THE BEACH BOYS

HIGH POINTS: Surfin' Safari, 409. LOW POINTS: Little Girl (You're My Miss America), Cuckoo Clock, County Fair.

Ah, 1962... rock and roll was on the way out, and lame traditional "oldies" fare was on the way back in. And surf music started to get popular, so 5 clean cut kids from Hawthorne, California decided that this would be a good time to cash in. So two of them - Brain Wilson and Mike Love - decided to write a little ode to surfing called, well, "Surfin'", and the rest is history. The group's name became the Beach Boys (it was previously something else, but it was changed to cash in on the phenomenon), and thus was born the world's biggest surf band (although they only really wrote a handful of songs about it, and only one member, Dennis, actually surfed in his entire life). And, as is typical for albums released about this time, their souls were owned by the record company. They had pretty much no creative control, and wouldn't for a few albums. So the results of this debut album are predictably sketchy. The album was rushed out REALLY fast, recorded very quickly with whatever songs the group happened to have lying around in their songbooks, plus a single or two. As you could imagine, the album is thus REALLY inconsistent.

As you would expect, the singles are the best songs here. And one of them is totally classic. The opening "Surfin' Safari" rules. I don't care what anyone says. It RULES! The ultimate surfing ode, loaded with great vocal hooks. Sure, it's naive, but it's oh-so-fun! Another big single, "409", is another fun, catchy, hook filled song, this time about cars instead of surfing, and it's another good one. The Boys' vocals on these tunes aren't as excellent as they got later, and most songs really don't even have vocal harmonies of any merit, but that's to be expected. Brian was still learning, and this album was slapped out quickly. It doesn't hurt the two aforementioned songs, but it DOES hurt "Surfin'", presented here in a version FAR inferior to the single version. The vocals are out of tune and obnoxious. The tune is still ok, but it's kinda ruined.

The other 9 songs that make up this album are mostly goofy novelty numbers. They all last about 2 minutes, have dumb lyrics, and sound pretty much the same. Now don't get me wrong - none of these songs are really HORRIBLE - but they really don't have any reason to exist now that 1962 is long, long gone. Dated in the extreme. The highlight of this section is easily "Moon Dawg", which is a fun surf instrumental, and I've got a thing for fun surf instrumentals. I like "The Shift", too, which is a funnish rock number. Elsewhere, though, mediocrity abounds. Songs like "County Fair" (with an embarrassing voice over section), "Heads You Win, Tails I Lose", "Chug A Lug", and "Little Girl (You're My Miss America)" are ok, but really now, is there any reason to pull out this album and listen to them? Not really. And even the highlights don't hit me THAT hard - let's face it, as cool as "Surfin' Safari" and "409" are, neither is exactly "I Get Around" or "Good Vibrations". You don't really need this album, but you can pick it up on a two-fer along with the superior Surfin' USA, so you can still give it a try. All Beach Boys albums are available as two-fers now, so pretty much any of them make a decent buy. And this album is a very HIGH 4, so if you buy the two-fer, you're still not doing too bad.

OVERALL RATING: 4

SURFIN' U.S.A. (1963)

(Casey Brennan's review)

Their second release was more of the same: surf, sun, and sand. But there were some instrumentals this time like the great "Misirlou", and others like "Stoked" and "Honky Tonk". There are still a few good tracks along with a lot of filler, which is pretty typical of an early Beach Boys album. The one major hit on this album is the title track which is a classic surfin' song. One thing about this album though is that it showcased that The Beach Boys had their own unique vocal style and sound which shows in Brian Wilson's first good ballad "Lonely Sea". The Beach Boys knew their craft by this time and were quickly becoming the most popular group in the U.S. Over the next year they would have many monster hits until The Beatles came to invade.

OVERALL RATING: 6

HIGH POINTS: Surfin' USA, Farmer's Daughter, Lonely Sea. LOW POINTS: Finders Keepers.

The Beach Boys follow up to the semi-flop Surfin' Safari LP was both a huge improvement over its predecessor and a huge hit - "Surfin' USA" was tearing up the airwaves as people listened in awe, completely unaware that the song was stolen note for note from Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen". Ripoff or not, the song is undeniably catchy, and, in my opinion, is actually better than the Berry "original". The song featured use of vocal overdubs and lots of backup vocals, which were soon to become a Beach Boys/Brian Wilson mainstay (they were absent from Safari). If there was ever a track that announced that the Beach Boys were here to stay, that was the one.

Huge hits aside, though, what is it about this album that makes it better than the last one? Well, there's lots of stuff. For one, the band had more money this time, so the production is a little fuller sounding. The vocals are also much better than before - the leads are more in tune and even occasionally gorgeous (as on the fantastic dark ballad "Lonely Sea"). Plus, as I mentioned, due to overdubbing, the background vocals have elevated to an important part of the music. The songwriting is better, too. The songs don't seem like novelties anymore, for the most part (well, the album closing "Finders Keepers" certainly reminds me lyrically of "Head You Win, Tails I Lose"). Plus, the arrangements are light years ahead of the ones on the last album - Brain was learning fast, and though he was FAR from the peak of his abilities here, you could tell he was evolving VERY quickly.

Now, as for the actual songs - they actually sound sort of like the ones on the last album, only with more precise instrumentation and better production. There are no real embarassments here, though. Plus, there are a handful of really good songs. The highlight is the aforementioned ballad "Lonely Sea", which is VERY creepy and presages some of their best later work. "Farmer's Daughter", another ballad, has a great vocal arrangement. FANTASTIC song, actually. The band was getting a lot better, fast. And there's another song here everyone knows - "Shut Down", a good surf rocker that's not actually about surfing (this one's about drag racing) that doesn't exactly thrill me, but I like it ok.

