Discuss & Rate Beach Boys Songs Day by Day

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Wata, Jun 18, 2018.

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  1. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    Surfin Safari:
    Dennis kicks off the track with a beat while the group sings the opening hook in unison. The track possesses a driving rhythm that, what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for with passion and energy. Mike Love sings with a wide eyed enthusiasm for the surfing life while Carl rips some Dick Dale-esque licks and the group engage in four-part harmony that show off easily this group's greatest strength: its vocals.
    Overall, a very good song and a wise choice for a single to introduce wider audiences to this group. Based on this song, I’d say this group defintely has promise. Will it be realized? We'll see. :shh:
     
    starduster likes this.
  2. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    Your ratings for the song Surfin' Safari:
    1-0 vote
    2-1 vote
    3-1 vote
    4-5 votes
    5-3 votes

    Thanks for your participation!
     
  3. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    Today's song is County Fair:
     
  4. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    County Fair - 2/5
    It's a charming song, but Mike sings it pretty awfully. The speaking bit doesn't work at all, either.

    Glad Brian later turned it into a great song, which is I Do.
     
  5. spherical

    spherical Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
     
  6. Mugrug12

    Mugrug12 The Jungle Is a Skyscraper

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    Omg. Can this guy narrate my life?

    Edit- ah I know see it was zodiac. Makes perfect sense. KHAAAAANNNN
     
  7. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    You mean we should have started with Surfin', right?
     
  8. spherical

    spherical Forum Resident

    Location:
    America
    yeah..and the b side after that..
     
  9. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    Okay, your point is reasonable, but since we're going to discuss songs based on albums, not singles, so I suppose picking up singles from album could be confusing.
     
  10. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    1/5

    It has always driven me nuts how the "stuffed Koala bear" in the first half of the song becomes a "doggie" in the second half.

    Also funny how the carnival barker schtick gets reprised a few years later in Amusement Parks USA.
     
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  11. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    This is going to be a fun thread (and will take about a year to complete), but just for clarity's sake, will we be covering Smile separately from Smiley Smile, and will the released outtakes be covered with their parent album, or at the date of release? For example, will we do 'Land Ahoy' after 'The Shift' (presumably when 'Luau' will be covered too) or when we hit the 80s when it came out on Rarities? Or just not at all?
     
    Wata likes this.
  12. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus

    County Fair. 2.5/5. Go ahead and put me down as a two. But there's a lot about it I like. What's interesting is, that from the get-go, Brian was into writing comic stories more than anything. The same man who wanted to make SMiLE a comedy album (or was that a separate project he never realized?) came out of the gates trying to make listeners smile and laugh. OK, the humor is juvenile -- no scratch that, it's infantile, it's a Tom and Jerry cartoon starring human beings. It's the type of thing my 8 year old son would think was funny. But that's why I like it. This is music for 8 year olds to rock out on, written by a guy whose own childhood was a bit tortured, and who still had to face some of the worst horrors in life that his mind could put him through.

    There is also the introduction of a subtle theme in Brian Wilson's work here: the theme of conflict. Of winners and losers. Underneath the comic tale of the weakling whose girl gets swiped out from under him from a muscled jerk, there is a duality of the insecure loser and the swagger of the winner...in the space in between lives the humor of the song.

    And Mike's voice, cracking and barely in tune, suits it perfectly. You gotta give it to Mike Love: the voice on this song is the voice of a weakling adolescent, and not the swaggering cocksure voice of "Surfin' Safari", not the deep voice of a 22 year old bass singer with a baby on the way.

    But overall, the production is just a tad thin: Brian would use the melody again a mere year later in "I Do" to much greater affect.

    Still there is a naive charm to the music, the silly organ bit, the simple little bass-line that gets the song going and the shuffling beat that I just like, even if I recognize it as a lesser work.
     
  13. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    Here's the song list for the thread. Please check it out: "Discuss Every Beach Boys Song" Information Thread | Pet Sounds Forum
     
  14. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
  15. Etienne Hanratty

    Etienne Hanratty Forum Resident

    Location:
    uk
    4.5/5 Sure it’s childish, but it’s a touching call back to a lost innocence, and I find the coda desperately poignant. Weirdly, it now reminds me of The Man Who Couldn’t Afford to Orgy by John Cale.

     
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  16. PretzelLogic

    PretzelLogic Feeling duped by MoFi? You probably deserve it.

    Location:
    London, England
    Apparently the lady voice on the track was David Marks' aunt, Andrea Carlo who was still only 17.
     
  17. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    Ehhhh..."County Fair" gets a pass because they are young kids just starting out. I like the little descending opening guitar riff (reminds me of "He's A Doll"). The chit chat at the end is just padding. A test run for the far superior "Amusement Parks USA". I don't dislike this song, but I can't give it a higher score in the grand scheme of things.

    2/5
     
  18. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    County Fair
    Yes, I'll agree that a 2/5 seems just about right for this one. The verse melody is very good (it's understandable that Brian would reuse it on "I Do") but the song is definitely very, very early '60s. I find the "squareness" of their early records quite charming, really, but this one is just alright. Not unlistenable though.

    2/5
     
    Lance LaSalle likes this.
  19. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    Your ratings for County Fair:
    1-1 vote
    2-4 votes
    3-0 vote
    4-1 vote
    5-0 vote

    And please, no decimals like 4.5 or 2.5. Such ratings will be rounded down.
     
  20. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    Today's song is Ten Little Indians:
     
  21. Wata

    Wata Poller Thread Starter

    Location:
    Japan
    Ten Little Indians - 2/5

    Again, it's charming but not good at all.

    And personally listening to this song is an annoying experience, as I somehow hear "Indians" chorus in the back chorus on Surfin' USA after listening to it.
     
  22. Etienne Hanratty

    Etienne Hanratty Forum Resident

    Location:
    uk
    3/5-Not terrible but nothing to it. One point for the bass vocal in the chorus.
     
  23. Parachute Woman

    Parachute Woman Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Ten Little Indians
    Not a favorite. Only about a minute and a half long and it just does nothing for me. I don't think I've ever skipped it (what's the point--the next song will be along so soon!) but it's one of my least favorites on the debut.

    1/5

    I'm going to try to be fair and not overrate songs. I'm treating the scale like this:
    5/5 = Masterpiece.
    4/5 = Great song.
    3/5 = Good song.
    2/5 = Fair to poor, with some redeeming quality.
    1/5 = I don't like it. Poor.
     
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  24. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    I think it's very daring of The Beach Boys to tackle such issues as the mistreatment of the Native Americans. As for the song.... another one I give them a pass for since they were just kids. I like the "kemosabe" and "owowoowow" backing vocals. It's OK. Same as "County Fair". I wouldn't play it for strangers.

    2/5
     
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  25. Lance LaSalle

    Lance LaSalle Prince of Swollen Sinus

    1/5 An embarrassing song that gets by only because it was written by a man who was still a boy inside and just didn't know no better. Dig the guitar sound , the solo and the backing vocals a little.
     
    Comet01 likes this.
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