Greatest Unhearlded Beach Boys Song

For near-obscure, my money is on that Denny-Manson creepfest, "Never Learn Not To Love." Muh-muh-mow, Muh-muh-mow, Muh-muh-mow-mow-mow.

But there's so much more.

Other personal faves I never hear discussed/mentioned:
"Don't Go Near the Water" - creep factor: check!
"Can't Wait Too Long"
"I'm Bugged at My Old Man" More creepiness! But still makes me laugh. One of the few times they were actually trying to be funny and it worked.
"I Went to Sleep" The perfect song to send to listen to while dozing off on the lawn on a summer's day (and ditto "Busy Doin' Nothin'" which is like a companion piece - these two just go together).

At least no one's said "Student Demonstration Time" (yet).

ps. just got my copy of Grodeck Whipperjenny from Dusty Groove. This better be good!

Maybe we should change this thread to "Hilarious Vocal Moments of the Beach Boys". In which case I nominate the hit-of-nitrous-tape-speeding-up acapella break in "She's Goin' Bald".

maybe not so obscure after that terrible cameron crowe movie, but 'feel flows'

i like 'do it again' also. the crazy effects they have going on the drums that lead into it...plus the whole thing plods along at a quaalude pace, even though it's supposed to recall their earliest hits like 'surfin' usa'. end result = groovy.

However, "Let the Wind Blow" and "Can't Wait Too Long" are perhaps in my top 10 BB songs regardless of being unheralded.

I actually can't stand "Disney Girls" - that "tootsie roll" line never fails to make me cringe.

"Our Car Club" - not really a great song, but a very strange one
"Hushabye" and "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" - two glorious covers done up in Wall of Sound style
"We'll Run Away" - one of my favorites, kind of a foursquare melody except for the beginnings of the verses which are heavenly
"Don't Back Down" - I find this one kind of moving
"Please Let Me Wonder," etc. - or is side B of Today!! a cliche already
all of Wild Honey, but especially the title track and "Here Comes the Night"
"Friends" - especially the wordless vocal part
all of So Tough and Holland, but especially "Make It Good," "Cuddle Up," and "The Trader"

and the greatest of all,

"The Night Was So Young" - heard to its best advantage alongside "Let's Put Our Hearts Together"

A little later: "Passing By," "Make It Good," and yes: "Can't Wait Too Long." That song is pure fucking genius. Or "Leaving This Town." Agreed: doesn't sound much like the BB's, but it's fucking good.

Really late gems: "My Diane" (bootleg version w/ Brian on vox sounds incredibly pained and beautiful), "Baby Blue" -- one of Dennis's very best. Should I be embarrassed that the Bach(man)-cock-rock of "Keepin' the Summer Alive" is kind of pleasing to my ears?

"Busy Doin' Nothing" is fantastic, as is the song I usually think of as it's sister-song about Brian's-Boring-Life, "I'd Love Just Once To See You."

Also, amateurist, what I meant (and didn't really make clear) was that being jonzed by the BBs has almost become passe now, after about a decade of being touted by the hoi polloi as being better than the Beatles.

Steamboat wasn't mentioned here. Great buzzed-up guitar solo.

I like the majority of Bruce Johnston ones including "Disney Girls 1957"

(Hi Rick, Hi Dave, Hi Pop, Good Morning Mom - Get up, guess what, I'm in love with a girl I've found - She's pretty swell cos she likes church bingo chances and old time dances)

I like all of "Sunflower" too...that and "Love You" are the two last great BBs albums, I think. These days I prefer "Wild Honey" to "Pet Sounds," altho it's probably just a case of overexposure to the latter.

"Trader" got mentioned upthread--that's great. I got addicted to "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" for a while, too.

Oh god yes!

Let The Wind Blows is a fucking amazing song. I was watching that Brian and he's singing that song. I nearly blubbed. It's the upwards chord shift just as he sings, "But don't let her out of my life" that slays.

Dennis's songs are rightly being heralded, especially Forever, but Steamboat from Holland is wonderful and really quite weird.
That album also has Trader, possibly Carl's finest.

Girl Don't Tell Me by a mile

"Baby Blue", fantastic song, what shit album is that on?

Sail On Sailor. Is this "unheralded"? I thought so.

I have "Baby Blue" on a mix CD of unreleased Dennis Wilson stuff that was supposed to be for Bamboo/Dreamer... I'm not sure if the Beach Boys released their own version of it...? If so it must be on one of the last two albums (MIU or LA Light) those are the only two I don't have.

i like 'do it again' also. the crazy effects they have going on the drums that lead into it...plus the whole thing plods along at a quaalude pace, even though it's supposed to recall their earliest hits like 'surfin' usa'. end result = groovy.

qft

bullshit environmentalism slash AMAZING songs:
a day in the life of a tree
dont go near the water

also darlin'

LITTLE PAD was what got me thinking "yeah the Beach Boys are amazing!"