Of course, this was still pretty rushed out and corporally controlled. Plus, the boys weren't at the peak of their skills yet, so the album is far from being great. The album is VERY short (about 24 minutes), and much of it is taken up by instrumentals, one of which is great ("Miserlou") and the other 4 of which are just ok - the band just didn't have the precise attack to make these numbers come to life, which is a shame, because had they recorded these a couple of years later, they would have been amazing. And, well, some of the songs are a bit generic. I mean, "Noble Surfer" and "Lana" are ok, but they aren't exactly amazing tunes. Still, this is a very fun record, with some very good material and no truly bad material. Worth picking up if you're into the early surf rock sound, though the band was improving rapidly, and this is still too early to really be one of their best efforts. It shows tons of potential though, which Safari only showed in a very few places.

OVERALL RATING: 6

COMMENTS

"Lana" is probably my favorite song on this album! I dont get why people dont like it much! I love those falsetto Brian Wilson vocals! Same with "Farmers Daughter" for the same reason! I never cared much for the title track. Its a classic but there are actually better songs on here, as pedistrian as they may be or seem. "Lonely Sea" and "Shut Down" are also songs i get a kick outta! Overall i'd give it a 7. I just love this dorky early Beach Boys!

SURFER GIRL (1963)

(Casey Brennan's review)

This was released in September 1963 and is better than Surfin' U.S.A. There are a few big hits on here like "Catch A Wave", "Little Deuce Coupe", and the great ballads "Surfer Girl", and "In My Room". The latter are very good ballads; "In My Room", one of the first ballads from Brian, being about how he thinks of his room as his own kingdom and dreaming place. The major topics of the songs are about surfing and catching waves; many of them actually contain the word 'Surfer' in the title of the song. There is also a car song "Our Car Club" along with two instrumentals "The Rocking Surfer" and "Boogie Woodie". A decent album with less filler than the first two and a good turn in the right direction.

OVERALL RATING: 7

HIGH POINTS: Surfer Girl, In My Room, Little Deuce Coupe. LOW POINTS: South Bay Surfer, Surfer's Rule.

Another early Beach Boys album, released very soon after Surfin' USA (the record company was yet to leave them alone). On this album, as you would expect, the production is better than on previous albums for two reasons: the band's ever increasing budget and Brian Wilson's ever increasing skill as a producer. So the album SOUNDS better than the ones that came before it. Unfortunately, the songwriting really isn't that much more consistent than on Surfin' USA. Which means that you get a couple of classics, some nice, but generic stuff, some throwaway instrumentals, and some lame filler. What else were you expecting?

Well, first to the classics: "Little Deuce Coupe" is known by every person on the planet, and it's a great tune. Great arrangement, and fantastic vocal harmonies. Better than the previous album's hit car song, "Shut Down", by far (though that one certainly wasn't bad). And two very famous ballads are here - "Surfer Girl" and "In My Room". Fabulously arranged and with amazing vocal harmonies, these are the tunes that show the power with which Brian Wilson would arrange his future songs (culminating, of course, on Pet Sounds, but I'll get to that later). The songs aren't the BEST songs Brian ever wrote, but they are very very very good ballads, and I certainly get my kicks out of them. Wonderful. And hey, "In My Room" even has great, introspective lyrics, a first (but not a last) for the Boys.

Then we hit the decent generic songs. Well, none are bad, and they all sound pretty good, but they don't exactly jump out at you for repeated plays. No, scratch that - "Catch A Wave", while not quite classic, certainly DOES merit repeated plays, with a complex vocal arrangement and catchy rhythm. As for the rest of these, "Hawaii" has a nice falsetto vocal part, "Our Car Club" has a decent groove, "Your Summer Dream" is a nice, pretty ballad, as is the orchestrated "The Surfer Moon"... well, all these songs have something going for them, but none are particularly noteworthy. Without Brian's arrangements, they wouldn't add up to much. Brain saves them, definitely. And, of course, the instrumentals ("The Rocking Surfer" and "Boogie Woodie") are pleasant throwaways. What were you expecting anyway? "Let's Go Away For A While"? Well, again, that's later.

This album also contains some really lame songs, incuding the worst song that the Boys had done to this point - the AWFUL "South Bay Surfer", which rips off "Swanee River" note for note and adds in terrible lyrics. It would take a while for the Boys to write another song that bad. "Surfer's Rule" is another one that, while MUCH better than "South Bay Surfer", still isn't all that great... dumb lyrics and a very pedestrian arrangements. Ah well. Still, a decent album, and an important step in the evolution of the band. And, of course, this is WELL worth getting on the twofer release paired with Shut Down Volume 2. After this, though, things would really start to turn in the right direction for the band in a big way.

OVERALL RATING: 6

COMMENTS

I love this album! Not a bad song on it, except that "South Bay Surfer" is kinda dumb (i still like it) and "Surfers Rule" have stupid lyrics (love that falsetto, once again though!). The instrumentals i really get a kick out of, especially "Boogie Woodie". Has some great piano work. The obvious classics are "In My Room", and the title track of course. As well as "Catch A Wave" and "Hawaii". "Little Deuce Coup", "Your Summer Dream", "Our Car Club", and especially the beautiful "Surfer Moon" are all great! This is a really underrated, hidden gem for me. An 8.

LITTLE DEUCE COUPE (1963)

(Casey Brennan's review)

Their third album of 1963 contains a few tracks from their first three albums along with eight new songs. This time around the topic is more pointed to cars, in fact almost the entire album is comprised of songs about cars. The old tracks like "Shut Down" and "Little Deuce Coupe" both car songs, are coupled with newer ones like "Custom Machine" and "No-Go Showboat". Most of the songs are enjoyable like one of their most popular songs "Be True To Your School" which is about teens, and the ballad "Ballad of Ole Betsy", a paean to an antique car. Every song is a Beach Boy original except the cover "A Young Man Is Gone", a vocal ballad that is sung in those beautiful Beach Boy falsetto voices. The fourth album in the Beach Boys chapter is a fine effort.

