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Post by boogieboarder on Aug 30, 2021 12:02:55 GMT -5
I'm going to start a fun little series of polls, not to be taken too seriously, but they are sure to give interesting results. In 1964, VJ Records released a bizarre double album called The Beatles VS The Four Seasons. It contained two albums, one by the Four Seasons, the other by The Beatles. On the back cover was a one-to-one comparison of each song, in order they appeared on the albums, and the purchaser was supposed to compare each song, and determine which song they liked better. Whichever album got the most songs picked won. We can do this with Beach Boys albums. For example Surfin' Safari VS Surfin' USA, Shut Down Vol. 2 VS All Summer Long, Sunflower VS Surf's Up, etc. For each pair of songs, if you like the first, select ">". If you like the second, select "<". Of course, it really doesn't give an accurate reading of which album you think is actually better, because of the order of the songs makes a difference. But try it anyway!  |
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Post by jasonaustin on Aug 30, 2021 17:29:30 GMT -5
These polls should be fun... I can see them getting more contentious as we get further along. This is an early battle for supremacy between the first two Beach Boys albums, with the stronger tracks seemingly matching up against one another for the most part. Can Surfin' Safari pull an upset here? Let's see.
Surfin' Safari vs. Surfin' USA - "USA" is a pretty solid advancement production-wise over "Safari", but I wouldn't begrudge somebody for voting for "Safari". These are both classics.
County Fair vs. Farmer's Daughter - "Farmer's Daughter" is obviously an acknowledged early BW classic, but I just adore "County Fair". The hilarious bits with the girlfriend giving the guy a hassle put it over the top for me.
Ten Little Indians vs. Miserlou - Not much of a challenge here; the band has done just about everything it can do to erase "Indians" from its history, while their cover of the great Dick Dale's "Miserlou" is a fine showcase for young Carl Wilson's lead guitar chops.
Chug-a-Lug vs. Stoked - This one was tough. The charming "Chug-a-Lug" is another one of my favorites off of SS, but "Stoked" is their all-time best original surf instrumental. As a side note, I tend to find the Beach Boys' early instrumentals to be pretty good for the most part. Sure they weren't the Bel-Airs, but they were credible in their own right.
Little Girl (You're My Miss America) vs. Lonely Sea - "Little Miss America" is actually kind of adorable with baby Dennis on lead, but come on, "Lonely Sea" is an absolute monster-- my favorite song on either album.
409 vs. Shut Down - I could go either way here, but "409" is just a little more memorable than its successor IMO. The self-recorded sounds of Gary Usher's vehicle are a nice touch.
Surfin' vs. Noble Surfer - "Noble Surfer" always felt like filler to me, and "Surfin'" has such massive historical importance that it's hard not to vote for it.
Heads You Win - Tails I Lose vs. Honky Tonk - Another tough one! I really like the band's arrangement of Bill Doggett's classic instrumental "Honky Tonk", but "Heads You Win" has always been another one of my early Wilson/Usher favorites. Mike does a great job cramming in all the lyrics here.
Summertime Blues vs. Lana - No contest here, really. "Lana" isn't the greatest Brian Wilson composition ever, but the Beach Boys' cover of "Summertime Blues" defines the term throwaway.
Cuckoo Clock vs. Surf Jam - Gotta go with "Cuckoo Clock" here I guess. I love the lyrical scenario Wilson and Usher paint in this song.
Moon Dawg vs. Let's Go Trippin' - Battle of the surf instrumentals! I've always enjoyed their take on the Gamblers' "Moon Dawg" a bit more than on Dick Dale's "Let's Go Trippin'" which always sounded a bit restrained to me. IIRC, Nick Venet produced the original version of "Moon Dawg", and Gamblers' guitarist Darry Weaver stepped in to lend a hand on the Beach Boys' version.
The Shift vs. Finders Keepers - Hmm, I seem to be the only one here who enjoys "The Shift"? I always thought the chord changes were neat.
