Surf's Up

Re-listen. The Beach Boys really did invent depression music all the way back in 1971... In all seriousness, it is indeed a gut-punch of an album. While the content might feel like a shock to those only familiar with The Beach Boys traditional hits, for those more engaged with their background and evolution it doesn't come as too much of a surprise. Introspective and melancholic songs are not new for The Beach Boys, as seen in previous 60s albums like Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile. Surf's Up though does hold the distinction of bringing those themes front-and-center. All the way down to the album cover. I'm sure it stunned people back then as much as it continues to do now. I'm talking about the cover so much only because I think it speaks volumes about the music within. Not just in encapsulating the way the songs feel and sound, but how it highlights the intentional subversion of expectations. Despite their stylistic development, the Beach Boys were, and to an extent still are, perceived as a chipper surf rock/"summer of love" group. When you choose cover art like this, it is screaming at the dissonance between their initial output and their desired direction. Even down to the title "Surf's Up" (shared with the last track), which creates an association brimming with irony. It follows the trend of their first few albums having some kind of variation of "surf" in the title, harkening back to those feel-good tunes. But when paired with the visual, the exclamation turns from one of immediate action and control, to one of reconciliation and acceptance; powerlessness. Like a stone rolling on the waves of the ocean. The album is not only a direct confrontation with feelings of social, environmental and emotional upheaval, but a literal one too as the group was attempting to approach a new stylistic path with the changing times and decreasing influence of their previous band-leader Brian Wilson. The future is scary and uncertain, but you can try looking back at what was one more time before you take the leap into the dark water. Fav Tracks: "Long Promised Road", "'Til I Die" and "Surf's Up".

Low tide on this one; no need to wax the boards

This Baroque Pop album feels like returning to a childhood beach years later and discovering that the sand is polluted, the sea is darker than you remember, and the carefree days are gone. The Beach Boys' trademark vocal harmonies are still there, wrapped in delicate piano, layered guitars, orchestral touches and strange psychedelic sounds, but the sunny surf-pop image gives way to melancholy, environmental worries and reflections on mortality. Some passages are dreamy and beautiful, while others feel oddly playful or awkward, making the album a somewhat uneven experience. The music shifts between light, almost whimsical pop and deeply introspective moments, as if the band cannot quite decide whether to cling to the past or face the troubled world around them. What remains is a strange, bittersweet record that sounds less like a day at the beach and more like watching the tide carry away something familiar.

A very odd Beach Boys album. There’s psych garage band guitar protest songs, environmental activism and diabetic foot care advice. I kind of liked it.

The Beach Boys know. how to do it and do it well.

Surf's up is such a strange record. It's a collection of songs with no real shared theme or throughline, that just kind of sounds like a bunch of the band members ideas smacked into one record. Don't go near the water is a moody psychedelic environmental piece, Disney girls a more baroque piece, and student demonstration time a more rock N rolling tracks - sounding very far detached from the bands usual tones. It kind of works though. It's confused and messy but there are moments of real beauty on here, especially on the back end of the album. Feel flows and the final 3 songs (all of which are Brian Wilson written) are gorgeous. If Pet Sounds is an album of pure teenage love and emotion, this is an album more akin to being lost and confused in your 20s

Now THIS is the beach boys I wanted to hear

Interesting album, haven’t heard this side of the beach boys. You can really tell Brian Wilson didn’t have a big hand in producing. I didn’t mine the chill vibes.

6/10

Pretty good melancholic album. Not what I expected.

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. It had some music that I never would have expected from the band. And it also introduced me to a side of the bands history I never knew about.

I love the cover art. It's so dark. It's the opposite of anything you'd expect from the group. It's got a lot more of the Brian Wilson I fell in love with, with Smile. I think he was still with the group at this time. It's got a major feel to the music and brightness to it. But something just isn't "ideal" the dissonance of a lot of the harmonies - it's got such a haunting beauty to it. I really dig it.

Glad this made the list, it gave me a great excuse to finally dive in. Will I relisten? Probably not on my own, though if it's playing, I won't turn it off. Growing up, my Beach Boys rotation was strictly limited to the major hits, which had already reached nauseating levels by the time I'd heard them for the thousandth time on my dad's 8-track. I discovered Pet Sounds much later on my own and that album is solid gold.

Pretty good but very much of it's time. Musically incredible.

eh

This cover is bonkers bananas. I love it. This album has immediately drawn me in. I had a lot of fun listening to this album.

