Track Listing: 1. Think About the Days 2. That's Why God Made the Radio 3. Isn't It Time 4. Spring Vacation 5. The Private Life of Bill and Sue 6. Shelter 7. Daybreak Over the Ocean 8. Beaches in Mind 9. Strange World 10. From There to Back Again 11. Pacific Coast Highway 12. Summer's Gone
Hey! It's actual Friday! I will celebrate this by drinking a few talls and listening to "That's Why God Made the Radio" by the Beach Boys!
Do I know how to party or what?!
Anyway, this was a pretty surprising release...After years of acrimony and bitter legal battles I don't think anyone was expecting to see Brian Wilson and Mike Love working on a new Beach Boys album again, but last year it happened...
When you first put this on it takes a little bit of time to get acclimated to such an anachronistic sound, but that's pretty standard for any album involving Brian Wilson...I hear people trying to emulate Brian all the time, but usually there's something modern about it...whether its the production, or the lyrics, but this is just completely old school...
Some of these songs are fantastic...I really love "Isn't it Time?" The chorus is so damn catchy (and the verses aren't' so bad either!) The title track is classic Beach Boys ...Nostalgic 50's doo-wop with tons of cool harmonies...It turns out Brian wrote the song back in the late 90's and has just never recorded it until now...Hard to believe he's been sitting on it for that long, but who knows...I guess it's totally possible considering that he sat on "Smile" for 40 years...
As everyone else has mentioned the last three songs are the heart of the album...A cool throwback suite that reminds me of the haunted soft rock of their 70's albums..."Summer's Gone" is particularly great...This song also dates back to the 90's. Apparently he wrote it after the death of Carl Wilson and intended it to be the final Beach Boys song...Which it just may be...And this will be the only time on the Friday Night Record Party blog where you'll see any sort of praise for anything with a Jon Bon Jovi writing credit on it...
(huh. I wonder which Kerrang cover star was accused of murder...)
Apparently, this 3 song "Life Suite" was originally supposed to be 6 songs and take up a much bigger chunk of the album...God, that information bums me out...This record could have really been something if that was the case...Oh well...
On the other end of the spectrum we have the completely-awful-beyond-anything-you-can-imagine "Spring Vacation." Ohhh, Lord...This was everything I was fearing this album would be...a dumb melody and corny performance with horrible "Look at us! We're BACK!" lyrics that endlessly references past Beach Boys hits...Avoid this at all cost! Other than that it's pretty smooth sailing...
I thought I was really going to hate "The Private Life of Bill and Sue" when I first read the lyrics, (which tackles the topic of...gulp...reality shows) but it's actually got a very nice island melody...I'd probably hate it more if the fake newscast at the end outlining the plot was more audible...but thankfully it's hard to hear unless you're wearing headphones...
...Remind me not to listen to this on headphones again...
After Mike Love's recent revelation that he was tossing Brian Wilson and Al Jardine out of the Beach Boys (!) another album is probably unlikely...If that's the case it's fine with me...At least the Beach Boys got to end their recording career with "That's Why God Made the Radio" and not "Summer in Paradise."
Which features a relaxing Windows 95 screen saver for a cover...
Watch...Mike Love will reunite with John Stamos and put out "Summer in Paradise II: Back to Paradise."
"That's Why God Made the Radio" isn't a good place to start if you're just getting into the Beach Boys but it sure is a nice place to end....So let's listen to "It's About Time" by the Bizzity Beach Boys...
Track Listing: 1. Surfer Girl 2. Barbee 3. Luau 4. Little Deuce Coupe 5. Surfin' 6. Surfin' Safari 7. Judy 8. What is a Young Girl 9. 409 10. Karate
Chronologically speaking, I should've discussed this one a couple days ago, but it was actually a hard album to get any information on...I found this for a $1.99 at the FYE and was drawn to the stark pencil-drawn cover... In particular,the awesome drawing of Brian Wilson on the bottom left that kind of looks like he's wearing a bumpit...
...and the Al Jardine (?) drawing located directly above Brian, that looks like Martin Short...
You know, it just struck me that the drawing is based on the back cover of the "All Summer Long" reissue vinyl...
(compare and contrast with the other album cover pictured above...)
Turns out this album was released by Spring Board Records, who were a budget label (similar to Pickwick) that released cheapo rip-off records in grocery stores...Featuring re-recordings and cheaply licensed pre-fame songs.
