JAN and DEAN: More than you ever wanted
PERFORMER: Jan and Dean
CD: “Jan & Dean: The Complete Liberty Singles” (Collector’s Choice Music)
WEBSITE: www.ccmusic.com
While 42 songs (remastered in glorious mono) may be more Jan & Dean than anyone ever needs, this two-disc set covers all the surf duo’s go-to tracks, including “Surf City,” “Dead Man’s Curve,” “Linda,” “Sidewalk Surfin’” and, of course, “Little Old Lady from Pasadena.” But preceding J&D’s chart hits, you’ll get a taste of early ’60s cheese-pop at its best.
The hand-picked backing musicians included Earl Palmer, Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell and Leon Russell, but the songs ranged from the weird, talking doo-wop of “Who Put the Bomp” to “Poor Little Puppet,” which is so earnest it sounds a bit like an outtake from the Mothers’ “Ruben & the Jets” era. While it’s been a long (long) time since artists and listeners actually took songs like this seriously, it’s really an incredible song.
On the other hand, “Tennessee” (which actually reached No. 65 on the pop charts) is a totally schizophrenic track that melds a “Blue Moon” basso profundo with a hand-jive groove and a Boots Randolph-styled sax solo. Yikes. There’s plenty of cheeky humor along the way in the Beach Boys-sounding “The Anaheim, Azusa & Cucamonga Sewing Circle, Book Review and Timing Association,” “Schlock Rod” and “Batman.”
In the best tradition of pop, J&D spun their two-beat, surf-rod template in every conceivable way — “Ride the Wild Surf,” “Honolulu Lulu,” “Drag City” and the crazy “Bucket T.” Of course we all know the story had a tragic ending (with Jan barely surviving crashing his Corvette into a parked truck near the actual “Dead Man’s Curve”). Listening suggestions: Wait for a warm, summer evening, put down the rag top, pop in one of the discs and head for the nearest dairy bar for an ice cream float.
— by Michael Lipton
