Surfin' Safari

Title

Surfin' Safari

Trivia

The first Beach Boys album ever released
Released on Capitol on October 29, 1962
Top chart position #32 USA, spending 37 weeks on the chart
Production credit is Nick Venet
Cover picture features Brian, Dennis, Carl, Mike and David Marks

Review

The Beach Boys' first album is an energetic affair that manages to only merely hint at the greatness to come. Released in the days when albums were not seen as a major artistic effort, Surfin' Safari sees the boys celebrate the simple joys of surfing, girls and root beer. There is an endearing innocence to the music, but melodically there is nothing overly memorable, and had this been the group's only album, one could have seen them as a one-off boy-band novelty.

Surfin' Safari (the song) does show the beginnings of the hitmaking potential, while tunes like Heads You Win, Tails I Lose could, at a push, hint at Brian's future angst. But the overall mood is innocence and simplicity, and there is a certain nostalgia in listening to this record, and contrasting it with the music of today.

Rating