Youngblood (Carl Wilson)

[Myk Luhv]

I feel like saying "it's not as bad as Looking Back With Love" is equivalent to going "well, the album isn't as bad as Summer In Paradise but it's also not as good as Stars And Stripes, Vol. 1" -- which are not things that really make me want to go out of my way to listen to albums, I must say.

[Dunderhead]

God put me on this earth to rock out to the guitar solo on She's Mine

[Wirestone]

Just picked this up the other day and was pleasantly surprised. It's no POB -- or even TLOS -- but it's definitely an album that suggests a lot about Carl's tastes. Some nifty songwriting on a couple of the tunes, too.

[drbeachboy]

Just picked this up the other day and was pleasantly surprised. It's no POB -- or even TLOS -- but it's definitely an album that suggests a lot about Carl's tastes. Some nifty songwriting on a couple of the tunes, too.

Curious as to what you think of "Of The Times"? I always thought this would have made a great Beach Boys album track.

[Wirestone]

Just picked this up the other day and was pleasantly surprised. It's no POB -- or even TLOS -- but it's definitely an album that suggests a lot about Carl's tastes. Some nifty songwriting on a couple of the tunes, too.

Curious as to what you think of "Of The Times"? I always thought this would have made a great Beach Boys album track.

It's just about my favorite song. It reminds me a lot of some tunes on BB85. Perhaps the standout on the album that's actually written by Carl.

[musicismylife101]

Carl's voice shines on this. Actually I basically like anything with the Wilson bros on it  The songs aren't that great but Carl's voice makes it worth listening to. His performance on Of the Times and Givin' You Up are just stunning. Voice of an angel.

[drbeachboy]

Of The Times is a very good song, imo. It should have been a Beach Boys song had they recorded during that time period.

[musicismylife101]

Of The Times is a very good song, imo. It should have been a Beach Boys song had they recorded during that time period.

Another song the BBs should have covered. Carl's stellar voice combined with the BBs harmonies!!! 

[Orange Crate Art]

Carl could've made a better album but some of this album rocks. I think the best song on the LP is 'Time'. Total rocker. A few tracks are way too AOR for my taste but I love the rockers.

[bluesno1fann]

An improvement over his first solo album. But it's still not a great album.
3 out of 5.

[Mr. Wilson]

I like this LP..  It rocks + has good ballads also.. Really nice guitar playing by Jeff Baxter..  Should be a 2fer with 1st solo LP.. There are tracks on both LP"s that should have been BB songs..  4/5

[Lonely Summer]

I like this LP..  It rocks + has good ballads also.. Really nice guitar playing by Jeff Baxter..  Should be a 2fer with 1st solo LP.. There are tracks on both LP"s that should have been BB songs..  4/5

I have heard on fb that there are plans to reissue Youngblood as a two-fer cd with the 1st solo album. We'll see....

[Mike's Beard]

"What More Can I Say" – 2/5
"She's Mine" – 2/5
"Givin' You Up" - 3/5
"One More Night Alone" - 3/5
"Rockin' All Over the World" – 2/5
"What You Do to Me" – 3/5
"Young Blood" - 2/5
"Of the Times" – 3/5
"Too Early to Tell" - 2/5
"If I Could Talk to Love" – 3/5
"Time" – 2/5

With the exception of the vocals, everything about this album is average. The ballads work better then the uptempo stuff, but the material is very 'samey', at least his debut had a standout in Heaven. Of the Times sounds like It's Getting Late in parts.
Overall 2.5/5.

[Lonely Summer]

Nice to see some love here for "Of The Times". It reminds me a bit of Tom Johnston-era Doobies. Jeff Baxter's playing on this album is great! "She's Mine" is a good example of that - and the piano playing rocking out behind him. Baxter said he sought out musicians that respected Carl as a singer and musician and wanted to work with him - and it shows. "Givin' You Up" is one that is just played and produced - and sung - to perfection. Carl's ad libs on the tag of "Givin' You Up" and "What You Do to Me" are good examples of what made him great as a singer, he put everything he had into the songs he sang. And then on the quiet side, there's "If I Could Talk to Love". Just a beautiful song, I have played it on the piano or guitar a few times. Enjoying the live Bottom Line cd now, but I sure would like to have a live recording from the Youngblood tour, too.

[Crack Smokerson]

Bought a copy a couple days ago with a gold stamp over the barcode that says "FOR PROMOTION ONLY Ownership Reserved By CBS Sale Is Unlawful"

Did I hit the jackpot or are some guys in suits about to show up to my house and snap my vinyl in half while snuffing it out on the ground like a cigarette?

The sleeve has a bit of ring wear but the wax looks like it hasn't been played more than a handful of time. Not a huge fan of the 80s cheese but overall it's a decent album with incredible vocals.

