Surf's Up

Standouts Student Demonstration Time is a weird song

Didn’t like it

Church boy chorus tries to cover gay Beatles.

Very well done, 1001 Albums Generator! I wonder if everyone got a Beach Boys album today? I have been arguing with some music buddies since yesterday about my inability to get into the Beach Boys. Yes, I recognize Brian Wilson is a genius, yes I know I'm wrong about this, but I just couldn't ever separate them from their dumb surfing/girls/cars stuff from the early days despite several Pet Sounds listens. You can't control what you like. But I have seen some talk about this album being underrated, so I am interested to give it a listen. The only title I recognize is "Feel Flows," which was on the Almost Famous soundtrack (and which I kind of like.) LISTENING: LOL, this first song is absurd. I'm experiencing cognitive dissonance amid all this "Brian Wilson was a genius" hoopla. Looking now I see it is credited to Jardine and Love, but still, come on. Third song may be even more preposterous. I am really trying to keep an open mind but this is just so dumb. And this is one of the songs Brian co-wrote! "Student Demonstration Time" started out kind of cool musically but then the siren noise started and the idiotic lyrics. We are at the end of side one and four of the five songs so far have made me laugh out loud. I'm starting to feel like it is disrespectful to listen to this so soon after Wilson passed away. And now they're singing "Stay away when there's a riot goin' on" - now I'm laughing and disrespecting Sly Stone too? Imagine listening to something like "Kick Out the Jams" and then this song comes on, lol. This album is dreadful. On to side 2... "Feel the Flow" is still good. The music on side 2 is MUCH better so far, but then the lyrics of "A Day in the Life of a Tree" start and I'm laughing again. I just can't take this seriously. "'Til I Die" is decent. "Surf's Up" is decent. Strong finish! I am going to give this two stars based on the music on side 2 and the fact that I would feel bad giving it one star the day after Brian Wilson died. (Edit: Nope. I came back today and decided the grace period is over. I was laughing about this album all night.)

The Beach Boys get political? Only it's several years too late, and has all the bite of a corporate training video. The songs are disjointed. The performances are goofy and amateurish like a school musical.

Not a lot to like here but I do love the instrumentals on Feel Flows & Till I Die is mesmerizing. Brian Wilson is a master of layering vocal harmonies. RIP.

I can't tell you how much I hated this album.

Why the hellos this here. The Beach Boys got big in spite of this- certainly not because of it.

Ok nothing amazing Page stole a riff from here

Oof. Is this on the list as an example of what not to do??

1. uuater - 1 2. road - 0 3. feet - 0 4. girlz - 1 5. time - 2 6. feelz- 1.5 7. tomorrouu - 1 8. tree - 1.5 9. die - 2 10. zurfz - 2

I didnt like this one as much as Pet Sounds. Honestly didnt care for this one at all lol

Not my favourite, I like a few songs of theirs but this album is a bit dull

Can't stand this crap

Not a fan

This, dare I say it, kind of sucks. And not in a sexy way. It’s a far cry from the big hits like Good Vibrations, Kokomo, etc. The song about feet? Garbage. The song about Disney? Tripe. Pretty much the only track I didn’t mind was Day in the Life of a Tree, and even that feels kitschy and crap (but put me a little in mind of Sufjan Stevens, who I love). Actually, Till I Die is decent too, mostly for the harmonies (and I could hear a tiny bit of Fleet Foxes in that one). But overall, a disappointment from a band I thought I liked but apparently don’t actually know that well. (1.5 stars)

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I remember my dad listening to the Beach Boys on LP discs when I was young. That album was a lot more up-beat than this one though. While I recognize the Beach Boys sound most of the songs feel almost depressing to me and perhaps that was the intention with this later album. The album has a consistent vibe throughout but a bit to sad for me, at least today when I am listening to it.

It's better than any of the other Beach Boys albums I've listened to but they still aren't my thing.

Seemed generic and then "Student Demonstration Time" is one of the worst Beach boys songs i've heard. "Feel Flows" is the only good part of this album.

The most positive thing I can say about this record is I adore the font they chose on the cover art.

