BeachBoys.com: The Complete Guide

REVIEW: Leave it to the Japanese arm of EMI to put out an album that has been screaming for a U.S. release for many years. First available as part of a quickly-deleted box set in the 1980's, this disc is finally seeing the "official" light of day, and though not as complete as 1993's Still I Dream of You, this is still an essential CD for Beach Boys fans which collects 19 super-rare tracks that Brian Wilson produced (and mostly wrote) for other artists. Here is where you'll find the super-rare "Pamela Jean" b/w "After The Game" which Brian wrote and recorded under the alias "The Survivors;" Jan and Dean's take on "Vegetables;" (the one Beach Boys cover included) and an early instance of Brian recording with his daughters Carnie and Wendy on "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus," as well as much more. The one fault of the disc is that it contains too many cuts from The Honeys, all of which are available on a domestic compilation and which could have been substituted for other, rarer tracks. This collection is rumoured to be coming to the U.S. (but with three less songs), but for those who have been waiting for a collection of this sort, you might find that shelling out 30 bucks for this collection may just be worth it.

REVIEW: This is one of those odds & ends which I picked up off of eBay, and find an extremely curious listen. The primary artist on this release, Litto Nebbia, appears to be a star in Argentina, where this album was recorded, and besides this CD, he's recorded three volumes of Beatles tributes, among other projects. Nebbia's voice is almost horrifically out of tune and lazy, with his english pronunciations occasionally sounding like a bad parody. All of these traits may be a big plus among Argentinians, but to these ears, it's torturous. Plus, he's joined on the album by Miranda Nebbia (I can't determine whether she's his wife, or daughter) who has one of the most annoying child-like whines to her voice that I've ever heard. But the album isn't a total wash-out - the arrangments and harmonies can be unusual, with spanish guitar, harmonica, and synthesizers being the main instrumentation, with the occasional electric guitar and piano coming up front, and the cover of "Till I Die" by Los Super Ratones is very cool, with the harmonies intact, but the delicate sentiments getting turned on their ear by an electric guitar-led ending. And "Wonderful" receives a neat chant-like arrangement by acappella singers Grupo Vocal Melopea. The spare, string arrangement of "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)" by Patricio Villarejo is reminiscent of the String Quartet Tribute album below, and is tasteful and sedate. Litto Nebbia also bookends the disc with his own "Wilson-inspired" compositions, which are mostly forgettable, but contain effects which are pointedly flavored by Brian's studio experiments. He also contributes a successful instrumental interpretation of "Girl Don't Tell Me" which I prefer to his limited vocal work. Overall, I was distracted by his heavy accents, (which often slurs consonants), and sloppy intonation, but intrigued by the unusual arrangements, offbeat harmonies, and by some of the guest artists superior performances. This disc can be purchased directly from the distributor at MelopeaDiscos

REVIEW: An improvement, rather than a repeat of the above CD, this new "productions" disc actually contains more tracks (twenty-three), different rarities, excellent packaging and notes, and costing less than half of the Japanese disc, making this a clear choice for collectors who have been aching to find these mega-rare songs. Although there is some duplication in track selection, ACE Records jettisoned several alternates by the Honeys in favor of their later incarnation, American Spring, which is all for the good, since American Spring is otherwise absent on CD. But you'll also find sparkling remasterings of Sharon Marie's "Run Around Lover," "Thinkin' Bout You Baby," "Summertime," and "Story of My Life;" The Survivors "Pamela Jean" (with the first "wop" cut off, as it is on the master tape), as well as its b-side "After The Game;" a couple of tracks by Brian's friend Gary Usher: "Sacramento" and "That's The Way I Feel;" as well as fine songs by Rachel & The Revolvers, Glen Campbell, Paul Petersen, The Laughing Gravy, and of course, the Honeys. Rob Finnis does a fine job of filling in the 19- page full color booklet, and the entire package is very handsome. Highly recommended.

