The Beach Boys in the Seventies: Classic or Dud?

Does anyone actually own things like 'The M.I.U. Album' and '15 Big Ones'? Generally: DUD.

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For every Classic like 'Our Sweet Love' (Sunflower) and 'Til I Die' (Surf's Up) you get shit like 'At my Window' and 'Take a Load off Your feet' Part of the problem was the obvious - Brian was on a semi- permanant vacation on planet drugs and couldn't contribute as much. Leaving it to hacks like Bruce Johnston is one thing (Disney Girls is OK), but letting the talentless Al Jardine and offensively crap Mike Love have a go at writing was criminal. Dennis Wilson's stuff is pretty good though.

Mind you, possibly the worst abomination on the whole 4 albums is Brian's Mt Vernon and Fairway (A fairy Tale).

Carl and the Passions is not by any means their worst, in fact I prefer it to Holland. For me Holland is spoiled by the first two parts of the California saga, whereas CATP is more consistent.

The best of the four would be 'Sunflower'. I have nothing later than Holland - I've heard that beyond this album it's pretty ugly. I wouldn't mind earing Dennis Wilson's solo album 'Pacific Ocean Blue' - anybody got comments on that? It's not on CD is it?

"Doughy lumps, stomach pumps, enemas too."

Wonderful. So wrong, yet so right.

it's really a fun time: there were no restrictions and experimentation was at its peak. if you hated the whole surf thing, then this is a fine period to investigate.

sunflower, surfs up, holland are fantastic, after that you can pretty much forget it.

dr c? whats this about 'at my window' being shit?! its one of the best things they ever did.

pacific ocean blue is ok, nothing special. but there is one brilliant song on there. i can't remember which one though, i'll have to have a listen tonight.

oh, and student demonstration time has to be one of the worst things committed to vinyl, like, ever...

Almost as bad as 'Student Demonstration Time' is the picture on one of the albums of Mike Love in full 'Meditation Regalia' with a couple of little kids. You have to look away in embarrassment. Turd.

anyway, twittering birds on records RULE, ok?

Also contains the bathetic couplet Leaving This Town/FOR ANOTHER ONE!! (Leaving This Town). Nice moog solo though.

Live at Big Sur: http://rs378.rapidshare.com/files/91954037/70-10-03_Big_Sur_Folk_Festival_-_Monterey_CA.rar

this reportedly contains audience recordings (which suck) and soundboard recordings (which I expect are much better). Haven't listened yet...

some weird opinions on this thread

Duds in the 70s are 15 Big Ones, MIU, LA and I can't remember if Keepin' the Summer Alive is 70s, but it's a dud too. Everything else is good, so overall classic

I was not really otm. As I near the end, I'm starting to realize there is good stuff on every Beach Boys record. I wouldn't call 15 Big Ones/MIU/LA/Keepin the Summer Alive "good" records, but all of them have good stuff. If they'd just kept on making records like this through the 80s and 90s (ie, records where most members contributed, and they essentially still sounded like "The Beach Boys"), people would say they sucked, but they'd also end up with like 20 more good songs in their collection.

OTM. THere's something to love on every single one, even 15 Big Ones which has some absolutely excruciating moments.

Um, classic is the option here

"Beach Boys Love You" so damn classic it's not even funny anymore

i can't think of anything on "15 big ones" i'd keep aside from "had to phone ya". which is just a redo of trombone dixie/an american spring tune.

that american spring record is better than pretty much any beach boys record post-holland.

this was spurred on by playing Keepin' the Summer Alive, and realizing it might actually be the best record they did after Holland not called Love You. Could use another 5 Beach Boys go yacht rock records tbh

For 15 Big Ones, I have always had a soft spot for the TM Song -- this seems like the kind of throwaway thing they'd have done on Smiley Smile, but cleaned up. It doesn't really go anywhere, but it's fun, even "funny", and the part where the melody speeds up and slows down to match the lyrics is neat. Can't think of any other moments like that in their whole catalog. Haven't found a lot of people who agree w me on this tho. Overall agree that this is one of their worst records, until you get to the '85 s/t.

The cover of 'Just Once In My Life' is on 15 Big Ones, yeah? Really like that one.

IIRC, their unreleased cover of 'Shortenin' Bread' was also meant for that album. Love those super-farty synths.

Just Once In My Life is horrible. The singing is so flat, especially on the 'baby baby' intro to the chorus. TM Song is good. It's OK is.. okay.

Keepin the Summer Alive is good.

LA (Light Album) slays Keepin' The Summer Alive in both the quality and yacht rock stakes
Plus, Shortenin' Bread is the final track on it

Considering I actually like the disco Here Comes the Night (and think Baby Blue is one of Dennis' best songs), LA is a record I can live with. Right now, I'm still leaning towards Keepin the Summer alive overall, but could be it's just fresher to me for the moment.

xpost Oh, see, that's how ignorant I am of their output from the late '70s on. I know 'Shortenin' Bread' from one of the bootleg outtakes and rarities comps and had no idea it was actually on an album.

The bootleg version is better... I think?

Obviously too good for 15 Big Ones anyway.