When I saw Beach Boys Surfs Up! I was expecting Surf City! Fun! California rock! What I got was a drug filled journey through the delusional mind of a burned out set of song writers. I respect their desire to be more socially conscious and world-saving. Pet Sounds did exactly that! By the time the album was done I was hoping an asteroid would hit the planet so I could stop listening to this album. Saving grace: Carol Kaye’s bass playing which is more obvious than ever (they couldn’t even pretend one of them was playing). This will not be added to the vinyl collection. …Next!!!

I prefer the early Beach Boys to this later, odd offering.

Not my taste in music.

This was boring as all hell. The Beach Boys blow lol

Was this a joke? This was horrible. Even the Bryan Wilson tracks, with the POSSIBLE exception of the last one.. or maybe that one was bad too and it just was so much better than the others I lost track. Disney Girls 1957? Really? A chorus with the lines “Take good care of your feet, Pete/You better watch what you eat, Pete”? “Student Demonstration Time” telling students to, basically, stand down in the turmoil of Vietnam?

Fuck the beach boys. They're so annoying

When I think of The Beach Boys I think of sun and surf. I do not think of whatever this album is. Even the cover throws me off. There are ok songs and some not-so-good songs….Take a load off your feet is so odd. Student demonstration is awful. The other songs are meh. Not for me.

Well, that was unexpected. I came into it thinking "oh, I liked The Beach Boys when I was a kid. Maybe this will be a fun trip down memory lane." Then I listened to...whatever this is. I don't get it. I can't say I enjoyed anything beyond the album cover here. 1.3

Puzzling. Course I’m probably not the guy to ask, because I don’t even much like the peppy, fun Beach Boys, so it’s gonna be hard to sell me on sad, woke Beach Boys. I thought “Feel Flows” was pretty. The rest of it…well, I’m just not buying. I’ve never found them to be particularly authentic, and the socially conscious bit seems like something their record company asked them to do, and about five years too late. Pass.

Not a huge fan

Gloomy, minor key songs - not what I want from the Beach Boys. 1/5

Some of the worst music I've heard of the albums I've listened to so far. Really not good. I never "got" the Beach Boys, and this just makes me dislike them more.

just skip it. its so bland and boring. songs are slow and depressing. I was expecting some fun upbeat surf rock instead I got a slow depressed collection of life advice from what felt like sterotypical Youth pastors. WTF is take care of your feet pete?

What is this garbage? The lyrics are unimaginative and childish. The tunes are just unlistenable.

not for me thanks i had enough of psychedelic rock Significant 36/115 Liked 17/115 Added 4/115 NNN

Beach boys are critically acclaimed for their innovative sound and crunchy harmonies. The critics were most certainly not listening to this album when they made that observation.

Not for me

1971. Garbage. The best thing it has going for it is the album art.

i can appreciate this album for what it is and the sociopolitical commentary but i will never be listening to this again. play god only knows.

I feel like it's parent day at my kid's kindergarten and I'm listening to children's nursery rhymes. Any moment and someone in a Big Bird costume is going to pop out of a garbage can with a ukulele. "Isn't this fun?! C'mon parents! Sing along!" That's all fine and interesting the first two times, but I've got four kids and I need to go back to work. What a bitter waste of time...

Dreadful stuff. I have no idea what they were trying to achieve here. Whilst there’s the unmistakable Beach Boys harmonies in every track, it doesn’t suit the songs at all. Not the vibe I associate with them. Nothing cheerful, fun or uplifting about any of it. Weird.

Soundtrack to a kids film? I thought at times it was a 45 rpm played at 33 rpm. Dated. To the point of feeling archival. Not groovy.

