Drag City – JAN & DEAN***

Drag City/I Gotta Drive/Drag Strip Girl/Surfin’ Hearse/Dead Man’s Curve/Schlock Rod Part 1/Schlock Rod Part 2/ Popsicle Truck/Surf Route 101/Sting Ray/Little Deuce Coupe/Hot Stocker

Jan & Dean were a pop duo who epitomised the American surf and hot rod youth culture of the early sixties. The concept LP Drag City comprises mostly original tunes and was their most commercially successful LP. The title track was a US No. 10 hit single. (US:22)

"Jan & Dean are the quintessential Californian pop duo of the early 1960s; versed in surfing and hot-rod culture. They created music that provided a soundtrack for summertime fun. The sonic complexity of Jan Berry's productions was a serious influence on the young Brian Wilson, and one can easily follow the progression of '60s rock from Dead Man's Curve to The Beach Boys Good Vibrations. As such, Jan & Dean are more influential than many people realize."

"A concept album from Jan & Dean, but this time focussing on all things automotive. As is typical of most of their releases, it's a grab-bag of tracks of varying quality and pedigree, the best of which are great, and the worst of which are simply forgettable. There's also a good many laughs to be found within these grooves, as both Surfin' Hearse and Schlock Rod (Parts 1 & 2) are pretty funny tracks. Other highlights include Drag City, Dead Man's Curve, I Gotta Drive and Surf Route 101."

"Drag City is arguably Jan & Dean's best album. Unlike the typical albums of the era, which used to feature one or two hits plus covers of other performer's hits, this album features almost all original tunes. The songs are all about cars and they are all good. Drag City was the hit single, but Popsicle Truck also became a hit later, as did Dead Man's Curve (but this isn't the version that was later released as a single). The other songs are all good, too, but my favourite is Schlock Rod (Parts 1 & 2) which is a hilarious parody of songs where a guy brags about his car."

"Drag City signalled a change for the boys. Up till then, Jan & Dean records were composed primarily of cover songs. Although Surf City introduced the concept of self-penned material, it was Drag City where it really came together. Working with a close knit group of Los Angeles songwriters, Jan brought together a collection of mostly original songs."