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Surf's Up (song)
Encyclopedia
"Surf's Up" is the title of a song
written by Brian Wilson
and Van Dyke Parks
. The song was intended as one of the centrepieces for the aborted Beach Boys
' album Smile, which was begun in late 1966 but shelved in mid-1967. It was reworked and used as the title track for the twenty-second official album by The Beach Boys, Surf's Up, released in 1971. It also appears as the tenth track in Brian Wilson's re-recorded Smile
, released in 2004.
"Surf's Up" was written in a single night at Brian Wilson's piano in his sandbox. Brian believes; "the lyrics for 'Surf's Up' were very Van Dyke; only he could have done that – only Van Dyke could have written those lyrics. We wrote that at my Chickering piano, I think, in my sandbox and it took us about an hour at most to write the whole thing. We wrote it pretty fast; it all happened like it should." In Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile, when asked by Van Dyke Parks what Wilson was feeling when he wrote the music for "Surf's Up," he responded with, "I just felt some love, I felt a whole lot of love, there was a whole lot of love going on at the time." An apparently complete backing track for the first (2:20) section was recorded and mixed in November 1966, but vocals and other overdubs were still to be added, and work on the middle and closing sections was either never undertaken, or never finished. It is notable that the flourishes played on muted trumpet in the verses of "Surf's Up" are almost identical to the familiar 'laughing' refrain of the theme for the Woody Woodpecker
cartoon series. This musical reference recurs in the instrumental piece "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter" on the album Smiley Smile, (which was in fact subtitled "Woody Woodpecker Symphony"). The title of "Surf's Up" was intended as an ironic gesture on the part of the two writers, pairing the dense, compositionally sophisticated piece with a title suggestive of the Beach Boys' earlier, simpler surfing
-related material.
The original studio recording of the song was never completed. A fully finished (or near-complete) backing track for the first section was recorded in late 1966 and early 1967 under the production of Brian Wilson, and other vocal and instrumental segments were also recorded, but a final edit was apparently never made. Although the second section of the song features the demo version of the song from 1966–67, with Brian Wilson on lead vocals, the entire demo version remained unreleased until it was included on the Beach Boys 1993 box set release Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
.
CBS News version
The song was certainly fully composed by November 1966, when Brian Wilson was filmed performing a complete 'demo' solo version of the song on piano for a CBS News special on popular music. The show was hosted by Leonard Bernstein, but it was the show's producer, David Oppenheim, who expressed his admiration for the song:
The demo version of the song obviously does not feature any additional vocal or instrumental overdubs, and, at the conclusion of the song, Brian can be heard singing the original ending to the "Surf's Up" song without the "Child is Father of the Man" vocal overdubs.
in 1971. The song was credited as being produced by The Beach Boys, though most of the production for the new instrumental sections of the song was done by Carl. The first section featured a new lead vocal by Carl dubbed over the original 1966 backing track, as well as additional instrumentation. It's said that the band asked Brian to do the lead vocal as he would have originally, but he was unwilling to or possibly felt he was unable to perform it at this point in time.
The second section ("Dove nested towers"...) featured mainly Brian's double-tracked vocal and piano from a December 1966 demo recording (pointedly not the same demo that Brian performed for CBS), plus new vocal and instrumental overdubs. The third section combined the closing section of Brian's demo with newly-recorded vocals and other additions, with the lead vocal ("A children's song, have you listened as they play?") being done by Al Jardine. Oddly enough, despite being completely unwilling to work on the rest of the song and do the lead vocal, the new ending of the 1971 version was entirely Brian's work. It is based on another Smile era track, "Child is the Father of the Man". It is unknown whether the song was originally to end this way or if it was a newer addition by Brian. An additional line to this section, "The father's life is done, and the children carry on," was written but was removed at Brian's request.
