The Beach Boys - Little Deuce Coupe (Stereo, 200g)
[click here to see more vinyl featuring the Beach Boys]
Performed by The Beach Boys : Brian Wilson (vocals, bass guitar, keyboards), Mike Love (vocals, percussion, saxophone, Electro-Theremin), Al Jardine (vocals, rhythm guitar, bass guitar), Bruce Johnston (vocals, keyboards, bass guitar), Dennis Wilson (vocals, drums, keyboards).
Written by Bobby Troup (B5), Brian Wilson, Gary Usher (A6), Mike Love (B3), Roger Christian (A1, A2, A4, A5, B1, B2, B4)
1 LP, "Old school" Stoughton tip-on jackets
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 200g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : Capitol
Recorded at United Western Recorders on April 19, 1962 ("409") and January 5 – September 2, 1963
Produced by Brian Wilson
Remastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
Tracks :
2. Ballad Of Ole' Betsy
3. Be True To Your School
4. Cherry, Cherry Coupe
5. 409
2. Spirit Of America
3. Our Car Club
4. No-Go Showboat
5. A Young Man Is Gone
6. Custom Machine
Reviews :
"Listening to the stereo version, I was struck by the separation, the wide soundscape, the detail, and the depth; I could imagine the voices filling a cathedral. ... The rich blending of the vocal harmonies on the stereo versions of 'Surfer Girl,' 'The Warmth of the Sun,' 'In My Room,' and other songs is praiseworthy ... the voices envelop you in a three-dimensional soundscape that can be mesmerizing." — Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, October 2015
"What I can say is that Kevin Gray has been able to extract every last bit of information from whatever tape is in the box, and present it in a way that is pleasing and natural to the ear. ... in my opinion, the Analogue Productions pressings are now THE definitive issue of each Beach Boys album, and will be my reference copies until if and when something better comes along — which may be never." — Lee Dempsey, Endless Summer Quarterly, Summer 2015 Edition
"Here you have a choice between mono and stereo versions. I think the mono version has it all over the stereo version, which, while not hard left/right like early Beatles albums, still sounds as if the intent was to combine the elements to create a mono mix. The mono mix holds together far better in every way — particularly the way in which Dennis's drums are mixed and in the vocal integrity. ... Both the mono and stereo reissues sound open, transparent and full frequency." — Michael Fremer, AnalogPlanet.com.
A musical legacy that began in Hawthorne, California and went on to conquer the world. Analogue Productions presents the ultimate pressings of 14 essential Beach Boys albums! Mastered by Kevin Gray, most from the original master tapes, and plated and pressed by Quality Record Pressings, the finest LP pressing facility in the world, these are awesome recordings to experience. And the look of each album befits its sonic superiority! Presented in "old school" Stoughton tip-on jackets, these time honored favorites shine brighter than the originals!
Surfin' USA was the Beach Boys' real breakthough album, showing Brian Wilson asserting himself in the studio as both a premier songwriter and arranger on a set of material that was stronger than their Surfin' Safari debut.
Apart from Surfin' Safari, which was mono only, the Beach Boys did turn in stereo masters on all of their early albums up until 1965. The Beach Boys Today! was the first LP for which they only delivered a mono master.
The stereo editions of Surfin' USA, Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Vol. 2, All Summer Long, Beach Boys Christmas Album and Beach Boys Concert were all mixed in stereo by their own preferred engineer, Chuck Britz, ostensibly under the group's supervision.
"Brian may or may not have been present for those mixing sessions — evidence suggests that he trusted Chuck's skills enough to let him prepare those mixes on his own — but the group held onto their multitrack tapes and delivered stereo masters to Capitol, rather than allowing Capitol to prepare their own stereo versions. Later, when Brian was only delivering mono masters, Capitol would prepare the Duophonic pseudo stereo editions for the stereo market," says Alan Boyd, producer and Beach Boys' archivist.
The Beach Boys' practice of double-tracking their vocals really lends itself to stereo mixes. Split left and right, as they are on a lot of those early stereo versions, those doubled vocal parts can really envelop the listener, surrounding them with Wilsons, Loves and Jardines!
All of the newer stereo mixes on these remastered albums (The Beach Boys Today!, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), The Beach Boys' Party, Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile) were done by Mark Linett on behalf of the Beach Boys.
Besides the hit title track on Surfin' USA and its popular drag-racing flip side ("Shut Down"), AllMusic.com notes that Surfin' USA has a lovely, heartbreaking ballad ("Lonely Sea") and a couple of strong Brian Wilson originals ("The Noble Surfer" and "Farmer's Daughter").
"The sound is rich in detail, yet one of its key strengths is how "mellow and romantic" it sounds. While listening to these records, I was never fatigued. ... the AP Beach Boys significantly betters the original U.S. Capitol pressings that I've heard, with considerably more separation, detail, fullness and presence." — Jeff Wilson, The Absolute Sound, October 2015
"What I can say is that Kevin Gray has been able to extract every last bit of information from whatever tape is in the box, and present it in a way that is pleasing and natural to the ear. ... in my opinion, the Analogue Productions pressings are now THE definitive issue of each Beach Boys album, and will be my reference copies until if and when something better comes along — which may be never." — Lee Dempsey, Endless Summer Quarterly, Summer 2015 Edition
« Little Deuce Coupe was a concept album of sorts, in that most of the songs had something to do with cars and hot rod culture. That's a pretty thin train of thought to sustain for most of a record. What's worse, by the Beach Boys' own standards of hot rod tunes, most of the tracks are pretty trite and unimaginative, rating among their worst early material. Not only that, the three best cuts -- "Little Deuce Coupe," "409," and "Shut Down" -- had already been issued on LP. The most noteworthy of the other tracks was the Top Ten hit "Be True to Your School," whose fine tune and arrangement are marred by sappy lyrics of faith and loyalty to one's high school. (The album version, oddly, is different from the superior single, which had the Honeys adding female cheerleader chants.) "Spirit of America" and "A Young Man Is Gone" (a James Dean tribute with Four Freshmen-style vocals) are moderately interesting numbers, but on the whole this is probably the worst early Beach Boys album, with the possible exception of Surfin' Safari (and their 1964 Christmas LP, which doesn't really count). [Little Deuce Coupe/All Summer Long, a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Little Deuce Coupe onto one disc, adding the 45 version of "Be True to Your School," alternate takes of "Little Honda" and "Don't Back Down," and the previously unreleased "All Dressed Up for School." » AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger