NOTE: The
Beach Boys climbed the
scales of fame and
sophistication during
this period of their
history, and then,
seemingly overnight,
spectacularly crashed
and burned in the eyes
of the critics and the
record-buying
public. But while
disillusioned fans
stopped buying the
albums, the Beach Boys
continued making music,
different music than
their early hits, less
sophisticated in its
production, but good
music nonetheless, some
of it equaling anything
that had gone before.
The Beach
Boys Today!
Capitol T 2269
[LP] CDP 93694 2[CD];
Released March, 1965
(out of five)
|
1. Do You
Wanna Dance
[Freeman]
2. Good to My Baby
[Wilson]
3. Don't Hurt My
Little Sister
[Wilson]
4. When I Grow Up
(To Be a Man)
[Wilson]
5. Help Me, Rhonda
[Love, Wilson]
6. Dance, Dance,
Dance [Wilson,
Wilson ]
7. Please Let Me
Wonder [Love,
Wilson]
8. I'm So Young
[Tyus]
9. Kiss Me, Baby
[Love, Wilson]
10. She Knows Me Too
Well [Wilson]
11. In the Back of
My Mind [Wilson]
12. Bull Session
With "Big Daddy"
[Jardine, Leaf,
Love, Wilson ...] |
REVIEW:
Brian Wilson had stopped
touring so that he could
relieve some of the
pressures on himself, and
this astounding album was
the result. Not
merely innovative and
commercial, but it also
began to move the Beach
Boys in a completely new
direction, with side two
of the album filled with
lush, introspective
ballads which would
foreshadow the germinating
"Pet Sounds" of the
following year.
Starting off with a
ripping version of Bobby
Sherman's "Do You Wanna
Dance?" it's followed by a
galloping original: "Good
to My Baby" (which
contains one of my
favorite choruses,) and
slightly lesser "Don't
Hurt My Little
Sister." "When I
Grow Up (To Be A Man)" is
a perceptive and mature
masterpiece, and then side
one closes with one-two
punch of "Help Me Ronda,"
and Brian's "Dance, Dance,
Dance" (which easily
equals the opening
number.) Side two is
the jaw-dropper, starting
off with two similar
pieces, "Please Let Me
Wonder," and "I'm So
Young," both of which are
sung from a teenager's
point of view, pondering
the mysteries of
love. My favorite
song on the whole album,
however is the underrated
"Kiss Me Baby," a
Spectorian ballad that is
perfect both lyrically and
musically. "She
Knows Me Too Well" follows
and is almost equal to the
previous numbers.
Closing out the album is
the challenging "In the
Back of My Mind" (with
Dennis on the lead vocal,
and somewhat out of his
depth,) and the bizarre
closer, "Bull Session with
Big Daddy:" a faux studio
interview with Earl Leaf
and some hungry Beach
Boys. A must-have
album.
Summer Days
(and Summer Nights!)
Capitol T 235
[LP], CDP 7 93694 2 [CD];
Released June, 1965
|
1.
The Girl from New York
City [Wilson]
2. Amusement Parks,
U.S.A. [Love, Wilson]
3. Then I Kissed Her
[Barry, Greenwich,
Spector]
4. Salt Lake City
[Wilson]
5. Girl Don't Tell Me
[Wilson]
6. Help Me, Rhonda
[Love, Wilson]
7. California Girls
[Love, Wilson]
8. Let Him Run Wild
[Wilson]
9. You're So Good to
Me [Love, Wilson]
10. Summer Means New
[Love Wilson]
11. I'm Bugged at My
Ol' Man [Wilson]
12. And Your Dream
Comes True |
REVIEW:
Released just four months
after "Today," this album
showed that Brian Wilson
was in full creative
swing, even if it wasn't a
linear progression from
the previous
release. "Summer
Days (and Summer Nights!)
was a much harder rocking
album than "Today" had
been, with virtually no
ballads (of the two
present, one, "Summer
Means New Love," is an
instrumental track;) but
is equal to the previous
album in most every
way. It
starts off with a
full-throttle rocker, "The
Girl From New York City,"
which is a great track - a
short, punchy tribute to
Leslie Gore that could
have been a single.
