Pet Sounds
Sunflower
Another year, another Beach Boys album. Brian actually contributes to this album compared to the previous one, but for some reason this means that the album is worse. Yeah I don�t know why either, maybe because no songs by Dennis? Or John Stamos? The cover is kind of cool though, really gloomy. Only matches a few songs on here though.
�Don�t Go Near the Water� was an attempt by their new manager to remold the Boys as eco warriors. Well the song is ok, some neat harmonies but forgettable. Carl Wilson�s �Long Promised Road� is next and...well its not that great, just your typical song from this era. �Take a Load Off Your Feet� is dumb and childish. I�m sure that�s what was being aimed for with its array of sound effects, but I mean cmon, its 1971, be an adult. �Disney Girls� is a mellow song by Johnston and is just kind of there. It�s pretty yes, but I prefer when he got all melodramatic on the last album, because at least that had character. Continuing this line of softer rockers is �Student Demonstration Time.� Oh wait, this abortion isn�t soft, it�s a loud politicized Mike Love rocker! Thanks for ripping off an old blues rocker and adding stupid hippie lyrics. I�m sure the police were scared. Scared of getting it up the rear from some hippies.
�Feel Flows� is another one by Carl, and has really bizarre lyrics. Let�s face it, they don�t mean anything. The Beach Boys are not Bob Dylan, nor anyone else who can write good lyrics that don�t make any sense. �Lookin� at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)� is a short boring acoustic ditty that is saved if only by its �bip bip� harmony section. Which lasts like 5 seconds so yeah. Brian�s songs finish off the album with �A Day in the Life of a Tree� which reads like bad poetry but actually works because of the wretched cracked voice singing by their then manager and that church organ in the background making everything sound more important than it is. That round robin of singing at the end is pretty cool too. �Til I Die� continues a theme of death and disillusionment and is actually emotionally resonant and seems to be the song that best fits the album cover. Also has the best harmonies to my ears on the album. �Surf�s Up� ends the album is a leftover from the Smile sessions. More weird lyrics and strange phrasing in the singing here. I really do like that falsetto though. It�s supposedly a big fan favorite, but honestly I really don�t feel it. It�s cool in a way but dippy, sort of like this album. Minus the cool.
Final Comment: There�s a reason no one talks about these later period albums. It�s because that while Brian was busy playing in the sandbox, the others were actually still making music. Lord knows why. God only knows?
Score: *�
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