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Showing posts from December, 2022

Surf’s Up: The Beach Boys on Record 1961-1981 - Brad Elliott

Surf’s Up: The Beach Boys on Record 1961-1981 Brad Elliott First Published: HB. 1982. Pierian Press, Ann Arbor. This Edition: 1st Edition. Elliott’s Surf’s Up is a staggering undertaking and mammoth achievement. Even attempting to read it is an endeavour in itself and should really come with a health warning that it encourages obsessive behaviour! It’s a real curate’s egg, presenting fastidious levels of detail about the band’s recordings and releases, Elliott’s dedication to documenting every scrap of the Beach Boys’ career at a sub-atomic level both admirable and terrifying. Terrifying, because it opens up passages into hitherto undiscovered rabbit-holes of Beach Boy fandom.  I went into this wondering if a reference book written 40 years ago could still hold any interest, expecting an impressive but ultimately obsolete project, its information superseded by more accurate and accessible print and digital resources. But I was wrong! Not only is it still eminently readable, but it con