Before the Beach Boys signed for Capitol in Spring of 1962, they recorded for the independent label Candix. The band, still in their teens recorded with producer Hite Morgan. These sessions yielded the "Surfin'" single (and it's rare B-Side "Luau"), and early versions of "Surfin' Safari" and "Surfer Girl". Also recorded was the bands "Barbie" single (which they recorded under the name Kenny And The Cadets). The band was still in its' beginning stages and Brian Wilson had only just begun to write songs. The band were also fairly rudimentary on their instruments.
This is definitely something that is nearly exclusively for hardcore Beach Boys fans. This is a nice piece for fans as it collects all their early material in one place. It's a Record Store Day release and comes in yellow, red or blue in a limited number of 3,000 copies.
In the Autumn of 1965, Brian Wilson was composing and preparing The Beach Boys' legendary Pet Sounds album. 1965 also saw the release of two top-five charting albums (The Beach Boys Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)) which both show Wilson's maturing as a songwriter and a producer. By the middle of the Summer Capitol had been hounding the band for a new album to release for the Holiday shopping season. However, the band didn't have anything prepared. So, Brian Wilson came up with the idea of recording an album where the band sounds like they're just hanging out at a party with their friends and just performing acoustic cover versions of some of their favorite songs. The only instruments heard are acoustic guitar, bass, tambourine and bongos.
The album contained covers by Bob Dylan, The Everly Brothers, Phil Spector and three songs by The Beatles. Plus the novelty songs "Alley Oop", "Hully Gully" & "Papa Oom Mow Mow". The band's cover of "Barbara Ann" from this album was rush released as a single by Capitol when the bands' non-album single "The Little Girl I Once Knew" stalled at #20 on Billboards single charts. Apparently, "The Little Girl I Once Knew" was taking too long a time, slowly building momentum, in becoming a hit for the label's liking. "Barbara Ann" reached #2 on the charts. Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean sings co-lead on the track with Brian Wilson.
To add a party atmosphere to the album, the bands recorded an ambient track of just chatter, clinking of glasses and general party noises which pervades the entire album. Capitol record has just released Uncovered and Unplugged, which is the album without the backround ambient track and just the band playing and singing in the studio. The vinyl version is a beautiful reproduction of the album with labels faithful to the original mid-60's Capitol label. And the CD contains two discs of the album itself and virtually all of the outtakes as well. Including versions of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Ticket To Ride" and "California Girls".
The album itself is unwittingly a virtual snapshot of the pre-Pet Sounds Beach Boys. How they were and never would be again.
Highly recommended for the Beach Boys connoisseur and for maybe a listen for the Beach Boys novice as well.
The Rip Chords were
southern California surf pop band that were signed to Columbia
Records. They released two unsuccessful doo-wop influenced singles
(“Here I Stand” & Gone”). Columbia Record producers Terry
Melcher and Bruce Johnston - also of the surf pop combo Bruce &
Terry - came in shortly thereafter and took over the lead vocal
duties. The band then had huge hit singles with “Hey Little Cobra”
and “Three Window Coupe”. The band released two albums and
subsequently had one more charting single with “One Piece Topless
Bathing Suit” before calling it a day in 1965.
The always reliable
Sundazed Music later reissued the bands two albums and a best of
compilation that also contained a few unreleased items. Sundazed also
released a single on colored vinyl on yellow wax.
“Sting Ray” is a
boogie woogie rock and roll song that references The Beach Boys
“Little Deuce Coupe”. “Red Hot Roadster” is a song that
appeared in the motion picture A Swingin' Summer, that
the band actually appeared in and the band performed said song. “Shut
Down” is the a cover of the Beach Boys classic and appeared on the
the Hey Little Cobra And Other Hits
album. Terry Melcher went on to produce The Byrds and Paul Revere And
The Raiders. Bruce Johnston joined the Beach Boys in the Spring of
1965 and is in the band to the day. And a touring version of The Rip
Chords still tours the oldies circuit.
Highly
recommended for fans of The Beach Boys and 60's Surf Pop.
David Marks was the
rhythm guitarist with The Beach Boys from February of 1962 until
October of 1963. He co-signed the band's contract with Capitol
Records along with Mike Love and the Wilson brothers and was on the
bands first four albums (Surfin' Safari, Surfin' USA, Surfer Girl
and Little Deuce
Coupe). He ultimately left the
band left over a financial dispute between his parents and Murray
Wilson. He was technically a legal full-time member of the band until
late 1967.
David
Marks later rejoined The Beach Boys in 1995, first appearing on
Baywatch with the band. Then on the Beach Boys Salute
NASCAR 1998 compilation. And later appearing on the bands 2012
reunion album That's Why God Made The Radio and subsequent
50th Anniversary World Tour.