OVERALL RATING: 7

HIGH POINTS: Be True To Your School, The Ballad Of Old Betsy. LOW POINTS: The 4 reruns from previous albums.

The fourth Beach Boys album to come out in a little over a year, Little Deuce Coupe followed Surfer Girl by a mere 30 days. As you can imagine, this led to a bit of a scramble for material. Prolific as Brian was, he couldn't quite churn out 12 new songs in that short a period of time. So this record, in addition to 8 new compositions, recycles 4 songs from previous albums. From Surfin' Safari, you get "409". From Surfin' USA, you get "Shut Down". And finally, from the less-than-a-month-old Surfer Girl, you get "Little Deuce Coupe" and "Our Car Club". These are all good songs, sure, but these songs eat up a solid third of a supposed "new" album. Personally, considering I already HAVE the old albums, this annoys me. Not enough to spoil my outlook on the album as a whole (which is, all in all, the best record the Boys had yet recorded), but I did knock a point off the final score for this infraction. Because when you get right down to it, this album doesn't even have 20 minutes of new material on it. Sad.

Thankfully, though, the actual tunes on this album pretty much rule. Seriously. Brian was evolving as a composer at an alarming rate, and this album is already an improvement over the 30-day old Surfer Girl. Which is especially impressive considering that the album was basically forced out by producers and the record company, who wanted the Boys to do a concept album about cars (if you didn't notice, the 4 previously released songs all had car themes). So Brian slammed out these 8 new tracks, pretty much all about cars (with two notable exceptions, which I'll get to later). The important thing, though, is the ever growing songwriting and arranging to be found on this album. The harmonies are better than ever here - a far cry from the clunky harmonizing on Surfin' Safari. This is especially noteworthy on the a capella number "A Young Man Is Gone" (which has not a thing to do with cars). The song, a cover, features a breathtaking vocal arrangement courtesy of Brian, and though the song itself is not the best song the Boys ever did, the vocals alone make the song more than worth it.

On the rest of the tunes, it's quite clear that Brian Wilson's songwriting was fast becoming a force to reckon with. Take, for example, the gorgeous ballad "The Ballad Of Old Betsy", featuring another wonderful vocal arrangement, a great melody, and clever love lyrics (sung to an again automobile). This song amply demonstrates the speed with which Brian's writing skills were improving. Another excellent song here is the quite well known "Be True To Your School" (which also has nothing to do with cars). The lyrics are, quite frankly, terrible ("When some loud-mouthed braggart tries to put me down and say his school is great/I tell him right away/Now whatsamatta buddy/Ain't you heard-a my school?/It's number one in the state!"), but the wonderful melody more than makes up for it, and to this day, the melody still holds up.

The other songs are all good as well, though not quite amazing, ranging from more pretty balladry ("Spirit Of America", "Car Crazy Cutie") to good, energetic rockers ("Cherry Cherry Coupe" and especially the excellent album closer, "Custom Machine"). The only song that really sounds like filler is "No-Go Showboat", which is pretty astounding considering the circumstances under which the album was recorded. Of course, had Brian actually written 12 NEW songs, there probably would have been much more filler. Ah well.

All in all, a great album, and the first Beach Boys album you should definitely have in your collection, no questions asked. I'd have a harder time recommending it (due to its length) if it wasn't paired with the even better All Summer Long on a recent two-fer reissue. Now you don't have any excuse not to have this one in your collection (as even if this isn't quite essential, All Summer Long certainly is). Plus, you get the more famous single version of "Be True To Your School" as a bonus track! Whoo!

OVERALL RATING: 7

SHUT DOWN VOLUME 2 (1964)

(Casey Brennan's review)

Their first album of 1964 contained 2 big hits that open the album, the great "Fun, Fun, Fun", and the ballad "Don't Worry Baby". The Beach Boys were done with the surfing songs and now reflected on talking about summer. It's a slight step down from Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe because side two is pretty weak. Side one has the two hits that i mentioned and a few other decent songs; side two is made up of a couple covers, a typical Beach Boys instrumental "Keep An Eye On Summer", and a drum solo song called "Denny's Drums", which amounts to mostly filler.

One of the covers happens to be a version of "Louie Louie" which is probably the only version of the song you can understand the words too. This album totals about 25-30 minutes in length like most of the other albums they made, so it's another shorty. Not a bad album but the constant touring was starting to strain Brian Wilson and the rest, but their was also another factor: Beatlemania started during the release of this album and threatened to take some of their popularity away.

OVERALL RATING: 7

HIGH POINTS: Don't Worry Baby, The Warmth Of The Sun, Fun Fun Fun. LOW POINTS: "'Cassius' Love Vs. 'Sonny' Wilson", Denny's Drums, Shut Down Volume Two.

First, a word or two about the title - Capitol records had released a compilation of surf rock/car-related tracks a while (I'm not sure exactly how long) before the release of this album and titled the thing Shut Down. Two Beach Boys tracks were included in this compilation, without the consent of the group. Hence, the band decided that they were going to release their OWN "second volume" of this compilation, but it would include nothing but brand new Beach Boys tracks. So, in other words, don't go searching for a volume one - it's long, long, LONG out of print and features no new music by the Beach Boys.

