Yet another alternate universe proposal - 70's Only

[art rush]

The band's first album is Sunflower. They break up after L.A.
I reckon they'd be a tremendously underrated band, with very hard-to-find albums and a cult following similar to the Grateful Dead.
What do you think?

[John]

Possibly. Brian wouldn't be as respected, obviously. And they wouldn't be called the Beach Boys.

[Aegir]

15 Big Ones and MIU would've been so much more unexpected.

Also, this really doesn't make any sense. All their later songs built on the surf rock / harmony style of the earlier stuff. You couldn't have All This is That without Surfer Girl.

[WWDWD?]

What if Sunflower was their first album and Holland was their last. They break up due to Dennis Wilson wanting to pursue a solo career. He releases his first album in 1973 launching his much praised solo career which lasted throughout the 80s and 90s. The In Concert LP was released after their break up to fulfil their contract. In 2000 the band reunited for their 30th Anniversary and packed out stadiums around the world.

[Jon Stebbins]

What if gold bricks came out of my dog's rear end instead of poop?

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I like the idea of 15 Big Ones being the band's one and only album.

[Alex]

I like the idea of 15 Big Ones being the band's one and only album.

What are you smoking?!

[SG7]

What if gold bricks came out of my dog's rear end instead of poop?

That would be a scary world if it was only the 70s stuff!

[WWDWD?]

What if gold bricks came out of my dog's rear end instead of poop?

Hey, what can I say I love to dream up what ifs.

[art rush]

I like the idea of 15 Big Ones being the band's one and only album.

MAD UNIVERSE!
That would be so awesome, hahaha.
Also, according to my proposal, "Good Vibrations" would be released for the first time on In Concert. 

[WWDWD?]

I like the idea of 15 Big Ones being the band's one and only album.

That is hilarious and awesome! Five unknown bearded men releasing a weird roley-poley synth singalong album.... then disappear. Amazing. I love it.

[shelter]

The band's first album is Sunflower. They break up after L.A.
I reckon they'd be a tremendously underrated band, with very hard-to-find albums and a cult following similar to the Grateful Dead.
What do you think?

I think "Sunflower" might have been a hit if it would've been their first album. It's a great album, so I figure the main reason why it flopped was probably the group's reputation... I think that people either never liked The Beach Boys to begin with and weren't going to give them a chance no matter what they did, or they did like the 'old' Beach Boys and just wanted more of where "Surfin' USA", "I Get Around" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" came from. That probably must've been why "Sunflower" didn't catch on back then.

This might be a bit too drastic an example, but imagine Coldplay releasing a metal album now... Even if it's really really good for what it is, I'm pretty sure Coldplay fans won't give it a chance and metal fans won't give it a chance either...

[TheLazenby]

Sort of like the reason Chumbawamba won't play live in the US anymore.  They have a different personnel and play strictly folk music... Americans would only want to hear what they typically call "that 'I get knocked down' song".

But hey, stylistic changes aren't always frowned upon.  I mean, people seem to be okay with They Might Be Giants' kids albums that seem to dominate their career nowadays...