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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 7, 2019 20:50:06 GMT -5
Released in 1963, Surfer Girl's title track is allegedly the first song Brian wrote. Regardless of if that is accurate, Surfer Girl was a hit, reaching #7 on the hot 100, same as the album on the Billboard 200. Little Deuce Coupe managed to get to #15, while In My Room clocked in at #23. This was the first album where Brian received a full production credit. Attachments:
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Departed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 15:13:35 GMT -5
I love Surfer Girl. Not only is Brian in charge (and not Nick or Murry) but the whole gang's in on it: David and Alan, Maureen and the Crew... And--no filler in sight. "Catch A Wave" is a joyous masterpiece and so is the title track. Ten.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 15:20:29 GMT -5
I gave Surfer Girl a 9/10. It's almost perfect. Iconic songs, stunning production, amazing vocals, it's all so wonderful. The only reason I'm docking a point is for South Bay Surfer. I don't know if the SG/SDv2 twofer bonus track "I Do" was recorded during the SG sessions or not, but if it had been able to take the place of SBS, it would take the album all the way to 10 for me.
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Post by kds on Jan 12, 2019 15:24:50 GMT -5
Im giving Surfer Girl a high 8. Three albums in, The Beach Boys are on the rise. The title track and In My Room show that this is not just a surf rock band with vocals.
A little filler, but its not bad.
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Post by Jason (The Real Beach Boy) on Mar 28, 2019 11:26:20 GMT -5
9. Despite some missteps, the band came into their own and created their first great album. Lots of wonderful filler as well.
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Post by #JusticeForDonGoldberg on Dec 26, 2020 13:52:35 GMT -5
Wow, a Brian Wilson production credit really shows that this is going to be quality, right? Indeed it does, this, in my opinion, is the best pre-Today album in the catalog. I might even say that It’s better than Today. Surfer Girl: this is just a great song. I may prefer the original early 1962 recording of it, just because I think that the extra echo, and the more naked vocals give it more of a haunting quality, but you could really never go wrong with this version. Catch a Wave: much like Surfer Girl, you really can’t go wrong with this track. Everything just works. The Surfer Moon: The definitive version of this song. Fantastic arrangement, fantastic vocal, and even though the lyrics don’t make much sense, I still like them. South Bay Surfer: it’s nothing great, but it never has really bothered me on this album. I know people call this their least favorite track from this album, and it might be for me as well, but it definitely doesn’t take anything away from the album. The Rocking Surfer: even though I would prefer this with lyrics, it works fine on its own. Little Deuce Coupe: my only complaint is that it doesn’t exactly fit on this album. Other than that, it’s an absolutely timeless song that never seems to grow old. In My Room: this song doesn’t need an explanation. Everyone already knows how great it is. Hawaii: it’s great. I feel like I’m saying that a lot with this album. Even though Mike really sounds like he’s having trouble with these lyrics, possibly due to the fact that he was suffering from a cold at the time of recording, I still like it. Surfer's Rule: for the longest time, I could not tell that this was Dennis. The lyrics are exceptionally preachy about how cool surfers are, but it’s still a good song. Our Car Club: The instrumental to this song is absolutely immaculate. So is the vocal arrangement. The lyrics are a bit goofy, but who cares, it’s great. Your Summer Dream: nice way to close out this album. It’s calming, tender and beautiful. Boogie Woodie: even though this is technically a part of the album, I mainly consider it basically a bonus tossed onto the end to make it an even 12 tracks. And I actually like it, and listen to it frequently. Just like this album. Absolutely essential listening for any fan of any form of music. 8/10
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Post by karmafrog on May 10, 2021 21:01:16 GMT -5
Deep dive on this album just posted on youTube:
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chewy
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Post by chewy on May 13, 2021 5:21:54 GMT -5
I COULDNT TAKE IT ANYMORE. bought a PASTMASTERS Surfer Girl from Switzerland for 30 big ones (russian paypal but 99% positive feedback) cant wait to catch a flat transfer wave
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chewy
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Post by chewy on May 30, 2021 2:25:50 GMT -5
I COULDNT TAKE IT ANYMORE. bought a PASTMASTERS Surfer Girl from Switzerland for 30 big ones (russian paypal but 99% positive feedback) cant wait to catch a flat transfer wave Wait 1 isn’t #1 1 is bad - oh no i skewed the survey I should of hit ten. Pastmasters actually arrived from Russia- Russian stamps and all. Sounds incredible
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Post by E on May 30, 2021 3:06:55 GMT -5
I COULDNT TAKE IT ANYMORE. bought a PASTMASTERS Surfer Girl from Switzerland for 30 big ones (russian paypal but 99% positive feedback) cant wait to catch a flat transfer wave Wait 1 isn’t #1 1 is bad - oh no i skewed the survey I should of hit ten. Pastmasters actually arrived from Russia- Russian stamps and all. Sounds incredible You can change your score.