THE 7 MINUTE VERSION OF TIL I DIE. IT IS THE TITS.

what is that from chaki?

it's been mentioned a couple of times, but, yeah, "Can't Wait Too Long" is way up there, maybe one of my fave Beach Boys songs ever. Oddly enough it seems to be a part of Brian Wilson's latest "Lucky Old Sun" song suite ...

"This version is a remix engineer Steve Desper did for his own pleasure, going through the instrumental track first before introducing the vocals. This alternate mix ended up on the Endless Harmony rarities collection."

I believe you can find it in the leonardo music journal. xpost

yes yes i noticed that yesterday thx

came here to post 'cant wait too long'

I love "All I Wanna Do" off Sunflower. Such great production.

The Trader

seconding Girl Don't Tell Me...it didn't even make the box set.

thirding GDTM as one of the greatest unheralded songs by anyone ever. nearly as great, maybe even better, than the beatles song that inspired it.

which Beatles song was that

ticket to ride. the connection between the two is well-trod territory.

oh man yeah I can totally hear it now that you mention it

That's weird - I didn't start this thread in 2001. The database must have got corrupted.

"Let's Go Away For A While"

This title kills me. One of the all-time greats. You can see the whole story of the relationship in those few words. They're having trouble. They are hoping some time away together might help. A "while" -- how long is it? Not long enough. Eventually they have to return to their lives and the problems are still there. They are doomed.

"Solar System" from Beach boys Love you kills me

"It Came To My Windows"

(Provided all "Pet Sounds" tracks count as heralded)

I had my cds of the 64-71 stuff out for the first time in a long time last week and was reminded of the genius that is "Celebrate The News", Dennis' b-side to "Break Away." So amazing, especially near the end when it speeds up up and away into the stratosphere.

I want to second "Let The Wind Blow", for the "let the bees make honey" part especially. It starts with something easy: bees make honey, no problem. But then: "let the poor find money, take away their sorrows, give them sunshine tomorrow", these verge on the impossible. And Brian's voice gives the game away as he sings those lines: they sound impossible, hopeless; and then he drops the bomb, "but don't take her out of my life" and you realize both that he knows she's gone, and that he recognizes how powerless he is. My favorite Beach Boys vocal, period, just on that bridge alone.

"diamond head"
-- gygax! (gygax!), Sunday, April 11, 2004 7:47 AM (3 years ago)

^^^^

Mike Love in sensitive lyrics shocker! (xp)

"Feel Flows"

the "doing doing doing" one from many a Smile bootleg...

disney girls

the "doing doing doing" one from many a Smile bootleg...
"Cabinessence"? It's also on 20/20. It's one of my favorites.
"kokomo" is my answer.

"kokomo" is my answer

lolz who will rep for Student Demonstration Time

i also have been listening to "celebrate the news" a lot lately, so good

currently i only have 2 BB songs on my iTunes. the italo Here Comes the Night and Celebrate the News. dunno how the second one got on there.

Celebrate the News is great. Maybe it was on lovefingers or something. What's the italo Here Comes the Night?

I say Girl Don't Tell Me. It didn't even make the box-set and it's the best song ever.

disco version from LA Light I assume

I have yet to get around to buying the LA Light/MIU album. one of these days...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYboGE243jA

student demonstration time is really good!

i love disco version of here comes the night! i love that song any way you slice it.

student demonstration time is really good!

I knew it...

Big Sur

yeah, I know the disco version of Here Comes the Night, I just thought maybe there was something else that was like, all drumulator and vocoders.

make one!

There are only two good Beach Boys songs, and they are "California Saga Part 1 and "California Saga Part 3." Lock thread.

Oh, also "Be Here in the Mornin'." But those three are the only ones a reasonable person (i.e. me) needs on his hard drive.

"Corporal Jigsore Quandary"

THE 7 MINUTE VERSION OF TIL I DIE. IT IS THE TITS.

-- chaki, Thursday, 4 October 2007 17:42 (5 months ago) Bookmark Link

hey yea "marcella"

One arm over my shoulder
Sandals dance at my feet
Eyes that'll knock you right over
Ooo Marcella's so sweet

This version of 'Big Sur' from Landlocked:
http://rapidshare.com/files/101224289/13_big_sur.mp3.html

been on a monster Beach Boys vision quest lately, and have a gang of songs to bring up.

- nthing Sail On, Sailor; I only really like it and The Trader off Holland, but those two songs are more than enough to ensure that that album stays on my shelf for life. (word on the street is that there's a reissue coming which includes We Got Love as a bonus track; that song slays too.)

