The Beach Boys - A Top 25 [Archive]

D_Davis

09-07-2010, 07:50 PM

The Beach Boys - A Top 25

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To my ears, beautifully constructed, complex, catchy, and emotionally charged pop music doesn't get any better than The Beach Boys. During the early '60s, they were hugely popular. Their clean-cut looks, boyish charm, intricate harmonies and melodies, and songs about girls, cars, and surfing hit it huge with American audiences.

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However, because of some mental illness, terrible management, family abuse, and a variety of other reasons, The Beach Boys fell from grace just as they were blossoming into a band that challenged the very notions of what pop music could offer with Pet Sounds, an album that changed the way other musicians approached making music; an album that also caused strife and turmoil within, pulling the band in a variety of different directions. So while they lost popularity with general audiences, selling fewer and fewer records (mainly due to the lack of focus on creating singles), their popularity grew among other musicians and music critics.

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Also, as the styles changed and progressed through the late '60s into the early '70s, The Beach Boys became incredibly uncool. They just didn't fit into any of the popular cultural movements, and were all but disowned by a large portion of their American audience. They became outcasts in a landscape that they helped to foster, a land that they loved and wrote songs about. And finally they all but lost their main creative force - Brian Wilson - and then finally did lose Dennis Wilson completely. As the times rolled on, the band became nothing more than a traveling juke box playing the old hits in a sad attempt to hold onto their earlier status.

But they also wrote a ton of amazing tunes. And here are my favorite 25.

D_Davis

09-07-2010, 07:55 PM

25. Don't Go Near the Water - Surf's Up - 1971 - Mike Love and Al Jardine

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A timely song if there ever was one. Should be BP's current theme song, or their adopted song of apology. The band was always fascinated with the pastoral nature of California and wrote many songs about it, however this is their most ecologically-direct.

Oceans, rivers, lakes and streams
Have all been touched by man
The poison floating out to sea
Now threatens life on land

D_Davis

09-07-2010, 08:05 PM

24. Make it Good - Carl and the Passions "So Tough" - 1972 - Dennis Wilson

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After Brian's mental departure, his brother Dennis grew into the band's main creative force. This tune here is one of his most beautiful. It's epic, emotional, short, and powerful. The orchestral arrangement is really something, consistently building in intensity as Dennis' haunting voice pierces through.

All of my life
I haven't known much
All I know
Is what I feel
And what I feel
And what I feel
Love
I'm in love
Love
Love

D_Davis

09-07-2010, 09:16 PM

23. Cool, Cool Water - Sunflower - 1970 - Brian Wilson and Mike Love

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Originally written for the Smile sessions, and you can hear the experimentation. It's a wonder Mike Love wanted anything to do with it! This is one of the band's more experimental pop songs; in the middle of the composition, the music gives way to a recording of the ocean. The lyrics are here more for effect than for the words, and the vocals fad in and out like the waves on a beach. It benefits from Wilson's wall-of-sound instrumentation and his playful style.

Water water water water water water
Now now-now-now-now
Now now-now-now-now
Now now-now-now-now
Now now-now-now-now
Now now-now-now-now
Now now-now-now-now
Now now-now-now-now
Ah ah ah ah
Wa ah ah wa ah oo oo oo oo ah ah

Russ

09-07-2010, 10:03 PM

What an excellent thread! I'm glad you're giving latter-day Beach Boys the props they deserve.

(please tell me DIA is on the list?)

D_Davis

09-07-2010, 10:20 PM

What an excellent thread! I'm glad you're giving latter-day Beach Boys the props they deserve.

(please tell me DIA is on the list?)

It's almost (about 99%) later period, from Pet Sounds on. I'm not much of a fan of their earlier stuff.

My favorite albums are Surf's Up and Sunflower.

I think I know what you mean by DIA, and if so, then yes - it's on the list. One of my favorite drum intros, I love the effect.

Russ

09-07-2010, 10:33 PM

I think I know what you mean by DIA, and if so, then yes - it's on the list. One of my favorite drum intros, I love the effect.
Yeah, the intro is classic, and I love what they do with the vocal cadence too. Brilliant song. When you post the clip, look for the one that's a fan video - it has superb audio quality.

D_Davis

09-07-2010, 10:35 PM

22. Caroline, No - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Brian Wilson and Tony Asher (lyrics)

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Pet Sounds. Any serious fan of music has probably heard this album. A groundbreaking work of pop composition, studio manipulation, and arrangement. "Caroline, No," is a simple love song on its surface, and works on this level. However, it is also a complex and intricate instrumentation and composition, along with inventive percussion work, effects, and spacial arrangement. As a producer, Brian Wilson excelled at creating depth and space within his music, and "Caroline, No" is a brilliant example of this technique.

