What if The Beach Boys didn't have to release so many albums in the early years?

[shelter]

'Pet Sounds' and 'Smile' are widely regarded as classics, and albums like 'Sunflower', 'Surf's Up', 'Friends', 'Today!', 'Holland' and 'Smiley Smile' get some credit from the "connoisseurs" as well. But apart from a few hardcore Beach Boys fans, you won't find many people who will give any of the pre-'Today!' albums credits for being a classic.

I'm not trying to be a revisionist, I'm glad that the early albums were released the way they were, because I wouldn't want to miss them. And I understand that The Beach Boys were just acting by the standards of their time. But in hindsight it is a bit of a shame that they were supposed to release about three albums a year. With Brian's creativity and productivity circa 1962-1965 combined with today's record industry standards (meaning that nobody releases more than one album per year anymore), you could've gotten some truely amazing albums that would have been undeniable classics. I think that because of all the fillers on all of those early albums many people don't realize how good the pre-'Pet Sounds' Beach Boys already were.

Their first albums could have looked something like this:

The 1962/1963 album
Surfin' Safari
409
Surfin'
Surfin' USA
Farmer's Daughter
Shut Down
Lonely Sea
Surfer Girl
In My Room
Little Deuce Coupe
Catch A Wave
Be True To Your School

The 1964 album
Fun, Fun, Fun
Don't Worry, Baby
The Warmth Of The Sun
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
Keep An Eye On Summer
I Get Around
All Summer Long
Hushabye
Little Honda
Wendy
Girls On The Beach
Don't Back Down

The 1965 album
Do You Wanna Dance?
When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
Dance, Dance, Dance
Please Let Me Wonder
Kiss Me, Baby
She Knows Me Too Well
In The Back Of My Mind
Girl Don't Tell Me
Help Me, Rhonda
California Girls
You're So Good To Me
The Little Girl I Once Knew

That's about as "all killer, no filler" as albums get, and I wonder how The Beach Boys' reputation would have been now if this would have been their pre-'Pet Sounds' output... Thoughts?

[Ovi]

It would have definitely improved both their reputation and their discography.

But maybe, if given a full year to work, Brian may have come up with something bigger than those. Maybe not 'Pet Sounds', but something like a ballad-dominated album sometime in '65 or even '64.

[Loaf]

All that pressure forced Brian to focus and up his game, even producing the filler. Without the tough release schedule, we'd not have albums as good as Pet Sounds. His familiarity with the board, the musicians, what is possible. It all soaked in.

And imagine if Brian didn't have to record so much music, so the BBs didn't let him skip out on touring and he stayed on the road...

[shelter]

All that pressure forced Brian to focus and up his game, even producing the filler. Without the tough release schedule, we'd not have albums as good as Pet Sounds. His familiarity with the board, the musicians, what is possible. It all soaked in.

And imagine if Brian didn't have to record so much music, so the BBs didn't let him skip out on touring and he stayed on the road...

Good points.

[Aegir]

I love the "filler" on Surfin' Safari. Give me Chug a Lug over Lonely Sea ANY DAY.

[Quzi]

.

[Nicko1234]

Brian also voluntarily made his schedule much worse by produces and writing songs for other artists.

[LetHimRun]

I love the "filler" on Surfin' Safari. Give me Chug a Lug over Lonely Sea ANY DAY.

Wow. Lonely Sea has some of the most haunting vocals they've done. Fantastic tone and timbre from Carl and Mike on backgrounds. Chug-a-Lug is a fun little tune, but kids listen to fun little tunes. Lonely Sea is one of their best early songs.

[Banana]

Brian also voluntarily made his schedule much worse by produces and writing songs for other artists.

Yup.  Then again...I think that was Brian doing what Brian always wanted to do.  He wanted to be the guy making the hit records for whoever needed his services...not an active member of a band.  Just about every major band in that period cranked out at least 2 LP's per year...but consider that Brian was essentially the sole songwriter during this period...while The Beatles, for instance, has two top-notch writers providing material.  That Brian was able to maintain the general level of quality that he did (even if it was spotty at times) is nothing short of amazing.  He wrote, he sang, he played, he produced...he did it all.

[MyGlove]

Well, living in the universe where they were released, I believe it would suck, cuz a lot of the early songs and albums are classics. Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, All Summer Long, Today, and SDSN not being the way they are now would not have gotten them the reputation or experience they had. Plus the album tracks on those are awesome. However, I can't really know for sure. I doubt they would have released a lot less singles. 

[Jason]

You know, I think the more time goes on, the more people will come to appreciate the pre-Today! albums as more than just mere contractual obligations with a couple of hit singles.