"Amusement Parks, U.S.A.,"
which was a hit single in
Japan, is another
interesting song, but
lyrically Brian was
saddled with lesser
material. A
straightforward cover of
the Crystals "Then He
Kissed Me" is next,
followed by the
instantly-recognizable
chiming guitars of "Salt
Lake City," which was a
tribute to the Beach Boys
strong fan base in
landlocked Utah.
"Girl Don't Tell Me,"
which grabbed it's
sensibility from the
Beatles' "Ticket To Ride"
is a thundering rock track
(one of my all-time
favorites,) and a
revamped, tighter-rocking
version of "Help Me,
Rhonda" went to the top of
the charts. If any
track on this album
pointed to the future that
Brian Wilson imagined for
the Beach Boys,
"California Girls" would
be it: the symphonic
opening strains are
magnificent - but
again, the lyrics let me
down. Brian's music
is miles above the
sophmoric scribblings
of Mike Love by this
time. "Let Him Run
Wild" is my favorite Beach
Boys song of all time,
melodically and lyrically
matched, with an aching
vocal by Brian; and a
thumping "You're So Good
To Me" follows. The
next number on the album
"I'm Bugged At My Old Man"
is again a head-scratcher,
a rambling diatribe
against Murry Wilson, with
the message cutting a
little too close to the
bone. And the
closing song is a gentle
acapella lullaby, "And
Your Dream Comes True,"
which sounds somewhat out
of place on an otherwise
rocking outing. An
essential album.
Beach Boys'
Party!
Capitol DMAS
2398 [LP], CDP 7 93698 2
[CD];
Released November, 1965
|
1.
Hully Gully
[Goldsmith, Smith]
2:22
2. I Should Have Known
Better [Lennon,
McCartney] 2:23
3. Tell Me Why
[Lennon, McCartney]
1:39
4. Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow
[Frazier, Harris,
White, Wilson] 2:12
5. Mountain of Love
[Dorman] 2:47
6. You've Got to Hide
Your Love Away
[Lennon, McCartney]
2:43
7. Devoted to You
[Bryant] 1:19
8. Alley Oop [Frazier]
2:53
9. There's No Other
(Like My Baby) [Bates,
Spector] 3:02
10. Medley: I Get
Around/Little Deuce
Coupe [Christian,
Wilson] 3:31
11. The Times They Are
A-Changin' [Dylan]
2:13
12. Barbara Ann
[Fassert] 2:53 |
REVIEW: An
unfortunate
album for a couple of
reasons. First, it
was a rushed excuse to buy
Brian Wilson more time to
polish the time-consuming
effort of "Pet Sounds;"
and second, it was a huge
success, proving that a
majority of fans of the
Beach Boys weren't
necessarily interested in
having the band advance
artistically. (A
paradox that has dogged
them throughout their
career.) Having said
that, it's easy to see why
this album was a
best-seller: it's a
lot of fun. The
Beach Boys are relaxed and
having a good time belting
out some of their favorite
tunes, and even though it
wasn't quite as
off-the-cuff as it sounds,
listeners can imagine that
*they are there* at a
shindig with their
favorite band. The album
sounds terribly dated,
even with "unplugged"
acoustic albums being all
the rage, and the song
selection is the main
reason. "Hully
Gully,"
"Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow," "Alley
Oop," and yes, "Barbara
Ann" were all
anachronistic throwbacks
by the exploding musical
standards of the
mid-sixties, and now sound
very
"old-school."
The two Beatles covers, a
raucous "Tell Me Why," and
a heartfelt "You've Got To
Hide You're Love Away"
fare better; a credit to
the excellent songwriting
partnership of Lennon
& McCartney. Add
to that the
studio-sweetened "Devoted
To You," and a properly
'wall-of-sound-ish'
treatment of "There's No
Other (Like My Baby)" and
you have the only other
high points.
Ironically, just before
they rip into their
rendition of "Barbara
Ann," the Beach Boys
short-sightedly belt out
Bob Dylan's "The Times,
They are A-Changing"...
Ouch.
Pet Sounds
Capitol T-2458
[LP], CDP 7 48421 2 [CD];
Released May, 1966
|
1.