Now, back to the topic at hand - that is, the actual Beach Boys recording titled Shut Down, Volume Two. Well, this one is actually a bit of a step back for the Boys - after all, how hard can you push a band to release material without expecting some lame crap to show up? Unfortunately, Capitol Records didn't care about the quality of the record, just so long as it sold copies. This album marks the beginning of an AWFUL tradition - a 3+ minute bit of studio dialogue/interviews/screwing around in general. On this album, this is represented by the "comedy" skit "'Cassius' Love Vs. 'Sonny' Wilson", which consists of Brain and Mike insulting each other's singing styles in between "rehearsing" (which is just previous studio numbers, which start out of nowhere from a dead stop). If it's funny, it's unintentional - the only parts I laugh at are quite unintentionally humorous. Like when the band starts "playing" the song "Shut Down" with a tenth of a millisecond between dialogue and the song clip. Brian just needed to fill space, and it shows. They would repeat the same dumb mistake on All Summer Long and Today! as well. Sigh…

That's not the only problem on this album, though. The record ends with a two-minute drum solo, titled "Denny's Drums", which is really pointless. Dennis Wilson is NOT a good drummer. He isn't incompetent, but he shouldn't be playing solos, either. Predictably, it's boring. At least it's short. Though that and the comedy bit are the only HUGE misfires here, the rest of the album isn't without its problems. The title track is yet another surf instrumental that goes absolutely nowhere. As we move up in quality a bit, we hit the goofy, but decent "Pom Pom Play Girl" (with, perhaps unintentionally, hilarious lyrics). And, well, there's a bunch more "pretty good" stuff here that I'll never skip, but I don't clamor to hear them again.

Why, then, am I giving this album a good score? Well, in addition to the crap and the mediocrity, there is some AWESOME stuff on this record that pulls it up. You all know "Fun Fun Fun" - and you probably love it every bit as much as I do. Just a great rock and roller. As great as that one is, though, there are two songs that are even better - "Don't Worry Baby" is an absolutely stunning ballad, and probably the best song the Beach Boys had done yet. Wonderful, touching lyrics (that were actually kind of daring for 1964), perfect harmonies, and a great melody add up to a really great tune. "The Warmth Of The Sun", a ballad written right after the assassination of JFK, is perfect. When I saw Brian Wilson play live, he pulled out this number, and the crowd was just stunned by how good it sounded. And it still sounds great on record - just a beautiful song. And hey, there's even a really cool oldies cover on here! No, not the goofy, understandably-sung version of "Louie Louie" (which is merely decent). I'm referring to "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", which wouldn't be nearly as good without a great arrangement (musically and vocally) from Brian. Man, Brian could REALLY arrange a tune when he tried. And hey, "Keep An Eye On Summer" is quite nice as well - the Boys just had it going ON vocally back then.

So, add it all together, and you get a 6. The lame stuff is pretty lame, but the great stuff is REALLY great. And then there's all the decent stuff in the middle. So all in all, it's a decent buy. And I don't think any compilation features "The Warmth Of The Sun", so buy this album just to get that tune. Nowadays, this comes paired with Surfer Girl, so once again, you get two albums for the price of one. Still, regardless of all the successes here, Brian needed a way to cut through some of the filler. Which he managed marvelously on the next record.

OVERALL RATING: 6

COMMENTS

I dont like this one much. "Fun Fun Fun" and "Dont Worry Baby" both rule supreme of course, and "Warmth Of The Sun" is pretty good (as is the intro to "In The Parkin' Lot", then it downgrades to simply "not bad") but the rest dont move me at all. All filler. I enjoy that drum solo for some reason too, even though its obviously filler. A 5.

ALL SUMMER LONG (1964)

(Casey Brennan's review)

This one came out during the summer of 1964 and was the ultimate album about girls, the sun, cars, and the summer. Their are some big hits on here like the opener "I Get Around", "All Summer Long", and "Girls On The Beach". One of their great early ballads is on here: "Hushabye" which has a neat vocal arrangement. Their are some complex voice harmonies in it too. A lot of the songs are just for fun like "Little Honda", another song about speeding cars. "Wendy" is the best ballad on here which has those distinctive Beach Boys harmonies and a cool organ break. Their is also a not half bad instrumental "Carl's Big Chance" and a few corny type funny songs like "Drive In". We also have the filler of "Our Favorite Recording Sessions" which is just a track with chatter and jokes from The Beach Boys, but the last track "Don't Back Down" makes up for it. Another early Beach Boys album containing 12 songs (all their 1962-65 albums do) which are mostly fun. The cover of the album expresses it all.

OVERALL RATING: 7

HIGH POINTS: I Get Around, Hushabye, Wendy, Little Honda, All Summer Long, Don't Back Down. LOW POINTS: Our Favorite Recording Sessions, Drive-In.

Bam! Finally, the Beach Boys (and Brian in particular) manage to pull together a consistently amazing album. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, there seems to be much less filler, and the classics seem to pile up one on top of the other. Of course, they couldn't COMPLETELY eliminate the filler - they decided to put ANOTHER stupid chunk of studio chatter on this one (the blooper reel "Our Favorite Recording Sessions"), though at least this one isn't offensively annoyingly horrible as "'Cassius' Love vs. 'Sonny' Wilson". Mike Love also takes a pretty decent melody and combines awful, awful lyrics and a really, really stupid vocal delivery to all but totally ruin an otherwise decent melodic idea ("Drive In"). Other than that, 2 of these songs are only good - the surf instrumental "Carl's Big Chance" and the nostalgic rocker "Do You Remember?", which Mike also tries to ruin, but fails.

Other than that, EVERY song on this record is a classic. EVERY SINGLE ONE. You have, of course, heard the opener, "I Get Around". If you've been oversaturated with the song, do yourself a favor and sit down to REALLY listen to it. The opening vocal tag is amazing, the musical backing is quite complex and always interesting, and the melody is among the best I've ever heard. One of the Boys' most famous songs, and utterly deservedly so. On almost any older Beach Boys album, this would be a HUGE standout track, but on this album, it has some fierce competition. There are hits galore on this album, all of them excellent. You may recognize the xylophone driven title track from the end credits of American Graffiti, where it managed to perfectly fit the mood of the movie. The song remains a classic, perhaps the best ode to the summertime the Boys ever did. Or how about "Hushabye", featuring some of the most utterly gorgeous vocals the Boys ever cut (and that's really saying something)? Or the classic hot-rod anthem "Little Honda", with a fast, exciting melody and wonderful backing vocals? Perhaps you like the closer, "Don't Back Down", a short, exciting burst of rebellion with yet another wonderful, catchy melody. Out of all these tracks, though, "Wendy" may be the best (other than "I Get Around"). A nice, guitar driven background propels the heartbreaking lyrics which are beautifully sung. Plus, there's a totally wonderful keyboard solo that really adds to the whole experience.