The newly-finished song was released as a single and also appeared on the 1971 album of the same name, Surf's Up. The B-side of the single was "Don't Go Near the Water". Evidently referring to the solo 'demo' version, Brian stated, "The vocal on that [Surf's Up] was a little bit limited. It's not my favorite vocal I ever did, but it did have heart. Nevertheless, it'll be out there again with this reissue, and I'll be naked to the world!"
in October 1971, Geoffrey Cannon praised the song's music and the group's vocal harmonies, highlighting it as a standout track from Surf's Up, despite his criticism of its co-writer, Van Dyke Parks
:
, the musical arrangement is very similar to the 1971 release, but with the clarity of modern recording technology. The vocal arrangement is slightly altered for the highest parts. This melody runs a full octave
plus a minor third
, sweeping up a minor sixth
(five whole steps) at one point, and peaking at the second F
above Middle C
. As Brian Wilson was then 62, with a naturally reduced vocal range, the part was rearranged for harmonies, with additional voices blending in smoothly, allowing Wilson to sing a lower part. In the concert performances, this approach was used many other times during the Smile material, with his younger backup singers doubling many of his parts in unison (similar to the recording technique of doubletracking
), blending in and taking over for the high parts that were more difficult for Wilson to reach on stage than in the studio.
Personnel
version of the song was released on the Endless Harmony DVD as a bonus track. The track, along with the other 5.1 surround sound mixes, were produced and mixed by Mark Linett
. On An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson (2001), a cover version was made by David Crosby
, Vince Gill
, Jimmy Webb
. Gill sang the first part, Webb & Gill sang the second, and David Crosby sang the coda in an extended version.
Some fan mixes and bootlegs sync Brian's original vocal demo with the original 1967 backing track.
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...
written by Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
and Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
. The song was intended as one of the centrepieces for the aborted Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
' album Smile, which was begun in late 1966 but shelved in mid-1967. It was reworked and used as the title track for the twenty-second official album by The Beach Boys, Surf's Up, released in 1971. It also appears as the tenth track in Brian Wilson's re-recorded Smile
Smile (Brian Wilson album)
Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, or referred to as Brian Wilson Presents Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on September 28, 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl LP...
, released in 2004.
1966–67 recording
Studio version"Surf's Up" was written in a single night at Brian Wilson's piano in his sandbox. Brian believes; "the lyrics for 'Surf's Up' were very Van Dyke; only he could have done that – only Van Dyke could have written those lyrics. We wrote that at my Chickering piano, I think, in my sandbox and it took us about an hour at most to write the whole thing. We wrote it pretty fast; it all happened like it should." In Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of Smile, when asked by Van Dyke Parks what Wilson was feeling when he wrote the music for "Surf's Up," he responded with, "I just felt some love, I felt a whole lot of love, there was a whole lot of love going on at the time." An apparently complete backing track for the first (2:20) section was recorded and mixed in November 1966, but vocals and other overdubs were still to be added, and work on the middle and closing sections was either never undertaken, or never finished. It is notable that the flourishes played on muted trumpet in the verses of "Surf's Up" are almost identical to the familiar 'laughing' refrain of the theme for the Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
cartoon series. This musical reference recurs in the instrumental piece "Fall Breaks And Back To Winter" on the album Smiley Smile, (which was in fact subtitled "Woody Woodpecker Symphony"). The title of "Surf's Up" was intended as an ironic gesture on the part of the two writers, pairing the dense, compositionally sophisticated piece with a title suggestive of the Beach Boys' earlier, simpler surfing
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
-related material.
The original studio recording of the song was never completed. A fully finished (or near-complete) backing track for the first section was recorded in late 1966 and early 1967 under the production of Brian Wilson, and other vocal and instrumental segments were also recorded, but a final edit was apparently never made. Although the second section of the song features the demo version of the song from 1966–67, with Brian Wilson on lead vocals, the entire demo version remained unreleased until it was included on the Beach Boys 1993 box set release Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys is a 1993 boxed set released by Capitol Records which collects tracks spanning The Beach Boys' entire career to that point on four CDs. A fifth disc contains mostly studio session tracks, complete vocal and instrumental tracks, and rare live...
.