I have this vivid memory of listening to Love You for the first time and thinking to myself "why the hell do the fans like this shit? this is awful."

Subsequent listens have led me to draw exactly the same conclusion.

thought I'd seen every Beach Boys thread but lol I guess not

the late 70s one that is really out-and-out terrible (or has the least to recommend it, if you prefer) is MIU. I like a bunch of tracks on 15 Big Ones - Rock n Roll Music, It's Ok, Had to Phone Ya, Talk to Me, That Same Song, A Casual Look. Also would have been improved by including Dennis' "Sea Cruise". LA/Light has Good Timin, Here Comes the Night, Baby Blue, Angel Come Home, Shortnin' Bread... I would really only call the Dennis tunes legit great but the others are fun enough. MIU is just shit, interesting only in a morbid "let's dissect this bloated corpse" way

xp
I don't personally rate Love You as high as a lot of super-fans (who are prob the only kind of fans that like it). I had a similar reaction as you when I first heard it, but I've warmed to it over many years, because I've essentially developed an emotional connection to the Beach Boys, and Brian Wilson in particular. Their story impacts how I experience the music -- which, as I read the BW memoir, not surprisingly affects my recent stint w/this era of records. In short, Brian was having a lot of fun making Love You, and was certainly not averse to taking chances with the group sound...it's easy to enjoy it now on those grounds alone. (Also, I'm no longer surprised at his voice or the subject matter, because I've heard much worse via demos and unreleased stuff.)

Purely musically speaking, I will offend the die-hards when I say I'd rate it about the same way I'd rate Carl & the Passions, or whatever of the MIU/LA/KTSA albums you like best (KTSA for me at the moment). And even then, it beats all of those on "giving no fucks" grounds.

Turrican otm

During the whole smile run up I was pretty much obsessed with the Beach Boys. Deep cuts, bootlegs, books, session material, etc. I don't think I've ever made it through Love You in one listen.

^ Beware the forces of counter revolution

'Love You' is brilliant if you've fallen down the WIlson rabbit-hole and are ready to embrace the naif charm of his mindset at the time. Anyone else would find it useless. Also: moogs.

Which makes me wonder if Fiery Furnaces was an attempt at deconstructing the Love You album.

I quite like 'My Diane' on MIU

i admit i have a sick fascination with "adult/child", which is such a bizarre, twisted record. despite that, i've oddly never had much time for "love you".

Love You was a late-career peak just like Love Kraft

The very excellent original version of Big Sur finally gets an official release. Feel Flows box set officially announced later today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKugon1OBgU

That instrumental arrangement is pleasant, very Sunflower, but I'm glad they decided to play the song in waltz time on Holland, it gives the melody a real lilt.

Looks amazing but how much of the bonus material is unfamiliar to people who already have the "endless harmony" soundtrack and half a dozen versions of "landlocked"?

True, although I'm looking forward to hearing a cleaner version of Ecology.

The So Tough and Holland box is gonna be amazing.

Glad there's a 2xCD version, the 5xCD is pretty expensive and I don't imagine I'd return to it nearly as often. I mean, it's cool, but that's a lot.

Was wondering why the summer shows are being billed as the "Feel Flows" tour, as I figure that Mike Love would have tagged the song "Feel Flows" as ego music.

Aww Big Sur. One of the few re azo to defend Mike Love

Coming In November: Jumbo Carl & The Passions/Holland box set

https://shop.thebeachboys.com/collections/music/products/sail-on-sailor-1972-super-deluxe-edition-6cd-box-set

Yes!

13. Sail On Sailor (songwriting session - previously unreleased)

I wonder if this is the Van Dyke Parks "cut the bullshit, Brian" tape described in a few books.

They're going deep elsewhere with the "Rooftop Harry" and "Body Talk" instrumentals so yeah, maybe

This is definitely a surprise for anyone not that familiar with Dennis's work.

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

al jardine has confirmed he is performing an extended version of "ding dang" on tour this year (with brian's former backing band)

yo fellow cherrypickers: heard Charles Lloyd's Waves? wiki:

Waves is an album by jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd recorded in 1972 by Lloyd and featuring both jazz musicians like guitarist Gábor Szabó and drummer Sonship Theus together with rock artists including Byrds guitarist Roger McGuinn and members of The Beach Boys.

Waves [A&M, 1972]
The usual vaguely cosmic jazz enlivened by some sensual percussion and the best Beach Boys chorale since Sunflower. It's called "TM," and I insist it stands for Terry Morgan because I'm afraid it stands for The Maharishi. Unfortunately, Mike Love reprises with a recitation, completing the eternal circle with a resonant zzzzzzzzzz. B

It's called "TM," and I insist it stands for Terry Morgan because I'm afraid it stands for The Maharishi.

“words by Michael Love” should have tipped him off, lol @ “The Maharishi”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEnozp2udrY

One of those take-down yT vids says Mike love had been through Seven marriages by 1982?

_13. Sail On Sailor (songwriting session - previously unreleased)_

I wonder if this is the Van Dyke Parks "cut the bullshit, Brian" tape described in a few books.