Review: Surfin' Safari

 Surfin' Safari - Beach Boys

Rating: 5/10 (Mediocre)

Track listing (highlights are bolded):

1. "Surfin' Safari"

2. "County Fair"

3. "Ten Little Indians"

4. "Chug-A-Lug"

5. "Little Girl (You're My Miss America)"

6. "409"

1. "Surfin'"

2. "Heads You Win–Tails I Lose"

3. "Summertime Blues"

4. "Cuckoo Clock"

5. "Moon Dawg"

6. "The Shift"

Review:

Of all of the first-grade 60s bands, the Beach Boys' early period probably has the worst artistic reputation, commonly viewed as laughably primitive and juvenile in the face of "Please Let Me Wonder," Pet Sounds, and the peaks of Smile. This assessment is...correct, unfortunately, but most of these people approach these albums from the wrong perspective. Of course, this stuff is formative, but tell me, what doesn't crumble in the face of "Surf's Up?" How is it fair to compare these records to such an impossible standard?

The proper perspective is not to start after but before 1962, listening to all of the influences compromising their sound: the breezy riffage of Eddie Cochran, the sharp harmonies of the Everly Brothers, the smooth vocal flow of 50s doo-wop, the sly licks of Chuck Berry, the light-fun/subtle-darkness of the Ventures, Duane Eddy, and other surf-rockers. With that foundation, this record is derivative of their influences for sure, yet each of these songs is a serious attempt to staking their own style by fusing many of them together. Maybe these creative Frankensteins aren't impressive these days, but the freshness and authenticity of such an approach cannot be denied. They weren't just interested in covering their idols: they were aiming to become musical heroes themselves by modernizing these influences, and in that way, they played a significant role in opening up the new era of popular music.

However, this (very important) historical perspective still cannot make up for the fact that the album is mediocre by modern standards. It's impressive when you realize that at the age of 20, Brian Wilson wrote and put most of this together, but that doesn't make up for the record's apparent flaws. Much of this material is either too limp in performing energy (their cover of "Summertime Blues" is so goddamned lifeless) or too derivative of their influences to be taken seriously. Not only that, the songs are cringe-inducingly corny at times. I get that it was a different time, but is "here a mug, there a mug, everybody chug-a-lug" really the best they could have done? The album isn't a disaster or anything, but it's very reasonable why someone would ignore it today.

If there are two things are going for them, it's that they are attempting to write their own material and gelling impressively well as a vocal combo. When they put their harmonies to a rock n roll beat on songs like "Ten Little Indians" or "409," the intriguing vocal layers they create are pretty interesting. And even if some of their compositions are still pretty embarrassing, occasionally they strike upon a genuinely good piece of songwriting. "Surfin' Safari" is honestly a very good song. Perhaps the vocal performance is underwhelming compared to something like "I Get Around," but the vocal hook is catchy and memorable. They don't mess anything up here, which is why it was a deserved top 20 hit. 

And yes, the hipsters are correct: "Cuckoo Clock" is a great song that can proudly hold its ground against anything they made before 1964. Not only is that vocal melody gorgeous, but also there is a genuinely sad, heartfelt undercurrent here. Doesn't Brian's vocal performance sound oddly morose for a song about an inanimate cuckoo clock? Why do the lines like "I took that clock apart. I broke the cuckoo's heart. He'll never bother us again. We just forgot about him" sound so painful and tragic coming out of Brian's mouth? I have no idea why a cuckoo clock stimulated Brian to display his bleeding heart so openly, but the fact that I can empathize with him is nothing short of incredible. This is truly the beginning of Brian's introspective journey through his music, inserting himself into these pop-rock songs to make the hit much harder than they really should.

So, this is nothing more than an early attempt to establish their presence commercially (and maybe even artistically). Outside of the two best songs here, not much is treasurable in the present day. An early single like "Surfin'" has historical value but not much in terms of modern enjoyment. Yet, the diverse range of influences, the freshness of the approach, and the best songs on here show that this band wasn't planning on stopping here, and the Wilson brothers' dedication to expanding their musical boundaries is quite evident. Only an asshole would call Picasso's childhood sketches "laughable," so why should that mindset apply here? Chalk this up as an intriguing beginning to a glorious career.