Who took that look away
I remember how you used to say
You'd never change, but that's not true
Oh, Caroline you

Break my heart
I want to go and cry
It's so sad to watch a sweet thing die
Oh, Caroline why

D_Davis

09-07-2010, 10:36 PM

Yeah, and when you post the clip, look for the one that's a fan video - it has superb audio quality.

Cool. It's actually a top 10 tune.

ledfloyd

09-07-2010, 11:19 PM

caroline no would probably be in my top five. i'm looking forward to the rest of the list.

Raiders

09-08-2010, 02:15 AM

"Caroline, No" is probably my favorite of theirs, but I'm also rooting for high placements of "Wind Chimes" and "Surf's Up" from the Smile! album.

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 02:27 AM

"Caroline, No" is probably my favorite of theirs, but I'm also rooting for high placements of "Wind Chimes" and "Surf's Up" from the Smile! album.

You won't be disappointed by one of those - that's a fact.

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 05:10 PM

21. Steamboat - Holland - 1973 - Dennis Wilson and Jack Rieley

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The Beach Boys often excelled at painting exquisite, pastoral pictures with their music and lyrics, and "Steamboat" is an excellent example of this quality. If anything, The Beach Boys were an Americana band, conjuring elements of this nations past and present, and the steamboat played an important role in the nation's history. You can really feel the lumbering mass of a giant steamboat ambling along a lazy river; the bass and drums create a chugging, engine like sound, and the whine of the guitar simulates the old creaking wood of the hull and deck.

The river's a dream in a waltz time
Banks of jasper glaze
(Have a ball and sing)
The stream is a timepiece of children
Bridged with crystal haze
The creek is a trumpet of hard times
Blowing tasty days
Steamboat of living ever faithfully glide.

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 05:27 PM

20. Slip on Through - Sunflower - 1970 - Dennis Wilson

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As the years went on, The Beach Boys became a little funkier and more soulful, and Slip on Through exemplifies this. It's one of Dennis Wilson's more "rocking" tunes, and it's got a great groove. And at only 2:20 in length, it's a gem of a little pop song.

Why don't you come and let me kiss and make it better
I'm not the one who came and left it later
Now you relax, let your mind go free
You won't regret the feeling you receive

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 05:32 PM

BTW, I'm not including anything off of Dennis Wilson's amazing solo albums.

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 05:34 PM

I wonder...

At the end of the list will there be more Dennis or Brian songs? I'm really not sure. Never counted before.

I bet that if I picked my favorite albums, they'd have more Brian songs than Dennis songs, but with songs there will probably be more from Dennis.

Spaceman Spiff

09-08-2010, 05:48 PM

Great idea. Good start so far, although Caroline No, really is top 10 material. I'll be very angry if you bollock up your list though. Positively furious.

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 06:09 PM

19. Feel Flows - Surf's Up - 1971 - Carl Wilson and Jack Rieley

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One of the greatest lead-vocal melodies of all time. The tune is really psychedelic too, with the fuzzy guitar solo and flute jam in the middle. The whole thing has a too-cool-for-school laid back vibe, and I totally dig it. It also features some incredible lyrics, words that add to the rhythm and the atmosphere, flowing throughout the song in an organic and natural way.

Unfolding enveloping missiles of soul
Recall senses sadly
Mirage like soft blue like lanterns below
To light the way gladly
Whether whistling heaven's clouds disappear
Where the wind withers memory
Whether whiteness whisks soft shadows away
Feel flows (white puff glisteny shadowy flow)
Feel goes (black puff glisteny shadowy flow)

Unbending never ending tablets of time
Record all the yearning
Unfearing all appearing message divine
Eases the burning
Whether willing witness waits at my mind
Whether hope dampens memory
Whether wondrous will stands tall at my side
Feel flows (white puff glisteny shadowy flow)
Feel goes (black puff glisteny shadowy flow)

"Unbending never ending tablets of time," is one of my favorite lines in any song.

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 06:24 PM

18. Passing By - Friends - 1968 - Brian Wilson

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One of Brian Wilson's amazing instrumental tunes (well, there are vocals, but no lyrics). This is the sound of summer, the sound of Hawaii. I want to be in a convertible, cruising around the islands with the breeze blowing in my hair while this song is playing. Wilson is a masterful composer - he weaves instruments together like threads of a colorful tapestry, each phrase, part, and tone working in tandem to flesh out the whole.

If you like this particular style of tune, I also highly recommend another band: The High Llamas. They pretty much built an entire career around this sound.