all with shameless sound-alikes miming the original hits. In fact, their website proclaims that they've sold over thirty million CDs! Poor saps who are casually browsing the CD racks will see the large-print "The Beach Boys" on the front cover, turn the disc over to see the track list, and make the purchase, never realizing until they throw it on their CD player that they've been duped. Throwing it on my CD player, knowing full well what it was, I wasn't mortified by what I heard - the covers are pretty competent, but are, without exception, pale imitations of the electrifying originals. Some notes are played wrong, as on the off-key saxaphone found on "Kokomo," or the somewhat jarring missed notes on the beginning of "Wouldn't It Be Nice." The singers are just as faceless as their missing credits allow, with much multi-tracking of the same guys voice in place of a multi-group effort, but the harmonies are all intact, which is, in itself, pretty impressive - this isn't just some half-cocked effort - the producers really try to get the overall sound right, but it's humorous at times, with the original off-the-cuff party sounds from "Barbara Ann" recreated with painful exactness, and most grating - when "Surfin' Safari" comes on, the producers attempt to recreate the low-fi sound of the original single, making the song sound painfully shrill and compressed. In fact, the entire album suffers from the singers trying far too hard to sound like the original singers - it all sounds like they're faking it, and that feeling persists throughout the entire album. The rating above is really for the professionalism found on the recreations, but the stereo fidelity of the songs is pretty low, and quite frankly, the original incarnations of these songs are miles above this forgery.

REVIEW: A wonderful and canny tribute album by solo artist Cameron Michael Parkes, Tribute To Brian Wilson is a thickly arranged masterwork that manages to be eclectic in its song approach, faithful in the execution, and a joy to listen to. According to Parkes' own notes, this album was a labor of love, cobbled together during late-night sessions when he was home from work and his family was sleeping. Parkes' voice is very nice, smooth and supple, and the multi-tracking that he's done to recreate the magnificent harmonies of the Beach Boys is remarkable. (I'm generally not a fan of multi-tracked harmonies by a single voice; it makes the harmonies too "vanilla" and alike, but this is an exception.) The song list is what's really intriguing: Cameron is obviously a serious fanatic, everything from early stuff given away to other artists, to Brian Wilson solo tracks are included, and the rarer tracks here make this a really enjoyable listen; especially when he tackles a flawed piece like "A Day In The Life Of A Tree" which has a lovely melody, but has always been sideswiped by manager Jack Rieley's wimpy vocal - now I can enjoy it to it's fullest thanks to Parkes' beautiful rendition. Same goes for "I'll Bet He's Nice" off of the Love You album, I love the original, but the version here simply has tighter, cleaner vocals. And the whole album is like that - songs given a bright new polish by the very talented Mr. Parkes. Also rates point from me for using the sensitive artwork of artist Chloe Cumming in the booklet.

Pickin' On The Beach Boys: A Bluegrass Tribute
C.D.U. Productions 8763 [CD];
Released June 1, 2004

REVIEW: I'm not sure how much stranger these tribute albums can get (Merry-Go-Round calliope organ tribute?), but this one is a whole lotta fun. A jim-crack bluegrass band consisting of Billy Troy (acoustic guitar); Josh Bertrand (steel guitar); Mike Toppins (dobro, banjo); Matt Combs (fiddle); Troy Graves (bass) and Terry Manfredi (drums) weave a terrific tapestry of high energy banjo pickin' and slide guitar magic in what should be a mismatch of sound and style, but instead is a wild and wooly walk on the southern side of the surf. Maybe it's because the hot banjo playing reminds me a bit of Dick Dale's jittery guitar licks, or maybe it's because the slide guitar lends such expressiveness in the ballads, but for my money, these talented sidemen have captured something of the original spirit of the music in their instrumental raptures. Tracks include covers of "Surfin USA", (Whooooeee!) "Surfer Girl" (with a lovely slide guitar lead), "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Help Me Rhonda", Barbara Ann" (with a spicy rockabilly fiddle taking lead), "Little Deuce Coupe", "Little Old Lady From Pasadena", "Good Vibrations" (actually trippier hearing it in this arrangement), "California Girls" (my favorite cut, with a great rocking-chair rhythm), and "I Get Around" with some interesting harmonic changes in the bass line burning up the final minutes. I don't know how much this album will appeal to traditional '60s rock affectionados, but for me, it's a short, sweet sideroad to the old surfin' hole, and a fascinating foray into the world of bluegrass. Leave all references to Deliverance at the door. Oh, and if you like this album, you might want to check out the rest of the Pickin' On series, for 109 (!) other artists who've been blue-grassed.

