NOTE:There have
been more compilations of Beach Boys "hits" than original
albums. While many of these have been thoughtless, slipshod
efforts by record companies to make money off the band's deep catalog,
there have been recent efforts to "clean up" the superfluous best-of's
and present definitive collections. For the casual fan, these
albums may be all that's necessary, or they may provide starting points
for the curious. My overall opinion? They
still haven't got it right. These reviews are solely my own
opinion.
The
Warmth of the Sun Capitol Records 44964 [CD];
Released May 22, 2007
1.
All Summer Long (new stereo remix)
2. Catch A Wave
3. Hawaii
4. Little Honda
5. 409
6. It's OK
7. You're So Good To Me (new stereo remix)
8. Then I Kissed Her (new stereo remix)
9. Kiss Me, Baby
10. Please Let Me Wonder (new stereo remix)
11. Let Him Run Wild (new stereo remix)
12. The Little Girl I Once Knew
13. Wendy (new stereo remix)
14. Disney Girls (1957)
15. Forever
16. Friends
17. Break Away
18. Why Do Fools Fall In Love
19. Surf's Up
20. Feel Flows (featured in the motion picture Almost Famous)
21. All This Is That
22. 'Til I Die
23. Sail On, Sailor (featured in the Oscar-winning motion picture The
Departed)
24. Cool, Cool Water
25. Don't Go Near The Water
26. California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-i-a)
27. California Dreamin'
28. The Warmth Of The Sun
REVIEW: One of
the more schizophrenic greatest hits releases out there, The
Warmth of the Sun seems to be trying to be all things to all
people: a few new stereo mixes for long-time fans (All Summer Long,
You're So Good To Me, Then I Kissed Her, Please Let Me Wonder, Let Him
Run Wild, and Wendy); crowd-pleasing hits for the general populace
(Catch A Wave, Little Honda, 409, and the title track); several
lesser-known tracks from the early 1970s (Disney Girls, Forever, Surf's
Up); and even one latter-day "hit" (the cover of the Mamas and
the Papas "California Dreamin'"). The band has even thrown in
a couple of songs that have achieved a kind of 'indie' notoriety with
the movie crowds (Feel Flows and Sail On, Sailor). But while
this might be the most diverse hits collection ever put out by the
band, it's also a wildly uneven listening experience, with songs from
clearly different eras rubbing shoulders with each other with no rhyme
or reason - "It's OK" comes right after "409", while "Why Do Fools Fall
In Love" (which has no business being here) is unaccountably sandwiched
between "Break Away" and "Surf's Up". And after a
stunning set of early 70's and 80's tracks, why do they choose to end
the disc with the early 60s sound of "Warmth of the Sun" (I mean,
couldn't they have started the disc with the title track? It
feels jarring here.) The new stereo mixes are indeed
stunning, and individually the songs are gems, but thrown together in
the committee-like fashion they have been here, the album feels like a
pearl necklace that's been broken apart and strewn in the
sand. In these days of sliding CD sales, I predict that this
album will probably benefit from the iPod crowd mixing and matching the
songs the way they want, rather than choosing the slipshod sequencing
of this disc.
Covered
By The Beach Boys Sterling Entertainment
Group/EMI Music Special Markets 35212 [CD];
Released February 1, 2006
1.
California Dreamin'
2. Do You Wanna Dance?
3. School Days (Ring Ring...)
4. Walk On By
5. Come Go With Me
6. Johnny B Goode(Live)
7. Palisades Park
8. Then I Kissed Her
9. The Wanderer(live)
10.Summertime Blues
11.The Letter
12.With A Little Help From My Friends
REVIEW:
Despite Capitol Records attempt in recent years to clean up all of the
superfluous Beach Boys compilations which have littered the market,
occasionally stuff still leaks out, and this CD, (which apparently is
the result of a large pharmacutical chain greasing somebody's palm), is
one of the more interesting finds. For one thing, the track
listing has a wide swath of cover songs which the Beach Boys recorded
during their long career - everything from two tracks from 1964's Beach
Boys Concert album to 1992's recording of
"California Dreamin', as well as "Come Go With Me" from 1978's MIU
Album, "School Days" from 1980's Keepin' the
Summer Alive, and even "Summertime Blues" from the Beach
Boys Capitol debut in 1962! But even stranger are the
inclusion of one unfinished blurb, "Walk On By" which was previously
released as a bonus track on the Friends/20/20
two-fer CD, and the flabbergasting return of two tracks which haven't
seen the official light of day since 1983's Rarities
album! "The Letter" and "With a Little Help From My Friends"
surface here again, and if you want to get your hands on these two
tracks, this is the only place to find them. The
album is very short, clocking in at less than 27
minutes long, and is fiendishly hard to find, popping up in CVS and
Rite-Aid pharmacies, although some sellers, like Amazon.com
are selling copies online as special orders. One of the
weirder compilations to come down the pike, this one is worth searching
out for the rare tracks included, and the extremely odd tracklisting.
