1960’s Music Site
The Beach Boys
Friends & 20/20
Sounds Of Summer
The Very Best Of The Beach Boys
Smiley Smile/ Wild Honey
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The Beach Boys Singles
The Beach Boys Albums
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)
The Man with All the Toys
The Little Girl I Once Knew
There's No Other (Like My Baby)
Bluebirds over the Mountain
Pet Sounds - The Beach Boys
Surfin Safari / Surfin Usa 2 L.P.s
Pet Sounds
This was pretty much the only occasion on which Brian Wilson managed to articulate
his extraordinary musical vision over the length of an album. As such, Pet Sounds
is not merely one of the greatest records ever made, but also one of the towering
masterpieces of 20th-century art. Every song here, from the exuberant introduction
of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" to the concluding, wistful lament of "Caroline No", is definitive
pop music. Wilson's fantastical orchestrations and harmonies support a collection
of lyrics which are childishly innocent almost to the point of appearing sinister--no
album has ever started with a less traditionally rock & roll sentiment than "Wouldn't
it be nice if we were married?". When delivered in Wilson's anguished whine, the
effect is gloriously heartbreaking--as statements of naked vulnerability go, "I Know
There's An Answer" and "I Just \ Wasn't Made For These Times" remain difficult to
top. Popular legend has it that when the fiercely insecure and competitive Wilson,
a year on from Pet Sounds, heard the Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club
Band, he was devastated. He needn't have worried. Pet Sounds wasn't trumped then,
and it won't be anytime in the future.--Andrew Mueller
Surfin Safari / Surfin Usa
Seeking to Capitol-ize on their local L.A. indie-label novelty hit, "Surfin'," the
Beach Boys and their nascent sound (tales of innocent SoCal hedonism set to equal
parts doo-wop vocal influences and Chuck Berry licks) were produced on these initial
releases by the A&R exec who signed them, Nik Venet. But if Brian Wilson's production
genius was yet untapped, his songwriting knack, trademark arrangements, and soaring
falsetto were already coming to the fore, even on Surfin' Safari, the band's hastily
recorded, low-budget debut album--"Surfin'," "Surfin' Safari," and "409" are ample
testament to his hitmeister potential. Released just five months later, Surfin' USA
both insured the band's national appeal and testified to the rapid development of
their harmonies on cuts such as "Farmer's Daughter" and "Lana." The band sounds more
confident throughout, and Wilson hints at the greatness to come with the moody ballad
"The Lonely Sea." The flip side to Wilson's fragile emotionalism is, of course, Mike
Love's nasal, fun-seeking twang; those voices revolving--often tensely--around a
hub of incomparable harmony became one of rock's most indelible archetypes. These
are the humble, charmingly awkward beginnings of that legend. Three unreleased bonus
cuts are also featured: "Cindy, Oh Cindy," "The Baker Man" (a nursery rhyme take
on the Olympics' "Hully Gully"), and the nautical "Land Ahoy." The latter two tracks
are notable as Brian's official producing debut. This twofer edition features comments
by Brian and the astute liner notes of music historian David Leaf. --Jerry McCulley
Friends & 20/20
This single disc gathers two Beach Boys albums--Friends and 20/20--with the addition
of remastering and bonus tracks. By 1968 and the recording of Friends, Brian Wilson's
pivotal position as head Beach Boy was gradually crumbling. True, he was still the
principal contributor, but songwriting duties were now evenly shared among the group.
The results were predictably patchy. For every Brian-sculpted pocket symphony ("Passing
By", "Busy Doin' Nothin" and "Wake the World") there's an inconsequential oddity
("Transcendental Meditation", "Anna Lee, The Healer" and "Little Bird"). Originally
released in 1969, 20/20 was not a Beach Boys album proper, but rather a collection
of odds and sods to fulfil their contract with Capital Records. Ironically, it's
actually one of their finest and most coherent post-Pet Sounds albums. Hit singles
include the playfully nostalgic "Do It Again" and a superb Carl-produced cover of
The Ronettes' "I Can Hear Music". Brother Dennis also gives notice of his maturing
compositional skills with the broodily spectral "Be With Me". Not to be outdone,
Brian chips in with the mind-boggling "Cabinessence"--culled from the Smile sessions--and
the truly transcendent "Time Alone". Also included is the notorious "Never Learn
To Love", an underwhelming ditty, which, according to legend, was penned by none
other than Charles Manson. Far better are the five bonus tracks, especially the dazzling
"Breakaway". --Chris King
Sounds Of Summer - The Very Best Of The Beach Boys
The cynic may question just how many Beach Boys greatest hits albums are enough.