Though the rest of the material doesn't QUITE stand up to this material, it's all very good, highly entertaining material. Despite some lame filler tracks (which were soon to vanish), the classic material here is just SO amazing and classic that you hardly even notice. The perfect soundtrack to summer, and the definitive, best early Beach Boys album. Of course, after this, things would get more sophisticated in a hurry, but much of this material remains totally unsurpassed. Buy it today. You'll get the also very good Little Deuce Coupe on the same disc. A bargain at any price.

OVERALL RATING: 9

[email protected] (Adrian Denning)

COMMENTS

For me, this is the peak of the early Beach Boys surfing and driving albums. It actually covers the whole scene - cars, girls, the beach, the surf, the drive-in. All of the songs are great. 'Hushabye' is a favourite of mine, very sweet vocals. 'I Get Around' of course and an absolute gem with 'Don't Back Down' to close. A nine.

TODAY (1965)

(Casey Brennan's review)

Brian Wilson had a nervous breakdown in late 1964 because of the constant touring so now while the other Beach Boys would tour he would write songs and think of ideas for the albums. Brian Wilson was maturing as a songwriter so the songs' harmonies were becoming more and more complex. This was the end of the car and surfing song phase; now Brian was writing more about love and being alone.

The first half of the album is mostly made up of midtempo rock n' roll songs like "Do You Wanna Dance" and "Dance, Dance, Dance". the album version of "Help Me Rhonda" is on here with it's screwy fade-in, fade-out volume on the last minute of it, and so is "When I Grow Up(To Be A Man)" with its great background vocals and neat drum pattern. The second side though is made up of all ballads which is where the gems are. "Please Let Me Wonder", "She Knows Me Too Well", and the Dennis Wilson number "In The Back Of My Mind" are achingly beautiful ballads. "She Knows Me Too Well" is very innovative in its chord changes and is a prelude of things to come. "I'm So Young" is another fine song which is done in a 50's-ish vocal style. Their is also another recording session track of chatter called "Bull Sessions With 'Big Daddy'" which is alright but it's just some filler to end the album.

OVERALL RATING: 8

(Philip Maddox's revoiew)

HIGH POINTS: Do You Wanna Dance?, Good To My Baby, Help Me Ronda, Kiss Me Baby, Please Let Me Wonder. LOW POINTS: Bull Session With 'Big Daddy'

Well, this sounds different. Brian stopped touring with the band around this time, so he could stay at home and focus all of his attention on composing. It's also about this time that Beach Boys albums started featuring very little playing from the Boys themselves, as Brian handed the reins over to (let's face it) more instrumentally talented studio musicians. At this point, the Boys themselves did very little except provide vocals. Thankfully, they were probably the best vocal band around, and they never wrote songs anyway (at least not yet), so there's no real problem. The band was always Brian's anyway. At any rate, Brian stopped writing so much about summer, surfing, and cars at this point, turning to more love songs, meditative questions, and, well, dancing. The result was a thoroughly entertaining album that, while having high points slightly lower than those on All Summer Long, the album is on the whole more consistent, earning the albums equal ratings.

The album is basically split into two parts - side one is a bunch of fun, exciting, and occasionally introspective rockers and dance numbers, while the second side is a collection of slow ballads that point the way to Pet Sounds (and yet another random studio chatter bit, "Bull Session With 'Big Daddy'", which I'm not even going to talk about). Most people prefer the second side to the first, but I disagree - the second side is certainly wonderful, but I really get a lot of kicks out of the first side. The opening cover of "Do You Wanna Dance" is great, though I don't like it quite as much as the stripped down Ramones take on it. Then again, they really sound nothing alike - while the Ramones pounded along with minimal studio trickery, Brian builds a huge pile of vocals and instrumental layers, making a wonderful, dense track. It's probably my favorite track here, though many others come close. One track that often gets knocked that I have to stand up for is "Help Me Ronda", which was later redone in a radically different fashion and released as a popular single. This version often gets bashed, but I may like it MORE than the more famous version - lots of nice little guitar lines, and of course, that great Brian Wilson melody, which sounds great no matter which way you slice it. I don't want to go off and bore you with descriptions of every song on the side, but trust me, every song is a winner, from the rollicking "Good To My Baby" to the more questioning "When I Grow Up To Be A Man" and everything in between.

The second side, though, is a different story. Ballads, ballads, and more ballads. None of these are QUITE up to the Pet Sounds level, but a few of them come close, and that really says a whole lot. The beautiful "Kiss Me Baby" is my favorite track on the side, with a wonderful melody and lots of great vocal harmony. Then again, that could be said about any of the songs on this side. Plus, there are no horrible Mike Love lyrics! All the words are wonderful! Very subtle, romantic, and deep, though again, not quite up to Pet Sounds level. I suppose that's what gets me about this side - it's definitely a step towards Pet Sounds, but none of the songs quite get there. That slightly spoils the experience for me. It shouldn't, though - if you pretend Pet Sounds doesn't exist, you'll think these songs are all pretty brilliant. Which they are. OK, the last song on the album, "In The Back Of My Mind", isn't all that memorable, though it sounds good while it's on. Everything else is a slam dunk.

Well, to sum up briefly, this is yet another high quality Beach Boys album, and if you're thinking of starting a collection, this is a necessity. I still recommend Pet Sounds as the first Beach Boys album you should get, but with all the great material on this album, coupled with the fact that you get Summer Days (And Summer Nights!) as a bonus, this isn't a bad way to go for a second purchase. A necessity.