The
Very Best of The Beach Boys: Sounds Of Summer Capitol Records [CD]; Released
June, 2003
For a single-disc compilation, "Sounds Of Summer"
can hardly be beat. Although released almost exactly a year
after the "Classics" disc below (NOBODY needs this many 'Greatest Hits'
packages), I suspect that for casual fans, this CD will fill most
people's cravings for The Beach Boys. Patterned rather
obviously after the runaway success of the Beatles "1" package, "Sounds
of Summer" is the first Greatest Hits CD to pull together singles from
the sixties, seventies and eighties. Every major hit single,
from "Surfin' Safari" through "Kokomo" is included in brilliant
remastered sound, and although the mixed chronology of the track
listing is a little confusing, it manages to be a fun listening
experience, perfect for putting in the car stereo and driving around
with the top down. My only complaints are the usual ones:
nothing from the brilliant-but-poor-selling albums Sunflower, Surf's
Up, or Love You, and not even one track from the late-blooming Dennis
Wilson (I especially miss the inclusion of "Forever.")
Instead we get the single versions of "Come Go With Me" and "Rock and
Roll Music." (Am I the only one here who hates these
versions?) But never mind that; I think this is the best
single-disc value out there, with thirty tracks, and the songs sounding
as pure and inspired as when they were first released. Or Purchase From Amazon.co.uk: Sounds
of Summer
Also available for a limited time is a CD/DVD
combination called "The
Sights and Sounds Of Summer" which includes the above disc
with a companion DVD including 10 videos:
1) Surfin' USA, I Get Around, Surfer Girl, and Dance, Dance, Dance from
the T.A.M.I. show ('64)
5) Little Deuce Coupe from the Lost Concert
6) Sloop John B promo video from '66
7) Pet Sounds -promo film from '66
8) God Only Knows - live montage 67-68
9) Good Vibrations from Ed Sullivan '68
10) Do It Again from Ed Sullivan '68
The Very Best Of The Beach
Boys Capitol Records
[CD]; Released
February, 2003
A European version of the disc above, with some
notable variations in track lineup to match the tastes of UK audiences,
this very respectable 30-cut CD stuffs on most of the hits that you
know and love, including "Good Vibrations," "California Girls," "I Get
Around," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Surfin' Safari," "Fun, Fun, Fun,"
"Surfin' USA," "Help Me Rhonda," "Don't Worry, Baby," and much more -
in fact, the first twenty cuts are so similar to what you might find
here in the States, that anyone could purchase a similar
compilation. The final ten tracks are more unusual, with
"Wild Honey," "Darlin'," "I Can Hear Music," "Cotton Fields (The Cotton
Song)," "Lady Lynda," and finally "Kokomo" rounding out the
disc. Al Jardine's compositions always had more success
overseas than here, thus, their inclusion here is noteworthy.
(You can also find some of these tracks on the bonus disc of the
European version of the Good Vibrations Box Set). For
collectors and UK fans, this set is an easy choice for those who want
all the big hits. Purchase From Amazon.co.uk: The
Very Best Of The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys Classics: Selected By Brian
Wilson
EMI/Capitol
Records [CD]; Released June, 2002
While I'm not one to begrudge Brian Wilson from
shouldering the credit for the greatest songs the Beach Boys ever
recorded, I am a little irked at this package. It seems to be
at its heart just another recycling of overly-familiar hits, with just
enough quirkiness to remind us that yes, Brian Wilson selected these
songs. The focus seems to be on the more melancholy side of
the scale, with ballads outweighing the more uptempo numbers: "Surfer
Girl," "The Warmth Of The Sun," "In My Room," "God Only Knows,"
"Caroline No," "Wonderful," "Surf's Up," and "'Til I Die" all give this
package a reflective mood that is missed on most "hits"
compilations. At the same time, Brian shows his fondness for
some of his biggest hits: "Good Vibrations," "I Get Around,"
"California Girls," and "Sail On Sailor" are also included.