And that's exactly what this is...closer inspection of the back cover reveals that a number of the tracks aren't even the Beach Boys (as promised on the front cover). Turns out three of the tracks are performed by some instrumental group called the Surfin' Six! I mean, the Surfer Six aren't terrible or anything (they've got a swingin' martini-time thing going), but they're certainly not the Beach Boys...or else there would be a bizarre pencil drawing of them on the front cover...
(The only mention of the Surfin' Six I can find on the internet is in reference to this particular album...I wonder who they were. What did they do when they weren't playing Beach Boys covers? Hey, nobody made good on my hit on the New Kids on the Block a month or two ago...So, I'm rescinding that bounty and instead offering three dollars to the first person who can provide me the names of all six members of the Surfin' Six!
Do we really even know if there actually were Six of them?!)
The remainder of the material consists of recordings the Beach Boys did in 1961, before the band were signed to Capitol records...Mostly skeletal doo-wop. Probably the most interesting thing here is an intriguingly-slightly- out-of-sync (is it just my copy?) version of "Surfer Girl" that's incredibly dreamy.
This record fills a bizarre niche I guess... It kept proto-Beach Boys (they were actually still going by the name the Pendletones (which sounds like the name of a ska band) at the time) recordings available...It's certainly far below the band's best, but if it wasn't readily available there would probably be some uptight guy complaining about what a crime it is that the "obviously superior, out-of-sync" take of "Surfer Girl" isn't in print...But really, I would have a hard time recommending this to even the most die-hard Beach Boys fan (seeing that a good chunk of it isn't even the Beach Boys).
I guess if you're into creepy pencil drawings of Martin Short, this might be up your alley...
In the meantime, let's check out "Surfer Girl" by the Beach Boys...(This version seems less off-time than the version on my copy of the record, but it appears to also date from '61...
So...close enough...
Amazingly enough there's no "Surfin' Six" on youtube and I don't feel like uploading any today...So...)
Disc 1: 1. Surfin' U.S.A. (Demo Version) 2. Little Surfer Girl 3. Surfin' (Rehearsal) 4. Surfin' 5. Their Hearts Were Full of Spring (Demo) 6. Surfin' Safari 7. 409 8. Punchline (Instrumental) 9. Surfin' U.S.A. 10. Shut Down 11. Surfer Girl 12. Little Deuce Coupe 13. In My Room 14. Catch a Wave 15. The Surfer Moon 16. Be True to Your School 17. Spirit of America 18. Little Saint Nick (Single Version) 19. The Things We Did Last Summer 20. Fun, Fun, Fun 21. Don't Worry Baby 22. Why Do Fools Fall in Love 23. The Warmth of the Sun 24. I Get Around 25. All Summer Long 26. Little Honda 27. Wendy 28. Don't Back Down 29. Do You Wanna Dance 30. When I Grow Up (To Be a Man) 31. Dance, Dance, Dance 32. Please Let Me Wonder 33. She Knows Me Too Well 34. Radio Station Jingles/Concert Promo 35. Hushabye (Live)/Happy Birthday Four Freshmen (hidden track)
Disc 2: 1. California Girls 2. Help Me, Rhonda 3. Then I Kissed Her 4. And Your Dream Comes True 5. The Little Girl I Once Knew 6. Barbara Ann (45 RPM Single Version) 7. Ruby Baby (Outtake) 8. KOMA (Radio Promo Spot) 9. Sloop John B 10. Wouldn't It Be Nice 11. You Still Believe in Me 12. God Only Knows 13. Hang On to Your Ego 14. I Just Wasn't Made for These Times 15. Pet Sounds 16. Caroline, No 17. Good Vibrations 18. Our Prayer 19. Heroes and Villains 20. Heroes and Villains (Sections) 21. Wonderful 22. Cabinessence 23. Wind Chimes 24. Heroes and Villains (Intro) 25. Do You Like Worms 26. Vegetables 27. I Love to Say Da Da 28. Surf's Up 29. With Me Tonight
Disc 3: 1. Heroes and Villains 2. Darlin' 3. Wild Honey 4. Let the Wind Blow 5. Can't Wait Too Long 6. Cool, Cool Water 7. Meant for You 8. Friends 9. Little Bird 10. Busy Doin' Nothin' 11. Do It Again 12. I Can Hear Music 13. I Went to Sleep 14. Time to Get Alone 15. Break Away 16. Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song) 17. San Miguel 18. Games Two Can Play 19. I Just Got My Pay 20. This Whole World 21. Add Some Music to Your Day 22. Forever 23. Our Sweet Love 24. H.E.L.P. Is on the Way 25. 4th Of July 26. Long Promised Road 27. Disney Girls (1957) 28. Surf's Up 29. Til I Die
