The Beach Boys

The Beach Boys early records were all about surfing, cars and girls. The first six records fit this category, and while some may find gold digging into the album tracks, the period is best served for most listeners by the Endless Summer 1974 compilation. Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), both from 1965, see the band's music and Brian's production getting more sophisticated and both are more than the singles and filler of their earlier work.

And then in 1966 comes Pet Sounds. Widely hailed as one of the greatest pop records ever, it is all that and more. Brian's masterpiece. Interestingly, it was met with mixed reviews on it's release in America, and Brian was deeply hurt by the rejection he felt. In England the record was met with universal acclaim. Go figure. It actually took a long time to develop it's reputation for greatness. In 1974 it was out of print and you could buy it in cut-out bins.

I'll skip over the whole Brian's breakdown and the collapse of Smile, the planned follow-up to Pet Sounds. The next ten years would be a roller coaster of quality for Beach Boys releases, some of which have received better reviews retrospectively than on their initial release. The band was trying hard to become relevant in a more grown-up album market that rejected their 60s surfer image. On the road they were becoming a nostalgia act even while they were producing some excellent work.

So I'll go ahead and tell you the ones I think are well worth hearing, and there will be plenty to disagree with. In the period from 1967-1977, I like Wild Honey 1967 (An unusual R&B outing, and fun and different because of it), Sunflower 1970 (Their last great record, and a showcase for under-appreciated Dennis), Surf's Up 1971 (Uneven, but when it's good, it's great), and Holland 1973 (Not perfect, but close, and their last really good record).

Then there's the one's that have received some good press, at least retrospectively. I don't really think they cut it for my list, but Friends 1968, 20/20 1969, and Love You 1977 all have their supporters, and they are at least interesting to hear from a historical perspective.

That leaves Smiley Smile 1967, Carl and the Passions "So Tough" 1972, 15 Big Ones 1976, and M.I.U. Album 1977, none of which deserve your time. There are good songs here and there, but they'll show up on any number of compilations. And everything after 1977 is at least as bad or worse, that is until That's Why God Made the Radio 2012, a decent stab at a reunion of what was left of the band 50 years after their debut. Better than almost anyone would have expected, but still not essential.

For all the myriad compilations, there's really not one that sums everything up. Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys 1993 has all the good stuff, but also includes a lot of unreleased material related to the aborted Smile, outtakes and assorted junk in a 5-CD box set for the collector. The two-CD Fifty Big Ones 2012 comes very close, and if you didn't have any Beach Boys music, it covers everything you need (except Caroline, No, but you need Pet Sounds anyway). 

Sly and The Family Stone 1967- 1975

Sly and the Family Stone were as great a band as everything you've ever heard. They broke new ground on several levels, interracially, politically, and most of all in the pursuit of pure funk. You can argue about who invented funk, but Sly and the Family Stone moved funk forward in a seriously big way. And got white folks into it too.

The 1970 Greatest Hits is an indispensable record. Even if you have all of their studio records, you'd still need it for the three great singles that appeared new on the album. Absolutely everyone with any cool at all owned it in 1970.

Other compilations that came later and include the songs on Greatest Hits are strong contenders these days for someone new to the Family Stone, assuming such people exist. For vinyl lovers, the 2009 Music On Vinyl two-disc The Best of Sly and the Family Stone adds a few more tracks and includes a couple from Fresh, which many see as his last great record. The 2003 The Essential Sly and The Family Stone, on two CDs, is even better, as it includes a couple from the 1967 debut A Whole New Thing (Underdog is definitely essential) as well as Small Talk 1974 and one from Sly's 1975 solo debut High On You, plus lots more album tracks that deserve to be heard.

Many would argue that the best way to appreciate the band is in live performance, and there's also a couple of good ways to do just that. Woodstock: Sunday August 17, 1969 from 2019 or The Woodstock Experience from 2009 both include the whole set, and it's easy to see why they wowed the peace and love crowd in upstate New York (Experience also includes Stand! on a second CD). Live at the Fillmore East October 4th & 5th, 1968 from 2015, available as a comprehensive four CD set or a two LP edited version is also killer.

