Bought a Beach Boys CD with *Surfin' Safari* and *Surfin' USA* on it. Is it rare?

In perusing used CDs tonight, I found a Beach Boys CD released by Capitol in 1990 that has both Surfin' Safari and Surfin' USA on it. The catalog number is CDP 7 93691 2. The front of the booklet shows the cover to Surfin' Safari, while the back shows the cover to Surfin' USA. The disc looks cool in that it shows yellow and orange waves. I thought I read once before (probably here) that these Beach Boys double-album CDs were not in print for too long. Is that true?

On a related subject, the booklet lists several other Beach Boys double-album CDs as well as single-album Beach Boys CDs available from Capitol. Noticeably absent from the list is Pet Sounds. I know that The Beach Boys and Capitol had a dispute over mastering for Pet Sounds before the album was released on CD. Might their differences not have been worked out when the booklet for my disc went to print? I know that Pet Sounds came to CD in the US in 1990.

 

I'm listening to the Surfin' Safari/Surfin' USA disc now. All I can say is that it sounds "stuffy". It's not horrendous, but it just sounds a bit dull. My CD-R of the DCC Pet Sounds disc is on another level. Big surprise, huh?

 

The 2001 remaster of this doesn't employ any NoNoise being used. The 1990 disc does employ it being used.

 

cbsolson, thanks for the information. I have only gotten into The Beach Boys recently and the double-album disc is my first of these albums.

 

Gotta agree with cbsolson, the 2001 reissue is the way to go on this release.

 

you're welcome

 

Anyone know how it stacks up againt the MFSL version? Oops! Just realized that the MFSL is Surfin' USAi/ Surfer Girl.

 

I am one of those folks who knows The Beach Boys big hits, but I am lean on the history and on which songs were released on which albums. So, in reading a little bit on All Music Guide (www.allmusic.com), I saw that Surfin' Safari was The Beach Boys first album. AMG gave it a whole two stars out of five. On the flipside, Surfin' USA was given four stars!

 

In my opinion, Surfin' Safari and Surfin USA are merely alright albums. I agree with All Music's grading on Surfin' Safari, but Surfin' USA would rank no higher than three stars in my book. It wasn't until the Surfer Girl album that Brian Wilson and the rest of the group hit their stride. To me, that would be a four star album.

 

GuyDon, in listening through this double-album disc, I am more impressed with the material on Surfin' USA. There is simply better musicianship and a higher level of sophistication there in my opinion. I have to expand further my Beach Boys collection to see what else is out there. Outside of this double-album CD, I have the current remaster of Pet Sounds and two single-disc compilations.

 

Hello Keith. The reason why the musicianship is much better on Surfin' USA is because Brian began using session musicians on this album.

If you are looking to expand your BB"s collection, be sure to pick up "All Summer Long" (a two-fer with "Little Deuce Coupe") and "Today" (a two-fer with "Summer Days and Summer Nights"). These two albums are true five star pre-Pet Sounds classics. In the eyes of many, side two of the "Today" album is held in higher esteem than even the material on "Pet Sounds".

If you enjoy those titles, be sure to purchase "Wild Honey" (a two-fer with the uneven but interesting "Smiley Smile") and the great "Friends"/"20/20" two-fer. For many (including Brian Wilson himself) "Friends" is their favorite BB's album. Not recommended for the non-hardcore because it is a mellow album, but it has great harmonies and is a very rewarding listen once you digest the rest of the 1960's Capitol catalog.

As for the post 60's catalog, you must purchase the "Sunflower"/"surf's Up" two-fer. Hope this helps your pursuit.

 

GuyDon, thanks for the recommendations. I will be printing out this thread for future reference.

 

So, can anyone comment on the availability of the Surfin' Safari/Surfin' USA disc? How long was it in print? This is the first Beach Boys double-album disc I've found, so I am curious as to how common they are.

 

I like the current HDCD versions better...More open.

 

The Beach Boys two one one CDs that came out in the early 90's were in print for a couple of years, if my memory serves me correctly. Then, Capitol deleted them,and issued the Beach Boys CDs on single CDs, eliminating the bonus tracks, because they said they wanted to "Restore the albums to their original form." Needless to say, this decision was not popular with fans,and I think that the single CDs were available for an even shorter time than the twofers.

 

CTDave, thanks for the info. I always appreciate bonus tracks, so the double-album disc I bought was worth $8 just for that.

 

CTDave (or anyone else), one more thing. You said:

O.K., Beach Boys CDs were first released in the US by Capitol in 1990. The current remasters came out in 2001, as I recall. Now, if the twofers were only available for a couple years and the subsequent single-album discs were available for a shorter period, what was available all those years before the remasters came out in 2001? I had assumed that the twofers were only available for a short period and were replaced by single-album discs that remained in print until the 2001 remasters came out.

 

Suffice to say that I got rid of the MFSL when the 1990 twofer's came out on Capitol. It was easily the best Beach Boys disc up until then, but it sounded a bit 'weaker' if anything. It was the first gold disc I ever bought. (Elvis 24 karat Hits was the last one I got, and I wouldn't part with it for anything !!!)

The HDCD's do sound a lot more impressive at first on my elderly Meridian bitstream machine, but I wonder how much of that is because they are louder than the 1990 discs.