For longtime fans it will be easy to recognize that this package
reflects the songs that Brian has expressed affection for over the
years in countless interviews, and the sound (24-bit HDCD mastering)
and some new stereo mixes will maybe be enough to lure fans into
putting out once again for the same songs. But the sticking
point for me is the one "new" song that Brian recorded with his touring
band to close out the album: "California Feelin'" is a sub-par song
that has been floating around on various bootlegs for years, and the
new recording (which is a pale shadow of the original version) has
obviously been tacked on simply to entice buyers into paying full-price
for one new track. A fairly shamless gambit on the part of
the record company, and a blot on an otherwise OK album. Or Purchase From Amazon.co.uk: The
Beach Boys Classics
Greatest Hits, Volume 1 Capitol 72435-21860-2/0 [CD]; Released 1995.
24-bit Remaster released September 1999
It's
hard to argue with the selections on this album; here are the songs
which for many are the most familiar, endearing songs attributed to the
Beach Boys, the ones which encapsulate their most catchy, popular,
"beach party" attitudes that cause people to either love or dismiss
them. Here is "Be True To Your School," "Fun Fun Fun," "I Get
Around," "Dance Dance Dance," "Do You Wanna Dance?" Help Me Ronda,"
"California Girls," and "Surfin' Safari," "Surfer Girl" and "Surfin'
U.S.A." The trouble with a collection like this is that it's
a flat-out distortion of what the Beach Boys really sounded
like. Due to compilations like this one, and many others, The
Beach Boys are served up to be merely car, surf and California
Girls-like slackers, empty and shallow, when the whole truth is that
the Beach Boys' truest songs had heart and soul. You won't
find the poignant, heart-rendingly beautiful sadness of "In My Room,"
"Don't Worry Baby," "The Warmth of the Sun" "Kiss Me, Baby" or
countless others among these tracks, (although the producers wisely
included the seminal double A-sided single "Wouldn't It Be Nice/God
Only Knows" from Pet Sounds). You will find instead such
half-baked "hits" as "409," "Shut Down," "Catch A Wave," and "Barbara
Ann." And it's jarring to hear the modern sludge of "Kokomo"
being sat down with its '60's progenitors, where it clearly doesn't
belong.
Greatest Hits, Volume 2 Capitol 72435-20238-2/0 [CD]; Released September,
1999.
Delving
deeper into the Beach Boys catalog than the previous collection, Volume
Two tends to skew the perception of the band almost 180-degrees from
Volume One, leaning heavily on lesser-known album tracks and ballads.
Taken alone, it tends to give as distorted a view
of the Beach Boys as the previous collection, but the quality of songs
here is without doubt higher than Volume
One. Here is where you'll find the gorgeous "In My Room,"
"The Warmth Of The Sun," Don't Worry Baby," "Please Let Me Wonder," and
"Caroline, No" along with wrongly forgotten, lower-tier hits like
"Little Honda," "The Little Girl I Once Knew," and "You're So Good To
Me." It also dips its finger into the post-1966 years, when
the Beach Boys fortunes were on the decline in the U.S. -- "Darlin',"
"Bluebirds Over The Mountain," "I Can Hear Music," "Break Away," and
"Cottonfields" are probably not known to U.S. audiences, although they
were hits overseas. In fact, of all the songs here, only one
cracked the Top Ten: "When I Grow Up To Be A Man" -- but that shouldn't
discourage buyers from looking into this CD, since it shows the full
scope of genius that the Beach Boys embraced. Or Purchase From Amazon.co.uk: Greatest
Hits Vol. 2
Greatest Hits, Volume 3 (Best of the Brother
Years) 1970-1986 Capitol 72435-24511-2/8 [CD]; Released February,
2000.