Everyone else, however, will appreciate what makes Sounds of Summer unique. This
is the first single-disc collection to feature such a large cross section of hits
from the group's entire career, spanning 1962's "Surfin' Safari" through 1988's "Kokomo."
All 30 tracks, spanning several label changes, were Billboard Top 40 hits and are
probably now as identifiable as the national anthem to anyone with radio or TV access.
The fact that the tracks aren't in chronological order helps make for a fresh listening
experience, as does the crisp digital sound. And yet these songs--even those that
are more than four decades old--always sound strangely fresh and will likely remain
so as long as there are beaches, young people, and that symbolic season of freedom
and dreams. Which is to say that the title here passes the "truth in advertising"
test. Perfect for those casual fans not yet ready to spring for the individual albums,
Sounds of Summer is in many ways a better representation of this legendary band's
art than Elvis' 30 No. 1 Hits and The Beatles 1 were of the King and the Fab Four.
--Bill Holdship
Smiley Smile/ Wild Honey
Here are two classic Beach Boys albums from 1967 that were critically dismissed in
their day but are now rightly considered to be among their best, nicely remastered
and fleshed out with bonus tracks. SMILEY SMILE was originally thrown together as
a quick replacement for the doomed, unreleased SMILE album, a would-be masterpiece
that had been scrapped at the last minute and has since achieved legendary status,
the rock equivalent of the missing footage of Von Stroheim's GREED. WILD HONEY, which
is in many ways the Beach Boys' soul album, was a deliberate retrenchment, and its
stripped-down production anticipated both Dylan's JOHN WESLEY HARDING and the Beatles'
WHITE ALBUM. Along with the R&B-influenced title track and "Darlin'" (not to mention
a great Carl Wilson-sungcover of Stevie Wonder's "I Was Made To Love Her"), highlights
include the great garage rocker "How She Boogalooed It" and the wonderfully breezy
and mostly acoustic "I'd Love Just Once To See You" (as in "in the nude"). Pure joy
from start to finish.
The Beach Boys - Live at Knebworth [DVD]
Book
Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys
It's entertaining, nostalgic, even poignant... not much more one could ask for from
a Beach Boys concert. This 70-minute concert was the last time the complete group
(brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Bruce Johnston,
plus backing musicians) would appear in the U.K., performing a mix of oldies ("California
Girls," "Help Me Rhonda," "Fun, Fun, Fun," etc.) and some newer material. And if
the show itself is somewhat pedestrian, it's still marvelous to see the three Wilson’s
together onstage, especially in view of the subsequent deaths of Dennis (in '83)
and Carl (in '98), and Brian's eventual triumphant recovery from mental and emotional
problems. To hear Carl sing so beautifully on "God Only Knows," or Dennis play drums
with such power and emotion, or Brian, vacant but game, contribute a few lines to
"Surfer Girl"... well, it might just bring a tear to your eye. --Sam Graham
Heroes And Villains: The True Story Of The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys have been rolling, like the tide their great songs evoke, for more
than thirty years, reaching professional peaks and tragic personal depths. In this
electrifying account Steven Gaines reveals the gothic tale of violence, addiction,
greed, genius, madness, and rock 'n' roll behind the wholesome, surf-and-sun image.
Through candid interviews with close friends, family, and the Beach Boys themselves,
Heroes and Villains portrays and evaluates all those who propelled the California
myth, and the group who sang about it, into worldwide prominence: Murry Wilson, the
corrosive father who abused them as children and exploited them as adults; Dennis
Wilson, who explored every avenue of excess (including welcoming the entire Manson
family into his home) to his inevitable self-destruction; the Wilsons cousin, front
man Mike Love, whose devotion to eastern religion could not quell his violent temper;
the wives (more than ten), mistresses, managers, and producers who consumed huge
pieces of the musical pie; and of course, the bands artistic centre, Brian Wilson,
the mentally fragile musical genius who achieved so much and then so little. With
dozens of photos, Heroes and Villains recounts the bitter saga of the American dream
realized and distorted and the music that survived.