OVERALL RATING: 9

SUMMER DAYS AND SUMMER NIGHTS (1965)

(reviewed by Casey Brennan)

This album is the same as the one before with its Phil Spector-type production (which makes the music sound ancient sometimes) and it's themes, but there aren't as many ballads on this release. The quality of the tracks is about the same, but there is a better version of "Help Me Rhonda" on here- the single version. The album starts out with a hip version of the Ad-Libs song "The Girl From New York City", which is done in a very driving way. Next is "Amusement Parks U.S.A." which is kinda neat, after that is the Spectorish "Then I Kissed Her" and "Salt Lake City". Towards the middle of the album is one of the biggest Beach Boys hits called "California Girls" which is a great song; it's creator Brian Wilson thinks it's the Beach Boys greatest record (he's not too far off).

Some other highlights are "Girl Don't Tell Me", "Let Him Run Wild", and "You're So Good To Me". The latter two tracks show a great sense of harmony and melody. The album gets weak on the last three tracks, especially "I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man" which I guess is a replacement for all those 'recording session' tracks they did on their last three albums. Things were gonna change though. A few months after Summer Days was released Brian Wilson was going to be blown away by The Beatles Rubber Soul album; the times were a-changing!

OVERALL RATING: 8

PET SOUNDS (1966)

(Casey Brennan's review)

Brian Wilson was so blown away after hearing Rubber Soul from The Beatles in December of 1965 that he felt the need to compete with them, so he immediately went to work on a new album in the first few months of 1966. What he came up with goes even further than Rubber Soul in melody and harmony development. You see, Brian had a genius ear when it came to crafting fine melodies, so he was at the height of his powers here. Unfortunately he would lose faith in himself and his work during the tedious sessions for Smile which he worked feverishly on to get out before Sgt. Peppers.

Anyway, Brian went to work at this (while his fellow Beach Boys were on tour) and developed a dozen sophisticated songs that expressed how he was feeling inside. This was totally new in Rock N' Roll music at the time so this is a landmark recording. To open up the album we have "Wouldn't It Be Nice", which is a great song with a phenomenal bridge. Next is "You Still Believe In Me" which is a minor melody ballad that is really beautiful. The song is very emotional with it moving progressions and is most striking at the part where he sings 'I wanna cry' over a feast of notes.

"That's Not Me" is sung by Mike Love and is another highlight with its keychanges. Then comes "Don't Talk(Put Your Head On My Shoulder)", another emotional ballad that comes to a climax in the middle when Brian tells us to 'listen' with the sad violins coming directly afterwards. "I'm Waiting For The Day" is faster and neat, but then comes "Let's Go Away For Awhile" which is a very moving instrumental full of violins, hawaiian styled guitar, and strings. "Sloop John B" is the least striking on the album but has a neat capella section in the middle; next though is "God Only Knows" which is probably the best song of all. Paul McCartney called it the best song ever written; I don't know if I can agree with that but I do agree that it has some of the best harmony vocals ever put on tape.

Then comes "I Know There's An Answer", and after that is "Here Today" which is the most ambitious of all the songs. Although it appears quaint with its production, it has some neat key and tempo changes within its fairly sparse minor-key melody. Next is "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" which is sung from the heart and is another minor ballad like the rest. Near the end we get the title track, the second instrumental of the album, which uses two coke bottles for percussion and more Hawaiian guitar. Finally "Caroline,No" ends the album on a graceful note and shows that this is a truly genius piece of work.

One minor drawback of Pet Sounds, though, is that the production sounds kind of quaint because it's in mono, but that's the way it was intended so search for the beauty of this album. The Beatles (Paul particularly) were blown away by this so they had to come up with something even more groundbreaking. Brian was eager to compete and soon started getting into drugs heavily as the music became more sophisticated. Now we move onward from this masterpiece.

* OVERALL RATING: 10 *

(Rob Eustace's review)

HIGH POINTS: Caroline No, God Only Knows, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times. LOW POINTS: Lets Go Away For Awhile, Pet Sounds.

Pet Sounds is the album that I've probably listened to more times than any other over the past twenty years (the Brian Wilson Pet Sounds Live is even playing as I write) and it's clearly become an obsession. It's the first album I look for reviews on when visiting the WRC sites and being so obsessed I recently also invested in the aforementioned Pet Sounds Live album despite it being the victim of a fair amount of criticism. When the all time top albums lists are pumped out every few years Pet Sounds is always there, often at the top of the pile sitting above Revolver, Sgt Pepper, Who's Next, Blonde On Blonde, Nevermind, Marquee Moon etc etc which I would agree are all classic albums, and Pet Sounds is a great album, but you see that's where my problem lies, it's a great album, nothing more nothing less.

I totally agree with the thousands of voices out there who continually state don't compare Pet Sounds to Revolver or Sgt Pepper, and don't compare The Beatles to The Beach Boys, they're absolutely right, there really is no point. I've listened and listened to this album, time and time again, honestly hoping that I will one day hear what the vast majority of the listening planet hears, but I never do. My personal taste covers almost every musical genre known to man, so there's nothing about the style or timing of the album that offends me, and I have nothing against The Beach Boys or Brian Wilson in particular. I would state that I generally regard Wilson and The Beach Boys as overrated, but then I also regard The Beatles to be overrated in the current climate. That said I wouldn't question The Beatles undoubted position as the undisputed greatest recording artists of all time, but there is genuinely not a Beatles beat Beach Boys slant in this review.

So just what is it that upsets me about Pet Sounds. Well I like to think I judge all albums in the same way each time I listen for the first time. I believe you must clear your mind of any preconceptions, any negative or glowing reviews, any famous view points or classic quotes, just listen to the album and judge it on it's own merits. In this way I approached Pet Sounds around twenty years ago as a 1966 album release by fundamentally an American vocal harmony group whose previous output had been mostly lightweight, bouncy well produced fun songs surrounding surfing, cars and girls.

