The Beach Boys Network

Re: Surf's Up [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 06:49 AM CDT

What's wrong with Don't Go Near The Water? When I first discovered the Surf's Up album, that song was an instant highlight for me. Just like Take A Load, it adds something quirky to an otherwise very serious record and the group's vocal tag is just amazingly beautiful (it always reminds me of Friends, the song).

Re: 60s Mix Suggestions for my 61-Year-Old Dad? [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 05:24 AM CDT

Strange, I just made myself a mix with an idea similar to that.

My picks included:

"I'll Come Running," The Mad Hatters (if you like Nuggets-style garage, this is great ... I found it on the Sundazed comp Garage Beat '66 Vol. 7)
"From Home," The Troggs (B-side of "Wild Thing" ... cool tune!)
"Mrs. Bluebird," Eternity's Children
"Sunshine Girl," The Parade
"From Claudia on Thursday," The Millennium
"Song to the Magic Frog (Will You Ever Know?)," Sagittarius
"Oh How Happy," The Shades of Blue
"Love You So Much," New Colony Six

Re: Who would you like to see write a book? [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 03:40 AM CDT

I know he's gone but I would have loved to have read a book by Chuck Britz. If anyone knew the band he did, but he always kept a low profile when he probably could have sold his story for a ton of money. The fact that he didn't is partially why I value his input so much. Listening to the interview he gave that was on the board recently he didn't seem to dramatize or sugar coat the way things were. He was straightforward but you could tell he really cared about the boys.

Re: Odd things in Beach Boys songs [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 02:39 AM CDT

Quote from: Jay on Today at 02:00:41 AM

I forgot to mention a few. There is a weird audio "glitch" at the start of "Never Learn Not To Love". It happens on the word "cease". It's on the old out of print cd version, and on the "twofer". The same thing happens during the first verse of "Good Vibrations".

Oh yeah, the two dropouts in the first few seconds of GV. I understand it had something to do with some rough edit splices, which is hard to understand with all the time and care that went into producing that masterpiece!

Here's one that gets me every time: a split second before the occapella section of "I Can Hear Music" there is a very noticeable blip. Perhaps an editing issue? There is a similar blip when the vocals come in after the instrumental break of the song "Friends", right around the time the clarinet (or whatever it is) hits that awkward note.

Re: Carl's vocal on AJ track [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 02:22 AM CDT

A sample of "Don't Fight The Sea" can now be heard at http://www.aljardine.com/photo.html.

How emotional to hear Carl on a "new" track! Looking forward to this one.

Help Me Rhonda is also up. Meh.

Re: Surf's Up [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 02:13 AM CDT

Jeez, this album is terrific. But I just can't give it the same score as Sounds, Smiley or Love You. Damn you, SDT and DGNTW, for bringing this score down.

4.5, but it's a low 4.5, so 4.

Track picks: Surf's Up (+++), 'Til I Die (+++), ADITLOAT (+++), TALOYF (++), Feel Flows (++), Disney Girls (++), Long Promised Road (++)

Re: The Beach Boys Love You [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 02:05 AM CDT

I love that you all love Love You. I'd love to say that I like Love You but that would be to say that I love to lie; in reality, I too love Love You.

I could probably listen to Good Time 100 times in a row and not get sick of it.

5 stars.

Re: Odd things in Beach Boys songs [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 02:00 AM CDT

Re: The Beach Boys' Concert [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 01:47 AM CDT

Monster Mash? Let's Go Trippin'? Ugh. At least the album has some charm, though. 2 stars.

Re: Shut Down, Volume II [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 01:40 AM CDT

Ugh, more car so--- wait! Not bad, not bad! 3 stars -- the covers brought it down for me.

Track picks: Don't Worry Baby (+++), Fun Fun Fun (+++), The Warmth of the Sun (+++)

Re: Little Deuce Coupe [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 01:33 AM CDT

Ugh. Car songs. 2 stars.

Track picks: Little Deuce Coupe (+)

Re: Surfer Girl [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 01:29 AM CDT

Jeez, do we have enough songs with "surf" somewhere in the title or what... This album is so unbelievably charming. Too bad for the filler. 3 stars.

Track picks: In My Room (+++), Surfer Girl (+++), Surfer Moon (++), Catch a Wave (+)

Re: 20/20 [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 01:18 AM CDT

I have a hard time not liking this record.... except for the covers. 3 stars.