Final Thoughts: Both of these albums are top-heavy for the most part, as is to be expected. That said, I'm surprised that six of my last seven votes went to Surfin' Safari songs. If you had asked me prior to this poll, I would have said Surfin' USA was the far superior album, so I'm kind of shocked that I only picked five songs off of it. That said, just the inclusion of the title track and "Lonely Sea" still make it the better record in my book (and nothing on it's as bad as "Summertime Blues" or "Ten Little Indians"). Looking forward to reading what other people have to say about these two fun Beach Boys albums.
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Post by boogieboarder on Sept 4, 2021 9:39:47 GMT -5
So far, Surfin' USA wins by a landslide. In fact, Surfin' Safari only garnered enough votes to win on one song, "Surfin'" which wasn't even recorded for Capitol or the LP. One song tied. I'm surprised, because I would have thought at least the Beach Boys vocal tunes on Surfin' Safari would have won over the instrumentals on Surfin' USA, but I was wrong.
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B.E.
Kahuna
Posts: 186
Likes: 140
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Post by B.E. on Sept 7, 2021 19:51:59 GMT -5
Voted. Sorry, I'm late. I got Surfin' Safari hanging on 7-5.
Surfin' Safari vs. Surfin' USA
County Fair vs. Farmer's Daughter
Ten Little Indians vs. Misirlou
Chug-a-Lug vs. Stoked
Little Girl (You're My Miss America) vs. Lonely Sea
409 vs. Shut Down
Surfin' vs. Noble Surfer
Heads You Win - Tails I Lose vs. Honky Tonk
Summertime Blues vs. Lana
Cuckoo Clock vs. Surf Jam
Moon Dawg vs. Let's Go Trippin'
The Shift vs. Finders Keepers
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Post by Matt H on Sept 14, 2021 10:41:37 GMT -5
Voted. Sorry, I'm late. I got Surfin' Safari hanging on 7-5. Surfin' Safari vs. Surfin' USA
County Fair vs. Farmer's Daughter
Ten Little Indians vs. Misirlou
Chug-a-Lug vs. Stoked Little Girl (You're My Miss America) vs. Lonely Sea
409 vs. Shut Down
Surfin' vs. Noble Surfer Heads You Win - Tails I Lose vs. Honky Tonk Summertime Blues vs. Lana
Cuckoo Clock vs. Surf Jam Moon Dawg vs. Let's Go Trippin' The Shift vs. Finders Keepers It looks to me like Surfin' USA wins. Surfin' Safari only has 2 songs that beat the Surfin' USA album, Heads You Win - Tails I Lose and Let's Go Trippin'. |
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B.E.
Kahuna
Posts: 186
Likes: 140
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Post by B.E. on Sept 14, 2021 11:17:09 GMT -5
I was referring to my picks. You are right that, currently, the board has only voted in favor of two Surfin’ Safari songs.
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Post by jk on Sept 14, 2021 15:09:18 GMT -5
The Shift vs. Finders Keepers - Hmm, I seem to be the only one here who enjoys "The Shift"? I always thought the chord changes were neat. Nope. Another enjoyer here -- in fact, it was the subject of my very first post on a BB message board. That upward shift in the tonal structure has to be in a field of one. Curiously, Philip Lambert describes it on p. 46 of his BW book as a downward shift! |
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Post by jk on Sept 14, 2021 15:21:23 GMT -5
Moon Dawg vs. Let's Go Trippin' - Battle of the surf instrumentals! I've always enjoyed their take on the Gamblers' "Moon Dawg" a bit more than on Dick Dale's "Let's Go Trippin'" which always sounded a bit restrained to me. IIRC, Nick Venet produced the original version of "Moon Dawg", and Gamblers' guitarist Darry Weaver stepped in to lend a hand on the Beach Boys' version. I seem to recall AGD mentioning having read somewhere that Derry Weaver said he'd never played on any BB records (* this* may have been his source) and guessed it must have been David playing lead on "Moon Dawg", as Carl was manning the drums (according to someone who was there). |
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