TWGMTR - 1 year on...

[MBE]

Still feel the same way. The LP is a better mix and order, and it's the best group LP since "Holland". Not a huge fan of it, but enjoy it more than I thought I would.  3.4/5

[coco1997]

Still love this album and am incredibly proud that my favorite group was able to put together something of such (generally) consistent quality given their post-1977 output. I can honestly say I don't dislike any of the songs, although "Bill and Sue" is the weakest, despite offering some amusing subject matter. "Strange World" is the weakest part of the suite, but it's still a very pleasant listen.

Stray observations:

- "TATD" is a poignant introduction, although I think it would be better suited with a different placement on the tracklist, perhaps as part of the suite. Plus it would be cool to open the album with the title track.

- "Isn't It Time" - Their most unabashedly fun song since the mid-60s. Nothing cringe-worthy about the lyrics, although I hate what they did with the live version. This is what present-day BB should sound like. The individual voices are all showcased masterfully. I actually don't mind Jeff on the bridge.  

- "Spring Vacation" - Something tells me I should disdain this song but I don't. The lyrics are toss-offs--more family reunion, 'all is forgiven' tripe--the guitar tone is pitiful and the auto-tune is felonious...but I can't help but adore it.   The chorus lyrics make for an interesting case study, though.

- "Shelter" is gorgeous. Yes, it's essentially a re-write of another BB song or two, but so what? It wouldn't be the first time that's happened. I can't help but wonder how amazing this song would have been sounded in 1965.

- I actually enjoy "Daybreak," and, having not heard the original Mike Love version, I like that Al's voice cuts through during the intro. The percussion is unnecessarily busy and Mike's sped-up vocals during the post-solo pre-chorus are a bit distracting but overall it's harmless. For a Love-penned track, we could have gotten a lot worse. I would not have minded had they brought in Christian Love--doing his best Carl Wilson impression--to record some more BGVs for the rest of the record to give it a fuller BB sound.

- "Beaches in Mind" has the wimpiest guitar tone of any BB song ever and could have benefited from a faster tempo. As it is, there aren't any fast rockers on this album and "Beaches" just slogs too much. And of course, we couldn't have a 50th anniversary album of new BB material without at least one dumb self-referential lyric. Thanks, Mike.

- "FTTBA" might be the be best song they've recorded since "Holland." Al's voice has held up the best of any of the BB (with the possible exception of Bruce) and is criminally underused on this record. "PCH" is also beautiful.

- I've heard "Summer's Gone" accused of being 'boring'--a fair critique--but it's basically "Caroline, No" at twice its length, which I'd probably find boring, too.  The few moments of auto-tune are disappointing but ignorable.

All in all I wish the album was a bit longer. I enjoy Al's "Waves of Love" and kind of wish it had found its way on there. I've found that it actually fits in nicely between "Shelter" and "Daybreak."

[Jonathan Blum]

The album still gives me chills from the opening notes.

Best since Holland, easily -- but where "Holland" starts glorious and peters out into something mellow and amiable, this one ambles along charmingly until the sun starts going down, and then devastates you.

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[rab2591]

After all the lawsuits, petty arguments, and artistic disputes that have plagued these guys for the last 50 years, this is the most perfect album we could've gotten from this group.

Sure, I would've loved to have Brian in complete control of the creative vision. I would've loved an entire side devoted solely to his Life suite. But instead, we got some fun tunes, some heartfelt tunes, even a great solo tune from Mike Love. It wasn't the Pet Sounds that many of us were dying to hear, but many of the songs on this album are Pet Sounds worthy...which we should truly be grateful for.

One year later, I really don't listen to the album that much (but then I don't listen to many other Beach Boys albums all the way through). I play Daybreak and Pacific Coast Highway quite a bit. Shelter and Isn't It Time I play more often than not.

I still think Beaches in Mind is complete garbage and should have been left off the album. The lyrics are barely a step above 'Santa's Going to Kokomo' and the chords are just as imaginative. But it doesn't diminish the beauty of the rest of the album.

In all, I give this album 4/5 stars.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

best album since LA Light I reckon

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

[Shady]

Calling it the Best Beach Boys album since 85 or LA isn't much of a compliment 

[Mike's Beard]

It's the best Beach Boys album since Stars & Stripes Vol 1.