Dit voelt heel erg als een standaard Beach Boys album. Het klinkt wel lekker hoor, daar niet van. Maar vind het niet super spannend. Wel heb ik het idee dat dit al meer psychedelisch is dan hun eerdere muziek, ook al heb ik geen idee of dit een nieuwer of ouder album is dan die ik al geluisterd heb. De reden dat ik denk dat dit wat nieuwer is, is omdat de productie vreemder is. Maar; waar de Beach Boys meestal bekend stonden als die gezellige guitige surfknapen, is dit duidelijk een minder gezellig album. En misschien is het omdat het de maandag na ADE is, maar ik vind dit eigenlijk wel vet? Vorige Beach Boys albums was toch vaak een beetje mooiboy surfdude muziek. Dit is veel duisterder en daardoor ook wat interessanter. De surfdudes van weleer hebben toch wat te zeggen! Wie had dat gedacht.. Wel merk ik dat de tweede helft me toch wat minder pakt, vooral de nummers A day in the life of a tree en Til I die. Ik ben er niet zo'n fan van. Maar toegegeven; je kan bijna niet meer breken met Wouldn't it be nice en Good vibrations. Dit zijn volkomen andere nummers dan wat ze hiervoor maakten. Dit was echt interessant om te luisteren, het is een compleet ander genre dan waar ik persoonlijk de Beach Boys van ken. Maar ben nog steeds niet de grootste fan van de Beach Boys. FAVO: Long promised road, Student demonstration time

Nice enough to listen to, not their best but enjoyable

Цікаво, цікаво)

I can't figure out why this album is on this list.

When I wasn't finding it bland, I was cringing. The title track is ok.

Interesting, a side of The Beach Boys I've never really heard before. 3.5 I guess?

This album made me realize how much I miss hearing people's real singing voices, and not something auto tuned to high heaven

DISNEY GIRLS TAAAAAAAAAK

Okay, this is really weird lol Both in a good and bad way, I sort of really liked it and also dislike it ? I don’t know

It's weird and that I applaude, but it doesn't really grow on me which good weird albums should do. However, I don't know why Student demonstration time gets so much hate, I think it's corny groovy!

Enjoyed this one, got me through observation anxiety and made me feel old.

Let me start by saying I am not a fan of The Beach Boys. With that in mind, I went into this expecting, "Let's grab our surfboards and hit the waves" kind of thing. So I was presently surprised when I found what this actually was. I didn't realize that they were (or became) so socailly concious. This was a pleasant surprise.

I like album not their best but pretty decent

4 out of 5. This was a Beach Boys album album that I never knew about and guess what? Student Demonstration Time is a great tune.

I was not destined to enjoy this album. My ex-friend who was super horrible to me was obsessed with the beach boys so they will forever sound horrible to me

not so good.

a departure from the beach boys you might expect with dark and plainly weird songs. Laudable but not listenable

I expected something different from the beach boys

Wishy-washy.

Good stuff.

I don’t even need to re-listen to know I’m awarding Surf’s Up a 5/5. It’s the anti Beach Boys album from the band themselves. Melancholic, mature, introspective and hauntingly beautiful without ever being too self indulgent. I strongly urge even the Beach Boys biggest haters to give this a shot with an open mind.

A darker vibe to this album, are you ok boys?

Pleasant

Whatever this was it wasn’t The Beach Boys. It was pretty awful

These are some really good songs, but I’ve always had a difficult time connecting with The Beach Boys music. This one trends away from their surf sound and is really an art rock album. Maybe I’m just not sympathetic to the song writing style.

Strange stuff

(5/7) impressive sound, and not at all what I associate with The Beach Boys

Not as good as the earlier stuff.

I feel like this album is the equivalent of excitedly taking a tasty-looking hors d'oeuvre off a plate at a party and then finding out that it's just mid

Ihan hyvää musaa. Ei kuitenkaan iskenyt mitenkään erityisesti. Pari kappaletta oli kyllä hyviä.

Nice 7,5/10

Great sounds

Notable Textzeile: Unbending, never-ending tablets of time Record all the yearning Unfearing, all-appearing message divine Eases the burning Die Mischung aus Harmonien und Dur mit agitatorischen Texten über Umweltzerstörung, Depression und Longing funktioniert nur manchmal. Ab und zu ist es zu plump, ab und zu ist es großartig. Der Ansatz mit dem eigenen Image inhaltlich zu brechen aber musikalisch sich treu zu bleiben überzeugt mich eigentlich, leider sind nicht alle Songs gut. Daher genau die Mitte.

Das drölfzehnte Beach Boys Album und man muss Titel und Cover schon Respekt zollen: sie wissen es. So nehmen sie sich Zeit für luftige Harmonien und Atmosphäre, selbst Carl darf mal ein paar Songs schreiben, und so langsam grooven sie sich ins Vorruhestand-Legacy-Bandalter. Wenn nicht die letzten drei Songs wären, hätte ich dem ne 2 gegeben. So ist das fast ne vier. Wäre es noch mehr wenn die großen Songs vorne wären? Womöglich.

