The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl flac mp3

Rating: B+This third installment was a major upgrade in quality from the first two albums. They're still too surfer happy from a lyrical standpoint, but even the filler is more fun this time out; "South Bay Surfer" and "Surfer's Rule" are goofy as hell but I can't get them out of my head, either. There's only two instrumentals this time, one of which ("The Rocking Surfer") is actually quite good ("Boogie Woodie" not so much), and Brian takes over the production reins. As such, the album has a fuller, more expansive sound than previously, in part because Brian discovered the joys of multi-tracking. Also, this is the album on which Brian started to use superior session musicians, many (such as standout drummer Hal Blaine) from the legendary "Wrecking Crew" who played on Wilson's idol Phil Spector's records; the thin, twangy sound put forth previously has been bulked up. Most importantly, Brian Wilson (again often with one of the aforementioned lyrical collaborators) has written some fine songs; he especially comes into his own on the ballads, starting with the lovely, romantic title track, which of course is highlighted by its delectable harmonies and which became a U.S. top 10 hit and a longtime fan favorite. On the lesser known front are the melancholic "The Surfer Moon," the first Beach Boys track to feature strings, and the short but lovely "Your Summer Dream," while "In My Room" is probably the best song here, as this song's heartbreakingly personal and reflective meditation about Brian's reclusive sanctuary is the first glimpse of the more mature and sophisticated work he would produce later on. Of course, this album is still largely all about fun, fun, fun, and the group delivers just that on the light, catchy "Catch A Wave" (though again the shrill falsettos and the carnival-esque keyboards might not be for everybody), the also-light and even catchier U.S. top 15 hit "Little Deuce Coupe" (car songs were fast becoming another band specialty; though I'm much less fond of "Our Car Club"), and "Hawaii," whose falsetto harmonies again veer close to being annoying but which are ridiculously catchy and singable just the same. On the whole this album has its fair share of flaws, mostly with the lyrics, plus it has a few lesser tracks. However, it also has some acknowledged classics ("Surfer Girl," "In My Room," "Little Deuce Coupe") and several strong overlooked album tracks ("Catch A Wave," "The Surfer Moon," "Hawaii," "Your Summer Dream") that aren't generally found on hits compilations, making Surfer Girl the first Beach Boys album that can be easily recommended.

This album had it all: Fun songs, beautiful harmonies, awesome hits... You got Surfer Girl as the album's opening, then you have the beautiful The Surfer moon, then songs like In my Room which to this day makes me grow a smile on my face and makes me feel calm and relaxed. Surfer Girl makes me think about all the girls I like... which always warms my heart. The Beach Boys were always great album makers which people today seem to forget and always trash their work. This album is a masterpiece, all of them are. 10/10.

Surfing U.S.A. is supposedly a great album, but its charms pass me by, as it is bogged down in dull instrumentals. Surfer Girl is where my Beach Boys love affair begins, we have the brilliant surf anthems like “Catch a Wave” and “Hawaii”, and the super catchy “Surfer Moon” and “Little Deuce Coupe”. But it is in the ballads that the album comes to life, Brian never wrote anything as beautiful as the three harmony ballads: “Surfer Girl”, “Your Summer Dream” and the heart-breaking “In My Room”. The remaining surfer themed items don’t come close, but there is enough here to make this their first great album.

Brian had gotten his act together by this point, and it shows. There are plenty of great ballads (the title track, a brilliant, deceptively topical love song; "In My Room," Brian's wrenching ode to childhood), surfing songs (the exciting "Catch A Wave"; "Hawaii," a virtual radio ad for the tourist industry), and another great doo-wopping Roger Christian car song ("Little Deuce Coupe"). But the rest is once again mostly filler, including a couple of primitive surf-rock instrumentals and a couple more odes to surfing that are marred by terrible lyrics.