Soon
after leaving the band Marks formed The Marksmen in 1963 and released
a few singles on A&M Records and Warner Brothers before
disbanding in 1965. The complete Marksmen recordings were finally
compiled in 2008 on the Quiver Records compilation album The
Ultimate Collector's Edition 1963-1965.
Sundazed
Music released this beautiful little single in 2003 of two of the
stand-out tracks by The Marksmen (“The Sheriff Of Noddingham” b/w
“Kustom Kar Show”). “Noddingham” is a classic surf
instrumental rave-up with plenty of wet, reverby guitar ala Dick Dale, while “Kar
Show” is an endearingly goofy songwith
backing-vocals and handclaps by The Honeys (which featured Brian
Wilson's future wife Marilyn Rovell).
Highly
recommended for fans of The Beach Boys and Surf Rock. Here's The Video Review:
The Sunrays were a mid
60's Sunshine Pop/Surf Pop band from southern California. They were
managed by Murray Wilson, father of Brian, Dennis & Carl Wilson
of The Beach Boys. Murray took up the role of as band manager after
being fired by The Beach Boys for being deemed intolerable to work
with. Murray also served as The Sunrays producer and got them signed
to Capitol Records subsidiary, Tower Records in 1964. The band had
hit singles with “I Live For The Sun”, “Andrea” and “Still”
before disbanding 1967.
This single, which was
released on Record Store Day of 2014, is comprised of “Our Leader”,
which was a recording dedicated to Murray Wilson by the band and
given to him on Christmas of 1965. It's a heart-felt token of
appreciation to an individual whose reputation has been tarnished
over the years.
“Won't You Tell Me”
is a song that was composed by Murray Wilson and band leader Rick
Henn to record, four years after the band's break-up. Recorded by the
Wrecking Crew and some creative input and backing vocals from Dennis
Wilson, it's something of a mini Sunshine/Baroque Pop classic.
The song was overdubbed
with vocals from both Brian and Carl Wilson also in 1971. This
version appears on the Beach Boys bootlegs Get The Boot and
All This Is That.
Sundazed works its'
usual magic and the vinyl is of the usual high-standards. It's nice
yellow vinyl pressing and comes with four-pages of insightful and historical
annotation from Rick Henn.
Very Highly Recommended
for fans of The Beach Boys, Baroque Pop and Sunshine Pop of the
1960's.
In the early 1960's drag racing/hot rodding was wildly popular in Southern California. Also wildly culturally popular was Surf Rock. Eventually out of Surf Music, grew Hot Rod music (i.e. Dick Dale & His Deltones, The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, etc.). That is, surf rock with lyrics pertaining to Hot Rods and Hot Rod culture. The Big Sounds Of The Drags! is not Hot Rod music per se. It is a spoken word album with a narrator who introduces the album followed by the sounds of drag racers, drag-racing and, for authenticity purposes, a race announcer off in the distance.
Released in October of 1963, The Big Sound Of The Drags! was produced by Jim Economidies (responsible for plenty of early/mid 60's surf rock records). It was the first in a series of five in Captiol's "Big Sound Series" (the other four being The Big Sounds Of The Sports Cars, The Big Sounds Of The Drag Boats, The Big Sounds Of The Go Karts! and The Big Sounds Of The Drags Volume Two). The Drags was the most successful selling over 100,000 copies (in just six months).
The sounds of revving car engines is oddly therapeutic/soothing. And I can imagine one falling asleep soundly to the long-droning sounds. The album is about twenty-eight minutes long. It's really a strange little 1960's pop culture artifact. If you're a fan of hod rod/racing or spoken word albums you'll most-likely love this slab of vinyl. Otherwise I'm not sure who to recommend this to. I personally enjoyed it in all its proto-ambient charming drone-glory..
The Beach Boys are one of the greatest American bands to emerge from the second-half of the 20th Century. Brian Wilson is one of the most important modern-day American pop composers. His productions ushered in Baroque pop, Sunshine pop and Psychedelic Pop. However, to your average low-information consumer, they are primarily known only for recording a handful of well-crafted, but perhaps over-saturated early hits (i.e. "Surfin' U.S.A.", "Fun, Fun, Fun", "I Get Around", "Help Me Rhonda" and "California Girls"). Hits that have been heard in commercials, movies and all-over oldies radio, for quite some time now.
However some of their best material (bona fide hits or minor hits) come from their lesser-known-to-the-public-at-large era of 1966-1973. Some songs that are very well-known ("Good Vibrations") and have similar, near companion songs that are not as well-known ("Heroes And Villains"). Good Vibrations: Best Of The Beach Boys was the first time all of the baroque-pop period of The Beach Boys was compiled in one place. However it's release was not exactly of purest intentions. Endless Summer (Capitol/1974) and Spirit Of America (Capitol/1975) were compilation albums released of the bands' earlier material by Capitol after the band had been on Reprise for a few years. They were blockbuster albums peaking at numbers 1 and 8, respectively on Billboard. They single-handedly put The Beach Boys back in the general public's commercial consciousness again after years of releasing artistically-successful albums, but dwindling returns. Reprise had the rights to the bands Capitol catalog from 1966-1969 and the bands' own Reprise material (from 1970 onward).