The most
difficult period in the Beach Boys history is chronicled again is this
difficult CD. Having heard the many arguments that went into
choosing the tracks for this album, I came away frustrated.
The producers eventually decided to select only charting singles for
this collection, but in doing so, they cut out some of the best music
the Beach Boys recorded during this time. Which is not to say
that the music on here is bad; "Add Some Music To Your Day," "This
Whole World," "Long Promised Road," "Disney Girls (1957)," "Til I Die,"
"Marcella," Sail On Sailor," and "Surf's Up" make the first half a
powerhouse lineup of songs, most of which the public has never heard,
and all of which is strangely different and wonderful and deserving of
discovery. The second half of the CD is where it becomes
sticky. In order to pack in the "hits" (which are mostly
subpar compositions and covers), the producers hacked out Dennis
Wilson's songs entirely, which easily are some of the best
parts of the Beach Boys recordings of the 1970s. And I don't
care how highly "Peggy Sue" "Rock and Roll Music," or "Come Go With Me"
charted, they are still clammy covers that pale next to the originals,
and they drag this CD down. However, in many ways,
this is a fine collection to own if you're curious about this period in
the band's career; the sound is exceptional, the song selection touches
on each album, and single mixes were used, which is nice for
collectors. Not as daring a collection as I might have hoped
for, but not bad. Or Purchase From Amazon.co.uk: Greatest
Hits Vol. 3
Out of
all of the collections that Capitol Records has churned out, none of
them interested or baffled me as much as "Perfect Harmony"
did. Part of a limited edition series on different artists,
this CD chose to emphasize one of the ingredients that made the Beach
Boys stand out from all of their contemporaries: their unparalleled
harmony singing, which, while a tremendous idea, is flawed in its
execution. The song selection (including "Warmth Of The Sun,"
"God Only Knows," "And Your Dream Comes True," "Hushabye," "In My
Room," and "Our Prayer") is mostly on-target (except for an errant "Do
It Again"), and while the overriding theme of the package is
commendable, this hadn't enough hits for the casual fan, and yet
offered nothing new for hard-core collectors, since all of the material
had been previously available. So it puzzled me who
Capitol thought this package would be targeted to?
(Attractive packaging collectors?) Anyway, like most
out-of-print "limited edition" what-nots, I'm certain that Perfect
Harmony will someday become a hotly sought-after collector's item, even
though it doesn't deserve to be.
The Beach Boys Instrumental Hits Toshiba EMI [CD Only]; Released 1994, June
2002
Okay,
this disc defies explanation. First of all, I wasn't even
sure where to put it; it's not a greatest hits album, despite what the
cover says, and it doesn't really fit on my "various" page, since
that's mostly cover versions of Beach Boys hits. Sigh... oh
well, I'll put it here, since it does contain the word "hits" on the
cover, despite the fact that the Beach Boys are primarily known as a
vocal band, AND that the band never had a certified "hit" with any of
their instrumentals! But someone must be buying this stuff,
or why would the Japanese ask thirty-five bucks for it?
Essentially the CD collects in rough chronological order all of the
instrumental tracks from the Beach Boys Capitol years, from their
barely-competent covers of "Moon-Dawg" and "Let's Go Trippin'," to the
more elegant originals like "Pet Sounds" and "The Nearest Faraway
Place." Granted, the listener will hear a marked improvement
in musical sophistication as the group evolved over the years, but
still -- anyone with a tape deck or CD-burner could do just as well a
compilation for a fraction of the cost. But hey, if you
absolutely have to have eeeeverything... (and you can't have too many
copies of "Denny's Drums" in my book. heh, heh, heh.)
The Absolute Best Vol. 1 & 2 Capitol CDP C2-96795/C2-96796 [CD]; Released 1991.
Released
shortly after the celebrated Beach Boys box set, the two-volume
"Absolute Best" discs put all previous best-of's to shame.