[Lonely Summer]

Bought a copy a couple days ago with a gold stamp over the barcode that says "FOR PROMOTION ONLY Ownership Reserved By CBS Sale Is Unlawful"

Did I hit the jackpot or are some guys in suits about to show up to my house and snap my vinyl in half while snuffing it out on the ground like a cigarette?

The sleeve has a bit of ring wear but the wax looks like it hasn't been played more than a handful of time. Not a huge fan of the 80s cheese but overall it's a decent album with incredible vocals.

I have quite a few albums with that kind of stamp on them. Used to find them all the time at a used record store down the street from Tower Records. And no one's showed up at my door asking for them back.

[Bill M]

Bought a copy a couple days ago with a gold stamp over the barcode that says "FOR PROMOTION ONLY Ownership Reserved By CBS Sale Is Unlawful"

Did I hit the jackpot or are some guys in suits about to show up to my house and snap my vinyl in half while snuffing it out on the ground like a cigarette?

The sleeve has a bit of ring wear but the wax looks like it hasn't been played more than a handful of time. Not a huge fan of the 80s cheese but overall it's a decent album with incredible vocals.

I have quite a few albums with that kind of stamp on them. Used to find them all the time at a used record store down the street from Tower Records. And no one's showed up at my door asking for them back.

Back in my college radio days, pretty much every album in the library had that stamp.  They'd often find their way to used record stores when the station would clear out stuff from time to time.

[CarlWilsonfan101]

This album is the best! I've heard it a bazillion times! 5/5

[Lonely Summer]

This album is the best! I've heard it a bazillion times! 5/5

It's always nice to see positive comments about this album. I still love it.

[Julia]

It does feel like Carl was listening to his critics and trying to improve on CW's most apparent faults--the nothing production. But for the first two tracks, this is a drastic over-compensation that's equally flawed in the opposite direction. Those stupid "shredding!" guitars, man. Give it a rest--these songs clearly aren't meant for it, you're not some kinda hard rock artist you're Carl Wilson. This is a guy who should be singing beautiful lullabies, crooning a delicate love song, but he sometimes chose material not suited to his voice's gentle "character" at least in my opinion. What More Can I Say & She's Mine are a perfect example, along with the R&B direction of WH.

Thankfully, Givin' You Up isn't bad though. After those awful first two tracks with ill-fitting overwrought guitars it's a breath of fresh air. It's like a power ballad predating the height of that genre's popularity, definitely something you could see playing over the end credits of a generic 90s film. One More Night Alone is similar--a bit generic but definitely a competent song.

Unfortunately after that it's right back to generic corporatized 80s rock (similar to "We Built This City") what I see some of you referring to as "AOR" (I had to look it up but once I did I was like "oh good, there's an official term for what I'm talking about!") It's like a rock n roll sound, but stripped of its personality and grit, with a sanitized "family friendly" vibe that takes all the danger out of it. This is around when rock had proven it was here to stay, when it went from rebellious counter-culture music to a homogenized product, a capitalist enterprise rather than "sticking it to the man." Once again, I blame the fact that Carl lacked a true voice of his own--not physical of course but a unique perspective built out of strong emotions and unresolved pain. Without that, he's just going through the motions--competently playing some rock power chords but without inspiration to set him apart from the crowd. It couldn't be more generic if it tried. Rockin All Over the World (just look at that lame-ass title!), What You Do To Me, Young Blood, Of the Times are all guilty of this problem. It's Journey-lite, diet-Starship.

If I Could Talk to Love is back to the softer love song vibe, thankfully, but it's too little too late at this point. It's not an especially great song but not bad at all. This is the kind of music Carl's beautiful voice was most suited for. And...then it's right back to lame generic rocker with Time. Ending the album on a sour note of Reagan-approved "rock n roll for all ages--rated G!" The part where it just repeats the same two notes for like 30 seconds...brilliant.

Do you know why Pet Sounds (essentially a Brian Wilson album featuring the Beach Boys) and POB are considered masterpieces decades on, while Carl's solo albums are obscure footnotes only uber-BB fans ever listen to? Because the former two are genuine statements of the heart; those men had something to say and barred their soul to the world. The latter two feel like Carl was just going through the motions because he wanted to have a solo career for its own sake. There's no particular vision he's trying to express, just copying the popular sound of the time with songs that could've been sung by anybody.

With Brian and Dennis, the tragedy is that they were on the track to perfection but let down by the band and/or outside circumstances as well as drug use. With Carl, the tragedy is he had the talent and "togetherness" to do great things but always chose mediocre material to focus on. Like, besides the songs he passed on and the misguided projects he chose to pursue, just the fact Carl chose to name the album after Young Blood the song is proof of what I'm talking about. It's so obviously one of the weaker tracks on the album, something that stands out for all the wrong reasons.

2/5 because unlike his first album there is actually a couple salvageable songs here. Maybe Carl should've just made an EP to include with the next Beach Boys album.