Album Review:

Shut Down is the album that kicked off the hot rod arm of the surf genre. Armed with two Beach Boys hits, Capitol dug deep in their vaults and unearthed every car-related song that had been released up to that point. With the addition of four tracks penned by Gary Usher and Roger Christian, 'Wide Track,' 'Cheater Slicks,' 'Four on the Floor,' and 'Little Street Machine,' Capitol branded the album the first 'hot rod' album, even instructing dealers to "file under car songs" as the right-hand corner suggests.    

The Beach Boys' 'Shut Down' starts things off here, followed closely by 'Chicken,' credited to the Cheers, a space-age story-song 1950s sensibilities complete with a 1950's Walt Disney-styled choir. Gary Usher's newly formed Super Stocks introduce themselves as an edgier version of the Beach Boys with 'Wide Track,' followed by the Piltdown Men's "Brontosaurus Stomp," a curious inclusion for a car-themed record. The Super Stocks return with "Four on the Floor" a' la Dick Burns. A second Cheers number, 'Black Denim Trouser and Motorcycle Boots,' is a minory 1940's male group number with a full orchestra and maniacal pitter-pat drums. After a five-song absence, the Beach Boys return with '409,' kicking off side two; as if to remind the listener of why they purchased the record in the first place. A rough version of "Street Machine" ensues before Robert Mitchum's 'Ballad of Thunder Road' takes the stage. Continuing down the Country Music road, Jimmie Dolan's early rock and roll hit 'Hot Rod Race' is included, presumably for its explicit references to hot rod racing. Even farther removed from the whole surf/hotrod genre, the Eligibles' (Think Gilligan's Island Theme) late 50's novelty tune, 'Car Trouble,' bounces along cheerfully through a few key changes. By the time 'Cheater Slicks' rolls around, it seems Capitol had exhausted its meager library of car songs, making the new Super Stocks composition sound distinctly fresher than usual.

As the first hot rod album of the '60s, Shut Down still holds up quite well, even if it does have a few bumps in the road.