The Beach Boys
' post-1966 catalog is littered with 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 definitive example, 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 album 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
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
surrealism that appeared to signal
'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.
gives a soulful performance despite the surreal wordplay, and
's coda is one of the most stirring moments in his catalog. Wrapped up in a mess of contradictions,
defined
' tumultuous career better than any other album. ~ John Bush