Disc 4: 1. Sail On, Sailor 2. California 3. The Trader 4. Funky Pretty 5. Fairy Tale Music 6. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone 7. Marcella 8. All This Is That 9. Rock And Roll Music 10. It's O.K 11. Had to Phone Ya 12. That Same Song 13. It's Over Now 14. Still I Dream of It 15. Let Us Go On This Way 16. The Night Was So Young 17. I'll Bet He's Nice 18. Airplane 19. Come Go with Me 20. Our Team 21. Baby Blue 22. Good Timin' 23. Goin' On 24. Getcha Back 25. Kokomo
Disc 5: 1. In My Room (Demo) 2. Radio Spot #1 3. I Get Around (Track Only) 4. Radio Spot #2 5. Dance, Dance, Dance (Tracking Session) 6. Hang On to Your Ego (Sessions) 7. God Only Knows (Tracking Session) 8. Good Vibrations (Sessions) 9. Heroes and Villains (Track Only) 10. Cabinessence (Track Only) 11. Surf's Up (Track Only) 12. Radio Spot #3 13. All Summer Long (Vocals) 14. Wendy (Vocals) 15. Hushabye (Vocals) 16. When I Grow Up (Vocals) 17. Wouldn't It Be Nice (Vocals) 18. California Girls (Vocals only) 19. Radio Spot #4 20. Concert Intro/Surfin' USA (Live 1964) 21.Surfer Girl (Live 1964) 22. Be True to Your School (Live 1964) 23. Good Vibrations (Live 1966) 24. Surfer Girl (Live in Hawaii Rehearsals 1967)
Whoo...Am I done yet?
Just typing out that track listing was an all day ordeal...This is a hefty 5 disc box set that was released in '93. It was mostly famous for giving us an unprecedented look at "Smile." Honestly, most of "Smile" appears here...Even though the release of "The Smile Sessions" diminishes the initial appeal of the set, there's still quite a bit of previously unreleased stuff here...(By the way...I'm going to play a game of "Album Cover Rorschach Test" with the cover art for the individual discs...I'm just going to type whatever immediately pops into my head when I see the covers...This should be pretty exciting, so you might not want to make any other plans tonight...)
Disc 1:
(Whenever I see the cover art on disc one, all I see is sperm fertilizing an egg, for some reason...
Maybe I should discuss this with my Psychiatrist...)
The box set is pretty much in chronological order, so this first disc is the early surfy-pop stuff that's probably playing on your local oldies station right now...I probably play Disc 1 the least (even less than the disc with "Kokomo" on it!), probably because I've been hearing most of these songs relentlessly since I was a kid...from radio, television, film, etc...But I always forget how much I enjoy it when I do put it on...The album starts with various demos and rehearsals that are interesting (mostly because it shows how fully formed they were before they even had a record deal)...It is fun to listen to the band go from the more sparse and primitive "Surfin'" to the near "Pet Sounds" sophistication of "Warmth of the Sun." The production gets more and more elaborate as harps, marching bands,and strings are slowly added to the mix...
Disc 2:
(The first thing that jumps in my mind when I see this cover is this other cover...
)
Disc 2 is mostly devoted to the baroque pop of "Pet Sounds" and the wild innovations of "Smile." Just an incredible chunk of music...I don't spin this disc much anymore...Now I just toss on "The Smile Sessions" or "Pet Sounds" if I want to hear this stuff, but back in the day I played the shit out of this...
Disc 3:
(This cover makes me think of a big ol' pitcher o' Tang...
Mmmm...Watery, Orangey Tang...)
Disc 3 is probably the most fun disc for me...I have a lot of love for Post -"Smile" Beach Boys and you don't ever get to hear songs from this era on the radio...Check out "Busy Doin' Nothin'." It's so fun! Brian sings lyrics that are so mundane that they become surreal. I can't recall any other song that explores the minutiae of everyday life so deftly...he even gives detailed directions to his house in the middle of the song! So great! "H.E.L.P is on the Way" is almost as awesome as Brian excitedly informs us of a health food resistant that's recently opened and even sings about getting a colonic...On the opposite end of the spectrum we have "'Til I Die" where Brian sings a heartbreaking dirge where he addresses his own insignificance....The guy was a raw nerve back then...The band released a ton of fascinating music during this period...
Disc 4:
(The first thing that jumps into my head when I see this is "Mac Tonight.")