D_Davis

09-08-2010, 06:53 PM

17. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone - Carl and the Passions "So Tough" - Brian Wilson and Jack Rieley - 1972

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This song just rocks. Love the groove. And the instrumental, melodic breakdown is amazing; that little guitar lick gets stuck in my head for hours. Just a classic example of how the Beach Boys perfected these pop-rock masterpieces.

I need a breeze blowing softly
To keep my wind vane from standing
I need a whole lot of sunshine
To keep my sundial advancing
I need some soil 'fore my grass will grow
I need some spark to make my candle glow

Relief I cried
Ain't no shuck 'n' jive
I need a mess of help to stand alone

I need a spark by a fire
To stop the cold of my winter
I need a burst of your raindrops
To keep a flow in my river
I need a call for my phone will ring
I need your song for my voice will sing

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 03:14 PM

16. Our Sweet Love - Sunflower - 1970 - Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine

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Simply a beautiful love song made even more beautiful by the string arrangement and instrumentation.

I thought about a summer day
And how the time just floats away
Pretty things like incense and flowers
I wanna make them part of

Our sweet love
Could last forever
(Our sweet love)
Our sweet love
Could last forever

I thought about a winter night
And how I'd like to hold you tight
Candlelight the warmth of a fire
We could make them part of

Our sweet love
Honey it's heaven
(Our sweet love)
Our sweet love
Could last forever

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 03:28 PM

15. Sloop John B - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Traditional

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Yes it's a cover tune, of an old folk traditional, but I think the boys made it their own. I like it when bands cover songs, especially when they choose a song that fits, and "Sloop John B" fits the Beach Boys perfectly. Even lyrically it sounds like a song they would've written had it not already been done.

Russ

09-09-2010, 03:35 PM

15. Sloop John B - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Traditional

Yes it's a cover tune, of an old folk traditional, but I think the boys made it their own. I like it when bands cover songs, especially when they choose a song that fits, and "Sloop John B" fits the Beach Boys perfectly. Even lyrically it sounds like a song they would've written had it not already been done.
Always loved this. Have you heard Michael Quercio's cover of this cover? It's from the late '80's/early 90's Rainy Day Paisley Undergound collection. It's pretty rare, can't find a link to that version, but I like it almost as much as the Beach Boys version.

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 03:36 PM

Always loved this. Have you heard Michael Quercio's cover of this cover? It's from the late '80's/early 90's Rainy Day Paisley Undergound collection. It's pretty rare, can't find a link to that version, but I like it almost as much as the Beach Boys version.

No I haven't. I'll keep my ears open, though.

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 03:54 PM

14. Good Vibrations - Smile - 1966-2004 - Brian Wilson

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Good Vibrations might be the most legendary pop song ever. Brian Wilson took months, years, to perfect it. It was originally written for Pet Sounds, but Wilson decided to hold on to it for his masterpiece - Smile. He spent months in the studio with it, and used almost 100 hours of tape and tens of thousands of dollars to get it just right. And, as fate would have it, the Smile sessions were never finished, and Good Vibrations would go on to be butchered and edited, released as a bastardized single, and then released on Smiley Smile, an insulting collection of half-finished tracks compiled without Brian's consent.

It's funny that this would become one of the songs the band was most recognized for seeing as how it was bounced and kicked around like an unwanted step-child taken away from its rightful parent. Rolling Stone ranked it in the top 10 songs of all time, The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame has it listed as one of the most important songs in the history of the genre, and a number of other publications have it listed in their top 100 lists as well. It also popularized one of the first consumer-level electronic instruments - the theremin. And it changed the way musicians thought about working in a recording studio

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 04:18 PM

If you ever want to know more about the Smile sessions, make sure to check out:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71NP0ERCX4L._BO2,204,203,200_P Isitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.gif

Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile, by Domenic Priore.

Here's a cool interview with Priore:

http://earcandy_mag.tripod.com/1priore.htm

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 10:07 PM

13. All I Wanna Do - Sunflower - 1970 - Brian Wilson and Mike Love

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I love the production on this tune, it's so rich and dense. Like many songs on this list, "All I Wanna Do" is, at its core, a simple love song, and yet with Wilson's production it becomes so much more. The track is drenched in reverb, adding a cavernous feel to it, thus lending the lyrics a deep sense of longing and introspection, as if it is being sung from the heart of a man who finds himself alone even though he is deeply in love.