Rating: Good/MediocreWithout question, this album shows the band making some significant progress. The band is still unquestionably working within a formula (no doubt not entirely up to them), but they do their best to push the boundaries of the formula, raising the sophistication of the tunes themselves and the arrangements. There are still some pointless instrumentals ("The Rocking Surfer," the closing "Boogie Woodie"), and the lyrics are still generally as fluffy as cotton candy (with the clear exception of "In My Room"), but if somebody wanted to point to one of the earliest albums as the first time the promise of Pet Sounds was revealed, this would be the place to go.The first five tracks milk surfing as a concept for all that it's worth, and while I don't care too much about "The Rocking Surfer" or "South Bay Surfer" (a decent enough song with a less heavenly vocal sound than I'm used to with this era) I find the other three range from good to great. "Surfer Girl" had actually been the first song Brian had ever written, and the band had recorded it early on, but they ultimately re-recorded it for these sessions, and the effect is magical; the warmth of Brian's voice crossed with the backing harmonies, over the 12/8 backing part, is the best stereotypical depiction of PG teenage affection I can think of. Where "Surfer Girl" is the slow ballad classic of the album, "Catch a Wave" is the up-tempo surf rocker classic of the album, with a perfunctory (but awesome) harp thrown in to complement the great harmonies and the alternating lead vocals (as well as the fun repeated organ snippet). "The Surfer Moon" isn't quite as spectacular of a ballad as "Surfer Girl," and the orchestration doesn't actually benefit the song that much, but it's fun to hear Brian and co. stretch themselves a bit, and the song is lovely enough.

The good songs are great. The bad songs are catchy. Not revolutionary and some pretty cheese filled lyrics, but still an enjoyable listen (to me at least!)

The problem with filler continues to dog the Beach Boys' albums, but some of the songwriting is taking leaps in quality and maturity. Also, the vocal harmonies which made them world famous were starting to take center stage more and more, thanks to Al Jardine returning to the fold (uncredited) on several of the tracks. The gorgeous title track, plus "In My Room", would point the way toward the future sounds Brian Wilson would explore after he retired from touring. "Catch a Wave" and "Little Deuce Coupe" are well-known classic Beach Boys. And "The Surfer Moon" is a decent little stab at orchestrated pop. Again, most of the remainder of the album is dispensable filler. This may be because of what was mentioned before: Capitol pushing for too much product too fast. But then again, Brian Wilson was still only warming up.

Finally! The Beach Boys' first really good album. There's still some of the usual cheesy filler, but not as much, and the high points here are among the group's most memorable songs. The title track had a lovely melody; 'Catch a Wave' is done in the same vein as their previous hits, but its even more catchy; 'Little Deuce Coupe' is brief but brilliant in it's descriptions of a car that could fly if it had wings, but unfortunately set the tone for their next dismal cash-in album. 'In My Room' is a haunting meditation on childhood and loneliness that would seem to become more and more relevant to Brian Wilson's life; 'Hawaii' has an exciting, upbeat arrangement. Even 'Your Summer Dream' is poignant and memorable. But yet again, you have a parade of lesser tunes that keep the album from reaching a really high level; ones like 'Boogie Woodie', 'Our Car Club', 'The Rocking Surfer' and a few others. The good outweighs the bad this time around, thankfully, as long as you focus on Brian Wilson's improved songwriting with partner Roger Christian on lyrics and the already breathtaking harmonies.

'Surfer Girl', I'll admit it, makes me want to put my head down on the shoulder of some dreamy, sandy-haired stud of a high school football player. Not some icky lineman, but maybe a hunk of a cornerback or something, just nuzzle my face into his letter jacket and smell his manliness and wish he would take me away from the crowd around the bonfire, back behind the bleachers where he'll tell me about how fast his car is, and maybe if he looks at me just right I'll let him put his hand on my breast for a minute, over my cardigan, of course...Capn's Final Word: Brian learns to ballad, but not to challenge the band's ideas of what an album should be like.