Diving into The Beach Boys second act (1966-1971).

With their last album of 1967, "Wild Honey" saw The Beach Boys dipping their toes into the Motown Soul Sound.

     I'd guess that by now a vast majority of people, or at least people of a certain age have heard of a Rock N' Roll band from Hawthorne, California called The Beach Boys.  The Beach Boys scored their first chart hit in 1962 with a song titled "Surfin' Safari".  From 1962 to 1966 they had numerous hits including "Surfer Girl", "I Get Around", "In My Room", "Don't Worry Baby", and many others.  Their popularity rivavled that of The Beatles.  The Beach Boys defined what it was like to be  young and Californian.  After having a major hit that went number one in 1966 called "Good Vibrations", The Beach Boys popularity plummeted.  From 1966 until Capital Records released a compilation double album in 1974 called "Endless Summer" that got them back in the nations attention, where they became a nostalgia act.

     First off...I am not the reincarnation of Casey Kasem or Dick Clark (I'd love to have a career like theirs...), this is not a "facts" based episode.  I am going by things I have heard, or the like...there is every possibility I have things wrong.  There are many places online that record the history of The Beach Boys and those sites should be checked out for "official" history.  I am just a fan and going by my gut on this one.  Having said that...I think I got the gist of things right and feel confident to say that.  

    In February of 2023 I finally bought a used copy of the 1966 masterpiece called "Pet Sounds".  My reaction is that I was bummed out with myself for waiting so long to get this album.  This album was a major departure from The Beach Boys normal fun in the sun musical fare.  This album did have some popular releases like "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Sloop John B", "God Only Knows".  

 

     "Pet Sounds" did not sell as well as Capital Records would have liked, so in that year they release a "Best of The Beach Boys" album to make up for lost revenue.  From what I have read and heard "Pet Sounds" sold better in Great Britain that it did in the United States.  Over the years it has been seen as a classic and a total departure from The Beach Boys previous music and a sign of Brian Wilson's genius of a song writer.  Personally...I love this album, I think my favourite song right now (that varies every time I listen to it) is "Here Today".

     After "Pet Sounds" was released, Brian Wilson began to work on a project that he felt would be better than "Pet Sounds".  This album was to be called "SMiLE" and 1967 would come and go without it ever being completed.  Finally in the 2000's a release called "The SMiLE Sessions" would come out that would be somewhat to what Brian Wilson had envisioned...

    Capital Records became impatient with The Beach Boys progress and wanted a record to release and make them money.  What the record company got was a record called "Smiley Smile".  "Smiley Smile" from 1967 is confusing to say the least...  This album contains the hit "Good Vibrations" which was released in 1966 as a stand-alone single, which was a major hit.  "Smiley Smile" also contained a hit called "Heroes and Villains".  There are a few other decent songs on this album, but unless you are a major  Beach Boys fan, this would not a be a great introduction the band.  I can see this album confusing many teens in 1967.  It took me a lot of plays to "get" this album.

    In the last part of 1967 The Beach Boys release "Wild Honey".  This album has the band giving it a good go at soul music, or at least a good attempt.  I'm not sure how to describe this one?  It has a single on it that is never heard on oldies stations and seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.  I'm talking about "Darlin'".  I was negative four when this song was new and have no clue how popular it was when new, but it is a brilliant song and it is a shame that it is never heard today.  

     1967 was a time of change in America, the world and the music scene.  1967 was the year of The Summer of Love, The Monterey Pop Festival etc.  The Beach Boys began to lose favour with the youth to bands like Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, etc, all the San Fransisco bands.  The Beach Boys were on the list to play at The Monterey Pop Festival and for some reason did not go through.  I often wonder how things would have been to them if they had played?  Would they been able to cement their ties with the counterculture youth scene at the time regained their popularity?  We will never know...

    1968 saw the release of "Friends".  This album I really like, but it is weird because I can't pick one single song that I love, but I like the album as a whole.  I guess I listen to this as an album and not for one or two songs. 

The last The Beach Boys release of the 1960's, from early 1969, "20/20" on LP and 8-Track Tape.

    The last year of the 1960's saw The Beach Boys last release of the decade.  This was "20/20". I have just say it...I really like this album.  I've heard this album as being "pieced together" with the remains of the aborted 1967 project "SMiLE"?  Having a copy of "The SMiLE Sessions", I can see what they are talking about.  None the less I love this album.  "20/20" has "Do It Again", a 1968 release that harkened back to their sun in the fun hits of the early 60's.

     "20/20" also has the infamy of having a song that was partially written by Charles Manson.  I'm not going to write about the details, because they are already written to death.  But the song is not half-bad and is titled "Never Learn Not To Love".  Also another song that I love is the Dennis Wilson written "Be With Me".  "Cotton Fields", a Leadbelly cover also became a song I love, which I did not think would happen the first time I heard it, but it did.  "Cabinessence" is a "carry over" from the 1967 "SMiLE" project.  I've heard this song caused a bit of friction between Mike Love and Brian Wilson & Van Dyke Parks back in 1967 over the lyrics?  Internal conflict with the band is something others write about so much better than me, but might be worth a check out some day.

"Sunflower" an album that did not sell well, which is tragic really, because this 1970 album is pretty spectacular.  This is the 8-Track version.

    1970 saw The Beach Boys in a new decade with a new record label.  Their own record label Brother Records was carried by Reprise Records after years with Capital Records (the same company that was the US Label for The Beatles).  

    Their first album "Sunflower" was a total flop...  It got very little airplay, from what I heard was that The Beach Boys were considered so uncool by this time in musical and youth culture history.  This is a shame because this a great album!!!  I think the stand out on "Sunflower" is a song called "All I Wanna Do".  This song sounds so far "a head of it's time" for some reason, a really mellow song that explains why that the large headphones of the 60's and 70's exist.  A sonic treat that should not be missed out on!!!  Please check it out and give it a listen!!!  You will not regret it!!!

    Another Dennis Wilson song which is a stand out is "Forever".  It seems that as The Beach Boys progressed, Dennis began to write more and more songs.  Too bad he would die at a young age in Marina Del Ray in 1983... 

Bottom line..."Sunflower" is a great album that slid under the radar and should have been better received in 1970.  It seems that Beach Boys fans are finally catching on to this one 50 some years later?

From 1971, "Surf's Up" did better than 1970's "Sunflower".   Once again, this is the 8-Track Tape version.

      "Surf's Up" from 1971...this one did much better that "Sunflower" did.  In 1971 The Beach Boys were still dredging up unused material from the 1966-1967 era.  The title tract dates from that time period and is included on "The SMiLE Sessions" CD.  

    I have to say that I do like this album, but it took a number of plays to get to that point.  I do love "Long Promised Road" (used that title for another Moon in the Sky episode).  "Feel Flows" is another strong point.  The title track is a great song, although it has bugger all to do with surfing.  

     Bonus from Moon in the Sky!!!  This song needs to be listened to!!!!  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwwTV35NqLA