Recorded a year after The Beach Boys in Concert album from 1964,
Jan & Dean's
Command Performance features the same screaming lot of Sacramento teens battling the twosome during hits like "The Little Old Lady From Pasadena," "Dean Man's Curve," and "Surf City." The
Beach Boys connection gets even more explicit when the duo cover "Little Honda," "I Get Around," and "Sidewalk Surfin'" (co-written by
Jan). But while the
Beach Boys provided their own surf-combo backing,
Jan & Dean are enveloped in a less-then-hip musical setting by supper-club mod
Hal Blaine. With the twosome sounding particularly uninspired amid the polite percussion, benign guitar lines, and Vegas brass charts,
Command Performance comes up more that just a bit short as a classic live set from the swingin' '60s (that goes for the
Beach Boys record as well). For dedicated fans, though, decent
Chuck Berry, Everly Brothers, and
Beatles covers -- not to mention the wry in-between-song banter -- should provide some moments of listening pleasure. ~ Stephen Cook