Beach Boys' Party!

[bluesno1fann]

The standouts are "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "Barbara Ann".

If I'm right, you like the scaled-down version of BA, yes? To me, I enjoy this song in concerts, with more rocking sound & full arrangement (minus "Everybody say yeah" & dancing).

"You've Got to Hide" is good. One of Dennis's impeccable moments.

Yeah, I actually do enjoy the scaled down version, but I do prefer the live electric version.
Despite that, I don't think they should have performed it for so many years.
And I would update the standouts to include "Devoted To You" and "There's No Other"

[Mr. Wilson]

3/5 Its a good LP but not one of my favorites.. I lump this in with Lost + Found + Surfin Safari LP .. Lp's I don't play much..

[chrs_mrgn]

Just curious, I came across this album near mint with photos at my local record shop. What is a good price for this?
I've been trying to build my BB collection and you all know everything here!

It's not one of my favorites but the fact that it has the photos is definitely a plus.

CAT# MAS 2398

Thanks.

[Rob Dean]

Just curious, I came across this album near mint with photos at my local record shop. What is a good price for this?
I've been trying to build my BB collection and you all know everything here!

It's not one of my favorites but the fact that it has the photos is definitely a plus.

CAT# MAS 2398

Thanks.

As a guide - There is a Very Good Quality copy on Discogs.com with the photo sheet for a surprising low cost of $7.99 + Shipping AND another in same condition for $50.

Discogs.com I find is a great site for price comparisons

[Ovi]

I'm starting to like this album more and more as time goes by. It isn't a masterpiece or anything (although Devoted To You is heavenly) and I doubt the band and Brian cared much for it, but it's just so much fun. Never fails to put me in a good mood. I can enjoy it any time, any place. 4/5

[slippingonthrough]

Great fun little lp. No bad tracks. That bass is pumping.

4/5 No masterpiece but a great album.

[VanDykeParksAndRec]

One of the few BB LP's I own multiple copies of (started with a duo, then stumbled upon a mono gatefold.)   I really dig it, a lot of fun.   Side 1 is far better than side 2 imo, so I usually just play it when I have 15mins or so before leaving my apt.   Favorite tracks are "SHould have Known Better" and "Papa Oo Mow Mow", Brian's vocals in PPOMM reminds me of Dance Dance Dance.

[KDS]

My vote of three might be a little generous.  I would've loved to hear fully realized and arranged versions of some of the covers on this album.  Most notably You've Got to Hide Your Love Away.  That being said, this stripped down covers are still better than the ones that appeared on 15 Big Ones or Summer in Paradise. 

Mike and Brian's vocals on Devoted to You are amazing. 

I like the medley of I Should've Known Better and Tell Me Why. 

It really sounded like Al wanted to do a true version of The Times They Are a Changin without a "party" going on. 

Not a bad album, but I really have to be in a certain mood to listen to it.  I really can't say that about most BB albums from 1962-73. 

Oh, and there's a song called Barbara Ann on the album.  While not a great song, it's a good song, and I don't really get the hate.  I really like the song in concert. 

[Lonely Summer]

I like Barbara Ann as part of the album, with the various attempts at ending it. Outside of the album, though, I don't need to hear it. My favorites on this album are the Beatles songs, Devoted to You, and Mountain of Love. It's a great album for what it was intended to be. Not on the same exalted level as ASL, BBT and SDSN...but at least it kept Capitol at bay until they could finish PS.

[Julia]

There's Brian Wilson and there's the Beach Boys.
SMiLE, Love You and PS are Brian.
SMiLEY, Party and Sunflower are the BB's.

Honestly, I agree with this. Browsing the wiki articles for the old albums as I revisit (or in some cases discover) them, there's music critics who feel the same way in fact. Saying things like Surfer Girl are better albums for getting who the BBs were than PS, which is "Brian and the Wrecking Crew."

That said, while I like both, I won't pretend I'm not more interested in Brian as an artist pre-1980. (After that he gets fairly sporadic due to mostly poor management & collaborators.) So, it stands to reason Party! isn't exactly my favorite LP in the world. I get why it was made, and even as a filler project it's well-mixed, flows well, is as good as their pre-ASL output without half-trying. Very impressive in that regard. I dig the vibe of the happy, warm, "let's gather round the fireplace and do a sing-a-long" presentation it's going for. There's nothing like it in their discography except Smiley, which feels like the same thing except coming down from a mind-blowing acid trip. This is Smiley done with Today's aesthetic, instead of SMiLE's. (One wonders what a "PS Party" might've been--Brian shooting the sh*t with members of an orchestra and having them pound out some rough jams on the violin and cello? Doesn't quite have the same intimacy I guess...)

I don't like "There's No Other Like My Baby," "Hully Gully," the self-deprecating "I Get Around/Deuce Coup" medley or "Barbara Ann." They're well done versions of those tracks (minus IGA/LDS) just not my cup of tea, selection-wise. So that's the big reason I'm subtracting points. I wish they would've done something like this again in the late 60s / early 70s though, with covers that matched the group's harmonic aesthetic better. I'd love to hear BB versions of The Association's greatest hits, like "Cherish" and "Everything That Touches You." Or a BB cover of "Judy Suite Blue Eyes" from CSN. The track selection here just feels kinda random and not always suited to their particular talents.

I'd give it a 3/5.