Oo let these little words of love
Become the lamps that light your way
My love is burnin' brightly
My moon and stars shine nightly
All I wanna do (lonely in the night I feel)
All I wanna do
All I wanna do
My love is burnin' brightly
All I wanna do
Doo doo doo doo doo
My moon and stars shine brightly
All I wanna do
My love is burnin' brightly
All I wanna do
Doo doo doo doo doo
My moon and stars shine brightly

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 10:41 PM

12. California Girls - Summer Days (and Summer Nights) - 1965 - Brian Wilson and Mike Love

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Carol Kaye on the bass, and what a bass line! I challenge anyone to listen to this song and then go an hour without humming it. This might be the quintessential Beach Boys song - Brian Wilson even said it was the band's theme song. While the subject matter is silly, it's also pretty rad. I mean, California girls are really hot; there are a lot of beautiful women in So Cal, and the song pays tribute to them. Another song to be listed on Rolling Stones most influential list, and also another to be featured on the Hall of Fame's list. It's an undeniable classic of the era, and it still sounds awesome - one of the all time great pop songs.

D_Davis

09-09-2010, 10:49 PM

11. In My Room - Surfer Girl - 1963 - Brian Wilson and Gary Usher

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I like to think of this song as the genesis of Weezer.

This quote from Brian Wilson sums it up the best:

"I also enjoyed producing 'In My Room'. There is a story behind this song. When Dennis, Carl and I lived in Hawthorne as kids, we all slept in the same room. One night I sang the song 'Ivory Tower' to them and they liked it. Then a couple of weeks later, I proceeded to teach them both how to sing the harmony parts to it. It took them a little while, but they finally learned it. We then sang this song night after night. It brought peace to us. When we recorded 'In My Room', there was just Dennis, Carl and me on the first verse...and we sounded just like we did in our bedroom all those nights. This story has more meaning than ever since Dennis' death."And hey, what do you know? Another song on Rolling Stones Top 500 of all time.

****

And on to the Top 10!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_wWWrYsIEI0s/RjLj6rLf2MI/AAAAAAAACeY/4tsO7EFqGtY/s400/The%2BBeach%2BBoys%2B2.jpg

Why so serious, Brian?

D_Davis

09-10-2010, 03:26 PM

10. California Saga - Big Sur/The Beaks of Eagles/California - 1973 - Mike Love and Al Jardine (w/ Lynda Jardine, and w/ a poem written by Robinson Jeffers)

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Mike Love gets a lot of shit from modern-day fans of the Beach Boys. And while he may have deserved it - he hated the post-Pet Sounds direction, and really just wanted the band to be a traveling jukebox playing old hits and songs about surfing and girls - he was also the main writer of this song-cycle. "The California Saga" an absolute masterpiece of pop composition. As thematically interesting as any prog-rock concept piece, and as instrumentally impressive as anything from bands like Pink Floyd or King Crimson.

Big Sur

Big Sur I've got plans for you
Me and mine are going to
Add ourselves to your lengthy list of lovers
(Big Sur mount)
And live in canyons covered in springtime green
Wild birds and flowers to be heard and seen
And with my old guitar
I'll make up songs to sing.
Where bubbling springs from the mountainside
Join the Big Sur river to the oceanside
Where the kids can look for sea shells at low tide
Big Sur my astrology it says that I am made to be
Where the rugged mountain meets the water

It was written as a love letter to the Golden State while the band was overseas in Holland, recording Holland. In these ten minutes, Love and Jardine practically capture the entirety of what Brian Wilson was hoping to do with Smile; they created a travelogue in song form. If Smile is Wilson's "teenage symphony to God," then California Saga is Love's and Jardine's symphony of longing to return to a place where they felt more comfortable.

The Beaks of Eagles

In a broken shack an old man takes his time about dyin'
And just at the back a wild flowerbed that he'll lie in
In dawn's new light a man might venture
A horse drawn stage from Monterey.

The she-eagle is older than I: she was here when the fires of eighty-five
raged on these ridges,
She was lately fledged and dared not hunt ahead of them, but ate scorched
meat.
The world has changed in her time; humanity has multiplied,
But not here; men's hopes and thoughts and customs have changed, their
powers are enlarged, their powers and their follies have become fantastic.

Spilled down the hill a wagon load of bodies lay scattered, shipwrecked
at sea.
Limestone ore is all that mattered.
They took it from the hills right through the cargo doors
How many ships have come and gone at Thurso's landing shore?

The instrumentation is sublime - complex, intricately woven, and masterfully arranged. A careful listener will pick out a Moog, jaw harp, harmonica, banjo, pedal-steal guitar, various pieces of percussion, strings, and a number of more traditional instruments used in pop-rock. Like all of the best songs from the band, each instrument is used for its unique voice, only playing the part that it was created, and needed to play.

