Surfin' U.S.A. (March 1963)

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/6u5tGarzvESDsQiIpC4SlI

Album History (Released March 1963)

The second album from the Boys came out only 5 months after the debut Surfin’ Safari. 1963 was a ridiculously productive year for the Beach Boys. Capitol proved insatiable in their desire to put out Beach Boys records.

Brian Wilson really began to be a presence in the studio on this album, he was much more active in its production. He started to push the members of the band towards a more polished sound. Brian was tough on his brothers, Al, and cousin Mike, demanding more takes until they gave him the performance he wanted.

Surfin’ USA was the Beach Boys first top ten single. The album itself made it to number 2 on the sales chart. After Surfin’ USA, the Beach Boys were a household name.

Tracklist

Thanks Wikipedia.

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
1.	"Surfin' U.S.A."	Brian Wilson/Chuck Berry	Mike Love	2:27
2.	"Farmer's Daughter"	B. Wilson/Love	B. Wilson	1:49
3.	"Misirlou"	Nick Roubanis/Fred Wise/Milton Leeds/Bob Russell	Instrumental	2:03
4.	"Stoked"	B. Wilson	Instrumental	1:59
5.	"Lonely Sea"	B. Wilson/Gary Usher	B. Wilson	2:21
6.	"Shut Down"	B. Wilson/Roger Christian	Love	1:49

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead Vocals	Length
1.	"Noble Surfer"	B. Wilson/Love	Love	1:51
2.	"Honky Tonk"	Bill Doggett/Shep Sheperd/Clifford Scott/Billy Butler	Instrumental	2:01
3.	"Lana"	B. Wilson	B. Wilson	1:39
4.	"Surf Jam"	Carl Wilson	Instrumental	2:10
5.	"Let's Go Trippin'"	Dick Dale	Instrumental	1:57
6.	"Finders Keepers"	B. Wilson/Love	Love	1:38

Song Analysis

1.     Surfin’ USA

This is an excellent song which is a rearrangement of Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Sixteen”. Mike Love’s voice seems, at least to me, much less grating starting with this song and album. The lyrics, again, are silly. I have no idea what in the hell “Inside, Outside, U.S.A.” is supposed to mean. There’s a junk organ solo, and a short electric guitar solo! The harmonies are excellent, and I consider this song an improvement on Berry’s original. This is one of the iconic hits in the history of the Beach Boys and rock n’ roll.

2.     Farmer’s Daughter

This is a simple, beautiful song with Brian on lead. I guess he’s writing about some weird fantasy in which he is stranded in the country and seeks shelter on a farm. While there, he earns his keep by plowing the fields and sneaks in a few kisses with the farmer’s daughter. He sure sounds nice singing about it.

3.     Misirlou

Hey, somebody might have forgotten these boys are a surf rock band! Throw on a cover of the Dick Dale joint! A real imaginative Goddamn selection for the album. It is a very close cover of the Dick Dale version, and an inferior one at that.

4.     Stoked

Immediately following Misirlou, this feels like Brian’s response to the popularity of that song. He can write his own surf rock instrumental! It’s not bad, but it’s not particularly great. I feel like Brian isn’t experienced enough with the electric guitar at this point to accomplish what he sets out to do with this one. Forgettable.

5.     Lonely Sea

The first Beach Boys ballad on our adventure. It’s a gorgeous song. This is the first time we are really treated to how beautiful Brian’s voice can be. I don’t know about you jokers, but this is the Brian Wilson I love. If you can make a basic three chord arpeggio song this good, then hot damn.

6.     Shut Down

This is one of my least favorite Beach Boys’ hits. The song has a respectable blues structure, and some dumb ass lyrics about cars. I just find it boring. The saxophone and electric guitar duo around the 53 second mark is the best part of this song in my opinion.

7.     Noble Surfer

Eh. It’s another surf pop song. It doesn’t do anything especially different to set it apart. I like the bass line: “Noble. Surfer. He’s a number one man. Noble.” I’m not sure who does it. There’s also a slick xylophone part, but the “insert a quick and gimmicky ten second instrumental solo halfway through the song” shtick is getting old.

8.     Honky Tonk

A cover of the classic R&B song written and recorded by Bill Doggett and others. An interesting selection. It’s a fine cover of the song, to me it feels a tad strange on the album. Nobody at this point believes these kids are rhythm and blues guitarists. It’s inferior to the original.

9.     Lana

This is a delightful number. Lana, you should really go with Brian. Don’t you hear how beautifully he’s serenading you? And listen to how nice his band is backing him up with those perfect harmonies. I’m biased towards songs where Brian sings lead. So, sue me.

10.  Surf Jam

Holy Christ. They called the song “Surf Jam”. At this point we are fighting ridicule. On an album called SURFIN USA by the BEACH BOYS we have a song called SURF JAM! To be fair, apparently Carl Wilson wrote this song, and he was 16. I certainly can’t do any better, and I’m 30. It’s an unremarkable track.

11.  Let’s Go Trippin

I sure hope Dick Dale made some money off this record that used two of his songs. He didn’t write Misirlou, but certainly popularized the surf version. This song is his composition. This is a very close, but again, inferior cover. There’s a reason the Beach Boys were able to put out 3 albums in 1963: tracks like this. This is the 5^th instrumental track on this record, a number that is too high for a band known for their signature vocal sound.

12.  Finders Keepers

Here’s a song that’s great because it’s so silly. Mike Love put his board down, went up in the woody to the hamburger stand, when he got back, some babe took the board and said, “FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS!” The boys are experts at making absurd phrases into beautiful harmonies. This is a fun, silly song, but perhaps a strange choice to conclude an album.

Overall Album Impressions:

            This is about on par with the first album. There are too many instrumental tracks. There are some big high points on this album: “Lonely Sea” is my favorite song the Beach Boys have recorded after two records. The lead single “Surfin’ USA” is an impressive evolution of the surf rock hit sound the Beach Boys have created. I have a bizarre affinity for “Farmer’s Daughter”. Brian is singing more, which is good. Mike Love is not whining quite as much. A respectable sophomore effort.