Disc 4 starts off strong with "Sail On Sailor" but as this disc wears on you can hear the band coming apart...Suddenly, you're caught in a mire of increasingly hollow golden-oldie nostalgia...Brian started an intense smoking habit and totally blew out his voice...You kind of have to hear it to believe it...and the whole thing ends on "Kokomo."
I may be insane but I really don't hate "Kokomo" like everybody else does...I mean...It certainly shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as "Pet Sounds" or anything but the guys could still sing beautifully...Sure, it's totally for yuppies who like to tuck their Hawaiian shirts into their khaki shorts and vacation in the Bahamas...
...but it's competent...One time I purposely played it at full volume at about 3 am just so I could get the Cops to show up and tell me, "Hey! Turn down that soft music! It's too loud!" What a wonderful neighbor I am!
(This cover makes me think of...uhhhh... a butterfly... )
Disc 5: Diehard-only miscellanea...A lot of it is a capella...A handful of live tracks...If you're interested in the mechanics of harmony and vocal arrangement this might just be indispensable for you, however....
If'n you're a Beach Boys fan of course you'll enjoy the hell out of this set...For most people this would probably be all the Beach Boys they'd ever need...
That said, I've listened to this thing in it's entirety in one sitting a couple of times now...Which results in a feeling not unlike eating a big bag of sugar...but what abig bag of sugar!
Oh yea...Am I the only one disappointed that their '87 collabo with the Fat Boys wasn't included?
Alright, enough screwing around...Let's check out "Busy Doin' Nothin'" by the Beach Boys...
Track listing: 1. She's Got Rhythm 2. Come Go With Me 3. Hey Little Tomboy 4. Kona Coast 5. Peggy Sue 6. Wontcha Come Out Tonight 7. Sweet Sunday Kinda Love 8. Belles of Paris 9. Pitter Patter 10. My Diane 11. Match Point of Our Love 12. Winds of Change
Sometimes records are just doomed...The Beach Boys had originally recorded the album "Adult/Child" which was rejected by their label, so they went back and recorded a Christmas album, which was also rejected by the label, in favor of King Diamond's "No Presents for Christmas" picture disc...
The band set up sessions to record a new album at the Maharishi International University (at Mike Love's urging), but only Mike, Al Jardine and Brian Wilson showed up. The band ended up re-using some of the music from the abandoned christmas album and put new lyrics over it...
So it's no surprise that this record isn't quite on the same level as "Pet Sounds" or "Sunflower." But I do think it's a little better than its circumstances would indicate...but not by a whole lot. . The band seems intent on revisiting their early 60's golden oldies heyday...But they don't seem to quite remember how to do it...None these songs approach the levels of "I Get Around" or "California Girls."
See, their old songs had some verve and excitement...These kind of sound like soft rock versions of Beach Boys oldies...What's odd is that the Beach Boys were one of the bands that taught me that soft rock could be awesome (Again, see "Pet Sounds" for proof) but M.I.U. tracks like "Winds of Change" are precisely why I hated soft rock in the first place...syrupy, forced emotion...tedious tempos..Making it through side two of this is always kind of a chore for me...Oddly enough though I usually find myself perfectly happy for most of side one...Maybe it should have been an e.p...
The album starts off kind of scary at first...Brian sings in a Bee Gee's falsetto:
"Last night I went out disco dancing, Saw a foxy girl out on the floor..."
Uh oh...But then that catchy "She's got Rhythm, she's got what I need..." hook happens and all is forgiven...Turns out it's pretty listenable..."Kona Coast" is a pleasant island vacation of a song, nothing groundbreaking, but Mike sounds great...Most of the rest of side one is made up of oldies covers...It seems a little weird that they chose these particular songs as their nostalgia vehicles...Since the Beach Boys never before showed much of a Buddy Holly influence...I kinda wished they would've busted out a Four Freshmen obscurity or something, but really "Come Go With Me" suits them fine...
I also like side two opener "Sweet Sunday Kinda Love." Carl Wilson is incapable of singing a less-than-beautiful song.Unfortunately this is the only time on the album you get to hear Carl...Dennis also only does one lead vocal ("My Diane"), but he sounds like he's maybe half-there...There's some interesting backing vocals on "Pitter Patter" but that's about it... Man, it kills me to write that this album isn't great...The Beach Boys really are one of my all time favorite bands, but the best I can say about "M.I.U"Album" it is that it's pleasant...I'd heard quite a bit of talk about how awful this album was, and when I finally found a $1.99 copy of it, I put it on expecting the worst and I found it nowhere near as bad as it's often made out to be, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone but the most die-hard of the die-hards...There's some nice vocals and a good hook here and there but that's about it...You can pick up 20 other Beach boys albums that have those same attributes and a whole lot of spirit... Let's listen to "She's Got Rhythm" by the Beach Boys. Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Sail On, Sailor 2. Sloop John B 3. God Only Knows 4. Darlin' 5. Add Some Music to Your Day 6. Wouldn't It Be Nice 7. Good Vibrations 8. Do It Again 9. Caroline, No 10. Friends 11. Surf's Up 12. Heroes and Villains
An out-of-print compilation of Beach Boys material that spans from "Pet Sounds" through "Holland," which works for me since that's my favorite era of the band, so I play this one a lot...
