Surf's Up is the seventeenth studio album by The Beach Boys, released in 1971. It is their last album to fully feature Bruce Johnston before his departure (He appeared on one song — "Marcella" — on the following album Carl and the Passions – "So Tough"). Johnston would not return to The Beach Boys until late 1978, and has remained with them since.
The name and cover (as well as the title track) are meant to be ironic, as it couldn't be possibly more different from their early Surf Rock albums. The album marked a concerted effort to stake out a new polished, serious rock sound for the band, with Carl Wilson effectively asserting himself as the band's musical leader, while Brian Wilson continued to stay on the sidelines for the most part. His major contribution was the title track, a leftover from the cancelled Smile project.
Speaking of that, "Long Promised Road" and "Feel Flows" are generally considered to be Carl Wilson's greatest achievements (along with "The Trader" from Holland), and "Disney Girls (1957)" is the most acclaimed Bruce Johnston song. Mike Love's "Student Demonstration Time" is, at the very least, a notable attempt to try to do something lyrically relevant to the times, for better or worse. However, it's often considered one of the worst Beach Boys songs, partly for simply being the Leiber and Stoller classic "Riot in Cell Block #9" with new lyrics, and also for being on the album while two of Dennis Wilson's greatest songs, "4th of July" and "(Wouldn't It Be Nice to) Live Again", stayed on the shelf. That doesn't mean it has no fans; it was a modest success in Australia and the Netherlands when released as a single (and got some radio airplay in America), and is also acclaimed as one of the heaviest Beach Boys songs. The three songs with significant contributions from Brian are the quirky "A Day in the Life of a Tree" and the undisputed classics "'Til I Die" and "Surf's Up".
Unlike Sunflower, there is a complete absence of songs by Dennis Wilson. As mentioned, he recorded two songs for the album but chose to remove them due to a dispute with Carl about the track-listing and which song should end the album. Also, this is the last album where Dennis plays drums (with "Student Demonstration Time" being the last song he plays drums on) before his hand injury prevented him from playing drums for several years. This led to Ricky Fataar (former member of The Flames, future member of The Rutles) joining The Beach Boys shortly after this album was released.
Upon release, Surf's Up became The Beach Boys' best-selling album in years (vastly contrasting from the since-Vindicated by History Sunflower), and was a major critical success from the start.
Tracklist:
Side One- "Don't Go Near the Water" (2:39)
- "Long Promised Road" (3:30)
- "Take a Load Off Your Feet" (2:29)
- "Disney Girls (1957)" (4:07)
- "Student Demonstration Time" (3:58)
Side Two
- "Feel Flows" (4:44)
- "Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)" (1:55)
- "A Day in the Life of a Tree" (3:07)
- "'Til I Die" (2:41)
- "Surf's Up" (4:12)
Principal Members:
- Al Jardine - lead vocals, guitar, synthesizer, bass
- Bruce Johnston - lead vocals, piano, keyboards, mandolin, bass, organ, celesta
- Mike Love - lead vocals, tambourine
- Brian Wilson - lead vocals, piano, harmonica, harmonium, roxichord, percussion, snare drum, sound effects
- Carl Wilson - lead vocals, guitar, drums, keyboard, bass, piano, harpsichord, synthesizer, organ, percussion, tambourine
- Dennis Wilson - drums, vocals
I'm a trope on the ocean, floating over the raging sea:
- Breather Episode: The light, silly "Take a Load Off Your Feet" acts as one on a fairly dark, angsty album.
- Cover Version: "Student Demonstration Time", as The Robins' "Riot in Cell Block #9" with new Mike Love-penned lyrics, hovers somewhere between this, Song Parody and Protest Song.
- Crisis of Faith:
- On the album cover.
- "Lookin' at Tomorrow", where the protagonist tries to find a job, but can only start sweeping floors, which he doesn't mind about, but he knows he could be doing so much more.
- "Surf's Up", where the protagonist loses faith in humanity, yet regains it in the end.
- Crying Indian: The Native American on the album cover isn't happy looking.
- Darker and Edgier: This is probably the single darkest album they ever recorded, with lots of downbeat songs and troubling lyrics, and " 'Til I Die", a rumination on mortality and the fleeting nature of existence, as a standout in that regard, though all of side 2 is dark as well (even "Feel Flows", with its cryptic lyrics and discordant bridge undercutting the soothing music).
- Despair Event Horizon: The album cover is based on the statue "End of the Trail" (1915) by James Earle Fraser, which shows an exhausted Native American horseman, symbolizing how their struggle for their land from the white man's greed was over. This also ties in with the environmental messages on the album.
- Green Aesop: "Don't Go Near the Water" and "A Day in the Life of a Tree" have environmental messages. It's been pointed out that the guys who used to sing about surfing now warning us not to go near the water drew a logical line from their earlier work to the more serious image they were now trying to cultivate.
- Growing Up Sucks: Seems to be the subtext of "Disney Girls (1957)", and, in a more abstract way, "A Day in the Life of a Tree", "'Til I Die" and "Surf's Up".
- I Am the Band: Carl Wilson plays all the instruments on "Long Promised Road" and everything on "Feel Flows" except flute, saxophone and some spare percussion. Bruce Johnston plays everything on "Disney Girls (1957)" except guitar, drums and flute (all provided by various members of their touring band). Brian Wilson plays everything on "A Day in the Life of a Tree" apart from some keyboard work.
