dennis and brother Carl, ultimately leading Dennis to removing his two songs from the album entirely. Looking at the great crop of tracks included and the weakest links omitted, it's easy to feel disappointed that the LP never was. It could have been one of their biggest triumphs.

Despite this, Surf's Up remains a great album with some utterly fantastic songs and exhibits the changing, progressive sound of the early 70's Beach Boys. Although Dennis has a limited presence, Carl contributes two of his greatest songs and Brian once again manages to steal the show despite making his lowest quantity of contributions yet. Al Jardine also has a stronger presence than usual, both in performance and songwriting. Carrying the legendary track's namesake, Surf's Up ended up becoming easily one of the darker records of their career. The crestfallen soldier on the cover, a big discrepancy between their usual sunnier image, perfectly encapsulates this mood. Perhaps given the hype of the title track, Surf's Up was one of their more commercially successful post-60's albums, charting in the top 30 in the United States and top 15 in the UK.

Track-by-track:

Don't Go Near the Water - The album opens with this rather unusual sounding song. Bouncing synths, off-kilter piano, and boisterous vocals from Al and Mike (who together wrote it) guide the song along. Lyrically it's rather ham-fisted, but the contradiction between virtually any song involving water earlier in their catalogue is compelling, an enjoyable track. It has a fantastic vocal coda much like Bluebirds Over the Mountain.

Long Promised Road - Though he co-wrote songs in the past, this is Carl's first real chance to show off his songwriting skills. In that department, he often took a backseat to either of his brothers, but Long Promised Road demonstrates he had some talent as well. It's a great song with a polished rock/pop sound, starting nice and slow before building to an energetic chorus. The most grabbing and surprising part of the song is a synth solo that really wouldn't become a fixture of music until the next decade and sounds even more ahead of its time than that.

Take a Load Off Your Feet - This song is actually a leftover from the Sunflower sessions and the difference in sound and style is apparent. It's an unashamedly cheery, upbeat song about healthy foot-care, the kind of song that Brian whipped out on occasion. Here he co-wrote this one with Al, and the two share the lead. Although out of place on this record, it is light and fun. Its positive, peaceful sound is more in the vein of "Friends,". The vocal arrangement, particularly in the use of stereo channels, is actually quite sharp.

Disney Girls (1957) - This is Bruce's song on the record, and one of his best along with Sunflower's sound. It's an ode to a bygone era with lilting verses, a sweet melody, and top-notch harmonies. Notably, it's the final contribution Bruce made for the band until his return at the tail end of the decade.

Student Demonstration Time - Essentially a cover of Riot in Cell Block #9 with different lyrics, Mike delivers a particularly nasal lead vocal over a generic blues rock sound. Beyond the vocals, it is reasonably well-performed and has a much heavier sound than they were known for, however. It's at the very least way out of place here and probably would have been better as a standalone single or B-side if it had to go anywhere.

Feel Flows - Carl's other song on the album is even more impressive than "Long Promised Road." It combines a pulsating sound with a divine dream-like production, reverse echo vocals, and a guitar/flute solo. The result is one of their most convincing psychedelic songs, one that would regularly surprise the casual listener as to the performer.
Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) - Al's final track on the album is this moody little song with folk influences. The production is not as refined as most of the other songs, but it has some appealing musical touches. In a way, it is reminiscent of some of the smaller songs churned out on the Beatles' White Album.

A Day in the Life of a Tree - Listeners up to this point probably notice how little Brian Wilson contributes to the first seven tracks, garnering only one co-write and providing background vocals on some of the others. His fine work is relegated to the last three tracks of the album, leaving the album on a majestic high. His lone newly written song, A Day in the Life of a Tree, follows the ecological theme as it is sung from the perspective of a tree. Instead of singing it himself, Brian instead gave the lead vocal to manager Jack Rieley who also wrote the lyrics. This decision turns off many, but as preferable and desirable as it would have been for Brian or perhaps Carl to sing it, Rieley's voice has an appealing tone. The song remains a standout track with its sparse beginning turning into an increasingly complex arrangement as it goes on. The song concludes as Brian's often did with several voices swirling against one other.

'Til I Die - With a song like this and the title track in mind, it's pretty easy to say this album leaves its best tracks for last. 'Til I Die was the song Brian had been working for a year or two and emerges as one of his darkest, most personal, and ultimately greatest songs. Despite hesitance from some band members given the dark theme of the song, it founds its home on Surf's Up. The title promises an unflinchingly melancholy song and it delivers on this promise. 'Til I Die opens immediately with achingly beautiful harmonies that persist throughout. The bridge to the coda is particularly haunting as Brian's still pristine falsetto cuts through the euphoric music.

Surf's Up - And if 'Til I Die appeared un-surpassable, the big guns come out with the title track, the great Smile leftover. Quite simply, it's a baroque pop masterpiece. Although not really the type of song that would traditionally be a single, it remains a great shame that the single never even charted. The song is comprised of three sections. The first, sung by Carl, has a lush backing track. It differs from the now essential Smile Sessions version which has Brian singing over the backing track. I love Brian on it, but either version does the song justice. The second part is simply Brian and a piano, delivering the performance of a lifetime with an ever-changing melody. The final section is a variation of the at the time unreleased Smile track Child is Father of the Man. Al delivers the lead but the group provide great harmonies along with it. As far as this reviewer is concerned, Surf's Up remains the unheralded artistic highlight of the band's career.

A:

Don't Go Near the Water  

Long Promised Road  

Take a Load Off Your Feet  

Disney Girls (1957)  

Student Demonstration Time 

B:   

Feel Flows 

Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)

A Day in the Life of a Tree  

'Til I Die  

Surf's Up

CONDITION: The cover: rated: "EX" (excellent) all solid with nice colors, no bends, no delete marks, no split seams, no writing.... retrains total fresh original colors ... 45+ years old collectible 

The vinyl: Rated: M- all clean over both sides, delivers very enjoyable CLEAN audio  ...NO distracting surface problems ...  both WHITE PROMO Brother labels are clean

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record