Nothing outstanding. Just 70's poprock. Cover is cool though.

First I looked at the album cover, and I expected some awesome stoner rock. Then I read the album name and assumed it'd be some kind of surf rock. Imagine then my slight disappointment when I realize it is a beach boys, more hippy rock/pop album. Overall it was pretty neat, though nothing really did grab me in this album.

삼삼함 디즈니걸즈는 좋음

General thoughts: I'm excited. I already love two albums by the Beach Boys, Pet Sounds & Sunflower; other than that, I only know sparse singles. So I had this illusion that I'd find a third perfect album to go on-route to being one of my favourite bands. I've seen the cover before, of course, and it's always been like, wait, will this be a darker kind of Beach Boys? Like, shit and giggles is over? Thematically, Pet Sounds is a bit dark, so is this further down that route? Now, having listened to it easily above a dozen times already because it’s a very easy album to listen to too, and it still feels refreshing, did it meet my expectations? Yes and no. I loved it, and it cemented the Beach Boys into one of my favourite acts, but it didn't carry this darker feeling I assumed. In fact, chronologically speaking, this is after both albums I referenced; even then, I feel Surf's Up is less personal and less ambitious overall. I mean, the surf is gone, yes, like a couple of albums ago actually; the surfiness is still there though, which was not present during Pet Sounds, for example. So it seems a bit sinuous the trajectory of their discography. A bit like a synthesis of Pet Sounds & Sunflower, a bit of the more refined chamber pop with the more doo wop artsy rock-pop. The essence is still strong, the amazing harmonies with sudden pitches that terrify me when I try to imitate, and how they jump from goofy to full serious chorus delight. The opener is great; it sets the mood effectively, then we get another peak with the melancholic Disney Girls, an ode to escape and the longing of what can only be dreamed, and then ascend to the skies in the last three songs. 'A Day In The Life Of A Tree', particularly heartbreaking, a baroque pop song apparently about a tree, but soon we figure out it's about Brian Wilson himself, a reflection into the mind and state of the de facto leader of the Beach Boys. Now, I'm not a connoisseur; I still don't know much about their history or the group dynamics as time progressed. My image of Brian has always been that he was a bit bratty, smart introvert boy during the Pet Sounds era, and a charismatic, melancholic grandpa before he sadly passed away last year, but not much in between, and, man, deep diving Wikipedia, his life has been insane. As unfortunate as his personal and artistic life may have been, his genius was clearly present, with the credits of probably my favourite songs on the album. Even then, I'd heard before that he carried the whole band, but looking through the credits, that doesn't seem the case. I don't know how united they kept, but the credits show a lot of penmanship, co-authoring between one and another, creating beautiful vocal melodies solo, groupal, or in pairs. The lyrics and melody credits are vast, so the songmaking approach is diverse; the composing is mostly great, and the arrangements are always good. Even during this time, when Brian was a mess, the production quality of the album is superb. Seems the history of the Beach Boys was surrounded by multiple bad decisions and unfortunate factors which suppressed their actual genius. Going back on track, we close with the eponymous Surf's Up. Aesthetically similar to a poem, or an act in an opera, the album couldn't have closed on a better note. A complex lyrical structure that outlines the best capabilities of the boys. Particularly loved the bass here. A very interesting album, in more than one way. Outstanding song(s): A Day In The Life Of A Tree - tried to learn this on guitar; oh boy, is it complex Surf's Up Weakest song(s): Student Demonstration Time Cover: lol this covers fucks, and they knew it, but it gave me totally different expectations. I hope to buy a sculpture of it sometime in the future. Real rating: 4.15

more bleeding from my ears having 2 beach boys albums, an early Beetles album and a scottish wanna be regae album in the last 4 days. there is truly bad music made and this is another example.

don’t go near the water is an incredible beginning. this album was just short of the 5 because it isn’t memorable enough as a whole, but fantastic regardless. i was so surprised by the depth

Better than Pet Sounds, IMO. 3.5/5.0

The inclusion of the title song still hurts the "what could have been" factor of if Smile was released as the follow-up to Pet Sounds. Get some of the era's silliness which is fun. Ultimately the title track is among my favourites of all time and makes this one a blast.

Good album, but we know there is one better

3.5

My third favourite Beach Boys album. 4.5 stars

Really don't get the love for this. There's a few tunes here that are pretty good -- "Long Promised Road", "A Day in the Life of a Tree", "Feel Flows". "Disney Girls" is pretty good despite the lyrics. The rest just isn't my bag. Sorry Beach Boys die hards. 3 stars.

