In the early Sixties, alongside Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan, the carefree Beach Boys (known officially as Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson) were also gaining widespread popularity in America.

They were three carefree and somewhat eccentric brothers: they couldn't care less about the Vietnam War, the end of the American Dream, the lousy kind of Kennedyanism, and the Berlin Wall. To them, none of that mattered. For these young guys, happiness only required a surfboard, a bunch of pretty chicks, and a couple of Hawaiian shirts to show off under the Californian sun.
You could say they were banal, that they were superficial, that they were little more than idiots: it’s true, no one will tell you otherwise, but be careful not to be too cynical; sometimes, as Hanks/Gump teaches us, "stupid is as stupid does" and the Beach Boys, whether you believe it or not, were neither banal, nor superficial, and certainly not stupid.

The first album by the Beach Boys is the negligible "Surfin' Safari" (1962) where the three brothers sing, without much conviction, little songs like "Surfin'" or "409". The turning point would come with the second, more refined album: "Surfin' Usa" is a classic beach album, one of those records where half of the songs could be sung at the beach around a campfire during summer. Yet, Brian Wilson (who composes and arranges the entire album) seems more in top form than usual: the heartbreak ballad "Lonely Sea" and the classic "Shut Down" are the clearest examples of how the Beach Boys are commendably trying to shed the label of a mere beach group. Naturally, however, they cannot betray their origins: the leading track of the entire album is "Surfin' Usa", an unabashedly carefree hippy version of the classic rock'n'roll beats typical of Chuck Berry and Bill Haley.

"Surfin' Usa" is a typical pop-beat album from the early Sixties, extremely simple musically, relatively complex vocally. The Beach Boys, deep down, attempt to imitate, in a less sappy manner, the singing art of the Platters: a chorus of voices (in this case three) alternates and often overlaps, in a sort of modern alternating madrigal, for which the old lesson from the Greek choir is not, as one thinks, that far off. Hyperbole aside (but these aren't totally unfounded thoughts), the Beach Boys were the pioneers for many American groups of the late Sixties and mid-Seventies (especially the Village People) and, for at least a decade, they were the most beloved American group among young people, remarkably outshining world-renowned British bands (Beatles and Rolling Stones). There is much to ponder regarding this fashionable explosion of the early Sixties: leftist revolutionary protesters idolized Bob Dylan, while young and bourgeois Californian guys saw the Beach Boys as myths as well as idols.

"Surfin' Usa" is a crucial album in the history of pop music (as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by the Beatles would be in 1967) but it is also the most glaring example of how one can reach the hearts of millions of youngsters by focusing not only on youthful charm but also on quality. Perhaps the youngsters of the early Sixties knew almost nothing about musicality, sound, and rhythm, but it is admirable how the three Wilson brothers try not to appear crude and ignorant at all costs: the musical quality of "Surfin' Usa" is commendable and captivating. Don't believe it? Try listening carefully to "Surf Jam", doesn't it sound musically perfect? Of course, not everything works wonderfully; here and there the record seems to stumble, but one cannot expect perfection from the Beach Boys; you can ask for quality, not perfection.

"Surfin' Usa" would achieve a resounding commercial success, so much so that it is still considered today the most representative Beach Boys album, even more than the so often praised "Pet Sounds" (1966, very good but not exceptional). A little curiosity: it was thanks to "Surfin' Usa" that John Milius, in 1977, found the inspiration to create "Big Wednesday". Do you understand the importance of the Beach Boys?