California

Have you ever been down Salinas way?
Where Steinbeck found the valley
And he wrote about it the way it was in his travelin's with Charley
And have you ever walked down through the sycamores
Where the farmhouse used to be
There the monarch's autumn journey ends
On a windswept cyprus tree

Water get water get yourself in that
Get yourself in that get yourself in that cool, clear, water
The sun shines brightly down on Penny's place
Get yourself in that water
The air's so clean that it just takes your mind away
Take your mind away
Take your mind away

Have you ever been to a festival, the Big Sur congregation?
Where Country Joe will do his show
And he'd sing about liberty
And the people there in the open air, one big family.
Yeah the people there love to sing and share
Their new found liberty

So whenever anyone starts in with their Mike Love hate, I simply point them to the California Saga. While he may have ended up a total tool, he was also the main creative force behind a this marvel of modern music.

D_Davis

09-10-2010, 04:26 PM

9. Do It Again - 20/20 - 1969 - Mike Love

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OMG. Another Mike Love tune in the top 10! The drum intro on this track is amazing - they used a series of tape decks to make a quick, slap-back delay thus creating the effect. In this song you can really hear Love's desire to return to the band's roots. He just couldn't give up the songs about surfing and chicks - it was "automatic" as he says. It's a plea to the band, as if Love is saying, "Come on guys! Let's just keep doing the same old stuff, again and again." However, under Brian Wilson's direction, the song becomes so much more. It becomes an almost sad reminder of the past, with lyrics steeped in nostalgia for days long gone.

It's automatic when I
Talk with old friends
The conversation turns to
Girls we knew when their
Hair was soft and long and the
Beach was the place to go

Suntanned bodies and
Waves of sunshine the
California girls and a
Beautiful coastline
Warmed up weather
Let's get together and
Do it again

With a girl the lonely sea looks good with moonlight
Make sure night-time's warm and out of sight

Been so long
(Hey now hey now hey now hey now hey now)
(Hey now hey now hey now hey now hey now)

Well I've been thinking 'bout
All the places we've surfed and danced and
All the faces we've missed so let's get
Back together and do it again

Spinal

09-10-2010, 05:05 PM

Yes it's a cover tune, of an old folk traditional, but I think the boys made it their own. I like it when bands cover songs, especially when they choose a song that fits, and "Sloop John B" fits the Beach Boys perfectly. Even lyrically it sounds like a song they would've written had it not already been done.

Huh, yeah, I didn't realize this was a cover. Never would have doubted for a second it was theirs. I'm also a big fan of this one.

D_Davis

09-10-2010, 05:20 PM

Huh, yeah, I didn't realize this was a cover. Never would have doubted for a second it was theirs. I'm also a big fan of this one.

I think it's kind of become a Beach Boys song now. Kind of like how "Nothing Compares 2 U" is considered a Sinead O'Connor tune, and not a The Family song.

D_Davis

09-10-2010, 06:24 PM

A little break...brought to you by the High Llamas.

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Acapelli

09-10-2010, 08:44 PM

davis, do you have a favorite smile bootleg?

D_Davis

09-10-2010, 09:07 PM

davis, do you have a favorite smile bootleg?

Not really. I have a few, and they are all OK to pretty good.

The bootleg I listen to the most is the Purple Chick Smile Reconstruction.

http://www.earcandymag.com/purplechicksmile-2005.htm

It seems to be the most complete, at least from what I've heard. And also from what I've heard, it took a lot of hard work to put it together.

Acapelli

09-10-2010, 10:36 PM

that's the one i've listened to the most. it is great

D_Davis

09-10-2010, 11:21 PM

that's the one i've listened to the most. it is great

Yeah. I'm not one of those 'mono-purist' guys. If a new, stereo mix is done well, and properly mastered, I usually prefer it.

D_Davis

09-13-2010, 03:26 PM

8. Wouldn't it Be Nice - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Brian Wilson and Tony Asher

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"Wouldn't it be Nice" is all about longing - longing for a time in the future when things can be right, or at least as right as one might imagine. The song begins with the music-box-like sounds of childhood innocence which are soon interrupted by a pounding drum signifying the arrival of adulthood. It's a masterful pop song moving through all of Wilson's trademark sounds and styles. The song also has a special place in my heart - it was the first song my wife and I danced to together at our wedding. And even though that relationship didn't quite work out, I still remember back with fondness to many good times. It's also a reminder that while we may want things to be nice, to work out, they don't always do, and that's OK, so long as we are still able to dream, desire, and hope for better times.