- the entire 1973 live album is relatively slept on; I'm especially fond of Carl's performance of Let The Wind Blow, but aside from that it's just neat to hear their songs rearranged. it's like the Beach Boys' Shaken-Up Versions.

- the Good Vibrations and Made In California box sets (both on Spotify) have some unreal stuff and are totally worth investigating. Good Vibrations has Still I Dream Of It and (ESPECIALLY) 4th Of July, which might well have been the best song on Surf's Up if it had made the running order, and I do not say that lightly because I love that album with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns going supernova all at once. MIC, meanwhile, has a bunch of solid takes on otherwise-familiar tracks (PLEASE check out the remixes of Do It Again and Please Let Me Wonder as well as the stunning alternate take of Meant For You), a couple of really great demos (particularly the piano version of California Feelin' and the gobsmackingly gorgeous Where Is She?), and a whole bunch of god-tier Dennis stuff. Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again (justifiably) got most of the attention, but it's also got My Love Lives On, Baby Blue, and a whole bunch more. The whole fourth disc is basically No, Seriously, Dennis Owned: The Disc, so it's obviously pretty great.

- my favorite proper Smile song is probably Wind Chimes, but my favorite thing on the entire project is probably Our Prayer, quite possibly my favorite opening song ever; it's absolutely spellbinding. also a few years ago my little sister and I went home to visit my mom for Christmas. on the way home from the airport she mentioned that her CD player had finally given up the ghost after like 25 years, so we should expect the house to be quieter than usual. that year I had gotten my sister a copy of Smile; she was eager to check it out upon unwrapping it, so she threw it in the DVD player. and that's how my mom learned that DVD players can play CDs too - by the sound of Our Prayer being the first piece of music to play in her house in close to a year. she looked like that kid in Band of Brothers to whom the soldiers give the chocolate bar; it was pretty awesome. also also this song gets extra bonus points for its inclusion on Sarcastic Disco Masters.

- speaking of my mom, I also have a lingering affection for Barbara Ann after hearing her try and fail to describe how big a kick she got out of how they went from being "unbelievably stoned. like higher than anyone I ever encountered back in the sixties" during the verses into those devastatingly on-point harmonies in the chorus. I freely admit that it's just a bunch of silly fluff, but it's hard to deny the glory of those moments when they snap to melodic attention.

- and speaking of corny shit, the title track from That's Why God Made The Radio sounds like a chintzy karaoke version of Beauty School Dropout, but it's catchier than the Hanta virus and the chorus is just lethally great. eminently worth your time.

I actually made a CD-length Spotify playlist of lesser-known (for the most part) Beach Boys/related songs that I'd give to someone who only knows the famous stuff plus a couple ; here's a link if anyone wants to check it out; for best results, turn on Spotify's crossfader with a five-second blend. tracklist:

1. Our Prayer
2. Barbara Ann
3. In My Room
4. Sail On, Sailor
5. That's Why God Made The Radio
6. Disney Girls (1957)
7. Where Is She?
8. I'll Bet He's Nice
9. Please Let Me Wonder (2007 stereo remix)
10. Don't Worry Baby (2009 stereo remix)
11. We're Together Again (2012 stereo remix)
12. California Feelin'
13. Wind Chimes (Smile Sessions version)
14. Meant For You (alternate version)
15. Baby Blue
16. Still I Dream Of It
17. 'Til I Die
18. Surf's Up (album version)
19. River Song (the Dennis solo track, but this song's awesomeness justifies breaking the format)
20. My Love Lives On
21. Barbara
22. A Day In The Life Of A Tree
23. 4th Of July
24. Feel Flows
25. (Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again)
26. You're Welcome

greatest band of all time non-negotiable

"Leaving This Town" wasn't mentioned once! Crazy! I love some of those Fataar and Chaplin songs so much. "All I Wanna Do" is great but at least got a couple mentions.

some of the greatest (genuinely) unheralded beach boys songs are the early '70s ones by dennis wilson that the band suppressed basically for jealousy. slowly being exhumed on the boxsets...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jinTmcYwAdQ

most Beach Boys songs have been "heralded" by somebody, so the question is what has been underemphasized amongst the awesomeness:

1. "In the Back of My Mind" is the template for subsequent acid songs right down to the falling apart orchestral bit + and schizo vocal tracking at the end.

2. "Busy Doin' Nothin'" lyric & treatment leads straight to Jonathan Richman & David Byrne celebrations of everyday banality activity songs.

3. "All I Wanna Do" production seamlessly appropriate to 90s ecstasy era sound.

So, that's three songs predicting three future pop music eras. Beach Boys dominion shall not pass from this earth.