[TimmyC]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Wait a minute - you think From There to Back Again does not at least RIVAL Baby Blue?!?! And "Baby Blue" of all songs??? Wow man. You can't say "there's nothing on (TWGMTR) to rival Baby Blue" as if that's definitively true and expect that to go unchallenged. I seriously mean no offense by this, but honest to god that is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while. Maybe you're joking, it's hard to tell with these posts sometime!!

FTTBA is an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece. I love pretty much everything they've done, but you'd have a hard time saying that about any BB song since at least Love You, if not earlier. My opinion of course.

All in good fun man, but wow, honest to go I cannot even process your view on this, if you're serious.

[Jim V.]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Wait a minute - you think From There to Back Again does not at least RIVAL Baby Blue?!?! And "Baby Blue" of all songs??? Wow man. You can't say "there's nothing on (TWGMTR) to rival Baby Blue" as if that's definitively true and expect that to go unchallenged. I seriously mean no offense by this, but honest to god that is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while. Maybe you're joking, it's hard to tell with these posts sometime!!

FTTBA is an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece. I love pretty much everything they've done, but you'd have a hard time saying that about any BB song since at least Love You, if not earlier. My opinion of course.

All in good fun man, but wow, honest to go I cannot even process your view on this, if you're serious.

Errr...I personally agree that "From There To Back Again" is a better tune than "Baby Blue" (in my opinion). But "Baby Blue" is a great song, full of emotion. One of the best, if not the best, of Dennis Wilson's songs. So I gotta ask why you think it's so crazy that somebody would rank "Baby Blue" as a great song. Have you even heard it? Carl sounds majestic on that song, and Dennis uses his ruined voice to the best effect he's ever had.

[rab2591]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Wait a minute - you think From There to Back Again does not at least RIVAL Baby Blue?!?! And "Baby Blue" of all songs??? Wow man. You can't say "there's nothing on (TWGMTR) to rival Baby Blue" as if that's definitively true and expect that to go unchallenged. I seriously mean no offense by this, but honest to god that is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while. Maybe you're joking, it's hard to tell with these posts sometime!!

FTTBA is an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece. I love pretty much everything they've done, but you'd have a hard time saying that about any BB song since at least Love You, if not earlier. My opinion of course.

All in good fun man, but wow, honest to go I cannot even process your view on this, if you're serious.

The last 3 songs on TWGMTR are probably the best 3 consecutive songs on a Beach Boys album since Surf's Up.

It may not be the best album since Holland, but definitively since Love You (and I'm a big fan of MIU, to boot).

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Wait a minute - you think From There to Back Again does not at least RIVAL Baby Blue?!?! And "Baby Blue" of all songs??? Wow man. You can't say "there's nothing on (TWGMTR) to rival Baby Blue" as if that's definitively true and expect that to go unchallenged. I seriously mean no offense by this, but honest to god that is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while. Maybe you're joking, it's hard to tell with these posts sometime!!

FTTBA is an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece. I love pretty much everything they've done, but you'd have a hard time saying that about any BB song since at least Love You, if not earlier. My opinion of course.

All in good fun man, but wow, honest to go I cannot even process your view on this, if you're serious.

Ok, first of all I can say ''there's nothing on TWGMTR to rival Baby Blue'' because a) I'm entitled to an opinion, and b) I just did say it.

Secondly, what on earth do you mean by saying: ''And Baby Blue of all songs???'' What do you mean 'of all songs'? What, you don't rate Baby Blue? I think you'll find you're in the minority opinion there, my friend. Baby Blue is an exceptional song, by far the best track on L.A., and one of Dennis' all-time greatest ballads, which is saying something. It's 'an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece' to use your own words. So I'm curious as to why you think it's so ludicrous to say it's superior to anything on TWGMTR - because it is.  

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Wait a minute - you think From There to Back Again does not at least RIVAL Baby Blue?!?! And "Baby Blue" of all songs??? Wow man. You can't say "there's nothing on (TWGMTR) to rival Baby Blue" as if that's definitively true and expect that to go unchallenged. I seriously mean no offense by this, but honest to god that is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while. Maybe you're joking, it's hard to tell with these posts sometime!!

FTTBA is an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece. I love pretty much everything they've done, but you'd have a hard time saying that about any BB song since at least Love You, if not earlier. My opinion of course.

