The first four albums from The Beach Boys exist in their own time capsule - It was a time before January 14, 1964, back when the Boys had relatively little major competition in their home isle of America. Even with success off the back of hits like "Surfin' U.S.A." and "Surfer Girl," the group showed very little signs of slowing down - look no further than the fact that this album was released less than a month after their third LP that was Surfer Girl, with sessions for this album dating back even further than any on that album. You might think that this fast-pace of release makes the album sound rushed, and you'd almost certainly be right. Even after plenty of relistens through the group's 60s catalog, I still hold Little Deuce Coupe in low regard; this is arguably the group's single most disposable LP of the 1960s, least of all for the fact that it repackages four previously released songs on this 12-song album. The album largely feels like a collection of leftover material that the group deemed not good enough to put on an album like Surfer Girl, compiled up and spat out by Capitol for some extra dough for the year. Even amidst the filler and greed, there's still some glorious Beach Boys moments, however.
Simply put, this album plays like burnout - the group's equivalent of Beatles for Sale but without the steps of artistic growth that the Fab Four took on that album. If you're expecting an album that production-wise sounds like Surfer Girl, than I'm afraid to tell you that the seemingly rushed job of this album leaves it sounding far more like Surifn' U.S.A, albeit still more polished. If the group just made another album that played off the success of Surfer Girl, it would probably sound a whole lot better than this - see Shut Down Volume 2. If filler tracks like the throwaway "Cherry, Cherry Coupe" or under-cooked "No Go Showboat" aren't enough indication that this album was a slapdash effort, look no further than the fact that four of this album's tracks were already released songs - "409" was on Surfin' Safari, "Shut Down" on Surfin' U.S.A, and most bafflingly, the title track and "Our Car Club" were included on Surfer Girl, an album that was released one month prior to this one. What?
Safe to say that this album is essentially a rushed job at best, but dig through the dirt finely enough and you'll find some gems hidden between the grooves. "Ballad of Ole' Betsey" is regularly singled out as a highlight on this album, and I'm inclined to agree - with it's matured harmonies and heartfelt delivery gives it a similar innocence and passion that can be found with some of the best material on Surfer Girl, an album that I keep mentioning for the simple fact that it's pretty much this album but better. "Car Crazy Cutie" is admittedly filler, but it's fun filler - Brian's impassioned vocal performance adds some weight to this cut. "Spirit of America" is probably my personal favorite cut from this album, up there with "Ole' Betsey," and carrying a similar professionalism that's absent from a good amount of the album. "A Young Man is Gone" is a touching tribute to the late James Dean set to the melody of "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring," and while I prefer the original, this is still "Hearts Were Full of Spring" and is likewise a beautiful moment. "Custom Machine" sounds a little bit like inbreeding from "Little Deuce Coupe" and "409," but it's a fun enough closing song for me be easy on it.
Little Deuce Coupe would've worked far better as an EP had Capitol just chosen four of the better cuts. Get the title track, "Ole' Betsey," "Spirit of America," and "Custom Machine" and you've got yourself a good EP that would've surely still sold jackshit in America because the American public doesn't buy EPs. Taken as a whole, I find it hard to dispute that Deuce Coupe plays like a slapdash album that was rushed out the door as a means to get another album out for the year - the fact that this album eventually hit platinum is nothing short of surprising to me. There is some great deep cuts on this album, but outside of those you're better off listening to the albums that surround this release, save for the group's first two.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Little Deuce Coupe.
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