"Busy Doin Nothin" is so fucking gangster. I think of it and "I Went To Sleep" as flip sides of a coin. Light and dark sides of a fucked person's everyday routine

I have been that fucked person, I should add, so both resonate p hard

Sleep Is Your Best Entertainment Value

When all that Dennis Wilson reissue celebration was going on I was really pissed that there was barely a mention of "Baby Blue", one of the most devastating songs I've ever heard. That song knocked the shit out of me one night. Top 5 Beach Boys songs easily (admittedly I've probably only got a third of their output. I don't recall most of the listed songs and it's daunting about thinking of collecting all the good stuff).

Vic Perry says: "All I Wanna Do" production seamlessly appropriate to 90s ecstasy era sound.

I'm a huge fan of Holland, I like pretty much everything on it. It might be my favourite even, but probably not their best.

i would say "all i wanna do" predicts new order/new wave guitar leads, dream pop/shoegaze, and chillwave all in one go. and is better than 99% of all three.

holland is not a bad record, though not including their mid-60s prime i'd put sunflower, wild honey and friends above it. surf's up, too, for all its faults.

I agree with myself from 9 years ago: Aren't You Glad

Also Honking Down the Highway

i picked up that "live in sacramento 1964" thing and it's a ton of fun.

Fourteen years and no-one's mentioned 'Long Promised Road'. Wow. Or is it just more heralded than I thought?

D'oh. Scrub that. Mentioned in 2005. That's what happens when you omit to "Click here if you want to load them all".

Long Promised Load (Them All)

"don't go near the water" has been mentioned twice but nobody's pointed out the total beach boys godmode of the last 45 seconds or so of that song. absolutely gutting, and a total surprise after the (perfectly fine) song that came before.

Lots of great ones already mentioned. I'd add The Little Girl I Once Knew. Really don't think it deserved to flop like it did and it's never on their singles compilations.

"Won't You Tell Me"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdrdB9E0sWQ

This 1971 recording has lead vocals from Dennis Wilson and ex-Sunray Rick Henn. A later mix has those two, Brian, and Carl singing the melody in unison, the only Beach Boys song I can think of where they do, but it's missing the stunning backing vocals from this earlier mix. I hope there's a version out there with both the backing vocals and the three Wilsons on lead, or if not that the two can be digitally melded together to create a complete track. But even as it is, it's a stunner.

Wow that is insanely good.

after all these years I cant believe how there are still gems like that to be discovered

In my friend's interpretation of the song Cuckoo Clock... well, I'll let him explain:

By my eye/ear, we're either talking about:

1. The teenage couple is "interrupted by a cuckoo clock" (naive reading)
2. The teenage couple is interrupted by... pardon my French, Brian's boner/premature ejac...("I put that birdie away... We both apologized for why... I had to swallow my pride...")
3. The cuckoo is an unidentified other guy who attempts to cuckold Brian ("He'll never bother us again... We just forgot about him...")

What do you think? I'll let him know the group consensus.

"Still I Dream Of It" has been mentioned already and has been a favorite since I discovered it on a compilation as a teenager.
Also "Our Sweet Love" which is like a part2 to "God Only Knows" (both lyrically and musically).
As For Dennis, "Fallin' in Love" is gorgeous.
And also mentioned already but "A Day In The Life Of A Three" is heartbreaking.

See also the Beach Boys-adjacent version of 'Fallin' in Love' by American Spring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5neKNaRMq0

Hum. It sounds like they sing on the demo backing track of the BBoys'one.
And the vocals are very not well recorded/mixed on this one !

A friend at uni was obsessed with "Brian's Back" from the Endless Harmony Soundtrack and used to listen to it every day, it is really not a contender for this thread.

How about "Morning Christmas" from the Ultimate Christmas album from 1998. It's track 23 and well into the sub-par 1977 unreleased Xmas album, so you had to fight to get to it. It's probably Dennis' best ever song, and also the most solemn recording of all time. Beautiful piano figures and slowed-down strings.
― John Allison (John Allison), Monday, July 18, 2005

Clicked this hoping, due to the season, it was someone talking about Morning Christmas. Turned out to be me, 19.5 years ago.

@marzbarz1849
11 years ago
I did the background vocals on this song with Dennis back in November of 1977! My Ex husband and I were being produced by Earle Mankey at the time and Earle told Dennis about me. Dennis had me come over to Brother Studio. There was a stain glass wall of the Solar System in the studio that was strung with Christmas Lights. Dennis lit up the glass wall and said "sing like an angel"! I was only 19 at the time. It was an experience I will never forget! At 2:01 in to the song, you'll hear that Dennis knocked over the music stand with the lyrics on it during a vocal take! Thanks for posting....