Tracklist and Lyrics

01   Surfin' U.S.A. (02:31)

02   Farmer's Daughter (01:52)

I could come from miles away
Ain't got (ain't got, ain't got)
No place to stay (place to stay, place to stay)
Glad to (glad to, glad to)
Help you plow your fields (help you plow, help you plow)
Farmer's daughter (farmer's daughter, farmer's daughter)

Might be (might be, might be)
Just a couple of days (couple of days, couple of days)
Clean up (clean up, clean up)
Rest and on my way (on my way, on my way)
Thank you (thank you, thank you)
And I'm much obliged (much obliged, much obliged)
Farmer's daughter (farmer's daughter, farmer's daughter)

Mmmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmmmm
Mmmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmmmm

So long (so long, so long)
Better leave your land (leave your land, leave your land)
Many thanks (many thanks, many thanks)
It was mighty grand (mighty grand, mighty grand)
I do (hope to, hope to)
Hope to see you again (see you again see you again)
Farmer's daughter (farmer's daughter, farmer's daughter)

Oh oh
Farmer's daughter (farmer's daughter, farmer's daughter)

Oh oh
Farmer's daughter (farmer's daughter, farmer's daughter)

03   Misirlou (02:05)

Instrumental

04   Stoked (02:02)

Stoked

Stoked

Stoked

Stoked

Stoked

Stoked

05   Lonely Sea (02:24)

06   Shut Down (01:52)

07   Noble Surfer (01:54)

08   Honky Tonk (02:05)

Instrumental

09   Lana (01:43)

Lana Lana oh Lana dear
Please come along with me

We'll go (Lana dear) we'll go (Lana dear)
So far away (Lana dear) (Lana dear)
So happy (Lana dear) we will be (Lana dear)

I'll show (come with me) I'll show (come with me)
You another world (come with me) (come with me)
Alone (come with me) with silver (come with me) and gold (Lana dear)

(Oooooooooooo)
(Oooooooooooo-ooooo)

Don't dear (Lana dear) please don't (Lana dear)
Don't be afraid (Lana dear) (Lana dear)
It's heaven (Lana dear) I've been told (Lana dear) (Lana dear)

Lana (come with me) Lana (come with me) Oh Lana dear (come with me)
Please (come with me) come along (come with me) with me (Lana dear)

Lana (Lana dear) Lana (Lana dear) oh Lana dear (Lana dear) (Lana dear)
Please (Lana dear) come along (Lana dear) with me (Lana dear)

10   Surf Jam (02:14)

11   Let's Go Trippin' (02:00)

12   Finders Keepers (01:43)

I kicked out of the surf
And stuck my board in the sand
And then up in my Woody
To a hamburger stand
And when I got back
My nine five board was gone

She said yeah she said
(Finders keepers)
Finders keepers
(Losers weepers)
Losers weepers
(Finders keepers)
Finders keepers
Finders keepers
Losers weepers

I saw a Hodaddy
Paddlin' out by the pier
Well he musta got my board
'Cause mine isn't here
But I know how to fix him
I'll just raise that meatball flag

He said yeah he said
(Finders keepers)
Finders keepers
(Losers weepers)
Losers weepers
(Finders keepers)
Finders keepers
Finders keepers
Losers weepers

He took off on a swell
When he saw the flag
He's just a crazy Hodaddy
Pullin' some kind of gag
He went over the falls
And now my board's
Coming back to me

I said yes I said
(Finders keepers)
Finders keepers
(Losers weepers)
Losers weepers
(Finders keepers)
Finders keepers
Finders keepers
Losers weepers

(That'll teach him to mess with my board
Next pass next time...)

13   Cindy, Oh Cindy (02:10)

14   The Baker Man (02:36)

15   Land Ahoy (01:39)

(Brian Wilson)

I've been overseas for almost a year
Any time now precious land should appear
I've been away from my lover so long
Look there matey, but I could be wrong

Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)

Listen here matey, in an hour or so
We'll be sitting on the land that we know
We'll leave this ship and run to outstreched arms
And soon we'll be living with our lover's charms

Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)


Listen here matey, in an hour or so
We'll be sitting on the land that we know
We'll leave this ship and run to outstreched arms
And soon we'll be living with our lover's charms


Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)
Oh land ahoy, land ahoy, sailor boy
(Land ahoy land ahoy Papa's toy l'ahoy)

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