Wouldn't it be nice if we were older
Then we wouldn't have to wait so long
And wouldn't it be nice to live together
In the kind of world where we belong

You know its gonna make it that much better
When we can say goodnight and stay together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could wake up
In the morning when the day is new
And after having spent the day together
Hold each other close the whole night through

The happy times together we've been spending
I wish that every kiss was never ending
Oh Wouldn't it be nice

Spaceman Spiff

09-13-2010, 08:22 PM

A little low, but happy that's in your top 10 at any rate. 'Don't Worry Baby' is going to show up, yes?

D_Davis

09-13-2010, 10:15 PM

7. Let's Go Away for Awhile - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Brian Wilson

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Another one of Wilson's amazing instrumentals. Take a look at the list of instruments used in the recording for an idea of how Wilson thought about arrangement and instrumentation (from Wiki):

* Hal Blaine: drums
* Julius Wechter: Tympani, Vibraphone
* Lyle Ritz: String Bass
* Carol Kaye: Electric Bass
* Al Casey: Guitar
* Barney Kessel: Guitar
* Al de Lory: Piano
* Steve Douglas: Tenor Saxophone
* Plas Johnson: Tenor Saxophone
* Jim Horn: Baritone Saxophone
* Jay Migliori: Baritone Saxophone
* Roy Caton: Trumpet
* Arnold Belnick: Violin
* James Getzoff: Violin
* William Kurasch: Violin
* Leonard Malarsky: Violin
* Jerome Reisler: Violin
* Ralph Schaeffer: Violin
* Sid Sharp: Violin
* Tibor Zelig: Violin
* Joseph Di Fiore: Viola
* Harry Hyams: Viola
* Justin Di Tullio: Cello
* Joseph Saxon: Cello
* Steve Douglas: Flute
* Jules Jacob: Flute

You might think that this track would be a giant mess of sound, but that's not the case at all. Wilson was fond of using each instrument only when totally called for. While some instruments might be in the majority of the song, others would only be in for a single phrase, bar, or measure. In this way, the composition continually evolves and moves taking the listener on an audio journey.

D_Davis

09-14-2010, 03:24 PM

6. Busy Doin' Nothin' - Friends - 1968 - Brian Wilson

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Brian Wilson wrote what might be the most mundane pop song of all time. It's a smooth, laid back bossa nova in which he tells us about his day,

I had to fix a lot of things this morning
'Cause they were so scrambled
But now it's okay
I tell you I've got enough to do

The afternoon was filled up with phone calls
What a hot sticky day, yeah yeah yeah
The air is cooling down

what he's thinking of,

I get a lot of thoughts in the morning
I write 'em all down
If it wasn't for that
I'd forget 'em in a while

And lately I've been thinking Ôbout a good friend
I'd like to see more of, yeah yeah yeah
I think I'll make a call

and of how to get to his house should we want to visit,

Drive for a couple miles
You'll see a sign and turn left
For a couple blocks
Next is mine, you'll turn left on a little road
It's a bumpy one

You'll see a white fence
Move the gate and drive through on the left side
Come right in
And you'll find me in my house somewhere
Keeping busy while I wait.

Then he tells about a failed phone conversation,

I wrote a number down
But I lost it
So I searched through my pocket book
I couldn't find it
So I sat and concentrated on the number
And slowly it came to me
So I dialed it

And I let it ring a few times
There was no answer
So I let it ring a little more
Still no answer

So I hung up the telephone
Got some paper and sharpened up a pencil
And wrote a letter to my friend .

It's also so silly, playful, and totally endearing. This is Brian Wilson being pure Brian Wilson. Perhaps the only other song so pure in Wilson's child-like glee is "Vegetables," on which he sings about his favorite veggies.

D_Davis

09-14-2010, 05:36 PM

Dangit - just discovered/downloaded a bootleg I had never heard before. Two unfinished albums from '71 and '77, Landlocked and Adult Child. There would probably be a couple of tracks on this list from these had I heard them earlier. Maybe I'll add a couple when it's done. The full version of "Big Sur" on Landlocked is amazing.

D_Davis

09-15-2010, 03:10 PM

5. Little Bird - Friends - 1968 - Dennis Wilson

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"Little Bird" is a two-minute masterpiece of epic proportions. The lyrics are simple and direct, reflecting and capturing Dennis' personality, and the music is laid back and cool, with a head-bopping groove. And that cello solo! It's so simple, and yet so elegant and perfect. The song's ending is one of my all-time favorites - I love the introduction of the banjo here, placed ever so slightly in the mix. Everything comes together on this tune to create feelings of innocence and somber reflection.