A fantastic album. Some high points on here that snuggle alongside Pet Sounds in terms of greatness. Tracks like Long Promised Road, Disney Girls, Till I Die and Surf’s Up. All in all a very deep and meaningful album. Hung marmot overtaken me Dim stoats and deer awaken me To a mouse dissolved in the dawn The woodland hall a costly bow The woodland all is lost for now To a muted trumpeter badger Columnated badgers domino Canvas the town and brush the badgers Are you sleeping, Bodger and Badger?

really weird album. obviously what could be harder than evolving the sound and style of an iconic (young) band like the Beach Boys? But even understanding all that, this is still a really uneven album. I liked parts of it a lot, but some of it is maudlin, and most if it is pretty clunky. It's like a cautionary tale/blueprint/ur-text for "Band Searching High and Low for New Identity." It's all over the map, some parts work, some parts are terrible (Student Demonstration Time is actively risible). Is this album interesting? 1000% But is it GOOD? I'm not so sure.

Beautiful harmonies and a lovely conservation message throughout. Definitely a reflection of the culture of the time.

Struggling with this one. Maybe it needs more time but on one listen it isn’t great. Good but not great. 3/5

Favorite Song: Student Demonstration Time Least Favorite: Lookin’ At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)

It's hard to come up with a better final two tracks for an album than 'Til I Die and Surf's Up. The songwriting is strong throughout the rest of the album too, and 'Long Promised Road' in particular is magnificent. It’s a shame that 'Student Demonstration Time' is the most embarrassing song in the Beach Boys’ entire discography—and that’s saying a lot for a band that has committed crimes against humanity like 'Kokomo.' Despite that single flaw, it's so close to five stars that I'd feel guilty rounding it down.

Experimental audio soup that never forms into an enjoyable listen. No doubt a marked progression from pop to progressive rock but an uncessarily bad trip away from the beach.

This is the Beach Boys 17th studio album. They peaked well before this album was released. I don’t really understand its inclusion. It’s still a fine record, but you the Beach Boys were capable of so much better.

Couple of great songs, couple of shockers. I hate putting a 3, makes me feel like and indecisive pussy, but alas a 3 it is

70s baroque pop.

What a strange album. Hearing the Beach Boys get serious is like seeing a child realize their own mortality for the first time. I'm not terribly familiar with the band's history, but I guess that with this album they were trying to be a bit more topical and 'edgy' (for lack of a better term), as their contemporaries got heavier and hairier and made their wholesome good vibes summer schtick look increasingly anachronistic. But I like the wholesome good vibes summer schtick! And they're really good at it too! Hearing the Beach Boys do a blues rock song about student protests is just bizarre and you can kind of tell that their hearts weren't in it. The other songs on here about serious social issues (pollution, welfare, etc) do at least sound like the Beach Boys but are also filtered through that childlike sort of worldview, which sounds like it shouldn't work but honestly it kind of does? Definitely not going to convert any snobs in 1971 who thought that the Beach Boys were passé but it's charming in its own way.

1971 progressive pop Long promised road Student demonstration time

I liked this and the message of respecting the ocean. The later tracks kinda deft off but solid first half of the album

Feels Flow is the only reason this record is on the list.

Only really liked one song. It’s alright!

What to make of this. First love the album cover i say this in light of the abomination that is Pet Sounds. Some good songs some ok some awful life of a tree and student demo.

Not the Beach Boys I'm used to but still good

This is a weird experience. It is The Beach Boys on psychodelics turning dark and I am still confused. It is listenable you can tell the voice arrangementes are there but the sound is darker and heavier, and I honestly don't think it was a good idea. Good thing it is 30 minutes long but this was weird 3/5

Controversial opinion: I think the Beach Boys were better when they were making cheesy, silly surfing songs in their early career. I'm fine with serious music but I'm just not interested in hearing it from this band. Maybe my opinion will change once I get to Pet Sounds though. I admit I've never listened to that one in full. But for now I'm going to keep listening to California Girls and Surfin' USA.

The original art direction for The Beach Boys' 1971 album Surf's Up was credited to Ed Thrasher. The front cover features an anonymous, based on End of the Trail, a early C20 sculpture of an exhausted Native American warrior on a weary horse by artist James Earle Fraser.The painter of the version on the album cover has never been identified. Jack Rieley, the manager, says he discovered the painting in a Silver lake antique shop and its mood fitted the band's new artistic direction. The painting is great the music not so.

