Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys

[sherryluvsbrian]

This is my fave of all. I normaly read a book once and that's it but, I read this one twice. I give a big 5

[Luther]

I think the book is great if you want gossip, but awful if you want any insight into music. Gaines is either clueless or has awful taste in music.

"Friends ... a boring, emotionless LP. ... Brian's solo contribution to the album was called "Busy Doin' Nothin'."

The album is certainly not emotionless, and is boring only if a person is looking for a different style of music. Friends, to my ears, is almost exactly what the band set out to make it. And it's one of their greatest successes. As for that second sentence, it doesn't make sense. If by "solo," Gaines means "sole," or "only," he's way, way off. And if he means literally solo, as in written by just Brian, it is one of two solo contributions, the other being "Passing By." And in that case, it's bad writing. (He should have said, "One of Brian's two solo contributions..." or some such thing.)

Or:

"The Beach Boys Today! ... was not one of Brian's best works, consisting mostly of a melange of uninspired car tunes..."

The album is widely regarded as among the top few Beach Boys albums, and I don't think it has a single car song on it.

Or:

"In reality, [Holland] was not very good. ... a forgettable tune called "Funky Pretty," composed with a little help from Brian ... The only outstanding part of the album was a small segment of the "California Saga" and a pretty song called "Clear Cool Water.""

Again, Holland is an album a lot of people really like, both Beach Boys fans and (in my experience) non-fans. "Funky Pretty" is arguably forgettable, but it wasn't composed "with a little help from Brian," it was composed by Brian. To call a part of the California Saga the only outstanding part of the album, but then not mention which part, is an example of sloppy writing or worse, and there is no "pretty song called "Clear Cool Water."" Presumably, he means "California," which includes that as a lyric.

The book is readable, but every single time Gaines discussses music, he is either demonstrably incorrect or demonstrating questionable taste (or both). I suppose it's a good thing he rarely discusses music ... although that's an odd thing for a book about a band.

[sherryluvsbrian]

Your right about the music but, I like to hear about  what went on behind closed doors. I know, some is untrue but, again it's a good read. We all know brian was kinda weird at times, but what part is true and what part is real  we will never know.

[Robav63]

I liked it, it was one of the first Beach Boys books I ever read.

After reading this, and other tomes, am I alone in wanting to rearrange Rocky Pamplin and Stan Loves faces with a baseball bat???

[Heywood Floyd]

Don't forget that Stan Love was the one who began the legal action to separate Brian from Eugene Landy. The other family members at first were hesitant to get involved and he got a lawyer and held a press conference and went after Landy.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WFPjJSI5sc4   watch this clip, at around the 6 minute mark, give or take 10 seconds, is the press conference with Stan Love and Brian Wilson shows up out of the blue to defend Landy.

[MBE]

You know having Steven here changes my opinion. That he admits there were errors with the music really helps me see the book in a new light. The fact that he does like the music (including things like Holland) really gives him a lot more credibility in my eyes. Sure we know Brian was more active in the late sixties/early seventies and that Dennis played on more sessions then once thought, but this does give some insight to the group's up's and down's. It explains a lot about why things declined so much musically, and why relations between the group are so fragile today.

[Alex]

You know having Steven here changes my opinion. That he admits there were errors with the music really helps me see the book in a new light. The fact that he does like the music (including things like Holland) really gives him a lot more credibility in my eyes. Sure we know Brian was more active in the late sixties/early seventies and that Dennis played on more sessions then once thought, but this does give some insight to the group's up's and down's. It explains a lot about why things declined so much musically, and why relations between the group are so fragile today.

I really want to read this book!!

[MBE]

Did you get a hold of a copy? Read it along with the Stebbins books and maybe the Carlin and Priess ones and you get a very complete picture. For the music of course Andrew is the one to go to.

[Lady]

I really like this book, too.  I have to disagree when I hear it dismissed as gossip.  There is a lot of historical value to this book.   The book begins with the days leading to Dennis' death, and I read that the author painstakingly interviewed and researched for this chapter, which could not have been an easy task for him.   

This book came out before the internet, when the only information you could find on The Beach Boys would be if they were featured in a magazine here and there.  When this book came out, fans could finally get a clearer picture about the band members as human beings, warts and all.   It's one of the very few books that I keep around to read again and again.

I was glad to see the author posting and then sorry to hear he left...... I think he deserves credit for his hard work, and for having the courage to tell it like it was.  It's not always easy being the messenger.  He is a wealth of knowledge on the band, and he definitely has my appreciation!

[Alex]

Just finished reading the book...and while I disagree with Gaines' opinions on some of the music, and saw a few spelling errors in people's names, I really love all the little sordid details...and I never even knew about Debbie Keil until I read the book....seems like Peter Ames Carlin left out a few things in his Brian bio.