By the way, their criminally neglected debut A Whole New Thing is not a lesser record just because it sold little and didn't really sound like what was coming. It's quite good. It sounds a little like a good War record without the Latin bit.

Dance To The Music is hands down one of the greatest singles of the sixties. 

Cynthia and Jerry got a message they're sayin' All The Squares Go Home!

Live Shows Part 1: 1966-1980

I was never a frequent attendee at live shows, and I never saw any stadium shows at all. I did enjoy seeing artists in theatre-sized rooms, and occasionally in smaller venues like the Cleveland Agora or Beachland Ballroom. I started making a list a while back as a memory exercise, and it's beginning to feel about as complete as I'm ever going to achieve. I'm going to try to be chronological as best I can. Hopefully I'll get the decade right. I did a list of my favorites here if you want to check it out. So here goes:

The Rolling Stones 1966 Cleveland Arena. My older brother's date got sick last minute and my mom made him take me. It's the only time I saw the Stones, and I don't remember much, but I can see the stage in my mind from where we sat. I was 11.

Lemon Pipers, Rotary Connection 1968 Cleveland Music Hall. My brother played bass. I went with my parents. I fell in love with Rotary Connection, and the amazing voice of Minnie Ripperton.

Chambers Brothers 1968-69? Cleveland Music Hall. I loved the Chambers Brothers. They were really good live, very energetic. I think my mom took me.

The Band 1970 Cleveland Music Hall. One of my most memorable concerts. They were outstanding, doing two hours with an intermission and no opener. 

Jethro Tull, Lee Michaels, Clouds 1970 Allen Theatre. Michaels was doing the stuff from his eponymous record with just him on B3 and Frosty on drums. They were killer, and very loud. Tull was good too. The weird bit where Ian Anderson wrapped his leg around the mic stand was wacky.

Little Richard, New York Rock Ensemble, several other bands, Cleveland Public Hall 1970. I got too high at this show, and the New York Rock Ensemble got me through the worst of it and saved me from a visit to the ER. They were one hot band.

Fanny, James Gang, Glass Harp, New York Rock Ensemble, some others 1972? Edgewater Park. So I'm very shaky on this, and it may have been two different shows a year apart. Fanny was great live, and everything amazing you've heard about James Gang is true. I absolutely loved New York Rock Ensemble.

Bruce Springsteen 1975 John Carrol Fieldhouse. A top ten show. Before Born To Run was released, and they were, well, early live Springsteen when he was the only guitarist. They did lots of The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle.

Sons of Champlin, The Tubes 1975 San Diego. I loved and still love the Sons of Champlin. I had no idea they were in town. I was in a record store and bought their new self-released album. The guy at the register asked if I was going that night to see them, and he sold me tickets. Terry Haggerty is one of my favorite guitarists ever. I liked the Tubes more than I thought I would.

Various 70s shows: Loggins and Messina/Little River Band Cleveland Music Hall (Little River band were really good), Average White Band Music Hall, Beach Boys Blossom, Jimmy Buffett (at least three times) Music Hall, Blossom, Stevie Ray Vaughn (and I think B B King on the same bill) Blossom, Boz Scaggs/Melissa Manchester John Carrol Field House, Barnstorm/Todd Rundgren, Starstruck, Kinks (on a bad night) Music Hall, Van Morrison (also a bad night) Music Hall, two bands I absolutely love, and both put on disappointing shows. Morrison was going through some kind of stage fright stage and had his back to the audience most of the night. Ray Davies was just too drunk.

Rockpile/Carlene Carter Cleveland Music Hall 1978. Rockpile were so special, with Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams. As much talent as any other four guys. Carlene was dating or maybe married to Nick, and she was great with them behind her.

Elvis Costello/The Rubinoos The Agora 1979. Costello and The Attractions were just one of the most tight ensembles ever to plow their music into your ears. And the Rubinoos were a blast. Another of the top ten.