The song was certainly fully composed by November 1966, when Brian Wilson was filmed performing a complete 'demo' solo version of the song on piano for a CBS News special on popular music. The show was hosted by Leonard Bernstein, but it was the show's producer, David Oppenheim, who expressed his admiration for the song:
There is a new song, too complex to get all of first time around. It could come only out of the ferment that characterizes today's pop music scene. Brian Wilson, leader of the famous Beach Boys, and one of today's most important musicians, sings his own 'Surf's Up.' Poetic, beautiful even in its obscurity, 'Surf's Up' is one aspect of new things happening in pop music today. As such, it is a symbol of the change many of these young musicians see in our future.
The demo version of the song obviously does not feature any additional vocal or instrumental overdubs, and, at the conclusion of the song, Brian can be heard singing the original ending to the "Surf's Up" song without the "Child is Father of the Man" vocal overdubs.
1971 recording
A later composite version of the song was completed by The Beach Boys under the supervision of Carl WilsonCarl Wilson
Carl Dean Wilson was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys...
in 1971. The song was credited as being produced by The Beach Boys, though most of the production for the new instrumental sections of the song was done by Carl. The first section featured a new lead vocal by Carl dubbed over the original 1966 backing track, as well as additional instrumentation. It's said that the band asked Brian to do the lead vocal as he would have originally, but he was unwilling to or possibly felt he was unable to perform it at this point in time.
The second section ("Dove nested towers"...) featured mainly Brian's double-tracked vocal and piano from a December 1966 demo recording (pointedly not the same demo that Brian performed for CBS), plus new vocal and instrumental overdubs. The third section combined the closing section of Brian's demo with newly-recorded vocals and other additions, with the lead vocal ("A children's song, have you listened as they play?") being done by Al Jardine. Oddly enough, despite being completely unwilling to work on the rest of the song and do the lead vocal, the new ending of the 1971 version was entirely Brian's work. It is based on another Smile era track, "Child is the Father of the Man". It is unknown whether the song was originally to end this way or if it was a newer addition by Brian. An additional line to this section, "The father's life is done, and the children carry on," was written but was removed at Brian's request.
The newly-finished song was released as a single and also appeared on the 1971 album of the same name, Surf's Up. The B-side of the single was "Don't Go Near the Water". Evidently referring to the solo 'demo' version, Brian stated, "The vocal on that [Surf's Up] was a little bit limited. It's not my favorite vocal I ever did, but it did have heart. Nevertheless, it'll be out there again with this reissue, and I'll be naked to the world!"
Critical reception
Writing for The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in October 1971, Geoffrey Cannon praised the song's music and the group's vocal harmonies, highlighting it as a standout track from Surf's Up, despite his criticism of its co-writer, Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
:
Van Dyke Parks, who writes pretentious words, messed Brian up in 1967, particularly on the album Smiley SmileSmiley SmileSmiley Smile is the twelfth studio album by The Beach Boys, issued in 1967. Released in the place of the much-touted Smile, Smiley Smile is widely considered to be under-produced, and it was received with indifference and confusion upon its unveiling...
. The title track of "Surf's Up" was written by Van Dyke Parks around that period, and Brian sat on it until now... Its delicacy is close to Pet SoundsPet SoundsPet Sounds is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band The Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966, on Capitol Records. It has since been recognized as one of the most influential records in the history of popular music and one of the best albums of the 1960s, including songs such as "Wouldn't...
, released in 1966, especially to "You Still Believe in MeYou Still Believe in Me"You Still Believe in Me" is a song by the American rock band The Beach Boys, taken from their 1966 album Pet Sounds. It is the second track on the album. The song was composed and produced by Brian Wilson with the lyrics by Tony Asher.- Information :...
" and "I Just Wasn't Made for These TimesI Just Wasn't Made for these Times (song)"I Just Wasn't Made for These Times" is a song by The Beach Boys from their album Pet Sounds. It is the eleventh song on the album.- Information :...
" on that album. Its subtle shifts of pace and timing, and delicate harmony singing, put it in the top flight of Beach Boys' numbers.