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Post by dauber on Jun 16, 2021 15:16:57 GMT -5
My review, as originally posted on psf:
I rate Surfer Girl a seven. It's definitely a natural progression from the previous two albums, and Brian is really emerging as a producer. "Surfer Girl" -- an all-time classic, and a definite improvement over the version they recorded for the Morgans "Catch a Wave" -- another all-time classic. And nothing but hook from start to finish. "The Surfer Moon" -- very nice melody from Brian. The production sounds like something that was done to soothe the savage Murry. "South Bay Surfer" -- call it a throwaway, but there's something charming about this... "The Rocking Surfer" -- just because it's an instrumental doesn't mean it's filler. That's all I have to say about that. "Little Deuce Coupe" -- first time I ever heard this song I thought it was charming as all hell and just short enough so that the charm doesn't become too cheesy. Classic. "In My Room" -- seriously, there's a lot of classic stuff on this album. Wow. "Hawaii" -- Classic Beach Boys formula right here, folks. "Surfers Rule" -- note: no apostrophe. This is not about a rule for or by surfers -- it's a sentence: the subject is "surfers." The verb is "rule." In other words, "Those who surf are the ones who rule!" Four Seasons, you better believe it. Great little challenge to the East Coast but sounding so much more pleasant. And who better to sing it than Dennis! A classic! (BTW, didn't one of the copyright extension releases reveal that Carl is on bass and *David* is on guitar on this one???) "Our Car Club" -- I used to hate this song; found it boring. But now I find it to be...once again...classic. BUT...you've got a deuce coupe, a Stingray, a WHAT and an XKE? "Your Summer Dream" -- proof that the Beach Boys could have an amazing song without vocal harmony. Love that A-major-7 chord... "Boogie Woodie" -- come on, folks, this isn't filler! It's good stuff here! I'd like to think of it as Brian and the guys paying tribute to Audree, who made it a point to make sure that anybody who entered the Wilson house would leave knowing how to play boogie woogie on the piano. Great little rocker. My wife likes to think about how perhaps Brian was sitting between the piano and organ and would alternate on the fly; of course, recording sessions that have leaked prove that they were recorded separately, but still, it's a great visual, especially when the two instruments are played together...imagine Brian playing a piano in one hand while the other plays an organ. Oh, if only... Really, I'm bumping my rating up now that I think about the greatness that permeates this collection. Going to go back and change my rating to an 8.
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Post by boogieboarder on Aug 2, 2021 9:39:14 GMT -5
Nine out of the twelve songs are absolute classics by any standard I can think of. The other three songs are filler in comparison. However, compared to a typical 1970’s album, you’d probably have just 8 or 9 songs on the album, and the filler would be built into the songs, as long instrumental breaks, long intros, or long fades. The Beach Boys come in fast, leave fast, and succinctly say what they have to say. For example, “Catch a Wave” opens with a bang - “Catch a Wave and you’re sitting’ on top of the world.” “Little Deuce Coup, you don’t know what I got.” “It’s a genuine fact that Surfers Rule.” No long drawn out intros. No endless solos.
So the filler is removed from the great songs, and put in as separate instrumentals or rewrites of “Swanee River.” I don’t mind, in fact it’s preferable. I give this album a solid ten, all the way! What else would you want from a Beach Boys album during the surf music / car song era?
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Post by jk on Oct 25, 2021 8:01:06 GMT -5
I love Surfer Girl. Not only is Brian in charge (and not Nick or Murry) but the whole gang's in on it: David and Alan, Maureen and the Crew... And--no filler in sight. "Catch A Wave" is a joyous masterpiece and so is the title track. Ten. Poor "Surfer Girl" got pipped at the Survivor post by the equally rapturous "Don't Worry, Baby". Still, second out of 61 pre- PS tracks ain't too bad. This is for Little Surfer, wherever they may be:
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Post by radiokingdom on Mar 20, 2023 19:17:44 GMT -5
When I was beginning to get into the Beach Boys, a friend who knew them somewhat better than I did said that he had a feeling most of their albums were not really that good. I remember standing in the music shop listening to him say this. I was choosing between the Surfer Girl twofer and Greatest Hits – Volume 1: 20 Good Vibrations. I got the latter, and then later ended up getting all the albums anyway.
I think if that guy and I now sat down and listened to Surfer Girl straight through, he would agree that it's a really good album.
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Post by Awesoman on Mar 28, 2023 7:36:29 GMT -5
It's a solid affair and probably the band's best album up to that point. The hits found on here (which nearly makes up half of the album) are all timeless and iconic songs that even the casual fans should be familiar with. The rest of the album consists of good-to-forgettable filler that you would expect to find on albums from that era. I do like the playful little dig at Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons on "Surfers Rule". When compared to the rest of the band's entire catalog this album is a mixed bag on its own, but is yet another stepping stone to the band's evolution towards bigger and more ambitious things.
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Post by boogieboarder on Mar 28, 2023 12:18:28 GMT -5
... Surfer's Rule: ... The lyrics are exceptionally preachy about how cool surfers are, but it’s still a good song. It's tongue in cheek. If you grew up in Southern California in the 60s, like I did, people at school used to go around writing "Surfer's Rule" on the walls and lockers. There was a competition between surfers (and wanna-be surfers), and those not into the beach/surf culture. According to Wikipedia "Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing." And even among real surfers, there was also a derogative term "hodad" meaning someone who comes to the beach and has a surfboard, but never surfs, or that surfs poorly and annoys the local seasoned surfers. So... It's plastered on the walls all around the school now Becoming just as common as a golden rule now Take it or leave it but you better believe it Surfers rule They burnt it in the grass on the football field now Just try to make them cool it and they'll never yield now Take what you've heard now and go pass the word now Surfers rule A woody full of Surfers pullin' long side a wagon The Hodaddies sittin' while the Surfers are draggin' The Surfers are winnin' and they say as they're grinnin' Surfers rule
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