[albummaster]

[CA Dreamin]

Ten Little Indians would get them canceled if it was released in 2025. But it was 1962, times were different. And the song has a very catchy beat, and that's basically all they were trying to do at this stage. Surfin' USA continues the formula set by Safari. Made my way through their second album for the first time in years. As I recalled, it's very much like Surfin' Safari. It's entirely two-minute-ish songs. Although there are many more instrumental songs on this one, and less "silly voices' as dihansse put it. I didn't really mind the silly voices on Safari cause I found them innocent and kinda creative. Anyway, the overall the vibe is more-or-less the same on Surfin' USA. And like the preceding album, it only has two or three songs that stand out, while the rest are just ok/casually enjoyable. Between the first two albums, I prefer Safari.

[Repo]

B. Surfin' USA (1963)
Aka The Lost Beach Boy


Surfin' U.S.A. by The Beach Boys

I was maybe nine or 10 and I saw <John [Maus] Walker of The Walker Brothers>’ Stratocaster and something clicked inside my soul. Anyway Johnny, he taught me some stuff, and I transferred it over to Carl <Wilson>. Carl and I both got guitars around the same time. I was 10. He was about 12. And so every day after school we’d practice at my house listening to records, learning Chuck Berry, all these guitar riffs mainly and all the surf genre stuff. John was actually connected with Ritchie Valens. He was a pallbearer for Ritchie’s funeral, God bless him, and he was giving us the stuff that he was learning from Ritchie Valens which was at that time, when you’re a nine or ten-year-old, was like the king of rock and roll to me. That guitar sound just never left me. – David Marks aka The Lost Beach Boy

WTF! I cannot believe how ignorant I was about how great The Beach Boys were right from the start. I like this one EVEN MORE than Surfin’ Safari, which is no mean feat. In the early to mid-nineties, influenced by Pulp Fiction's soundtrack I think, I bought a few “surf” albums by bands like The Ventures, and the surf guitar interplay between The Beach Boys' David Marks and Carl Wilson is right up there with the best of them. David & Carl have GREAT guitar tones and a real feel for these songs. You can tell tell that they had been jamming together for a while and their chemistry is simply sublime. It’s too bad that this interplay between David & Carl in the early days and its HUGE contribution to the Beach Boys sound does not get more attention.

Not to say that Brian Wilson doesn't deserve all the credit he does get either though ! He does! His production takes a step up on Surfin' USA and it's the first album that Brian himself would later call “a Brian Wilson production.” The sound on "Finders Keepers" in particular showcases his jump in studio prowess. Despite its cheesy lyrics, to me, it’s one of the hidden the gems <of many! "Lonely Sea" just may be favorite track!> on this album, and the song that most shows the future direction Brian would take in the studio.



The Ranking: To me, this sounds very different from Surfin' Safari. Surfin' Safari has more of a proto-punk, '60s girls group feel whereas Surfin' USA is more of a true Surf Rock album. Both are GREAT in those sub-genres and certainly some of the best albums of early '60s rock!

The Rating:

Rank 'Em: The Beach Boys
1. Surfin' USA (1963)
2. Surfin’ Safari (1962)

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[albummaster]

Agree about Lonely Sea - great song. Also enjoyed Misirlou and obviously the iconic title track. For me, overall enjoyed Surfin' Safari more (for same reasons as CA Dreaming), but would need repeated plays to form a more solid opinion as hadn't heard either in a while (enjoying the listening exercise).

[baystateoftheart]

I've been away from BEA for a while due to being sick (had to be hospitalized for a week, but luckily now on the mend), so just seeing this now. After Brian Wilson passed, I started doing the exact same project of re-evaluating their albums from the beginning. Looking forward to reading the write-ups here!

I'm through 1964 and here's my ranking so far:

1. Surfer Girl - 70/100
2. All Summer Long - 70/100
3. Surfin' U.S.A. - 65/100
4. The Beach Boys' Christmas Album - 60/100 [didn't re-listen due to wrong season, but know it inside and out]
5. Shut Down Volume 2 - 60/100
6. Surfin' Safari - 50/100
7. Little Deuce Coupe - 50/100

All of the albums that were re-listens were better than I remembered. My score for Surfer Girl went up 20, and 10 each for Shut Down Volume 2 and Surfin' Safari. So many gems throughout their early discography, but so much frustrating filler too.