Correct mixes, a plethora of tracks, best-ever sound (at the time -
since surpassed), and chronological order to the tracks made these
discs the best double-disc representation of their Capitol years to
date. Disc one is pretty standard in its
selections, but disc two gets adventuresome by including
several post-"Good Vibrations" songs including "Wild Honey," "Darlin',"
"Friends," "Do It Again," "Cabinessense," and "Cotton
Fields." These discs were clearly put together by people who
understood the myth that had grown up around the Beach Boys'
music. As such, these compilations were like a breath of
fresh air to fans who had to weather the embarrassing torrent of
worthless collections that had been shoveled out like trash in previous
years. The current crop of greatest hits discs
notwithstanding, these two out-of-print discs may be the best place to
initiate you or your friends into the music of The Beach Boys.
Made In U.S.A. Capitol STBK-12396 [LP], CDP 7 46324 2 [CD];
Released 1986.
Yet another two LP set, this one compiled and
released to mark the Beach Boys' 25th anniversary, and also as a place
to bury two minor singles that the Beach Boys had that year, "Rock and
Roll To The Rescue" and "California Dreamin'" (the latter can now be
found on GH Vol. 3). For a single collection, this one wasn't
bad, although it ploughed mostly the same ground as previous
collections, it had a somewhat broader scope, including in its 25
tracks four selections from Pet Sounds, one song from the late sixties
("Do It Again") two songs from the seventies ("Rock and Roll Music" and
"Come Go With Me") and their one hit single from 1985, "Getcha
Back." It also squeezed in a concise tribute from author
David Leaf (although when compressed to CD size, his notes become
a real eye strain). This album has become yet
another "collectors item" (sigh...) since this is the only place to
hear the aforementioned "Rock and Roll to the Rescue" which is the sort
of programmed, soulless, manufactered "hit" that does absolutely
nothing for the Beach Boys' catalog except make me appreciate the
classics all the more.
The Beach Boys: 1962 - 1967 Time-Life (The Rock "n" Roll Series Vol 3) [LP] ?;
Digital Remaster [LP,CD] 1986
Time-Life
usually can be counted on to present well thought-out packages, with
excellent remastering and hard-to-find tracks de rigeur on other,
similar series. Here, the Beach Boys are given a
retrospective treatment that takes no chances
(except in their art department, which chooses to present the Beach
Boys with Adonis-like physiques that only Dennis ever
posessed). A pretty routine 22-track collection of familiar
cuts [including: Fun, Fun, Fun; 409; Surfer Girl; Be True To Your
School; In My Room; I Get Around; Shut Down; When I Grow Up (To Be A
Man); Little Deuce Coupe; Wendy; Don't Worry Baby; California Girls;
Dance, Dance, Dance; Barbara Ann; The Little Girl I Once Knew; Do You
Wanna Dance?; Help Me, Rhonda; Good Vibrations; Sloop John B.; Wouldn't
It Be Nice?; God Only Knows; and Heroes and Villains. Great
sound, but skimpy notes, and again, that ludicrous cover make this disc
worth passing by.
Sunshine
Dream
Capitol SVBB 1220 [LP Only];
Released 1980
One of the odder collections
of Beach Boys "hits" that was ever released, the double-LP Sunshine
Dream focused its sights on the latter Capitol
years tracks which I daresay most casual fans would never have
heard. Veering from excellent choices ("I
Can Hear Music," "Darlin'," "Good Vibrations," "Heroes and Villains")
to baffling ("How She Boogalood It," "There's No Other (Like You [sp]
Baby") the choices are mostly very good, including "Caroline No,"
multiple selections from Wild Honey, 20/20,
Friends and Pet Sounds, and
even "The Beach Boys Medley" tacked on as the final track (the
success of which was obviously the calling card for this
collection). It's really not a bad group of
songs for what was undoubtedly another stab at capturing the
post Endless Summer audience - but there are so many tracks here that
would be unfamiliar with the casual fan, and such a convergence of
styles and sounds that the Beach Boys were attempting during
this period of critical and commercial decline, that this album could
only serve to make consumers arch their eyebrows and move on.
I mean, what's the rosy, nostalgic "Keep An Eye On Summer" doing
cuddling up to the stinging guitars of "Bluebirds Over The
Mountains"? It's sheer, musical psychedelia! Still,
you gotta admire the daring that places both "I'm Waiting For The Day,"
"Caroline No" and "Sloop John B" on the same platter with
"Vegetables." Another wonderfully warped entry from the
marketing chimps at Capitol Records.