REVIEW: I took a long time to pick up this import, due to it's ridiculous cost, but finally found a reasonably-priced copy on eBay, so took the plunge. I enjoyed a previous Japanese Beach Boys' tribute album, Smiling Pets, tremendously, and had high hopes for this one as well. The opening cuts are certainly promising, with a fairly faithful cover of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" performed by Noriyuki Makihara, hampered only by the distracting accent which tends to slur some consonants, but the second track, a tropical-rhythm rewrite of "Do You Wanna Dance" is really fun, turning the song on it's head in a fun new way. An electric, countrified instrumental version of "Surfin' USA" is also revelatory, with the song holding up nicely despite the odd saw-twang of the guitars. An accoustic, stripped-down version of "Kokomo" is wonderful, with slide guitar and light techno effects replacing the too-familiar steel drums of the original. "Sail On Sailor" is turned into a slow southern rocker, unfortunately the powerful lyrics are replaced with a lounge-style organ solo which rips the beating heart right out of the song before finally getting a little jazzier on the chorus. Naja's take on "Fun Fun Fun" a light and bopping, with a super-cool chorus lifting the song up into the stratosphere. Less successful is "Caroline No," which, despite an earnest effort by the vocalist, doesn't quite pay off for me - Mr Sahashi sounds more like a competent karioke singer than a star. "California Girls" starts off super, with fretless guitars filling in the opening symphonic tone poem which Brian wrote, and then changing into a piano/guitar duet which is pleasant, but not particularly revelatory. A straightforward cover of "Good Vibrations" is next, followed by a cool, jazzy cover of "Surfer Girl" finally, a lovely, swirling instrumental version of "In My Room" closes the album with a reverent benediction. This CD isn't as adventurous as the previously mentioned Smiling Pets, but it has enough fascinating moments to recommend (if you can find it at a decent price).

The String Quartet Tribute To The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds
Vitamin Records VIT-8928 [CD];
Released February 15, 2005

1. Wouldn't It Be Nice
2. You Still Believe In Me
3. That's Not Me
4. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
5. I'm Waiting For The Day
6. Let's Go Away For Awhile
7. Sloop John B
8. God Only Knows
9. I Know There's An Answer
10. Here Today
11. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
12. Pet Sounds
13. Caroline No
14. Hang On To Your Ego

REVIEW: How would you feel if every song you knew and loved off of Pet Sounds was recast to sound like The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby"? That's what you'll have to decide when listening to this curiosity released on decidedly off-beat indepedent label Vitamin Records. I visited their website after hearing this album, and discovered that they are to string quartet albums what sand is to beaches. There are string quartet albums devoted to the music of Nirvana, The Cure, Sonic Youth, Neil Young, No Doubt, Enya, Sade, and even Clay Aiken! There are literally several dozen albums of pop/rock artists' songs all converted to string quartets. This album takes the high road by sticking with a single album, and actually does a credible job of remaking each track from Pet Sounds a new listening experience (albeit without those pesky lyrics to get in the way). Make no mistake, the Angry String Orchestra (as they call themselves) are a real string quartet of accomplished players, and the songs are each arranged for strings, with the occasional percussive effects being thrown in, so each song becomes a small chamber piece, intimate and close. Even complex instrumental pieces like "Let's Go Away For Awhile" are cunningly remade into musical miniatures, retaining the essense of each song, but whittling away the thick orchestrations Brian used and slimming them down to essential tonalities. It's fascinating in its way, and not at all as cheesy as I might have imagined (like say, the Hollyridge Strings approach). The Angry String Orchestra (comprised of David Keen on violin and viola, Deborah Assael on cello, Michael Goetz on double bass and Doug Munro, who also arranged and produced the session, on percussion) manage to capture some of the sigh and thunder of the original songs in their playing, with grumbling bass lines and sighing violins, occasionally brought to bear with sharp, rhythmic undercurrents. This is classy stuff. I'm not sure how often I'll listen to it, but it's sure an interesting diversion. Also check out their albums devoted to Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, Weezer, U2, and numerous others.