The first time I heard the entire Surfin' Safari album I couldn't help but dig the absolute irreverence of the record. Five guys with a bigger budget just saying "goshdarn it, let's DO IT!" The fillers on the record are clearly fillers but they're by no means unlistenable. And you can hear the progression on each album. Brian is fast becoming the "Stalin of the studio", the Boys are becoming better and more assured singers, and the overall quality keeps going up.

I think the other barometer to prove just how quickly Brian progressed is his outside productions. This guy went from the very barebones Rachel and the Revolvers 45 to Pamela Jean/After the Game within a YEAR. Then from He's a Doll to Guess I'm Dumb in EIGHT MONTHS. The Beach Boys were Brian's bread and butter but the outside productions were his laboratory. He came full circle on Today and just grew by leaps and bounds until mid-1967. This, of course, begs the question...if life didn't get in the way like it did, how much better could he have become and the band have become?

[Bean Bag]

Cranking out albums was a useful, creative exercise for Brian.  Doing something...is something.  It may have helped free up Brian's brain.  An artistic laxative.

Captain Beefheart said painting was like going to the bathroom.  He was a captain, after all.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

But apart from a few hardcore Beach Boys fans, you won't find many people who will give any of the pre-'Today!' albums credits for being a classic.

That's only because people are stupid.

[Aegir]

I love the "filler" on Surfin' Safari. Give me Chug a Lug over Lonely Sea ANY DAY.

Wow. Lonely Sea has some of the most haunting vocals they've done. Fantastic tone and timbre from Carl and Mike on backgrounds. Chug-a-Lug is a fun little tune, but kids listen to fun little tunes. Lonely Sea is one of their best early songs.

"fun little tunes" don't have less artistic merit than serious, melancholy songs.

[DonnyL]

I prefer the real world, where 'Let Him Run Wild' is allowed to exist. 'Today', 'Summer Days' and 'All Summer Long' are stone-cold classic albums. I think we need to move past the Rolling Stone/Baby Boomer standards of what makes a good record.

[SIP.FLAC]

They probably wouldn't have released so many albums in quite a short period of time.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

'Pet Sounds' and 'Smile' are widely regarded as classics, and albums like 'Sunflower', 'Surf's Up', 'Friends', 'Today!', 'Holland' and 'Smiley Smile' get some credit from the "connoisseurs" as well. But apart from a few hardcore Beach Boys fans, you won't find many people who will give any of the pre-'Today!' albums credits for being a classic.

I'm not trying to be a revisionist, I'm glad that the early albums were released the way they were, because I wouldn't want to miss them. And I understand that The Beach Boys were just acting by the standards of their time. But in hindsight it is a bit of a shame that they were supposed to release about three albums a year. With Brian's creativity and productivity circa 1962-1965 combined with today's record industry standards (meaning that nobody releases more than one album per year anymore), you could've gotten some truely amazing albums that would have been undeniable classics. I think that because of all the fillers on all of those early albums many people don't realize how good the pre-'Pet Sounds' Beach Boys already were.

Their first albums could have looked something like this:

The 1962/1963 album
Surfin' Safari
409
Surfin'
Surfin' USA
Farmer's Daughter
Shut Down
Lonely Sea
Surfer Girl
In My Room
Little Deuce Coupe
Catch A Wave
Be True To Your School

The 1964 album
Fun, Fun, Fun
Don't Worry, Baby
The Warmth Of The Sun
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
Keep An Eye On Summer
I Get Around
All Summer Long
Hushabye
Little Honda
Wendy
Girls On The Beach
Don't Back Down

The 1965 album
Do You Wanna Dance?
When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
Dance, Dance, Dance
Please Let Me Wonder
Kiss Me, Baby
She Knows Me Too Well
In The Back Of My Mind
Girl Don't Tell Me
Help Me, Rhonda
California Girls
You're So Good To Me
The Little Girl I Once Knew

That's about as "all killer, no filler" as albums get, and I wonder how The Beach Boys' reputation would have been now if this would have been their pre-'Pet Sounds' output... Thoughts?

Well, you've dropped what i would consider some of the best tracks from the period - In The Parkin' Lot for instance, or Good To My Baby - so that sucks. But also, whilst not all of the early albums were as streamline as they perhaps could have been, the suggested albums above just seem like a total mess, in particular the Today/Summer Days... hybrid which completely messes with the whole premise of Today (one side pop, one side ballads) but not in a good way... I LOVE that they did so many albums - their insane profilic-ness (is that a word?) is one of the reasons they're my favourite band. Brian and the Boys released more albums before he'd even contemplated Pet Sounds than most bands manage to release in their entire careers. To me, this is nothing other than a Good Thing. I only wish their was even more!!

