Album
Surf's Up
1971 · Rock, Pop
45 collectors on Gatefold own this
Surf's Up is a Rock album by The Beach Boys, originally released in 1971. On Gatefold: 109 pressings tracked, owned by 45 collectors.
About
The Beach Boys had to rely on their U.K. fans for praise and support through much of the early 1970s. In the U.S., it would take a few years before the true beauty and worth of their post-<i>Pet Sounds</i> material would be properly appreciated. <i>Surf's Up</i> is a series of eclectic moments that reaches transcendence in the final songs, where three of Brian Wilson's finest spread their harmonies around. The title track had been kicking around since the <i>Smile</i> sessions and is the album's most ambitious—and successful—moment. "A Day In the Life Of A Tree" allows Al Jardine, Van Dyke Parks and the song's co-writer, Jack Rieley, to voice Brian's powerful sentiments. "'Til I Die" is simply haunting. The band's "pop" material had become so artful and sophisticated that it confused listeners looking for the group's famous quick hooks and bouncy grooves. Even the more immediately accessible material here has an undertow of high concept and weirdness. Bruce Johnston's "Disney Girls" is luscious. "Don't Go Near The Water" gets crazy. And Mike Love's "Student Demonstration Time" is a freaky jam.
via Apple Music
The Clerk says
The Clerk knows this whole record — the pressing quirks, the credits, the take.
Tracklist
Side A
- A1Don't Go Near The Water2:37
- A2Long Promised Road3:28
- A3Take A Load Off Your Feet2:28
- A4Disney Girls (1957)4:07
- A5Student Demonstration Time3:45
Side B
- B1Feel Flows4:44
- B2Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)1:54
- B3A Day In The Life Of A Tree3:04
- B4'Til I Die2:29
- B5Surf's Up4:11
Sound DNA
- Rock
- Psych Rock
- lush
- wistful
- psychedelic
Also reissued as part of
- Sunflower / Surf's Up (2000)
- Feel Flows (The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969-1971) (2021)
Surf's Up is the 17th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released in 1971. It was met with a warm critical reception and reached number 29 on the US record charts, becoming their best-performing album in their home country since 1967. In the UK, the album peaked at number 15, continuing a string of chart successes that had not abated since 1965.
Both the album's title and cover artwork are an ironic, self-aware nod to the departure from the band's surf rock roots. Its name was taken from the song of the same title written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks five years earlier for the abandoned studio album Smile. The creative direction of Surf's Up was largely influenced by newly employed band manager Jack Rieley, who strove to reinvent the group's image and reintroduce them to the era's counterculture. Two singles were issued in the US: "Long Promised Road" and "Surf's Up." Only the former charted, peaking at number 89.
In 2004, the album was voted 154 in a German edition of Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and ranked 61 on Pitchfork Media's "The Top 100 Albums Of The 1970s." It is listed in the music reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Credits
The people behind it.
Production & Engineering
- Alan BoydCOMPILATION PRODUCER [2012]
- Chad KassemPRODUCER [2014 REISSUE]
- Cheryl PawelskiPRODUCER [REISSUE]
- Dennis WolfeCOMPILATION PRODUCER [2012]
- Mark LinettCOMPILATION PRODUCER [2012]
- Mark LinettCONSULTANT [AUDIO, 2014 REISSUE], PRODUCER [AUDIO PRODUCTION]
- Paul AtkinsonPRODUCER [REISSUE]
- Stephen W. DesperENGINEER
- Stephen W. DesperENGINEER [CHIEF ENGINEER], MIXED BY
- Stephen W. DesperENGINEER [CHIEF ENGINEER], MIXED BY [MIXER]
- Stephen W. DesperENGINEER [CHIEF], MIXED BY
- Stephen W. DesperENGINEER [CHIEF], MIXED BY [MIXER]
Songwriting
- A.Jardine/G. Winfrey
- A.Jardine/M. Love
- Alan Jardine
- Alan Jardine,
- B. Johnston
- B. Wilson
- B. Wilson/J. Rieley
- B. Wilson/J. Rieley/G. Winfrey
- B. Wilson/V. Parks
- Brian Wilson
- Bruce Johnston
- C. Wilson/J. Rieley
45 collectors on Gatefold own this · 109 pressings tracked on Gatefold
Start your shelf.
Track your pressings of Surf's Up, get the Clerk's take, and see what the record is worth — free.
Start your shelf →Free forever. Works with 10 records or 10,000.