My mind was cleared of the so called rivalry between certain bands and the inspirations behind the writing of the album. The endless quotes from the likes of McCartney and Daltrey were wiped out and any thoughts of what album couldn't have been made without Pet Sounds were also erased. I believe this is the only way to fairly assess the true worth of "any" of the so called classic albums which are all surrounded by so much legend and hype that sometimes its nearly impossible to decipher whether you really agree with the general assessment, or whether you feel you should agree with them because everyone else say's it's the album that it is.

And so I listened to Pet Sounds, on first play I remember feeling that yes this is certainly different from the bands previous output, with the exception of side two of The Beach Boys Today album. After two or three plays two or three tracks were creeping under the skin "Caroline No", "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" & "Don't Talk", as well as the already familiar "God Only Knows" and "Wouldn't it Be Nice". And so I continued to listen, I listened, and listened, and read reviews and noted the accolades thrown around, and so I listened again and again. My problem with the album grew not from the most common gripe that the majority of the tracks are minor key ballads, and the fact that there is a lack of diversity, it's simply that too many of the tracks are quite simply nowhere near good enough to be considered classic album material.

Now I fully accept that I'm a voice in the wilderness here and that many of you totally worship this album, and that's great, if it's got what you want from an album, that's what this is all about, and I totally respect your assessments. However as I've studied and absorbed the many web ring reviews for this album, every now again, whether full review or in the comments sections you will discover the troubled souls who like myself accept Pet Sounds as the bands finest hour, and a fine piece of work, but not it's legendary status.

I agree wholeheartedly with Starostin's view that the two instrumentals are a "complete waste of tape", and that "Sloop John B" is awkward and out of place. I thought this the first time I heard the album and you'll never persuade me otherwise. As good as "Sloop John B" is, if it serves any real purpose it simply acts as a slight diversion from the stream of heavy ballads. Other troubled reviewers sight the lack of diversity, and yes there is a lack of diversity, however I don't consider this a problem so long as the tracks are all even and consistent. But in all honesty are "Here Today", "I'm Waiting For the Day", "That's Not Me" and the two "instrumentals" really as strong as the other tracks here. Are these tracks even as strong as "Please Let Me Wonder", "I'm so Young", "She Knows Me Too Well" and "In the Back of My Mind" from the Today album. My personal opinion is no, especially when you consider that these earlier tracks hadn't been subjected to the time, energy and effort that the Pet Sounds tracks had had lavished on them.

I'm not letting the albums classification as an inspirational piece impair my judgement, if it inspired McCartney to write Sgt Pepper that's great, I don't hear any of Pet Sounds on Sgt Pepper personally, but if it's true then there is of course a debt to this album. It supposedly took Wilson months to create Pet Sounds and he used every instrument known to man to in its development, but should that add to it's acclaim the fact there's so many instruments present, and the fact that it took so long to complete and ultimately sent him over the edge.

I guess I just don't get this one, to my ears Pet Sounds remains the only one of the generally accepted classics that I feel this way about. There are others in this category that I'm not particularly mad over (OK Computer and Live at Leeds come to mind) but I can relate more to their lofty positions in these polls than I can Pet Sounds. I'm afraid when it comes to the all time Top 20's it's still this album that catches my eye the most, and drives me back to that dreadful cover artwork for just one more listen, and just one more assessment.

I don't go out of my way to put down particular albums in my reviews, if I do put in a negative review it's usually going to be a weak album from an artist I generally respect. I haven't, and won't review any other Beach Boys albums, I do have others but there are clearly reviewers who have a greater understanding and appreciation of their output than I do. I have simply added my review here on the basis of a voice to question it's classic status rather than to question the overall merits of the album.

I except that I'm not going to win any friends here, and I'm not looking to change opinions or devalue the other reviews of this album, as I said at the start of this review I rate Pet Sounds as a great album, but nothing more. I'm afraid there's little point in trying to explain to me what I'm missing or criticising my assessment on the strength of "you just don't get it", I honestly wish I did. I'll say it again, its a great album and there certainly are some fantastic moments, but I'm afraid there's simply not enough consistently happening here for me to justify Pet Sounds classic status, and I'm afraid after absorbing this material so many times over the years, ultimately it disappoints. Are there really so few of us who view it this way ?.

As a footnote, the 2002 Brian Wilson Pet Sounds Live release did nothing to make me reconsider my evaluation of this album. Pet Sounds Live also gives me grave concerns over the impending and much anticipated Smile release. Smile is one of the all time great rock and pop legends, and it's status inevitably means that expectations are sky high. At this stage in his career can we really expect Wilson to do it justice?, I hope for Brian's sake it's not a better legend that it actually is an album.

OVERALL RATING: 8

SMILEY SMILE (1967)

(reviewed by Casey Brennan)

Brian Wilson worked hard in late 1966 to make his most creative, spiritual, and challenging work yet. The album was to be called Smile and released in late 66-early 67 before The Beatles' Sgt. Peppers but things went totally wrong. The more complete the album became, the more Brian would keep on changing the structures of the songs. Along with that there were problems with the company and Brian started getting heavily into drugs, so this made him lose faith in the entire project. "Good Vibrations", which is on this release (and the major highlight), was the only complete song that came from the sessions. It was a technical breakthrough at the time and is wildly innovative with its many movements.

What Brian had left over from Smile turned into Smiley Smile, which finally was released in September of 1967. It is a very weird, low-key album that shows a few hints of greatness but is mostly a hodge-podge effort. "Heroes And Villains" opens up the album and is a great track with lots of haunting vocal harmonising in it. The rest of the album ranges from zaniness ("She's Goin' Bald", "Little Pad") to simple and odd stuff ("Wonderful", "With Me Tonight","Whistle In"). There are plenty of little sound effects on this album that create a silly atmosphere in songs like "Vegetables" and "Wind Chimes". This record is very uncommercial and kind of neat in its incomplete-sounding way, although lacking almost any of the sophistication of "Pet Sounds". By now The Beach Boys were totally unhip with the popular eye although they made some great music during this late 1960's period.