I originally bought this years ago at PDQ Records in Tucson...
Which was a pretty cool place...It was huge and had tons of vinyl but it was mostly just classic rock...They had a very small section for punk...but if you were looking for any classic rock album at all you were pretty much guaranteed to find it there... The stuff was either ridiculously pricey or ridiculously reasonable...But a fun place...If you're anything like me, you could blow an entire afternoon there just browsing through it all...They never quite seemed to restock though and eventually the place became super picked over and ended up a graveyard for copies of Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours." I'm not sure if it's still around or not, but I have a lot of great memories of the place...
Nothing too surprising here...Pretty close to what I would pick if I had to choose the most representative Beach boys tracks from 1965-1973...This pretty much only exists because of two other Beach Boys greatest hits albums that came out around the same time that ended up being hugely successful...But those were made up pre-"Pet Sounds" material...
Endless Summer (1974) : which judging from the beardy cover doesn't look anything like it would be made up of songs about cars, surfing and girls...
..and "Spirit of America" (1975) which has an incredible album cover! I wish the "Good Vibrations" album had a cover this cool...It would also be nice if it was a double LP like these other compilations...There's ton of great songs they could have filled a second disc with...I mean this doesn't even have "Forever" or "Wild Honey" or "California Saga." Oh well...No use crying about an almost 40 year old greatest hits compilation...although I've probably cried over less...
(Like the cancellation of ALF for example...)
Anyway, let's check out "Friends" by the Beach Boys...
Track Listing: 1. Don't Go Near the Water 2. Long Promised Road 3. Take a Load Off Your Feet 4. Disney Girls (1957) 5. Student Demonstration Time 6. Feel Flows 7. Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) 8. A Day in the Life of a Tree 9. 'Til I Die 10. Surf's Up
The Beach Boys tackle social awareness and ecology...With a mass of singers and songwriters handling such potentially-embarrassing subject matter (I mean...take a moment and check out those titles!) its not entirely surprising that some of this works and some of this is outright awful...By my calculations (I'm sure yours will differ) there are 3 good tracks and 2 bad ones on each album side, which results in this being 3/5ths good...
The Good: Opener "Don't Go Near the Water" is a pollution warning that's overshadowed by its happy hooks, Carl Wilson pretty much bats a 1000 here, every moment featuring him is great. "Long Promised Road" has an incredibly uplifting chorus, "Feel Flows" is pure laid-back cool and his vocals on the title track are really on another level...Actually the song "Surf's Up" almost totally destroys everything else on here...For chirssakes, it's the best track off "Smile," so in the context of a 70's Beach Boys album nothing else stands a chance...Only his similarly sorrowful "'Til I Die" comes close...
Bruce Johnston provides the awesome "Disney Girls (1957)" which is an interestingly complex take on simple nostalgia...Basically, the feeling I get is that he's moved on from all his other dreams and is settling down with a wife (who like church and bingo) but he still finds a retreat from reality in his fantasies about Disney Girls...
Cos Disney Girls are always sluts, right?
The bad: Ohh boy...and some of this is bad..."Take a Load Off Your Feet" is a dumb love song to...well...feet! "A Day in the Life of a Tree" is just deeply unsettling. "Student Demonstration Time" and "Lookin' at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)" are both as corny as their corny titles...Time to bring back that corn guy for this one...
The fact that Dennis Wilson's "4th of July" was left off this album is a tragedy! It's an awesomely mournful and moving track that nails the album's concept flawlessly. Take off "Student Demonstration Time" and put "4th of July" on here instead and I'm certain that the stature of this album would go up a few hundred notches...
As it stands...It's really kind of an alright album...It feels weird to say that about an album that features "Surf's Up" and "Til I Die" but then I'm forced to remember that "Surf's Up" has been restored to its rightful home on "Smile" and the Z-grade material really drags this down...Not a total loss, but not a total classic either...Do what I did...Find a used vinyl copy in the $1.99 bin...Because there's a few tracks here that are "must-hears."