I have a harsher take on Ten Little Indians than the rest of you so far. Even within the context of its time, an awful song and possibly the worst thing they ever recorded.
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Join us in the canon game / Add me on RYM

[CA Dreamin]

Ten Little Indians wasn't the worst thing they ever recorded. Their early 60s era had a ton of filler as you said, some of which I'd say is worse. And the late 70s era had some head-scratchers. Ten Little Indians is a children's nursery rhyme The Beach Boys made into a song. It was meant to be a catchy tune that kids could sing along to. And within the context of its time, that's all it was. I agree it hasn't aged well, but again, 1962. Some things from that era are worse from the modern perspective.

I've given Surfin' USA a few more spins in the last few days. There's a jump in the number of instrumental songs from 1 on Surfin' Safari, to 5 on Surfin' USA. That's nearly half the album. The instrumental tracks simply breeze by me without leaving much impression, which explains why I don't hold the album in as high regard as Safari. I think I initially felt they were more of a case of the songwriters not having lyrics to go with them. But to Repo's point about the album being 'Surf Rock', they make more sense now. I still don't find these tracks exceptional in any way, but they do conform to the beach vibe they were aiming for. Nevertheless, the best tracks on USA are the ones with words. I'm a big fan of the title track, Shut Down, and Lana.
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on such a winter's day

[Repo]

C. Surfer Girl (1963)
Aka Brian Wilson’s God


Surfer Girl by The Beach Boys

There’s a world where I can go
And tell my secrets to
In my room

In this world I lock out
All my worries and my fears
In my room

Lie awake and pray
Do my sighing and my crying
Laugh at yesterday
Now it’s dark and I’m alone
But I won’t be afraid
In my room - In My Room

It’s like a psalm from the Old Testament. But instead of God, Brian (and his two brothers) found sanctuary <mostly from their overbearing, controlling & abusive father Murry> in their room. In their music. Especially their sibling sing-alongs night after night in their shared room on Hawthorne Street. As Brian would recall years later…

There is a story behind <"In My Room">. When Dennis, Carl and I lived in Hawthorne as kids, we all slept in the same room. One night I sang the song "Ivory Tower" to them and they liked it. Then a couple of weeks later, I proceeded to teach them both how to sing the harmony parts to it. It took them a little while, but they finally learned it. We then sang this song night after night. It brought peace to us. When we recorded "In My Room", there was just Dennis, Carl and me on the first verse ... and we sounded just like we did in our bedroom all those nights. – Brian Wilson <1990>

The production is simply bonkers for an album from 1963. Leaps & bounds better than ANYONE else at the time. And it wasn’t just the production either. The songs and arrangements were certainly FAR more sophisticated, complex, and mature than even those of the fledgling Beatles in 1963 <and I LOVE early Beatles!> Every song sounds radically different from each other which, funnily enough, is the exact OPPOSITE of how I always imagined these early Beach Boys tracks would sound. On the Surfer Girl LP in particular, Brian take us on a tour of the many different sub-genres of early rock n’ roll and oldies. If you’re a fan of old-timey rock n’ roll, this album is a gem and showcases Brian and da gang’s eternal love for these classic sounds.

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The Ranking: Well so much for the notion that all the early Beach Boys albums sound the same. Absolute rubbish! Third album. Third completely different sound. Gone is the Surf Rock of Surfin' USA (to my chagrin a bit) to a more mature and sometimes even melancholy sound (best exemplified by “In My Room,” “Surfer Moon”, and "Your Summer Dream." This is Brian’s best production yet (with "Hawaii" being its peak sort of like "Finders-Keepers" on Surfin' USA). And his most diverse batch of songs too. Each song occupies its own little niche of early rock n’ roll. Even the 2 instrumental tracks sound nothing like the five from Surfin’ USA. Although, for whatever reason, our heroes from the last album – David & Carl – are relegated to the sidelines. And that choice results in the albums only flaw, to me. <That and that even I would qualify the two instrumentals on this album as filler. Notice how they're even stuffed at the ends of each vinyl side. I think Brian himself felt a bit guilty about the inclusion of those two tracks being the perfectionist that he is.> I would have liked more guitar! I’m, a rocker at heart so it’s not surprising that I slightly prefer the rougher and rawer sounding Surfin’ USA. But the more remarkable thing is that all THREE so far are very worth owning and completely stand on their own as GREAT LPs.

The Rating:

Rank 'Em: The Beach Boys
1. Surfin' USA (1963)
2. Surfer Girl (1963)
2. Surfin’ Safari (1962)

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[dihansse]

[dihansse]

[albummaster]

Found Surfer Girl a bit unevenly paced as an album and had trouble getting into it. In My Room was the standout track for me (no surprises there probably). Overall, preferred the first album for its whimsicalness and general feel, but Surfin' USA had a few better songs.

My ranking (same as release order for me so far):

1. Surfin’ Safari (1962)
2. Surfin' USA (1963)
3. Surfer Girl (1963)