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).