Album 322. Surf's Up — The Beach Boys (1971) How many albums do they have... I've never heard about this one. Typical Brian Wilson, but unfortunately I don't like this one. It's somehow just too bad 2/5 No liked songs

Nice harmonies. Some interesting arrangements but still a bit soft for me.

will revisit this album, listened to it while on a nice walk on an autumn evening in philly

There are some really good songs here, but the overall picture is unfocused. Listening to some of the songs that didn’t make the cut, as well as other Beach Boys songs from the late 60s and early 70s (including of course songs from the Smile project, and songs that wound up on Dennis Wilson’s solo album), I think that with a little more focus, less rivalry and infighting, and the right producer, the Beach Boys could’ve made several albums in this era that would’ve rivaled The Beatles’ last albums or the Rolling Stones’ late 60s-early 70s peak. Instead, following Pet Sounds, their output was a mess, with bits and pieces of greatness on this and a few other albums, alongside a lot of lesser, forgettable material. My favorites from this record: Feel Flows and ‘Til I Die. 3.5/5

This is one of those albums that hit me with that feeling of “I’m so glad I got to listen to this for the first time ever”. I thought I had an idea of what it would sound like but I was so wrong. And I’m glad I was wrong. It really shows the diversity of The Beach Boys and they weren’t just a “surfer boy band”. I listened to it twice just because I loved it that much. And it honestly surprised me how much I loved it. Definitely found some new repeats: “Long Promised Road”, “Student Demonstration Time”, “Lookin’ At Tomorrow” and “A Day In The Life Of A Tree”

Not a huge Beach Boys fan, but I can appreciate Pet Sounds. Not sure I love this one, which as it seems is way past their prime anyway. I don't know why the 17th album of a jangly pop group is an album I must listen to before I die. It's not terrible, just boring mostly. 2/5

The worst thing to ever happen to music nerds was the official release(s) of SMiLE. Before those came out, SMiLE was an arcane secret that only the cognoscenti with access to the deeper secrets of the pop music universe were in on. Middle-aged bearded dorks could recount whispered tales of an unreleased Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks masterpiece that was better than Pet Sounds and that you could only hear in fragments and alternate versions on the last track of various 70’s studio albums, parts of the second disc of compilations and in bootleg form. The less you could actually hear of it, the better it got. And then the suits finally relented and released Smile and Smiley Smile and The Smile Sessions and Smiles for Miles and every other version of that too often polished turd, apparently in an ongoing effort to locate the masterpiece that had previously existed only in myth. And everyone who hadn’t drunk the Kool-Aid was like “eh, it’s okay I guess.” Without the mystique surrounding it, SMiLE is just a bunch of post-Pet Sounds, pre-Kokomo, Beach Boys outtakes that are kind of neither fish nor foul on the art-pop spectrum and sound to me like a Raffi album for toddlers. Fine if you like that kind of thing, but nothing to get all hopped up about. Maybe if I hadn’t already been drowned in a deluge of supposedly arty sad boy Beach Boys then Surf’s Up would have had more impact, but it just strikes me as “Aw, did the sunny singing surfer boys get beat down by a life of being strung-out millionaire California pop stars and turn into sad old cowboys?”.

Unmistakably The Beach Boys and yet, there is a sad undercurrent which bobs above the surface every so often. Wasn't expecting to get through the album but it was so pleasant on the ear. Strong 4.

Pretty good album, felt like it passed me by a bit really..

Wow. I've only heard two types of Beach Boys music, Barbara-Ann-mode and Pet-Sounds-mode. This is entirely different. Kind of depressing, given Wilson's mental state, but still has some incredible songs on it. Innovative and original.

“Simpler” than the peak Brian Wilson sounds, but richer for the light strip back to focus on the whole band and leaning into the somber psychedelia of the time, and with much stronger lyricism as a whole album. The whole thing feels like guys lost in the morass of maturing as adults in a world in chaos, and sometimes it comes through as these elaborate songs about the trees and the water or your own fantasy of marriage, or as distorted blues about riots, or just as bare expressions of needing to take care of and accept yourself, and it’s all fascinating. I think I’ll have to keep coming back to appreciate it properly, but it’s a winner.

Einfach schön!

Hat mir gut gefallen, Neuentdeckung. Hier kommt ja irgendwann noch "Pet Sounds", mit der ich auch noch nie so richtig befasst habe.

its so hippie-esque i love it

excellent

darker in tone than the usual beach boys album. i think the highs are higher and the lows are lower than pet sounds.

Ts just genuinely enjoyable

Not the strongest songs, and since Brisn Wilson's involvement was limited, the vocal arrangements are not what we had come to expect from the Beach Boys.