Endless Summer Capitol
SVBB-11307 [LP]; Released 1974
C2-46467 [CD]; Released 1987
DCC 1076 [Gold CD]; Released 1995
1. Surfin' Safari
2. Surfer Girl
3. Catch A Wave
4. The Warmth Of The Sun
5. Surfin' U.S.A.
6. Be True To Your School
7. Little Deuce Coupe
8. In My Room
9. Shut Down
10. Fun, Fun, Fun
11. I Get Around
12. The Girls On The Beach
13. Wendy
14. Let Him Run Wild
15. Don't Worry Baby
16. California Girls
17. Girl Don't Tell Me
18. Help Me, Rhonda
19. You're So Good To Me
20. All Summer Long
21. Good Vibrations
Endless Summer could arguably
be the most important album in the Beach Boys' career. Not
only did it spark a firestorm of interest in the band and it's catalog,
it also ignited a reevaluation of the Beach Boys as cultural icons,
with their music being recognized as the finest that rock music had to
offer. It many ways, this is a superior collection to the
current greatest hits, since it chooses not only chart hits, but
popular album cuts as well, incorporating them all together into a
whole of effortless appeal. Although the original effort was
yet another slip-shod effort by Capitol Records to repackage the Beach
Boys to make yet another buck, (the original sound quality was poor,
and the wrong mixes were used for several hits, although the DCC gold
disc rectified these flaws) the timing and the sentiment on this
double-album clicked with the public psyche in an unpredictable way,
and quite frankly, it's by listening to this album (and the subsequent Spirit
Of America) that I first fell in love with their
music. So, I have a personal warm space in my heart for Endless
Summer.
Spirit of America Capitol 11384 [LP] 1975; C2-46618 [CD] 1987; DCC
1089 [Gold CD] 1996
If Endless Summer was the
big, bad beach bully of the summer of '74, then Spirit of
America was it's scrawnier younger sibling, looking for
scraps. Which isn't to say that I enjoyed it any less than Endless
Summer, since in many ways it introduced me to the depth of
the Beach Boys catalog; to me, even these weaker numbers were miles
beyond anything on the radio then. And it's not like they're
all schlock either: "Dance Dance Dance," "Break Away," "The Little Girl
I Once Knew," "Little Honda," "Hushabye," "Hawaii," "Drive-In," "Good
To My Baby" "Don't Back Down," "When I Grow Up To Be A Man," and "Do
You Wanna Dance" are all to be found in its grooves. I
remember loving the lush harmonies of "Graduation Day" with its funny
ending, the chiming guitars of "Salt Lake City," and even the
sing-along swagger of "Barbara Ann" were a pleasure to me.
That, and the fact that I had to steal this and Endless
Summer from my brothers room to listen to them are an
indelible part of my childhood, and I suspect, many others as well.
Ten Years of Harmony Epic 37445 [LP] 2 ZK 37445 [CD]; Released November, 1981
Beginning
the new decade of the eighties with a look back at the recently past
one, this double-disc set was a flawed document of the Beach Boys in
the 1970's. The track selection leans mostly on the released
singles, but also throwing in some rare tracks in the form of "San
Miguel" (a fine, previously unreleased Dennis Wilson song, currently
available on the "Good Vibrations" box set), the memorable rocker "It's
A Beautiful Day" taken from the "Americathon" soundtrack, and a flat
version of "Sea Cruise" (which could have stayed in the can).
The producers also fly in "River Song" from Dennis Wilson's acclaimed
solo album, "Pacific Ocean Blue." What makes this
ironically-titled collection weak is the snubbing of several key tracks
from the luminent "Sunflower" (a major oversight) and the alternately
decadent "Love You" albums, in favor of weaker stuff from "MIU" and "15
Big Ones." What is even sadder is that this collection, like
the rest of the Beach Boys 70's output, is out of print, except for
outtakes included on the exceptional, yet pricey "Good Vibrations" box
set.
