The Beach Boys FAQ - Jon Stebbins

[Jonas]

Just got my copy and already feeling overwhelmed! Can't wait to peruse the Smile tracks section while listening to the album later.

[ArchStanton]

I really enjoyed this book.  My only complaint is he never breaks down the albums from the 80s onward like he did everything else- out of morbid curiosity I was looking forward to his thoughts on some of those!

[Mr. Wilson]

Excellent book..!

[kwan_dk]

This has to be my favourite of Jon's Beach Boys books and I highly recommend it to both the casual fan and diehard obsessive fans - and, let's be honest, the latter are the only one's who's ever gonna read this board.  

If you happen to have read a lot of books about the Beach Boys before this one there's quite a bit of information, especially during the first couple of chapters / essays, that don't really bring anything new to light. But I found that the book gradually became very interesting as it approached the later stages of the group's career and its internal power plays.
Devoting an essay to the various reasons for the widespread Mike Love hate is clever and just one example of how Jon in various chapters zooms in on very interesting themes that other books merely touch upon in passing.

I also commend Jon for his essay discussing Brian Wilson's reasons for - and feelings towards - touring. For boardmembers on here with no inside knowledge, essays like this one, of which there are several more, make up for an extremely fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the group and the actions of its members, past and present. It could have been so easy for Jon to just take the easy road and only write 'safe' essays that don't really question anything or anyone so that he didn't fall out with certain parties and thereby possibly risk his obvious inside knowledge. The fact that he has done the opposite, i.e. for instance hinting at the fact that Brian basically appears to be on the road for over a decade now against his own wishes, deserves a lot of credit from us fans. As someone who's seen Brian a couple of times, and always having had a nagging feeling that there was something tragic about his stage presence that was difficult to pinpoint exactly, I thought Jon put this feeling into words brilliantly, - along with several other nice chapters.

Definately a nice addition to any Beach Boys book collection...

[myonlysunshine]

An excellent book that is a must own for the experienced fan. This book literally covers everything that hasn't been primarily been written about the Beach Boys in books before, including a variety of topics that span from their early years as boys growing up in Hawthorne, California, all the way up until 2011 with recent developments like the Ronald Regan reunion concert in Washington DC and the announcement that the Beach Boys and Capitol were planning on releasing the SMiLE Sessions later that year.

The Beach Boys FAQs has some very interesting chapters in it that cover things like who is or was involved with the Beach Boys band at one point or another, who they were, what they did, and even how they became involved with the Beach Boys. It also has chapters about how the Beach Boys were viewed by real surfers in California culture, Murry Wilson, Brian's fragile emotional and mental state, chapters that cover all of the Beach Boys albums released up until certain points, chapters on Pet Sounds and SMiLE, career blunders, famous concerts, comebacks, who sang lead vocals on which song, and tons of other useful information.

In my opinion, the chapter on Pet Sounds was a little short for my tastes given it's importance, but since there has been such a vast quantity of material written about Pet Sounds in other books, this is a minor quibble. I especially liked Jon's chapter covering all the Beach Boys solo albums released up until 2010 because it's so updated and current in what it covers and how the public views each album.

[Moon Dawg]

 Great book. His chapter on The Beach Boys as studio musicians was highly informative. Kudos to Jon for setting the record straight on who played on the records.

[MBE]

GREAT book. It should be required reading of anyone into the Beach Boys.

[Banana]

I, too, enjoyed this book.  It's not only a good intro to the band, but it also contains enough interesting tidbits for the obsessives likes us.  I picked it up at the book store and was paging through it when I came upon his write-up on "15 Big Ones" which he called "15 Bad Ones" and I found myself laughing out loud at the verbal beat down he gives that stinker!  I was sold right there.  My only complaint, as was mentioned before...was that he stops at the "Light Album" and I would have loved to read his thoughts on such gems as "Keepin' the Summer Alive"!

[rogerlancelot]

The highlight for me was the story about visiting the set of American Family with Ed Roach. That one had me laughing loudly.

I bought my copy along with TSS box set from Amazon back in February. I enjoy it because it works well with short attention span: you can pick up the book at any time and just read a few pages and be well entertained (reminds me of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series). I still have yet to find an affordable copy of The Real Beach Boy.

A 4 for me only because of no album reviews past LA album.

[Banana]

I agree.  Nice, concise little articles.  I like his sense of humor.  The part about visiting the set of that horrid television movie was a hoot!  I just wish he'd gone on past the "L.A. (Light Album)" in his reviews.  His review of "15 Big Ones" had me rolling...especially when he referred to the band as five middle-aged men with cigarette coughs!  He also mixes in some good, quality info, too.  I'd recommend that anyone with more than a passing interest in the band should pick this up.

[PrayForSurf]

FYI - - new podcast with Jon Stebbins on the just released Beach Boys in Concert book includes discussion on Badman, early BeachBoysmania, the BBs legacy and more.

Post:
http://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/exclusive-podcast-with-jon-stebbins-on.html

Podcast:
https://archive.org/download/BeachBoysJuly320134/BeachBoysJuly320134_vbr_mp3.zip   Download zip file
https://archive.org/download/BeachBoysJuly320134/BeachBoysJuly320134_vbr.m3u   Download
https://archive.org/stream/BeachBoysJuly320134     Stream

Phil@PrayForSurf.net

[Disney Boy (1985)]

FYI - - new podcast with Jon Stebbins on the just released Beach Boys in Concert book includes discussion on Badman, early BeachBoysmania, the BBs legacy and more.

Post:
http://prayforsurfblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/exclusive-podcast-with-jon-stebbins-on.html

Podcast:
https://archive.org/download/BeachBoysJuly320134/BeachBoysJuly320134_vbr_mp3.zip   Download zip file
https://archive.org/download/BeachBoysJuly320134/BeachBoysJuly320134_vbr.m3u   Download
https://archive.org/stream/BeachBoysJuly320134     Stream

Phil@PrayForSurf.net

I don't have the means to watch/listen to this podcast. Could someone please fill me in on what Jon has to say about Badman - very interested to hear his opinion!

[Andrew G. Doe]

I don't have the means to watch/listen to this podcast.

If you can read this forum, you can listen to the podcast - just go to the site and click on the link. All you need to listen to it is already loaded on your computer (unless you removed the mp3 player/Windows Media player).

[KDS]

Essential reading for BB fans.  Every thing you'd ever want to know, some things you don't want to know, some things you didn't know you wanted to know. 

Breaks down everything about the music, the story, and little interesting asides like some of the missteps the Boys have taken over their long career that keep them from getting the respect they deserve. 

[Marty Castillo]

I just finished reading this book. I thoroughly enjoyed the structure, insight and opinion put forth by Jon. I felt it was very balanced and made each of the members more human. I would love to see an update, eventually, that includes the 2012 reunion (though it's covered in the In Concert book). It was interesting to read the reunion chapter in the context of pre-2012 since it gives a good sense of how unlikely many thought C50. As a fairly new member of the board, I can tell this book had major influence on the opinions and knowledge of many board members.

I highly recommend this book, especially if you are looking for a good introduction to the history and music of the Beach Boys.