OVERALL RATING: 7

WILD HONEY (1967)

(reviewed by Casey Brennan)

After the strangeness of Smiley Smile The Beach Boys came up with the funky and direct Wild Honey. The songs are even more simple in style and less experimental along with being more compact and complete on here. The mood is pretty mellow and smooth on this production with the use of the honky tonk piano on a lot of the tracks. The title track, "Aren't You Glad", "Country Air", and "A Thing Or Two" are some of the major highlights. Many of the songs are uptempo piano-based funky tunes done in Beach Boys style like "Darlin'" and "I Was Made To Love Her". "Here Comes The Night" with its harmonising interplay in the choruses is another great song. The last two songs "How She Boogalooed It" and "Mama Says" are weaker than the rest, although still not bad. Overall this is a strong effort that has a good-time mood to it.

OVERALL RATING: 8

FRIENDS (1968)

(reviewed by Casey Brennan)

This is the most mellow and gentle album the Beach Boys ever made. It was greatly ignored when released in June 1968, but it was something that America might have needed at the time. It's such a peaceful album that was released two months after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and just weeks after Senator Robert F. Kennedy was killed. At 25 minutes long this is probably the shortest Beach Boys release ever, though that is a good thing because it gives the record a special charm. The mood is mellow and there is light studio experimentation on this collection of songs.

"Meant For You" is the 38 second opener that is very spiritual and peaceful. The mood stays the same throughout the album with songs such as "Wake The World" with its great tuba line in the chorus, and "Anna Lee, The Healer" which is a spiritual song with sparse instrumentation. One of the best songs on here though is "Little Bird"; it takes many musical twists in its two minutes but does it in a utterly breathtaking and simplistic way. It's a classic song that contains (sweet) harmonising with excellent violas pumping through it.

"Diamond Head", which is one of the two instrumentals on here(the other is "Passing By"), is probably the most complicated track of them all with its sound affects and full instrumentation. Other highlights include "Transcendental Meditation" (the oddest song on here with its disturbing saxes), "Be Here In The Morning", and the title track which sums up what the album is about. This is definitely an unknown gem of an album, in my opinion, that should be listened to in a relaxed state.

OVERALL RATING: 9

COMMENTS

Excellent album, and absolutely my favorite besides Pet Sounds. "Meant For You" is one of the most beautiful songs ever, although i wish it were longer!! It's only 40 seconds and i usually repeat it a few times everytime i hear it! The title track, "Wake The World", "Little Bird", "Be Here In The Morning" are all fantastic, and i also love "When A Man Needs A Woman". Even though it may be too cutesy-poo to most people i find it sweet, especially with Brian's cute vocals. One song no one mentions for some reason is "Busy Doin' Nothin" which i absolutely love even though it doesn't sound like The Beach Boys at all. It's got a great jazzy/bossanova acoustic feel and is a simple but incredibly effective tune which may be my favorite on here. "Diamond Head" and "Passing By" are also great little instrumentals. I give this a high 9.

20/20 (1968)

(reviewed by Casey Brennan)

This one was recorded in late 1968 and is much different than Friends. Not so mellow this time, the album starts out with "Do It Again", a typical sounding Beach Boys song in their early style that is updated with a heavy drumbeat. The sound is more commercial on here since The Beach Boys were looking for some hits; "Do It Again" and "I Can Hear Music" became minor hits on this release. Their are a few rocking songs on here like "Bluebirds On The Mountain" and the Dennis Wilson number "All I Want To Do" along with some quieter songs like "I Went To Sleep" and the excellent "Time To Get Alone" which are done in a post-friends mode.

Some of the lesser songs on here are "The Nearest Faraway Place" which is kind of sappy, and a cover song "Cotton Fields" which is just decent. The album ends on a high note with "Cabinessence", a lost track from the "Smile" sessions in late 1966 that has neat fuzzbass, cool key changes, and strange harmonizing in it. This was the last Beach Boys album of the 1960's and is supposedly their 20th release (counting all the compilation albums too). Therefore 20/20! Onward to the 1970's.

OVERALL RATING: 7

SUNFLOWER (1970)

(reviewed by Casey Brennan)

The Beach Boys' first album of the 1970's is a fine collection of songs that shows Brian diminishing his role as a songwriter for the group more and more as the years pass. The album starts off with a generally fast-paced song called "Slip On Through" that is slightly danceable because of it's quick rhythm. As the album unfolds we get to hear a few great harmonic driven songs like "This Whole World" and "Add Some Music To Your Day" which are basically feel-good songs. Some of the best songs are "Tears In The Morning", "It's About Time" (a peace song that rocks out at the end) and "Forever", which is one of the best ballads they ever did.

Towards the end of the album the mood gets a little humorous as so many Beach Boys albums tend to do(except it can happen anywhere on the album). "At My Window" has corny and funny words, and "Cool, Cool, Water" is just an odd piece with a few different parts to it. It's a very calm song with some water sounds and hilarious lyrics that are corny but enjoyable, in fact it's the longest song on here. The only fairly weak spot is "All I Wanna Do" which is bogged down mostly by it's horrible production. "Sunflower" delivers it's goods though; it's an even longer record than in the past, actually hitting past the 35 minute mark.

OVERALL RATING: 8

SURFIN HITS (year unknown)

(reviewed by Casey Brennan)

This is a Greatest Hits album. It contains some of the big hits from their first few years but too much is missing and it is way too short. It's cheaply made for the used bins in CD stores; no liner notes or anything, there is nothing more than 12 songs with just a piece of paper as the booklet. There are better compilation albums out there for The Beach Boys. The companies just wanted some stash I guess.

OVERALL RATING: 5