Bruce Johnston - Surfin' 'Round The World / Going Public (1963)

AQUI:    ou    ALI:

 Bruce Johnston - Surfin' 'Round The World / Going Public (1963) - Includes alternate versions of some songs from the original LP

Originally released on Columbia (LP CS 8857) in 1963.

Bruce Johnston was a member of the early 1960s pop/rock/surf duo Bruce and Terry (Terry being Doris Day's son Terry Melcher) and an on-and-off member of the Beach Boys. But back in 1963, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and recorded this strange surf-inspired "cash-in" album. (His timing was good--a year or so later, the first British Invasion would, sadly, bury surf music.) SURFIN' is mostly instrumental, featuring some cool surf-y guitar, drenched in reverb, and, unusual for the genre, interesting horn and keyboard parts.

The tracks with vocals are truly hilarious. The song "Hot Pastrami, Mashed Potatoes, Come On To Rincon--Yeah!!!" (it's not only the title; it's virtually all the lyrics, too!) features call-and-response vocals that make The Carpenters sound like Ray Charles and The Raylettes. The lyrics generally concern surfing and the search for the Perfect Wave, and they sound like they were written in 20 minutes. With this album, hard-core surf-music collectors will think they've died and gone to Wakiki.

1963's Surfin' Around The World is a mixture of vocal and instrumental tracks recorded with his band The Surf Stompers, while Going Public from 1977 focuses on his songwriting abilities including his own version 'I Write The Songs', which was turned into a massive hit by Barry Manilow.

Personnel:

Bruce Johnston (piano, electric piano, background vocals); Bruce Johnston; Michael Anthony , Michael Anthony (acoustic guitar); Igor Horoshevsky, Igor Horoshevsky (cello); Kathy Dragon, Kathy Dragon (flute); Joe Chemay (bass guitar, background vocals); California Boys Choir (background vocals); Chad Stuart (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Ed Carter (acoustic guitar); Richie Zito, Caleb Quaye (electric guitar); Jon Joyce (cello, background vocals); John Hobbs (piano, electric piano); Gary Mallaber (drums); Cindy Bullens, Jim Haas, Brent Nelson, Diana Lee, Gary Puckett, Curt Becher (background vocals).

John Tobler.

Album gentilmente cedido por Luís Futre, a quem agradecemos.