Wouldn't It Be Nice
[Asher, Wilson]
2. You Still Believe
in Me [Asher, Wilson]
3. That's Not Me
[Asher, Wilson]
4. Don't Talk (Put
Your Head on My
Shoulder) [Asher,
Wilson]
5. I'm Waiting for the
Day [Love, Wilson]
6. Let's Go Away for
Awhile [Wilson]
7. Sloop John B
[Traditional, Wilson]
8. God Only Knows
[Asher, Wilson]
9. I Know There's an
Answer [Love, Sachen,
Wilson]
10. Here Today [Asher,
Wilson]
11. I Just Wasn't Made
for These Times
[Asher, Wilson]
12. Pet Sounds
[Wilson]
13. Caroline No
[Asher, Wilson] |
REVIEW:
I have to confess
right now that Pet
Sounds is not my
favorite Beach Boys
album. Having grown
up like so many recent
fans listening only to the
popular compilations Endless
Summer and Spirit
of America, I went
out and bought the 1990 CD
reissue of Pet Sounds
after reading the famous
"Doonesbury" comic strip
(with an AIDS-infected man
raving about the album on
his deathbed) and various
reviewers all praising
this classic album.
Listening to it, I was
naturally confused:
I was expecting the 'old'
Beach Boys sound, but
instead was confronted
with a lush, textured
album, melancholy and
introspective, with more
instrumentals than I ever
knew the Beach Boys had in
their entire
catalog. (I've
learned differently since
then.) Time and repeated
listenings have tempered
that first impression, but
not completely changed
it... but that doesn't
mean that this album won't
move you the way it has
thousands of others.
What makes this album
great is it's
universality: hope,
romance, insecurity, joy,
all tied together by the
still-innovative use of
alternately
sighing/thundering
dynamics and multi-layered
instrumental and vocal
tracks. My favorite
songs are the most
familiar ones,
"Wouldn't It Be Nice,"
"God Only Knows," and
"Sloop John B" (with that
outstanding looping,
sparkling backing track),
stand out.
Everything else is less
emotionally tied to me
(perhaps I need to
experience a little more
romance in my life), but I
can fully appreciate what
Brian Wilson was
attempting to create, and
can heartily attest that
he not only suceeded, but
surpassed himself.
Smiley Smile
Brother 9001
[LP], CDP 7 93696 2 [CD];
Released September, 1967
|
1
Heroes and Villains
(Parks, Wilson) 3:36
2 Vegetables (Parks,
Wilson) 2:05
3 Fall Breaks and Back
to Winter (W.
Woodpecker Symphony)
(Wilson)
4 She's Goin' Bald
(Love, Parks, Wilson)
2:14
5 Little Pad (Wilson)
2:30
6 Good Vibrations
(Love, Wilson) 3:35
7 With Me Tonight
(Wilson) 2:13
8 Wind Chimes (Wilson)
2:36
9 Gettin' Hungry
(Love, Wilson) 2:27
10 Wonderful (Parks,
Wilson) 2:20
11 Whistle In (Wilson)
1:02 |
REVIEW:
Out of the ashes of "Smile"
rose the Phoenix of
"Smiley Smile," and the
Beach Boys were never the
same. Hearing this
album for the first time
only four years ago, I
experienced the
incredulous shock of
transition that I'm sure
most fans feel when they
hear it. Druggy,
underproduced in the
extreme, with songs that
occasionally sound like
practical jokes, this can't
be the Beach Boys.
But there is the best
single of all time "Good
Vibrations" and it's Wild
West twin "Heroes and
Villains," couched between
songs like the
crunchy-munchy
"Vegetables" and the
marajuana-induced
giggle-fest of "Little
Pad." Then, to add
to the confusion, you have
tracks like "She's Going
Bald," and the breathy,
haunting sighs of "Wind
Chimes" to tickle your
brain. In all
honesty, "Smiley Smile" is
just plain weird...
but that's what makes it so
interesting.
Playing this album side by
side with ANY of their
previous albums is sure to
produce intrigue and awe
at the sudden, startling
change in the Beach
Boys. It's as if
they were transformed
literally overnight. If
you have the patience and
desire, you can acutally
find some humour and
beauty in it's subdued
grooves. If you don't have
the patience or desire,
it's probably better to
save yourself a shock and
skip the ethereal "Smiley
Smile."
Wild Honey
Capitol 2859
[LP], CDP 7 93696 2 [CD];
Released December, 1967
|
1.