[shelter]

I prefer the real world, where 'Let Him Run Wild' is allowed to exist.

That's kind of part of the point I'm trying to make.

People will listen to 'Surfin' USA', 'Shut Down Vol. 2' or 'Surfer Girl' and consider them weak or at least spotty albums by today's standards, because they hear these bad fillers (the comedy bits, the mediocre instrumentals, the unnecessary covers) while they never hear stuff like that on a new Coldplay, Snow Patrol or U2 album. But nowadays bands get two, three, or maybe even as much as five or six years to finish an album. The Beach Boys on the other hand had about two albums worth of good material every year. If they had to work by today's record industry standards in the early and mid 60s (assuming that Brian would have been equally productive), they wouldn't have enough room on their records for all their good songs. I think that's something that's often overlooked now. People will hear these uneven albums and not realize that most of today's albums took ten times as long to make.

[Bean Bag]

Did other bands have this kind of release schedule?

[NHC]

I wouldn't leave out a single song from Surfin' Safari, Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, All Summer Long, Today, Summers Days (and Nights), or Party.  Shut Down Vol. II would lose Louie Louie and Denny's Drums.

[EgoHanger1966]

Did other bands have this kind of release schedule?

For a lot of bands, yes. In the UK, The Searchers released their first three albums in nine months. Popular US acts had 4-5 singles released a year and 2-3 albums a year. Of course, the difference was that outside writers, producers, arrangers etc. were there to help.

[Banana]

Look at The Beatles: 1963 (Please Please Me, With the Beatles) 1964 (A Hard Day's Night, Beatles for Sale) 1965 (Help!, Rubber Soul).  You have to then factor in the near constant touring, television appearances and everything else.  That is a lot of music to write and record and still keep quality high.  The Beatles were blessed to have Lennon and McCartney...but even they resorted to their share of filler.  It wasn't until 1966 that they only released one LP per year.  I think that was very standard for bands back in the early 60s: write, record, tour...write, record, tour...and on and on and on...

[shelter]

Look at The Beatles: 1963 (Please Please Me, With the Beatles) 1964 (A Hard Day's Night, Beatles for Sale) 1965 (Help!, Rubber Soul).  You have to then factor in the near constant touring, television appearances and everything else.  That is a lot of music to write and record and still keep quality high.

The Beatles released six studio albums in 1963-1965, which were written by two main songwriters and produced by someone else. Before they had their seventh album out, The Beach Boys already had eleven albums, all written and produced by the same guy.

[Banana]

Which is one of the things that has always impressed me abour Brian's work early on.  He was the sole composer...the sole producer.  The pressure must have been intense.  He didn't have a John Lennon waiting with 5-6 songs of his own or a George Martin in the control room waiting to put it all together.

[Bean Bag]

Look at The Beatles: 1963 (Please Please Me, With the Beatles) 1964 (A Hard Day's Night, Beatles for Sale) 1965 (Help!, Rubber Soul).  You have to then factor in the near constant touring, television appearances and everything else.  That is a lot of music to write and record and still keep quality high.

The Beatles released six studio albums in 1963-1965, which were written by two main songwriters and produced by someone else. Before they had their seventh album out, The Beach Boys already had eleven albums, all written and produced by the same guy.

The Beach Boys rarely did covers, too.  The Beatles had quite a few early on.  For all I know, the Beatles just stopped in, recorded and left.  They weren't in the studio, behind the board, directing an orchestra of professional session musicians, working on the arrangements (often in the studio), then mixing...re-recording, etc.

After all that -- he had to hop on a plane to Michigan or something!  These probably weren't nice plane rides either.  Not to pick on the Beatles.  They were probably normal.  But what Brian did was simply exceptional.  


Then you think about the pressures of being essentially the CEO of this major enterprise.  GEEZ!!  Having, not just your own family, but all your brother's, cousin's and friend's families looking to you.  To me...that would have been the most stressful.  Being the bread-winner for everybody in your world.   ("This isn't a hit, Bri!!  C'mon!  Write a good one...and stick to the...)

INSANE.  Least we forget... Murray.  And the early stages of developing debilitating mental issues.  It must have been confusing and tearing the hell out of him.

It can be easy to look at success, in general, with all the money and fame, and think they're living the dream.  But that's not true.  For Brian in the mid-60's, I can't fathom the constant pressures he was under.  All Denny and Mike had to worry about was performing and not getting girls pregnant.