Jez Graham: Jez Loves You - A Solo Piano Tribute To Brian Wilson
Recorded Around Midnight, September 24, 2004

1. Be Still
2. Being with the One You Love
3. Solar System
4. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
5. The Lord's Prayer
6. Feel Flows
7. Medley
a-BOOGIE INTRO (THE DING DANG VARIATIONS)
b- THIS WHOLE WORLD
c- IT"S OVER NOW
8. Medley
a-GOIN SOUTH
b-CALIFORNIA FEELING
c-ORANGE CRATE ART
9. Wonderful
10. And Your Dreams Come True
11. Medley
a- GIRLS ON THE BEACH
b- RAINBOW INTERLUDE
c- MARKET PLACE
12. Transcendental Meditation

REVIEW: Jez contacted me by e-mail and told me that he had recorded a CD of Brian Wilson/Beach Boys songs transcribed for jazz piano and would I like to listen to it? If he'd known how often I listen to jazz piano music, he probably wouldn't have asked, but I said sure, and he kindly sent me a promo CD (this thing isn't for sale - yet.) Popping into my CD player at work, I am very happy to report that Jez is the real deal. Of course, you might already know that, or you could pop on over to his website and see for yourself that he's an experienced jazz performer, and one listen will tell you that this CD is a labor of love. What I was afraid of what that this would turn out to be something along the lines of: "The Beautiful Piano Stylings of Jez Graham play the Immortal Melodies of Brian Wilson" - happily, this is not the case. I'd always heard that jazz artists love Brian's music, because more often than not, Brian would instinctively throw in jazz chords into pop songs: diminished sevenths, augmented thirds and so forth. Well, what Jez has done is show exactly how prevalent and unusual these moments in Brian's songs really are. The songs retain their essential melodies and chord structures, but Jez (who plays these songs solo on the piano, no other instrumentation) accentuates and highlights these moments: the off-kilter progressions on "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times," the wonderous key changes found on "This Whole World," the surprising musical depth to the seemingly simple "Wonderful." And Jez chooses pieces from the whole Beach Boys catalog - Dennis Wilson is represented in the delicate invocation, "Be Still," while Brian's full spectrum is explored in the final medley of "Girls On the Beach" - "Rainbow Interlude" and the latter-day "Market Place." This is probably the most diverse program of Beach Boys-related music I've seen, with Jez dipping his toe into every era, and yet tying it all together harmoniously with his exquisite, musical phrasing. After being a Beach Boys fan for so long, it's wonderful to hear these songs in a new way, and when Jez occasionally breaks out of the melody to riff on a certain phrase, as on the interesting choice of "Ding Dang" - it's transporting. After hearing this, I wonder what he could make of "Smile" (?) Like I said, he's not selling this personal token at the moment, but if you drop him a line, he might just be persuaded to pass one along.

