LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Phil “P.F.” Sloan and Steve Barri cut only one album as the Fantastic Baggys, but what a pop-surf gem of a 30-footer it turned out to be! Hot on the heels of writing “Summer Means Fun” for Bruce & Terry in the summer of ‘64 -- and recently hired as background vocalists for Jan & Dean -- the Baggys cranked out beach-bound classics like “Tell ‘Em I’m Surfin’,” “Surfin’ Craze,” and “Let’s Make The Most Of Summer.” Anywhere The Girls Are! spotlights the entire Tell ‘Em I’m Surfin’ album along with 17 additional helpings of rare singles, unreleased material and alternate versions, as well as new liner notes based on extensive interviews with Phil Sloan and Steve Barri -- not to mention a peek at the Baggys’ private photo stash. Sloan & Barri would go on to pen worldwide chart smashes for the Turtles, Johnny Rivers, Herman’s Hermits, the Grass Roots and Barry McGuire, but nothing would ever sound so ocean-drenched and innocent as the material they cut as the Fantastic