Til I Die is a bona fide pop classic. The fact that Mike Love hated it only affirms its greatness. It pops up at exactly the right time in Love and Mercy, when the John Cusack Brian is on the bed contemplating all that has gone down, it nicely morphs into a Space Odyssey old man to a baby moment. It is a beautiful song which speaks to Brian's illness and his struggles as an artist, he was indeed a cork in the ocean, bobbing aimlessly, never making it to the shore of his song writing potential. You can't recommend this record to anyone lining up their final playlist, we need to stop pretending these post Pet records are worthy or "lost gems", they are not. The band is a very ordinary set of song writers and players, accepting that any Carl Wilson vocal is a great moment. Long Promised Road is lovely, interesting that he only has two leads on this unremarkable boring record. Without Brian these guys are forever The Pendletones, not even a footnote to early 60's California pop. How do we get to Surf's Up and Holland and Love and all that guff? Brian's illness and the lack of a decent collaborator and producer leaves him floundering. All the pop genius bullshit meant when he clocked out, anything he was working towards remained unchecked by a partner who would say no. And not having a decent producer, who would guide and shape what he wanted. Take Roy Halee's role with Paul Simon, he was crucial to the development of those songs, indeed as was Art Garfunkel. Brian ended up with Mike Love and Van Dyke Parks, a fascist and a hippy. Which is why something like the track Surf's Up doesn't work; you can feel the massive potential for it to be realised as a great song, but there was no one who could help him produce what was in his head. I find these records quite sad, they are not to be enjoyed. And I'm really tired of them turning up on these lists as being great, they are not. They are a very average collection of b grade tracks by a bunch of b grade carnival outriders, clinging onto the hem of their crazy freakshow, who is propped up to keep the circus going long after they've let the horses go to pasture. Til I Die is just wonderful and if anyone out there is cyberspace is reading this, stop listening to this album and go and drop Til I Die into your Brian Wilson playlist, that's all you need.

dont judge an album by its cover. this is very bad.

Cheesy.

Definitely did not need to hear.

More boredom from The Beach Boys. It’s the 3rd album of theirs that I get here, and unlike it’s predecessors there are no redeeming tracks to be found.

Dit zijn de albums waar ik bang voor was toen ik aan de 1001 begon...Ik kan niets bedenken wat ik hier nou goed aan vind....

This is very much past The Beach Boys prime. People talk about how The Beatles were overrated and they're tired of the sound, but that's actually how I feel about The Beach Boys. They were really innovative for their day, but I just do not care about 99% songs. This one has some cool lyrics and storytelling in it, but overall I just find it really bland.

Feels like this album's title should be "The Beach Boys Try To Be The Beatles." Spoiler alert: they do a poor job of it. According to Wiki, "Surf's Up addresses environmental, social, and health concerns more than the group's previous releases. This was at the behest of newly recruited co-manager Jack Rieley, who strove to revamp the group's image and restore their public reputation following the dismal reception to their recent albums and tours. His initiatives included a promotional campaign with the tagline 'it's now safe to listen to the Beach Boys...'" And that's exactly what this album sounds like: a management-driven attempt to rebrand themselves and remind everyone that "Hey, man, we're still hip and relevant!" There isn't a single song on this album that I'm even remotely tempted to listen to again. I'm embarrassed for them.

It’s no pet sounds.

TIL that the Beach Boys were considered counter-culture to the 1960s counter-culture movement and tried to fix that with this album. This album sounds like them trying too hard. Downvoting one star due to Brian Wilson not being involved.

Simply did not care for it. The first track was the only track I didn't want to skip.

Weak. Flaccid. Just terrible. When the best song gets covered and improved on by Captain and Tennille, you’ve not got much to work with. Brian’s absence is keenly felt here.

I never really cared for the Beach Boys anyway, but I was a little excited to give them another shot in the context of this list. And then - horrible disappointment. Apparently, in the later years, the Beach Boys got away from what at least made them unique - the happy, fun surfing and driving music - and attempted to make an experimental protest album about the environment and civil unrest. That's not their bag, man. This sounds like if the Lorax dropped acid and put his shitty poetry to music.

Is this the worlds first example of "Go Woke, Go Broke:". Thankfully this album has been forgotten.

Nei

not a fan

Pretty boring and forgettable. "17th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys released in 1971 (band was formed in 1961) ... It received largely favorable reviews and reached number 29 on the US record charts, becoming their highest-charting LP of new music in the US since 1967"

This was a weird album compared to the rest of their stuff. Didn't finish the album also.

Still not my thing. Day in the life of a tree was a doozy.

Not a Beach Boys fan. Album didn't resonate with me. Watched the Trainrecords on the 90's Beach Boys album that was garbage instead of getting through this entire album.