Good Vibrations: Best Of The Beach Boys succeeds in (albeit modestly - it charted at 25) cashing-in on the band they seemingly could never sell in the same way that Capitol had, despite first-class material. Song-for-song it's basically a perfect album. "Good Vibrations", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Heroes And Villains", "Friends", "Add Some Music To Your Day", "God Only Knows", "Sloop John B", "Surf's Up", "Caroline, No", "Darlin'", "Do It Again" and "Sail On Sailor" are the songs on the album. If there was to be a CD release for a complete 1966-1973 best-of, these are the tracks I'd include: "I Can Hear Music", "Cottonfields" (single version), Bluebirds Over The Mountain", "Wild Honey", "Long Promised Road", "Till I Die", "Marcella", "Cabinessence", "California Saga: California" (single version) "Busy Doin' Nothin'", "This Whole World" and "You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone". But you could always make a compilation CD of all of this I suppose.
I cannot recommend the vinyl platter highly enough.
Jerry Cole was one of the most sought-after session guitarists of the 1960's Los Angeles scene. He was a member of The Wrecking Crew and regularly appeared albums by The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Paul Revere & The Raiders and Little Richard. He also had a little band of his own known as The Spacemen. Jerry Cole & The Spacemen released three albums which were all released on Capitol Records. The second of these, Surf Age, has been reissued by the fantastic Sundazed Music (along with Hot Rod Dance Party) in a limited pressing of 1,000 copies on colored vinyl.
Surf Age is an instrumental surf rock album with your standard guitar, bass, drums arrangement. Songs are occasionally ornamented with organs, sometimes saxophones and lots of percussion. The album was produced by Jim Economides (who also wrote about half of the material) and it's a nicely recorded/produced album. The material is sometimes danceable in an old-school way. It's definitely a wonderful relic of its' time. I personally like the bass saxophones but I could do with out the sax solos - they're the one thing on the entire recording that "date" it, oddly enough. Whereas the standard guitar-bass-drums surf rock set-up is fairly timeless. The riffs are great but the material as a whole is somewhat on the forgettable-side.
However, these releases are a guilty-pleasure of mine as I'm way into this period of music (especially surf rock from the West Coast) so I'd recommend this to other like-minded fans as well.
Jerry Cole was an in-demand session musician from the 1960's Los Angeles, California scene. He was a member of what was subsequently dubbed The Wrecking Crew, who played on Phil Spector's hit records and The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and SMiLE albums. He was the band-leader on the 60's variety shows Shindig! & Hullabaloo. He's been inducted into the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame & the Capitol Records Legendary Performer Hall Of Fame. He also worked with Little Richard, Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, Paul Revere & The Raiders and Frank Sinatra to name just a few. He also had a band of his own: The Spacemen, who performed regularly on the Sunset Strip and released a trio of albums on Capitol Records in 1963 & 1964.
The final release of these albums, Hot Rod Dance Party is produced by Jim Economides (Dick Dale & His Del-Tones) and was originally released in 1964 by Capitol Records. At the time, Capitol was producing surf-rock albums by the dozens, either by actual surf-rock bands, or studio-created "bands" such as The Super Stocks, The Kickstands & The Ghouls.
"MUSIC WITH A DRIVIN' BEAT THAT PUT ANY PARTY ON WHEELS"
Hot Rod Dance Party is a horn-driven, classic reverb-drenched guitar instrumental album and is very danceable (in an swinging, twisting, old-school, guitar-based way). It's Hot-Rod Music/Surf-Pop (although "Hot Rod Music" is really just surf rock with lyrics about cars and racing as opposed to waves and surfing). There aren't any particular standout tracks, truth-be-told. The material is sometimes bachelor-pad infused with hints of tiki exotica and lounge with great guitar lines courtesy Mr. Cole. At times the material falls into a sort of generic surf-pop realm, that really isn't made anymore. This being said, the recording itself is very nice (and so unmistakably Americana of the mid 60's as well). And if you're a fan of surf rock guitar playing, you'll probably love this record. One can only imagine how the surf pop vocals of The Beach Boys or Jan & Dean on top of these instrumental tracks would have potentially elevated it commercially, but I digress.
It was reissued In a limited pressing of only 1,000 copies in 2010 by the fantastic reissue label Sundazed Music based out of the Catskills in New York. Sundazed has long-since taken the mantle from Rhino Records as being the greatest vinyl reissue/authentically vintage label currently in existence. The vinyl is beautiful clear-black-marble and is a nice piece for anyone who is a fan of this sort of thing (i.e. instrumental surf pop on vinyl, auxiliary Beach Boys session musicians, etc).