Little bird up in a tree
Looked down and sang a song to me
Of how it began

Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na

The trout in the shiny brook
Gave the worm another look
And told me not to worry
About my life

Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na
Na na na na na na

Tree in my own backyard
Stands all alone
Bears fruit for me
And it tastes so good

Where's my pretty bird
He must have flown away
If I keep singing
He'll come back someday

D_Davis

09-15-2010, 04:51 PM

4. Heroes & Villains - Smile - 1966-2004 - Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks

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Together, Wilson and Parks elevated the art of pop music to a new level of artistic creativity. Lyrically, Parks worked in riddles using Americana-imagery to conjure thoughts of the past, present and future; he was often just as concerned for the rhythmic nature of words as he was their meaning. Wilson became more and more fascinated in composing music in a modular fashion; he'd write bits and pieces of music and then fit them together like a giant auditory puzzle. Heroes and Villains is a perfect example of both of these artists and their creative traits.

Seeing this performed live in 2004 was one of my life-highlights.

The version posted here is probably the most complete - it's created from a number of different sources, and from the Purple Chick bootleg.

I've been in this town so long that back in the city
I've been taken for lost and gone
And unknown for a long long time

Fell in love years ago
With an innocent girl
From the Spanish and Indian home
Home of the heroes and villains

Once at night Catillion squared the fight
And she was right in the rain of the bullets that eventually brought her down
But she's still dancing in the night
Unafraid of what a dude'll do in a town full of heroes and villains

Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done

Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done

Stand or fall I know there
Shall be peace in the valley
And it's all an affair
Of my life with the heroes and villains

My children were raised
You know they suddenly rise
They started slow long ago
Ended up healthy wealthy and wise

I've been in this town so long
So long to the city
I'm fit with the stuff
To ride in the rough
And sunny down snuff I'm alright
By the heroes and--

Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done

Heroes and villains
Just see what you've done

D_Davis

09-15-2010, 09:21 PM

3. Forever - Sunflower - 1970 - Dennis Wilson

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If every word I said
Could make you laugh
I'd talk forever (together my love)
I ask the sky just what we had
Mmm It Shone Forever
(together my love my my my my my, my my my my my my )
If the song I sing to you
Could fill your heart with joy
I'd sing forever (together my love my my my my my)

Forever is simply a perfect love song. Make sure to listen to this one of headphones and pay close attention to how the backing vocals are mixed and produced. I've talked before about how Brian Wilson created space with his mixes and production, and this is a great example of this trait. Dennis Wilson's voice is also really amazing on this tune. It's somewhat dry, and yet it sounds honest and genuine.

D_Davis

09-15-2010, 09:29 PM

2. Disney Girls (1957) - Surf's Up - 1971 - Bruce Johnston

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Bruce Johnston was not an original Beach Boy - he was brought on board after Brian Wilson freaked out and stopped touring. Good thing, too, because without Johnston we wouldn't have this song, one of the most nostalgic and endearing songs ever written.

Above is the original album version, and below is a live solo performance:

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I can listen to this song over and over again, never growing tired of its longing. The Beach Boys wrote a lot of songs about longing and nostalgia. It seems like they had a hard time giving up their pasts, and moving gracefully into adulthood. Perhaps this stems from the rampant abuse the Wilson brothers suffered, or maybe it was born out of the turmoil found from within, during the post-Pet Sounds days. Whatever the reasons were, this quality gave birth to many sad and nostalgic songs disguised as somewhat upbeat pop songs. They were a band that relished in childhood glee and innocence, while they struggled with some very real world problems and personal strife.

Clearing skies and drying eyes
Now I see your smile
Darkness goes and softness shows
A changing style

Just in time words that rhyme
Well bless your soul
Now I'll fill your hands
With kisses and a Tootsie Roll

Oh reality, it's not for me
And it makes me laugh
Oh, fantasy world and Disney girls
I'm coming back

Patti Page and summer days
On old Cape Cod
Happy times making wine
In my garage
Country shade and lemonade
Guess I'm slowing down
It's a turned back world
With a local girl
In a smaller town

Open cars and clearer stars
That's what I've lacked
But fantasy world and Disney girls
I'm coming back

Love...Hi Rick and Dave
Hi Pop...Well good morning mom
Love...get up guess what
I'm in love with a girl I found
She's really swell
Cause she likes
Church, bingo chances and old time dances

All my life I spent the night
With dreams of you
And the warmth I missed
And for the things I wished
They're all coming true

I've got my love to give
And a place to live
Guess I'm gonna stay
It'd be a peaceful life
With a forever wife
And a kid someday

Well, it's early nights
And pillow fights
And your soft laugh
Fantasy world and Disney girls
I'm coming back

D_Davis

09-15-2010, 09:44 PM

1. Surf's Up - Surf's Up, Smile - 1966-2004 - Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks

Not only is this my favorite Beach Boys song, it's also my favorite song and piece of music - period.

