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The Beach Boys
#11
Vol. 3 After 1970, Brian Wilson became more of a whole-album conceptualist rather than a singles writer. It therefor becomes meaningless to talk about songs in isolatio. Listen to the whole albums and get infused. This Post is covers and odds&sods from earlier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS3h5oGEuqk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDo3b199RCM << be the 54th to listen...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg8fcDnQEV0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2sfev-gu3I
2 by a surprisingly good writer and singer, Dennis Wilson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8AVOv9hlt0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZAfS2DyZnw RIP, Dennis
A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind--Dr. Johnson
What he said. Amen, Bro--JazzboCR
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#12
What an awesome set Beach Boys tunes you posted Jazzbo, Thank you! Here are Just a few more.
I enjoy the work that Dennis did, I wonder if his children will ever finish "Bamboo"! I want to hear those tunes but I guess it will be left up to time, if it ever gets completed. Remember these Beach Boys tunes!
[video=youtube_share;hpx3P1z-g-U]http://youtu.be/hpx3P1z-g-U[/video]

http://youtu.be/esSux8yMNKk

http://youtu.be/_d6cfBlASko
It was great that Dennis loved so deeply that he could write thjs gorgeous love song for his wife Barbara.
Thanks be to God for our blessings.
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#13
I appreciate the compliment. Truly. Dennis Wilson is the great forgotten BB songwriter--especially good on ballads. And the only surfer in the group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHCzTLnFpLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca6sXJi596g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=257iuCQO0J4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNUnUxYnvn0

Slagged at the time as being just a rich guy's vanity project, Pacific Ocean Blue stands the test of time: http://www.allmusic.com/album/pacific-oc...0000314145
A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind--Dr. Johnson
What he said. Amen, Bro--JazzboCR
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#14
Thank you Jazzbo for the Dennis Wilson songs! I enjoyed them.
Thanks be to God for our blessings.
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#15
Bob Wrote:Thank you Jazzbo for the Dennis Wilson songs! I enjoyed them.

My distinct pleasure and actually it was a prod to re-introduce myself to those tunes--I'd forgotten how good they were. If the sound on that Carl & the Passions piece wasn't so crappy, I'd go there next. You got some remastered sources for So Tough?
A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind--Dr. Johnson
What he said. Amen, Bro--JazzboCR
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#16
The thing about The Beach Boys is that the sound they were generating in the Pet Sounds/Sunflower/Surf's up era is radically different from what they were doing in 1964. You probably knew that already, but it needs emphasising, because so often I mention this band and people associate them with songs like Help Me Rhonda, Little Deuce Coupe and I Get Around. Those songs were OK, but it wasn't until i heard California Girls that I thought "Wow, something really interesting is going on here."

Apart from a few standouts, I'd say their work prior to Pet Sounds was basically just good pop, nothing more. Pet Sounds however was a turning point, not only for them but for popular music.

The history of the band has been well chronicled by the OP.

I regard the following albums as masterpieces:

Pet Sounds
Sunflower
Surf's up


The first of those was basically a Brian Wilson album. With the other two, you get the other Wilson brothers taking over some of the writing, and both Dennis and Carl show that they were gifted songwriters in their own right.

We then get to their mid-70s albums, and here you have to be a bit more judicious when considering buying stuff. Carl and the Passions: So Tough (what a cumbersome name for an album) has only eight tracks, and the first five are entirely forgettable. It's saved by the remaining songs, especially track 7, "All This Is That", written by Carl; this song is almost worth the price of admission on its own. The closing track, "Cuddle up", written by Dennis, is not half bad either. Holland is a somewhat better album overall, but is also patchy. My favourite track on there is "The Trader", also one of Carl's. At this point Brian was somewhat losing his way musically.

I've heard parts of some of the later albums, MUA and Love You, and .... hmmmm, think I'll pass.

The final album, That's Why God Made the Radio, is surprisingly good, and a worthy finale to the band's career. While not reaching the heights of, say, Pet Sounds, it does have some great songs, mostly towards the end of the record.

Their creative peak, however, was the album that nearly didn't see the light of day. I refer of course to SMiLE. As it happens, I have both versions: the full reworked Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks release from 2004, and the release of the original recordings, which came out a few years later, having won the latter in a competition. It's interesting to hear both, but I think Brian's version is the definitive one. This album is simply stunning, from start to finish, and the guys were correct when they said that SMiLE was as far ahead of Pet Sounds as Pet Sounds was ahead of its predecessor. It was worth the 37-year wait.

One more thing: Brian's solo albums are very hit and miss. However I highly recommend Imagination.
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