the beach boys / albums

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- Surf's Up
- - 3,818 plays
  - 9 favs
  - 1 shares
The Beach Boys
Released 1971

Surf's Up
04:12
738 plays

'Til I Die
02:44
284 plays

Don't Go Near the Water
02:42
260 plays

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songs

- 1
- Don't Go Near the Water
- 02:42
- 260 plays

- 2
- Long Promised Road
- 03:34
- 211 plays

- 3
- Take a Load off Your Feet
- 02:31
- 174 plays

- 4
- Disney Girls (1957)
- 04:11
- 208 plays

- 5
- Student Demonstration Time
- 04:01
- 233 plays

- 6
- Feel Flows
- 04:49
- 1,370 plays

- 7
- Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)
- 01:57
- 114 plays

- 8
- A Day in the Life of a Tree
- 03:10
- 226 plays

- 9
- 'Til I Die
- 02:44
- 284 plays

- 10
- Surf's Up
- 04:12
- 738 plays

album review

The Beach Boys' catalog is littered with forgotten 1970s LPs that barely scraped the charts upon release but matured into solid fan favorites despite -- and occasionally, because of -- their many and varied eccentricities. Surf's Up could well be the most definitive, beginning with the cloying "Don't Go Near the Water" and ending a bare half-hour later with the baroque majesty of the title track (originally written in 1966). The LP is a virtual laundry list of each uncommon intricacy that made the Beach Boys' forgotten decade such a bittersweet thrill -- the fluffy yet endearing pop (od)ditties of Brian Wilson, quasi-mystical white-boy soul from brother Carl, and the downright laughable songwriting on tracks charting Mike Love's devotion to Buddhism and Al Jardine's social/environmental concerns.

Those songs are enjoyable enough, but the last three tracks are what make Surf's Up such a masterpiece. The first, "A Day in the Life of a Tree," is simultaneously one of Brian's most deeply touching and bizarre compositions; he is the narrator and object of the song (though not the vocalist; co-writer Jack Rieley lends a hand), lamenting his long life amid the pollution and grime of a city park while the somber tones of a pipe organ build atmosphere. The second, "'Til I Die," isn't the love song the title suggests; it's a haunting, fatalistic piece of pop surrealism that appeared to signal Brian's retirement from active life. The album closer, "Surf's Up," is a masterpiece of baroque psychedelia, probably the most compelling track from the Smile period. Carl gives a soulful performance despite the surreal wordplay, and Brian's coda is one of the most stirring moments in his catalog. Wrapped up in a mess of contradictions, Surf's Up defined the Beach Boys' tumultuous career better than any other album. [Surf's Up was made available in 2000 as half of the two-fer collection Sunflower/Surf's Up.] ~ John Bush, All Music Guide