- "I Want" Song: "Long Promised Road" approaches this from a spiritual bent.But I hit hard at the battle that's confronting me, yeah
Knock down all the roadblocks a-stumbling me
Throw off all the shackles that are binding me down - Irony: The title of the album (and the title track) have nothing to do with Surf Music.
- It Amused Me: Al was surprised that "Take a Load Off Your Feet" ended up being on the album because he thought it was just a silly song and an excuse for him to have fun with Brian.Al: A lot of this stuff was to get Brian in the mood to come down and have some fun. So I thought, "Boy, this is really nutty. Let's just do something stupid." I said, "Brian, do you want to help me?" "Sure."
- Lyrical Dissonance: Most of the album pairs up mellow, pleasant 70s pop with lyrics that range from cryptic to depressing.
- Mood Whiplash: From the bittersweet, nostalgic ballad "Disney Girls (1957)" into the harsh, Ripped from the Headlines Protest Song "Student Demonstration Time".
- Mundane Made Awesome: "Take a Load Off Your Feet" is literally about foot care despite its upbeat melody and all-around wholesome ambiance. Even Al Jardine, the song's co-writer, was surprised by Rieley's attempt at making it an ecological statement.Al: That's as minimalistic and sappy as you can get. But for some reason Jack Rieley liked it too and said, "It's got to be on the album. That's definitely an ecology song." "Ecology? A song about your feet?" It's personal ecology.
- Non-Indicative Name: "Surf's Up". Whatever the song's about, it sure as hell ain't surfin'.note
- Nostalgia Filter: "Disney Girls (1957)", a song that is nostalgic to The '50s, when The Mickey Mouse Club had a lot of girl presenters. The song also mentions Patti Page, a popular crooner of that decade. Funnily enough, the band did preform with ex-Mouseketeer Annette Funicello on a song called "The Monkey's Uncle" in the mid-60s, which was the opening number for the Disney film of the same name.
- Out of Focus:
- In contrast to his three lead vocals on Sunflower, Dennis Wilson having his songs left off the album makes him virtually invisible here, with no lead vocals and appearances on just two songs: "Student Demonstration Time" (drums and backing vocals) and "Surf's Up" (backing vocals).
- While he does harmony vocals on most of the songs, Bruce Johnston's only instrumental contribution outside of his own "Disney Girls (1957)" is keyboard on " 'Til I Die" and possibly some work on "Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)". He would leave the group during the recording of Carl and the Passions – "So Tough" after a dispute with manager Jack Rieley (before being invited back for L.A. (Light Album)).
- Ripped from the Headlines: "Student Demonstration Time" is about the wave of riots on college campuses in 1969-70, specifically name-checking the incidents at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, Jackson State and Kent State.
- Sarcastic Title: "Surf's Up" was given its name to jokingly contrast it with the Surf Rock material the band had long moved past by that point.
- Shout-Out:
- "Disney Girls (1957)" is a shout-out to Walt Disney and also name-drops Patti Page (and her 1957 hit "Old Cape Cod"). The bridge ("Hi Rick and Dave, hi Pop, good morning Mom...") is a nod to The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
- "Feel Flows" was used in Almost Famous, particularly as the song chosen for the credits.
- "Take a Load Off Your Feet" references H.E.L.P., a restaurant the band attended at the time which was the inspiration for the song "H.E.L.P. Is On the Way" which was intended for Surf's Up but was ultimately shelved.
- "H.E.L.P. Is On the Way" also references and promotes the Radiant Radish, a supermarket co-owned by Brian which sold healthy food.
- Slogan-Yelling Megaphone Guy: Mike Love invokes this by singing his lead vocal on "Student Demonstration Time" through a megaphone.
- Soulful Plant Story: "A Day in the Life of a Tree" is about the life of a tree that takes on a rather existential bent.
- Special Guest:
- Jazz great Charles Lloyd plays flute and saxophone on "Feel Flows".
- The band's then-manager Jack Rieley sings lead vocals on "A Day in the Life of a Tree", with Van Dyke Parks also joining in toward the end.
- This Is a Song: "Don't Go Near the Water"Don't go near the water
To do it any wrong
To be cool with the water
Is the message of this song - Tragically Damaged Tree: "A Day in the Life of a Tree"Feel the wind burn through my skin
The pain, the air is killing me
...trees like me weren't meant to live
If all this world can give
Is pollution and slow death - Truck Driver's Gear Change:
- The last verse of "Disney Girls (1957)", though it's very subtly handled, with a long bridge and the song briefly slowing down before the change. It was definitely an influence on Mr. Truck Driver's Gear Change himself, Barry Manilow, whose Signature Song is another Bruce Johnston composition, "I Write the Songs".
- "'Til I Die" changes keys in each verse.
- Word Salad Lyrics:
- "Feel Flows" mixes vague imagery and Added Alliterative Appeal.Whether whistling heaven's clouds disappear
Whether wind withers memory
Whether whiteness whisks soft shadows away - And of course the title track famously shows off Van Dyke Parks' SMiLE lyrics at their most opaque.The music hall a costly bow
The music all is lost for now
To a muted trumpeter swan
Columnated ruins domino
- "Feel Flows" mixes vague imagery and Added Alliterative Appeal.
- Your Mom: "Student Demonstration Time"The violence spread down South to where Jackson State brothers
Learned not to say nasty things about Southern policemen's mothers
