Surfin' Safari
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Surfin’ Safari was the first album by the Beach Boys, released on Wednesday, October 1st, 1962. The twelve songs on the album were recorded between Monday, April 10th 1961 and Saturday, September 6th 1962.
The album was credited as being produced by Nick Venet, who, as Capitol Records' A & R man, initially signed the band to the label after the album's eponymous single entered the American charts. Additionally, track 7 was produced by Hite and Dorinda Morgan.
The front cover sleeve of the album was photographed by Ken Veeder of the Capitol Photo Studio. It shows the five constituent group members of that time, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, and sometime guitarist, the young David Marks, the latter being a mainstay of the early group's constitution, an acquaintance of younger Wilson brother Carl, and a seemingly necessary acquisition to their recordings, both onstage and studio.
On the reverse, images of the band's rehearsals and other assorted recording sessions are accompanied by an iconic visual of a trailer of surfboards being driven down a seemingly endless road.
Text appearing on the back cover of the album gives an overview of the naissance of the band and accompanies it below with an explanation of the water pursuit for which their debut single was representative, that of surfing. Also shown are the tracks along with the album's production credit.
Track listing
Track 1: "Surfin' Safari" (Brian Wilson, Mike Love)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Released as single: Monday June 4th 1962
- Record number: Capitol 4777
- Peak US chart position: #14
- Backed with: "409"
- Recorded: Wednesday June 13th 1962
This song, the group's first venture into the national top 20, was the follow up to "Surfin'", and was therefore the second song to be recorded by the Beach Boys concerning this topic. This was one of four songs handed to Nick Venet in order to secure the group a recording contract. The other three songs being, "409" (which also makes its emergence clear on this record before later resurfacing); "Lonely Sea" (recorded at this same session, but not making its path until Surfin' USA), and an unreleased track named "Judy" (after Judy Bowles, Brian Wilson's first serious girlfriend).
This song was recorded and aided by Chuck Britz, the man who Brian implicitly trusted to act as his second ear.
Track 2: "County Fair" (B. Wilson, Gary Usher)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Released as single: Monday November 26th 1962
- Record number: Capitol 4880
- Peak US chart position: #49
- B-side of: "Ten Little Indians"
- Recorded: Friday 5th September 1962
Based on the spirited rides of San Bernardino county fair, this track, three months newer in recording than the record's predecessor, is interesting for its spoken middle section. It is the first track to appear on a Beach Boys album to be co-written by onetime collaborator Gary Usher, public and private nemesis of then-manager, Brian's erratic father Murry Wilson.
Track 3: "Ten Little Indians" (B. Wilson, Usher)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Released as single: Monday November 26th 1962
- Record number: Capitol 4880
- Peak US chart position: #49
- Backed with: "County Fair"
- Recorded: Wednesday 8th August 1962
Influenced by the popular tune with the same theme, this was released as a single after Surfin' Safari, on the grounds that the thought that the surf theme had already run its course. It became the lowest charting single until Bluebirds Over The Mountain hit the charts nearly six years later, perhaps signalling the beginning of the end of The Beach Boys' zenith.
Track 4: "Chug-A-Lug" (B. Wilson, Love, Usher)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Recorded: Wednesday 8th August 1962
This was the single which Brian most wanted to follow "Surfin' Safari" into the chart, with lyrics rivalling those of their best earlier material. It contains a fascinating guitar solo and a lyric which personalizes each member of The Beach Boys. It also boasts some of the most intuitive background parts appearing throughout the album.
Track 5: "Little Girl (You're My Miss America)" (Catalano, Herb Alpert)
- Lead vocal: Dennis Wilson
- Recorded: Saturday 6th September 1962
This song, Dennis Wilson's first recorded vocal, was co-written by Herb Alpert, co-founder of A&M Records. Only one other song was recorded during this session which made it through to the final album, that being "Summertime Blues". This early material really explains the appeal of Dennis' voice and personality to the makeup of The Beach Boys, notwithstanding his status as the only real surfer within the group.
Track 6: "409" (B. Wilson, Love, Usher)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Released as single: Monday June 4th 1962
- Record number: Capitol 4777
- Peak US chart position: #76 (as single in own right)
- B-side of: "Surfin' Safari"
- Recorded: Wednesday 13th June 1962
This song, to resurface on Little Deuce Coupe, was the flip-side of hit single Surfin' Safari, and was named for the dream car of co-writer Gary Usher.
Track 7: "Surfin'" (B. Wilson, Love)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Released as single: December 1961
- Peak US chart position: #75
- Backed with: "Luau"
- Recorded: Wednesday 4th October 1961
As the first hit single written to be concerned with this topic, The Beach Boys would set a trend which would typify many of their early releases both on album and on single. It was this track which got the band into writing songs about water pursuits more than any other, as Dennis insisted.
The B-side of this original single, "Luau", was most importantly featured on an eight-track compilation CD of the first songs recorded by The Beach Boys, released in 1996.
Track 8: "Heads You Win - Tails I Lose" (B. Wilson, Usher)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Recorded: Friday 5th September 1962
As this song was being written, at the same time was being written a song by the same Wilson/Usher team named "Timber, I'm Falling In Love With You", and this track was one of the first to have brought in a contemporary expression and made it their own in song.
Track 9: "Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capeheart)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love and Brian Wilson
- Recorded: Saturday 6th September 1962
"Summertime Blues", one of the few cover versions on this first release, had previously been recorded by co-author Cochran in 1958 and was somewhat of a staple recording for a band in its formative years.
Track 10: "Cuckoo Clock" (B. Wilson, Usher)
- Lead vocal: Brian Wilson
- Recorded: Friday 5th September 1962
The song, with interesting falsetto bird-sounds courtesy of Brian, has been lost in the course of memory, but still interests from a melodic and percussive point of view, as one of the more frantically tempoed tracks present in the early Beach Boys repertoire.
Track 11: "Moon Dawg" (Derry Weaver)
- Instrumental
- Recorded: Friday 5th September 1962
Another cover version, of a song originally recorded by The Gamblers, considered by many to be the very first example of a surfing record, and was a very active way for Carl to make people take notice of his guitar skills as a young musician.
Track 12: "The Shift" (B. Wilson, Love)
- Lead vocal: Mike Love
- Recorded: Wednesday 8th August 1962
This song has propulsive drums from Dennis, and interesting lyrics from Mike Love about the latest fashion statement.
Footnote
It should be noted that there is an obvious error printed in the liner notes for this CD, that "Surfin' Safari" backed with "409" seemingly entered the charts nine days before its release.
A 1990 reissue of this album coupled it on compact disc with the second album, Surfin' USA and included three bonus tracks from this era of the band's recording career.