Track picks: Cabinessence (+++), Time To Get Alone (++), Our Prayer (++), Never Learn Not To Love (+)

Re: Surfin' USA [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 01:03 AM CDT

Better than Surfin' Safari. But still a lot of filler.

Track picks: Lonely Sea (+++), Farmer's Daughter (++), Surfin' USA (+)

Re: Surfin Safari [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:59 AM CDT

Not one of my favourites. 1 star.

Track picks: Surfin' Safari (+), Moon Dawg (+)

Re: Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:56 AM CDT

A tad uneven at times, but I think I like the gems of this album better than the gems of Today. 4 stars.

Track picks: California Girls (+++), Help Me Rhonda (+++), Let Him Run Wild (++), Summer Means New Love (++), And Your Dreams Come True (++), I'm Bugged At My Old Man (+). Whew!

Re: Stack-O-Tracks [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:49 AM CDT

It is what it is. 4 stars.

Re: The Beach Boys Today! [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:48 AM CDT

Side A: 3.5 stars. Side B: 4.5 stars.

Mike writes some terrific lyrics on side B and sometimes on side A, but the "BB rockers" start to sound a bit stale for me by the time we get to Today. I'm just not a huge fan of Dance, Dance, Dance or Don't Hurt My Little Sister.

Side B is terrific, but I'm not a huge fan of I'm So Young.

Track picks: Please Let Me Wonder (+++), When I Grow Up (+++), Help Me Ronda (++), In The Back Of My Mind (+)

Re: Wild Honey [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:30 AM CDT

Terrific. Insanely catchy and infectious. 4 stars. If the production had just been a little neater on a couple of the tracks (eg, the title track) and if there were maybe 2 nice originals in place of the cover, it would definitely get 5 stars from me.

Track picks:
I'd Love Just Once To See You (+++), Wild Honey (++), Darlin' (++), Aren't You Glad (+)

Re: Pet Sounds [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:23 AM CDT

Quote from: Poprocks on Today at 12:19:00 AM

Perfect record. 5 stars (did I *really* need to say that?).

...it feels good to let it out.... Rock!

Re: Pet Sounds [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:19 AM CDT

Perfect record. 5 stars (did I *really* need to say that?).

Re: Smiley Smile [Smiley Smile Message Board]

Posted: 14 Jun 2008 12:15 AM CDT

Wow.... just... wow. It's hard to compare this with Sounds since it's so different, but they're both absolutely terrific records. From a technical standpoint, going song-by-song, I'd say this is more like a high 4.5 to me because of Gettin' Hungry. But hell, I can fully tolerate that song. And as a whole, I absolutely love this record. It has influenced me so much as a musician. Truly underrated and under-appreciated (not so much by you folks, but by the "general population" :-)

I've played She's Goin' Bald so many times that it has forever skewed my brother's last.fm statistics.

5 stars.

The Courtship Of Wendy's Father [Smiley Smile Dot Net]

Posted: 13 Jun 2008 10:06 PM CDT

Learn how to date when your every moment is under someone's control:

One can see how Wilson could be spooked easily. When Melinda met him 22 years ago, she says, 'I felt sorry for him. He was clearly a guy who was in very bad shape. But it is hard to meet Brian and be with him when he opens up to you and not feel some kind of love for him. On our first date he told me everything. It wasn't romantic love at first. It was almost like how you would love a child.' At the time, Wilson was in thrall to his domineering therapist, Dr Eugene Landy, from whom Melinda, a former model and, at the time, car salesperson, rescued him. She fell in love with his kindness, his intellect and his compassion. 'And he wasn't demanding. You know, so many guys are demanding.' So are most geniuses.

Although Landy had set the wheels of the relationship in motion, and encouraged it at first, he insisted that Wilson's life be run on his terms. If Landy found out that Wilson had called Melinda, there would be trouble. So Brian would tip her off as to his running route along a certain highway, and they would meet secretly. Melinda says, 'It was crazy. We were like teenagers sneaking around trying to meet up.' At the time, she was 38 and Wilson was in his forties. He did finally break free of Landy, and they were estranged for many years before Landy's death in 2006. When asked how he felt about the passing of the man who was his world for 12 years, Wilson says, 'I was devastated.'