Guitar Tribute To The Beach Boys
Tribute Sounds 60095 [CD];
Released February 15, 2005

1. Wouldn't It Be Nice 2:40
2. Help Me, Rhonda 2:58
3. California Girls 2:51
4. Little Deuce Coupe 2:38
5. Good Vibrations 3:58
6. Don't Worry Baby 3:12
7. I Get Around 2:33
8. Fun, Fun, Fun 2:37
9. Surfin' Safari 2:41
10. Surfin USA 2:41

REVIEW: It's a good rule of thumb that when the liner notes of an album refrain from disclosing names, the listener is in big trouble. On Guitar Tribute To The Beach Boys, the only performer listed is the pseudonym "Dark One" which gave me pause, since other albums which have gone out of their way to hide the artists involved are without exception sub-par, and that's putting it kindly. And lest anyone think that the afoementioned "Dark" is some cool rap artist's moniker, I have to report: no such luck. Guitar Tribute is a sterile, even bland by-the-numbers tribute album that does little to signifcantly re-work these songs into anything new. The songs are played straighforwardly, with the competent electric guitar taking the lead melody on the songs while bored studio musicians play the backup tracks. There's even a few limited vocals here and there, but the dry, emotionless multi-tracking is pretty obvious, and nothing jumps out of the speakers. I would've welcomed a violent re-imagining of some of these songs; can you picture "I Get Around" raved up Led Zepplin style? Or how about "California Girls" chimed out on a twelve-string Rickenbacker? But no. What the listener is left with here is music that sounds like it could be playing on your supermarket sound system while soccer moms take their broods grocery shopping. Lame, lame lame. And while nothing here is out of tune, or terribly embarrassing, when I saw the title of the CD, I was hoping for some fireworks; but the rare guitar jam found on this disc is competent, but uninvolving, and it quickly becomes apparent that the regular Joes who put this album together have no real interest in the songs or their artistry. An OK disc if you want some Beach Boys background music.

The Stars of Studio 99 Perform... A Tribute To The Beach Boys: The Golden Classics
Legacy Entertainment, Inc. BMP 047 [CD];
Released March 10, 2005

1. Surfin' USA
2. Good Vibrations
3. I Get Around
4. Barbara Ann
5. California Girls
6. Sloop John B
7. Help Me Rhonda
8. Be True to Your School
9. Fun Fun Fun
10. Kokomo
11. Surfer Girl
12. Wouldn't It Be Nice

REVIEW: As with The Beach Boys' own Summer In Paradise, I'm giving this disc a half star for nice cover artwork, but really have to stop right there. The series Stars of Studio 99, an anonymous (with good reason) group of "artists" who have recorded literally dozens of these so-called 'tribute' CDs, are obviously in hiding since if anyone who has bought one of their CDs discover who they really are, there's a good chance they would be hunted down and shot. In fact, I've got half a mind to offer a dollar to anyone who can pinpoint exactly who is putting out this crap, so I can write them a reallllly nasty letter. Although this disc isn't quite as laughably painful as their ABBA or Queen tribute discs, it has it's share of monstrous moments: from the cheap production, which was obviously done all on synthesizers, to the painfully unaccomplished singing (a terrifically out-of-tune take on "Surfer Girl"), which is unredeemably grating on the ears, to the abomination that is the saxophone solo found on "Kokomo". And, as on the equally painful 'other' Tribute to the Beach Boys above, there are several moments on "Barbara Ann" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice" which sounds as if the tape has been sped up to simulate the high harmonies of the Beach Boys. Again, it sounds as if the singers are not really paying tribute to the band, but trying (and failing) their darndest to mimic the original recordings so that buyers will be fooled into thinking their buying the real thing, and not a cheap carbon copy. Discs like this one do more to hurt the image of the Beach Boys than bootlegs, and yet you never hear of artists suing the pants off of the producers of these cheap knock-offs; I wonder if the original artists even benefit from these recordings; it seems impossible, since this series sells for under five dollars a pop! Anyway, the rule 'you get what you pay for' applies here - beware this CD and anything else from the "stars" of studio 99, unless you really enjoy lowering your standards... (you know who you are!)