Surfer Girl by The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys\' third album and second (of three) in 1963 is the first to credit Brian Wilson as sole producer, though it\'s often rumored he handled those duties alone on the previous releases. The shift in focus is noticeable. Brian handles the key lead vocals for the title ballad, the first song he\'d ever written, and he delivers his most personal performance to date with the autobiographical masterpiece \"In My Room.\" His high harmonies bring a sublime vulnerability to the joyful \"Catch a Wave,\" while his songwriting collaboration with Roger Christian for \"Little Deuce Coupe\" gives Mike Love his best moment on the album. Even lesser-known tunes such as \"The Surfer Moon\" display Wilson\'s heavily melodic approach (and his first use of strings), which established The Beach Boys as the era\'s best band. While The Beach Boys were clearly rushed in the studio—Mike Love sings with a cold on several cuts—their talents were so fully blooming that nothing could curtail their energy or enthusiasm.

For the first time since 1992,Rolling Stone'sdefinitive classic returns to the scene, completely updated and revised to include the past decade's artists and sounds. When it comes to sorting the truly great from the merely mediocre, the enduring from the fleeting,The New Rolling Stone Album Guideprovides music buffs and amateurs alike with authoritative guidance from the best voices in the field. Filled with insightful commentary, it not only reviews the most influential albums of all time, but also features biographical overviews of key artists' careers, giving readers a look at the personalities behind the music.This fourth edition contains an impressive -- 70 percent -- amount of new material. Readers will find fresh updates to entries on established artists, hundreds of brand-new entries on the people and recordings that epitomize the '90s and the sounds of the 21st century -- from Beck to OutKast to the White Stripes and beyond -- along with a new introduction detailing changes in the music industry.Celebrating the diversity of popular music and its constant metamorphoses, with thousands of entries and reviews on every sound from blues to techno,The New Rolling Stone Album Guideis the only resource music lovers need to read.

Capitol pushed the Beach Boys for too much material in too short a time for the group to maintain as much quality control as would have been desirable.

<p>Drugs, mental illness, incongruous jazz combos - the recent batch of reissues aren't pretty, says Alexis Petridis.</p>