The Best of The Beach Boys (Ten Best Series) EMI-Capitol Special Markets 19707 [CD];
1997 The Beach Boys
Little Deuce Coupe - Greatest Car Songs EMI-Capitol Special Markets 57682 [CD]; 1996 The Beach Boys
Greatest Surfing Songs CEMA Special Markets 57240 [CD]; 1995
Here
they are, the sludge of Capitol's efforts to make a quick buck off of
the Beach boys. Ever since 1966, when the company
rush-released the original "Best Of The Beach Boys" (quickly followed
by two other collections in two years), Capitol Records strip-mined the
band's catalog, rechurning and repackaging the same songs, to a degree
that other label artists, such as the Beatles, never had to
endure. At best, albums like these kept the Beach Boys in the
public's eye, since there was rarely a time when this music wasn't out
there for purchase, but at worst, it also stained the public perception
of the artistry of the Beach Boys, wiping out the individual albums
that were so good: "Surfer Girl," "All Summer Long," "Today!" "Summer
Days (and Summer Nights!)" all got short-shrifted, and several of the
fine album cuts that were on them. But let's face it, the
folks who buy these budget CD's aren't so much Beach Boys fans as the
curious fringe, looking to have a little Beach Boys in their
collections, but ignorant as to the depth of their music. Of
The three discs shown here, "Little Deuce Coupe" works the best, with
cars being an overriding theme throughout. These collections
were supposed to have been superceded by the new Greatest Hits 1
& 2, but are still readily available. To order these
albums, click on the covers.
The Best of the Beach Boys Vol. 3 Capitol 2945
[LP]; August, 1968
There's
simply no excuse for shoddy packaging like this. By 1968, the
Beach Boys were passe with the general public, and their record company
just kept pounding nails in their coffin. Vol. 3 in the
original series of Best Of's is decidedly schizophrenic. It
careens all over the map; from the earliest hit ("Surfin") to their
then-most-recent ("Darlin"), from their most sublime ("She Knows Me Too
Well") to their most inane ("409"), there is no rhyme or
reason to this set. It might have been programmed by apes...
how else can you explain the presence of both "God Only Knows" and
"Frosty the Snowman" on a single LP? Did the album producers
use a dartboard to choose? We may never know. And
the public apparently couldn't muster enough energy to care by this
time, since Vol. 3 quickly slipped off the charts and became an instant
collectors item. Other tracks included Dance Dance Dance, The
Little Girl I Once Knew, Girl Don't Tell Me, Heroes and Villains, and
Good Vibrations.
Best of the Beach Boys Vol. 2 Capitol 2706
[LP]; July 1967
The pillaging continues unabated in this 1967
release that was such a mish-mash of styles and accomplishment that it
could only serve to confuse the public as to what the Beach Boys were
all about. At a time when the band was struggling with its
public image, Capitol Records "wunderkinds" decided to swing out
blindly in hopes of hitting a target. Coupling gems such as
"Please Let Me Wonder," "Let Him Run Wild," "California Girls," and
"When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" with throwaways like "409,"
"Little Saint Nick," and (WHAT where they thinking?!?) "Long Tall
Texan" the Beach Boys could only appear to be hopelessly dated by the
standards of the Summer of Love. Strangely, the huge hit
"Good Vibrations" is absent, the inclusion of which might have pushed
this collection a little higher on the charts. As it was,
Best of the Beach Boys Vol. 2 was the highest charting album the Beach
Boys would have for several years.
Best of the Beach Boys Capitol DT-
502545 [LP]; July 1966, Capitol C2-91318 [CD]; 1989
This is where the whole sordid affair
started. Released eight weeks after Pet Sounds had come out,
it immediately became a best seller, and set the pattern for future
releases; a good dollop of hits, a handful of near misses, and at least
one head scratcher (Louie, Louie?) What is so amazing is how
long this inferior collection stayed in print. Not only was
it kept in circulation even after the far more complete Endless
Summer/Spirit Of America packages had been released, it also made it
into CD format! (where it timed in at less than 30 minutes -- how's
that for your money!) I suppose this collection might have
some sentimental value, since for many it might have been the only
Beach Boys album they owned, but there's really no reason for it to be
in print now (and no, it's not in print), with so many collections
offering better track selections, better sound, and nary a "Louie,
Louie" to be found, this one has wisely been put out to
pasture.