Now let's check out "Long Promised Road" by the Beach Boys...Enjoy...
Track Listing: 1. Slip on Through 2. This Whole World 3. Add Some Music to Your Day 4. Got to Know the Woman 5. Deirdre 6. It's About Time 7. Tears in the Morning 8. All I Wanna Do 9. Forever 10. Our Sweet Love 11. At My Window 12. Cool, Cool Water
Their first release after their break from long-time label Capitol Records. Brian Wilson is less present than ever, contributing only one full song, a bunch of co-writes and backing vocals, compare this to his input on the previous albums!
(Hell, it looks like he doesn't even want to be in the band's photos...In my mind Al Jardine is gripping him tightly, so he doesn't run away...)
Anyway, the other band members really step up things up (look at all those songwriting credits for Dennis and Carl Wilson!) and it works really well...This is a completely enjoyable and multifaceted album, where almost every track has a different lead vocalist and feel...
Yet it's all so damn smooth...It's hard to believe that a group of guys with so much turmoil in their lives (mental illness, drug dependency, hanging out with Charles Manson) could find the will to produce some of the most soft and soothing music ever released...but here it is...
They really toss off quirky soft rock left and right...Brian's "Cool Cool Water" pushes the form into realms that are really only now being understood...This album's contribution to the genre of twee indie-pop is almost incalculable... See the unbelievably wide-eyed "At My Window" for further proof...and while you're at it, check out these lyrics to the awesome AM radio pop song "Add Some Music to Your Day:
"You're sittin' in a dentist's chair,
And they've got music for you there...
Add Some Music to your Day..."
What would compel someone to write
such a thing? I think this oddball naivete probably accounted for its
low placement in the charts...I bet if this lovable melody was tied to
some generic love lyrics it would have been all over the radio...
(Wow, this cover for the "Cool, Cool Water Single" changes my life a little bit...So amazing...)
Bruce Johnston really kicks ass (in the gentlest way possible) on "Deidre" and "Tears in the Morning." Man, he wins me over with these...He sounds like an earnest pixie if, if that makes sense.. Lightweight and straight-faced...These trifles matter to him, dammit!
Also throw in Dennis Wilson's easygoing epic "Forever," (arguably his best song) and you've got a great place to start if you're looking to explore the band's post "Pet Sounds" and "Smile" work...I don't think they've made an album as good as this again...
On a totally random note, I don't think Dennis Wilson's beautiful beard has ever gotten its proper due...It's so firm and confident...
And look at the cover of his solo album, his beard alone conveys a deep sorrow, somehow...Weird...
Believe it or not I didn't invite you guys here to talk about band photos...I brought you here so we could hang out, have a beer...
...and geek out over "Sunflower." So let's check out "Cool, Cool Water" by the mighty Beach Boys...
Track Listing: 1. Wild Honey 2. Aren't You Glad 3. I Was Made to Love Her 4. Country Air 5. A Thing or Two 6. Darlin' 7. I'd Love Just Once to See You 8. Here Comes the Night 9. Let the Wind Blow 10. How She Boogalooed It 11. Mama Says
The Beach Boys drop surf-rock and modular psychedelia and recast themselves as an R& B pop band, and they actually pull it off beautifully! I've loved this record since I first picked it up in the late 90's... I used to put this CD in my car stereo whenever I had a day off of work and drive down the Michigan countryside during the Summer, just blasting "Darlin'" with the windows down...It's that kind of record...
You can see Brian receding somewhat from his previous leadership role...The album is produced by the entire band and there's a lot of new names popping up in the songwriting credits...even Al Jardine gets in on the songwriting action with the infectiously nerdy "How She Boogalooed It."
The record doesn't have the famous big, warm, and fuzzy production of their prior albums, but the sound is replaced by a buoyant soulfulness. The band sounds psyched just to be doing this type of music, and the whole thing sounds fun...The only time they really slow down and catch their breath is on the building ballad "Let the Wind Blow," but even the winding vocal interplay on that one keeps it lively.
Their idiosyncrasies seem slightly downplayed, too...Perhaps it's just a side effect of listening to it back to back with the bizarro "Smiley Smile... The only truly strange material on here is the acapella "Smile" outtake "Mama Says" which reminds us to brush our teeth, eat a lot, and exercise, and "I'd Love Just Once to See You" which is so mundane that it becomes surreal as Brian outlines eating, drinking, doing dishes and wistfully asks the question, "When's the last time you baked me a pie?" I won't ruin the song's surprise punchline for you...You just have to hear it...