Also, my favorite album cover:

http://www.theoldceremony.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/tbb-surfs_up.jpg

Doesn't that album cover just scream "Hey kids! Let's surf and sing songs about girls and cars!" It boggles my mind how so many people are so unfamiliar with the later period of this amazing band. This album cover, with its image of Don Quixote, and the irony of title, Surf's Up, is the perfect allegory for Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. With such a title, one might imagine a rip-roaring surf tune, and yet the album's cover says something entirely different. Lord knows that the Wilson brothers spend a lot of their time tilting at windmills, but for the most part their enemies were not imaginary; no they were real, taking the shape of mental illness, and drug, mental and physical abuse.

The marriage of Brian Wilson's arrangements and Van Dyke Park's cryptic lyrics is legendary. The tune was written in Brian's sandbox that he had built inside his house. He put his piano in the sandbox so he could always feel like he was writing on the beach.

Surf's Up is, simply, the best song ever written. :)

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A diamond necklace played the pawn
Hand in hand some drummed along, oh
To a handsome man and baton
A blind class aristocracy
Back through the op'ra glass you see
The pit and the pendulum drawn
Columnated ruins domino

Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping?

Hung velvet overtaken me
Dim chandelier awaken me
To a song dissolved in the dawn
The music hall a costly bow
The music all is lost for now
To a muted trumperter swan
Columnated ruins domino

Canvass the town and brush the backdrop
Are you sleeping, Brother John?

Dove nested towers the hour was
Strike the street quicksilver moon
Carriage across the fog
Two-Step to lamplight cellar tune
The laughs come hard in Auld Lang Syne

The glass was raised, the fired rose
The fullness of the wine, the dim last toasting
While at port, adieu or die

A choke of grief HEART hardened I
Beyond belief a broken man too tough to cry

Surf's Up
Aboard a tidal wave
Come about hard and join
The young and often spring you gave
I heard the word
Wonderful thing
A children's song

Child, child, child, child, child
A child is the father of the man
Child, child, child, child, child
A child is the father of the man
A children's song
Have you listened as they played
Their song is love
And the children know the way
That's why the child is the father to the man
Child, child, child, child, child
Child, child, child, child, child
Na na na na na na na na
Child, child, child, child, child
That's why the child is the father to the man
Child, child, child, child, child

D_Davis

09-15-2010, 10:00 PM

25. Don't Go Near the Water - Surf's Up - 1971 - Mike Love and Al Jardine
24. Make it Good - Carl and the Passions "So Tough" - 1972 - Dennis Wilson
23. Cool, Cool Water - Sunflower - 1970 - Brian Wilson and Mike Love
22. Caroline, No - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Brian Wilson and Tony Asher (lyrics)
21. Steamboat - Holland - 1973 - Dennis Wilson and Jack Rieley
20. Slip on Through - Sunflower - 1970 - Dennis Wilson
19. Feel Flows - Surf's Up - 1971 - Carl Wilson and Jack Rieley
18. Passing By - Friends - 1968 - Brian Wilson
17. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone - Carl and the Passions "So Tough" - Brian Wilson and Jack Rieley - 1972
16. Our Sweet Love - Sunflower - 1970 - Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Al Jardine
15. Sloop John B - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Traditional
14. Good Vibrations - Smile - 1966-2004 - Brian Wilson
13. All I Wanna Do - Sunflower - 1970 - Brian Wilson and Mike Love
12. California Girls - Summer Days (and Summer Nights) - 1965 - Brian Wilson and Mike Love
11. In My Room - Surfer Girl - 1963 - Brian Wilson and Gary Usher
10. California Saga - Big Sur/The Beaks of Eagles/California - 1973 - Mike Love and Al Jardine (w/ Lynda Jardine, and w/ a poem written by Robinson Jeffers)
9. Do It Again - 20/20 - 1969 - Mike Love
8. Wouldn't it Be Nice - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Brian Wilson and Tony Asher
7. Let's Go Away for Awhile - Pet Sounds - 1966 - Brian Wilson
6. Busy Doin' Nothin' - Friends - 1968 - Brian Wilson
5. Little Bird - Friends - 1968 - Dennis Wilson
4. Heroes & Villains - Smile - 1966-2004 - Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks
3. Forever - Sunflower - 1970 - Dennis Wilson
2. Disney Girls (1957) - Surf's Up - 1971 - Bruce Johnston
1. Surf's Up - Surf's Up, Smile - 1966-2004 - Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks

14 tunes with Brian Wilson listed
5 with Dennis Wilson
6 with Mike Love
3 with Al Jardine
1 with Bruce Johnston

I Thought that I would have more Dennis Wilson on here, guess I was wrong.