Wild
Honey [Love, Wilson]
2. Aren't You Glad
[Love, Wilson]
3. I Was Made to Love
Her [Cosby, Hardaway,
Moy, Wonder]
4. Country Air [Love,
Wilson]
5. A Thing or Two
[Love, Wilson]
6. Darlin' [Love,
Wilson]
7. I'd Love Just Once
to See You [Love,
Wilson]
8. Here Comes the
Night [Love, Wilson]
9. Let the Wind Blow
[Love, Wilson]
10. How She Boogalooed
It [Jardine, Johnston,
Love, Wilson]
11. Mama Says [Love,
Wilson] |
REVIEW:
Fans were undoubtedly
hoping for a return to
form with this Christmas
release by the Beach Boys,
but what they got was a
heaping helping of white
soul instead. This
album has grown on me over
time, and it's now a
favorite. Jubillant,
rocking, and varied, "Wild
Honey" was the band
reinventing itself before
our very eyes and
ears. It begins with
guns blazing as Carl
screams out the title
track before relaxing into
the mid-tempo swing of
"Aren't You Glad."
Carl returns to his
R&B stylings on "I Was
Made To Love Her," and
then the band graces us
with full harmonies with
the cool "Country
Air." "A Thing or
Two" is forgettable, but
the band returns with a
full throttle "Darlin,'"
(which had it's origins in
1964 as the Brian
Wilson/Mike Love-penned
Sharon Marie song:
"Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby")
with a brass section
taking it's pound of flesh
in the background.
"I'd Love Just Once To See
You" (with it's wink-wink
tag) is just charming,
"Here Comes The Night" is
a solid mid-tempo rocker,
"Let The Wind Blow" is
soothing and
sophisticated, "How She
Boogalood It" is jumping
straightforward rock and
roll, and "Mama Says" (an
out-take from Vega-Tables
off of "Smile") is lovely
in it's rich
harmonies. Do
yourselves a favor and
help yourself to some
"Wild Honey."
Friends
Capitol ST- 2895
[LP], CDP 7 93697 2 [CD];
Released June, 1968
|
1.
Meant
for You [Love, Wilson]
:38
2. Friends [Jardine,
Wilson, Wilson] 2:32
3. Wake the World
[Jardine, Wilson] 1:29
4. Be Here in the
Morning [Jardine,
Love, Wilson, Wilson]
2:17
5. When a Man Needs a
Woman [Jardine,
Korthol, Parks] 2:07
6. Passing By [Wilson]
2:24
7. Anna Lee, The
Healer [Love, Wilson]
1:51
8. Little Bird
[Kalinich, Wilson]
2:02
9. Be Still [Kalinich,
Wilson] 1:24
10. Busy Doin' Nothin'
[Wilson] 3:05
11. Diamond Head
[Ackley, Ritz,
Vescovo, Wilson] 3:39
12. Transcendental
Meditation [Jardine,
Love, Wilson] 1:51 |
REVIEW:
Friends is a very
gentle album, a 180 degree
turn-around from Wild
Honey, but even the
change in direction didn't
bring back the fans lost
the previous year.
It's a wonderful album
though, serene and
peaceful, and showing a
maturing band still making
vital music. It
begins with the short
invocation "Meant For You"
with Mike (!) delivering a
perfect, subdued
vocal. Continuing
with a waltz, "Friends"
seems to be an affirmation
of the band's commitment
to stick together.
Next comes my favorite
song on the album, the
bouncy "Wake The World"
(with it's surprising tuba
accompianment), which
makes me laugh every time
I hear it. "Be Here
In the Morning" and "When
A Man Needs A Woman" are
both unusual in
composition and
production... the whole
album seems to be
experimental, however, and
the Beach Boys don't even
seem to be trying to
recreate their "hit" sound
of the sixties, but rather
to find a new sound for
themselves (a much
worthier effort than their
late 70's and later
attempts at
self-consciously
recapturing the old
formula). The other
high points on the album
for me are Dennis's first
recorded compositions,
("Little Bird" and "Be
Still"), both of which are
surprisingly simple and
heartfelt. Don't
expect to be blown away by
this album, rather, expect
to be drawn in to it's
aural web.
Stack-o-Tracks
Capitol DKAO
2893 [LP], CDP 7 93698 2
[CD];
Released August, 1968
|
1.