I really love playing this record and have no problem mentioning this in the same breath as "Pet Sounds" and "Smile." I think it was absolutely the right move for the band...This new direction didn't exactly set the word on fire commercially-speaking, but we all know artistic success has nothing to do with commercial success, right? If not...Soak in the sad sight of Joey Lawrence's Gold-certified debut album...
....and realize that it's merely the 90's version of Drake...
Anyway, enough taste-shaming...Let's check out "Wild Honey" by the Beach Boys...Cos it has a cool organ solo...
Track Listing: 1. Heroes and Villains 2. Vegetables 3. Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony) 4. She's Goin' Bald 5. Little Pad 6. Good Vibrations 7. With Me Tonight 8. Wind Chimes 9. Gettin' Hungry 10. Wonderful 11. Whistle In 12. Heroes and Villains (Alternate Take) 13. Good Vibrations (Various Sessions) 14. Good Vibrations (Early Take) 15. You're Welcome 16. Their Hearts Were Full of Spring 17. Can't Wait too Long
Due to Brian's declining mental health and various legal problems, the Beach Boys scrapped "Smile" and recorded an album in Brian's house (using an empty pool and a shower for an echo chamber) and this was the result. Needless to say this didn't meet the high expectations for a public that was anxiously awaiting the genius of "Smile," but it is definitely an interesting album, although it now feels like a bit of a footnote after the superior "Smile Sessions" set was released.
"Smiley Smile" (as you may tell from the title) recycles a lot of the proposed "Smile" material, but only some of it re-using the oringial recordings, (I believe "Heroes & Villains," the "Good Vibrations" single and the end of "Vegetables are the original "Smile" versions) There's also re-recordings of "Smile" tracks ("Wind Chime" "Wonderful"), new songs constructed around "Smile" snippets ("Fall Breaks and Back to Winter," "She's Going Bald," and "With Me Tonight.") The remainder of the material is new to "Smiley Smile."
In every case the "Smile Sessions" versions of the songs are better, and in a few cases vastly superior. I don't even know what was going through their heads with this re-recording of "Windchimes." The backing vocals are an ear-sore, and totally derail the track...(except during the fade-out, there's some staggeringly awesome choir vocals...Man, those might actually be the best part of the album!) When I finally heard the "Smile" version I was totally blindsided by the fact that it's one of the band's greatest songs...The re-recording of "Wonderful" fares better but it's still nowhere within a million miles of the band's original take...
Once you get past the multiple embryonic versions of "Good Vibrations," there's a ton of great moments in the bonus tracks, however...These have probably been made irrelevant by the "Smile Sessions," I don't really know, because I didn't buy the expanded version...just the two-disc version, but the modular "Can't Wait Too Long" is one my favorite songs on the CD...I love that cool fuzz bass! There's also an alternate version of "Heroes & Villains" that uses different sections than the album cut...Therefore making it almost an entirely new song...
I hadn't listened to this in awhile, at least not since the "Smile Sessions" was released...But I think it still holds up as a standalone and unique listen...For the most part they don't even attempt the grand cohesion of "Smile." With a few glorious exceptions the album largely comes across as a series of stoned snippets...Check out "Little Pad" and tell me these guys weren't on some serious shit... But if you can handle this sort of thing it's a lot of fun and like I said, a good counterpoint to the "Smile Sessions." For years, this album and the "Good Vibrations" box sets were the only insight we had into what "Smile" could be, so to us old school Beach Boys fans I think this record still holds a place in our hearts...
Now let's check out "Heroes & Villains" by the Beach Boys...
Track Listing: 1. Our Prayer 2. Gee 3. Heroes and Villains 4. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock) 5. I'm in Great Shape 6. Barnyard 7.My Only Sunshine (The Old Master Painter / You Are My Sunshine) 8. Cabin Essence 9. Wonderful 10. Look (Song for Children) 11. Child Is Father of the Man 12. Surf's Up 13. I Wanna Be Around/ Workshop 14. Vega-Tables 15. Holidays 16. Wind Chimes 17. The Elements: Fire (Mrs. O'Leary's Cow) 18. Love to Say Dada 19. Good Vibrations
Bonus Tracks: 20. You're Welcome 21. Heroes and Villains 22. Heroes and Villains Sections (Stereo Mix) 23. Vega-Tables demo 24. He Gives Speeches 25. Smile Backing Vocals Montage 26. Surf's Up 1967 (Solo Version) 27. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls into a Piano 28. Capitol Smile Promo
Disc 2: 1. Our Prayer 'Dialog' 2. Heroes and Villains: Part one 3. Heroes and Villains: Part two 4. Heroes and Villains: Children Were Raised 5. Heroes and Villains: Prelude to Fade 6. My Only Sunshine 7. Cabin Essence 8. Surf's Up: 1st Movement 9. Surf's Up: Piano Demo 10. Vega-Tables: Fade 11. The Elements: Fire session 12. Cool, Cool Water (Version 2) 13. Good Vibrations Session Highlights 14. Psycodelic Sounds: Brian Falls into a Microphone
The world's most famous unreleased album finally received an official release 45 years after it was recorded.
Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys started this ambitious album in 1966, with the recording of the "Good Vibrations" single, and I don't think there's anyone on planet Earth who hasn't heard this single and isn't aware of how innovative it was. It was recorded in a modular style...In small sections (or movements) that were later stitched together to deliver a mosaic pop song... Which was a lot of work...especially in the pre-Pro-Tools era when editing a song literally meant you got the scissors out...
Well, Brian had the idea to put together an entire album using this modular method, and apparently bit off more than he could chew...Mental and Logistical problems soon set in, and apparently certain band members didn't like this new approach and Brian eventually had a mental breakdown and declared the album evil and the whole project was abandoned and you couldn't even bring up the word "Smile" around Brian for 40 years...They released "Smiley Smile" and various songs from "Smile" on subsequent albums and the "Good Vibrations" box-set, which only drove fans crazier and crazier...So a lot of us grew up knowing that there was this ambitious unfinished album the Beach Boys did that was supposedly so ahead of its time that it would have changed the world if it was released...
I can recall I was working at America Online in 2004 and was sitting at my desk reading the news when I came across an article stating that Brian Wilson was re-recording the entire "Smile" album as he had originally envisioned it and also playing the album live...Woah!
And sure enough Brian Wilson released "Smile." There is also the fantastic "Brian Wilson Presents Smile" dvd that I must have watched 10 thousand times now...I honestly thought this was the best we were going to get...Fast forward 7 years and here it is...The Beach Boys version of "Smile."
Technology has really reached a point where editing together various snippets of music is no longer a nearly impossible task...and Brian seems to have gotten past whatever problems he had with the material and now any one can go to the local record store and walk away with an official version of the album...
There's multiple configurations of this release...There's a 1 disc, 2 disc, 5 disc, etc....
I went with the two disc version...But I guess if you're really into the nuts and bolts of recording you could opt for the 5 disc version...but speaking as someone who is into the nuts and bolts of the recording process even the two disc version is enough for me...I mean there's songs on the two disc version with titles like "Brian Falls into a Microphone..." I don't need to hear any further than that...
The album itself is Brian Wilson's ode to America, it's a musical cross-country trip across train tracks, farmland, and beaches...all inhabited by bicycle riders, Cowboys, Indians, and Farmers...A crazy-quilt of old American songs like "You Are my Sunshine" and "The Old Master Painter" intermingled with new compositions like the sorrowful epic "Surf's Up," and "Vegetables." It's ambitious but there's a distinctly child-like wonder about it...
The production doesn't seem quite as lush as "Pet Sounds" (but also keep in mind the album still isn't "finished") but the vocals are even more inventive...Unlike anything else that had been released at the time...The singers emulate everything from wind-chimes to locomotives to that weird "Doing Doing Doing" vocal party in "Cabin Essence." I don't know for certain what the "doing" is supposed to be ...a vocal approximation of a mouth-harp? Anyway...one of the best parts of the bonus tracks is the "Smile Backing Vocals Montage" section...You get to hear the true depth of the vocal arrangements...Sweet Lord, they're awesome...
The album also contains what is arguably the best Beach Boys song, "Surf's Up." A moody catchy number with intriguingly abstract lyrics and a killer melody...You can't go through life missing out on this...The unadorned demo with just Brian and a piano is just as great...
The whole thing really is just a straight up classic...It may be a bit bizarre for some people's tastes (I recently let a friend who loves "Pet Sounds" borrow this, and he declared it "too weird.") So I guess if you're the type of person who can find music to be "too weird" you might tread cautiously, but for the rest of us, it's just an awesome release that you can listen to endlessly and always hear new things...
P.S. does anyone else ever wonder if people really did take up Brian's suggestion to send him letters telling him the names of their favorite vegetables? And if so, does he still get letters like that?
I'll write him one now...
"Dear Beach Boys,
My favorite vegetable is an onion.
His name is William.
Love, Jamin"
Alright, enough letter writing...Let's check out "Surf's Up" by the Beach Boys...
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