2004 version
On Brian Wilson's 2004 recording of SmileSmile (Brian Wilson album)
Smile, sometimes typeset with the idiosyncratic partial capitalization SMiLE, or referred to as Brian Wilson Presents Smile is a solo album by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Van Dyke Parks released on September 28, 2004 on CD and two-disc vinyl LP...
, the musical arrangement is very similar to the 1971 release, but with the clarity of modern recording technology. The vocal arrangement is slightly altered for the highest parts. This melody runs a full octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
plus a minor third
Minor third
In classical music from Western culture, a third is a musical interval encompassing three staff positions , and the minor third is one of two commonly occurring thirds. The minor quality specification identifies it as being the smallest of the two: the minor third spans three semitones, the major...
, sweeping up a minor sixth
Minor sixth
-Subminor sixth:In music, a subminor sixth or septimal sixth is an interval that is noticeably narrower than a minor sixth but noticeably wider than a diminished sixth.The sub-minor sixth is an interval of a 14:9 ratio or alternately 11:7....
(five whole steps) at one point, and peaking at the second F
F (musical note)
F is a musical note, the fourth above C. It is also known as fa in fixed-do solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of Middle F is approximately 349.228 Hz. See pitch for a discussion of historical variations in...
above Middle C
Middle C
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
. As Brian Wilson was then 62, with a naturally reduced vocal range, the part was rearranged for harmonies, with additional voices blending in smoothly, allowing Wilson to sing a lower part. In the concert performances, this approach was used many other times during the Smile material, with his younger backup singers doubling many of his parts in unison (similar to the recording technique of doubletracking
Doubletracking
Double tracking is an audio recording technique in which a performer sings or plays along with their own prerecorded performance, usually to produce a stronger or "bigger" sound than can be obtained with a single voice or instrument. It is a form of overdubbing; the distinction comes from the...
), blending in and taking over for the high parts that were more difficult for Wilson to reach on stage than in the studio.
Personnel
- Brian WilsonBrian WilsonBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
– lead vocals, and keyboards - Scott Bennett – vocals, keyboards, xylophone
- Nelson Bragg – vocals, percussion
- Jeffery FoskettJeff FoskettJeffrey Foskett is a guitarist and singer best known for his work with Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys.Foskett originally came from San Jose, California, where in the early-1970s his first band was a surf group named "Cherry", after the Willow Glen area street on which he lived. He attended Willow...
– vocals, percussion - Probyn Gregory – trumpet, french horn
- Jim Hines – drums
- Bob Lizik – bass
- Paul Mertons – flute, harmonica
- Taylor Mills – vocals
- Darian SahanajaDarian SahanajaDarian Sahanaja is a singer, songwriter, and is currently playing in the Brian Wilson band with The Wondermints. He has also collaborated with numerous other artists in the genre of orchestral/underground pop, including Baby Lemonade, Wonderboy, Aimee Mann, Now People, Lisa Mychols and Donna Summer...
– vocals, keyboards - Nick Walusko – vocals, guitar
- Stockholm Strings 'N' Horns
Other releases
A Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundDolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
version of the song was released on the Endless Harmony DVD as a bonus track. The track, along with the other 5.1 surround sound mixes, were produced and mixed by Mark Linett
Mark Linett
Mark Linett is a record producer and audio engineer. He has done significant work with The Beach Boys, including re-mastering their recordings that appear on the "two-for-one" album re-releases. He also produced and engineered the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound version of Pet Sounds...
. On An All-Star Tribute to Brian Wilson (2001), a cover version was made by David Crosby
David Crosby
David Van Cortlandt Crosby is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of three bands: The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash , and CPR...
, Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
, Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb
Jimmy Webb is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He wrote numerous platinum selling classics, including "Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "Wichita Lineman", "Galveston", "The Worst That Could Happen", "All I Know", and "MacArthur Park"...
. Gill sang the first part, Webb & Gill sang the second, and David Crosby sang the coda in an extended version.
Some fan mixes and bootlegs sync Brian's original vocal demo with the original 1967 backing track.