Darlin'
[Love, Wilson]
2. Salt Lake City
[Wilson]
3. Sloop John B
[Traditional, Wilson]
4. In My Room [Usher,
Wilson]
5. Catch a Wave
[Wilson]
6. Wild Honey [Love,
Wilson]
7. Little Saint Nick
[Wilson]
8. Do It Again [Love,
Wilson]
9. Wouldn't It Be Nice
[Asher, Wilson]
10. God Only Knows
[Asher, Wilson]
11. Surfer Girl
[Wilson]
12. Little Honda
[Love, Wilson]
13. Here Today [Asher,
Wilson]
14. You're So Good to
Me [Love, Wilson]
15. Let Him Run Wild
[Wilson] |
REVIEW:
Brian Wilson was a studio
genius. Sure, sure,
he could arrange the
groups' voices like no one
else in rock then or now,
but relatively little
credit has been given to
his equally-thoughtful
backing tracks that he
produced when the Beach
Boys were out on the
road. Full of
offbeat rhythms, chunky
chords, weird breaks and
effects, all of which were
buried beneath shimmering
layers of vocals,
"Stack-o-Tracks" is a
whole new animal in the
Beach Boys' canon.
Capitol records, trying
(again) to make a quick
buck off the
rapidly-fading commercial
prospects of the Beach
Boys, released this album
in a last-gasp effort to
pursuade buyers to "sing
and play along" with the
Beach Boys greatest hits
(a first ever karioke
album!) What they
inadvertantly accomplished
was to unmask Brian Wilson
as the excruciatingly
careful pop craftsman that
he was: the chiming bells,
stacatto guitars,
punctuating organ trills,
shimmering harps, and
gulping bass lines all
sparkle and crack under
the exacting eye of
Brian. Just one
example: the near-swamped
honky-tonk piano line in
"Little Saint Nick" is
inspired, and can be heard
nowhere else. Now,
that's not to say that
this album is a sure-fire
crowd pleaser. I
find myself listening to
it least of all their
albums, but when I put it
on, it really opens my
ears to an entirely new
dimension of their music,
and if you own everything
else, and are hankering
for more, buy this, put it
on, and give a good hard
listen... I guarantee
you'll be bowled-over.
20/20
Capitol SKAO
133 [LP], CDP 7 935697 2
[CD];
Released February, 1969
|
1.
Do
It Again [Love,
Wilson] 2:24
2. I Can Hear Music
[Barry, Greenwich,
Spector] 2:38
3. Bluebirds over the
Mountain [Hickey] 2:53
4. Be With Me [Wilson]
3:16
5. All I Want to Do
[Wilson] 2:02
6. The Nearest Faraway
Place [Johnston] 2:36
7. Cotton Fields (The
Cotton Song)
[Leadbelly] 2:18
8. I Went to Sleep
[Wilson, Wilson] 1:32
9. Time to Get Alone
[Wilson] 2:40
10. Never Learn Not to
Love [Wilson] 2:34
11. Our Prayer
[Wilson] 1:05
12. Cabin Essence
[Parks, Wilson] 3:33 |
REVIEW:
I tend to like this album
more than many fans,
simply due to the variety
found on it. It
begins with the retro
rocker "Do It Again" which
is a great song, despite
the heavy-handed nostalgia
it serves up. Next,
Carl Wilson produces a
fine Spector-ish take on
the cover of the Ronettes
early hit "I Can Hear
Music," followed by an
atypical (I like 'em!)
wail of electric guitars
on "Bluebirds Over The
Mountain." Next is
the gorgeous and
darkly-hued Dennis Wilson
composition "Be With Me,"
and his follow up, a
honky-tonk bar-room
chest-thumper "All I Wanna
Do." In direct
contrast, Bruce Johnston
steps into the limelight
for the first time as a
Beach Boy and delivers a
beautiful panoramic
instrumental, "The Nearest
Faraway Place," and Al
Jardine tries to capture
lighting in a bottle again
with his cover of
"Cottonfields." (The
single version re-recorded
by Jardine is better, with
a punchier
arrangement than the album
track.) "I Went to
Sleep" is childlike and
strange, "Time To Get
Alone" is a rich, harmonic
forgotten masterpiece,
"Never Learn Not To Love"
is rather creepy (go
figure, it was written by
Charles Manson), and the
album closes rather
amazingly with two
leftovers from "Smile":
the wordless, chant-like
"Our Prayer" and the
quirky Americana of
"Cabinessence." "20/20"
doesn't hang together very
cohesively, but each track
has something to recommend
it.
|