All in good fun man, but wow, honest to go I cannot even process your view on this, if you're serious.

The last 3 songs on TWGMTR are probably the best 3 consecutive songs on a Beach Boys album since Surf's Up.

It may not be the best album since Holland, but definitively since Love You (and I'm a big fan of MIU, to boot).

Make It Good/All This Is That/Cuddle Up.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I realise I'm probably setting myself up for a roasting here, but I think relief plays a large part in a lot of people over-praising TWGMTR.

Here's what I mean...

When I first heard the song That's Why God Made The Radio on the radio I remember being really relieved that it was credible, that - after two decades of utter dross - it wasn't appalling. Phew! It was only after several listens that I realised I didn't actually particularly like the song. It was, you know, ok. Not great, but not awful. Not a patch on their prime; rather bland production; a pretty slight song all things told. But as I say, I was just so relieved that it wasn't another Problem Child or Summer Of Love I found myself pretty pleased with it.

Upon buying the album, again I was relived: the opening track was fabulous - almost Friends-like. Wow, who expected that! Isn't It Time was also good, and the closing suite was very strong.

However, the production throughout remained bland. Likewise, the use of auto-tune was very depressing - this is the Beach Boys for God's sake, not JLS! And the poor tracks really were very, very poor indeed.

But I was so relieved that it wasn't all very, very poor - that a fair chunk of it was actually very, very good - that I was thoroughly wowed.

Since that initial relief however I've re-listened to the album on numerous occasions and the above mentioned flaws have really started to make themselves apparent. It seems a lot of people are willing to overlook TWGMTR's flaws in a way they aren't when it comes to earlier albums.

But TWGMTR is a very flawed album, and although I remain very pleased that it wasn't a complete dud such as SIP, it's not of equal quality to their glory years.

So there.

 

[rab2591]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Wait a minute - you think From There to Back Again does not at least RIVAL Baby Blue?!?! And "Baby Blue" of all songs??? Wow man. You can't say "there's nothing on (TWGMTR) to rival Baby Blue" as if that's definitively true and expect that to go unchallenged. I seriously mean no offense by this, but honest to god that is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while. Maybe you're joking, it's hard to tell with these posts sometime!!

FTTBA is an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece. I love pretty much everything they've done, but you'd have a hard time saying that about any BB song since at least Love You, if not earlier. My opinion of course.

All in good fun man, but wow, honest to go I cannot even process your view on this, if you're serious.

The last 3 songs on TWGMTR are probably the best 3 consecutive songs on a Beach Boys album since Surf's Up.

It may not be the best album since Holland, but definitively since Love You (and I'm a big fan of MIU, to boot).

Make It Good/All This Is That/Cuddle Up.

I'm not a big fan of Cuddle Up. Brian's vocals and the arrangements on PCH and Summer's Gone really sway my vote.

As for your last post: I wasn't expecting their voices to sound that good, or the arrangements to be so beautiful. So I was overly happy when I heard it. That doesn't make the album any less desirable 1 year later.

It has "flaws", I guess, but most people perceive flaws based on their own personal taste...what you call a flaw is something someone else probably enjoys. I loathe Beaches in Mind, but others enjoy it - this doesn't mean they're over-praising the album, it just means they enjoy what others don't.

[phirnis]

L.A. is really an underrated album I think. Good Timin', Angel Come Home and Baby Blue are all classics and the rest ranges from good to very good in my estimation. It's also very coherent, much like Holland in fact. Too bad there's so little Brian here but GT makes up for it. Dennis and Carl were both incredible singers by that point. Love the Brian pictures inside the sleeve. Album should've been a hit!

[TimmyC]

hahaha - just checked back in - haven't gone through all the comments, but look, Baby Blue is a great song (of course I've heard it SweetDudeJim!). I didn't say it wasn't, but the Beach Boys have alot of great songs from all phases of their career, and to me, Baby Blue is not particularly exceptional. I'm seriously glad that it hits others on a deeper/more fulfilling/enjoyable level, but I don't think I'm alone here when I say that although very good, it's not a stone cold classic (to reuse my favorite phrase). WHEREAS BY COMPARISON, I can't believe that any less than the vast majority of Beach Boys fans would consider FHTBA a SCC ("stone cold classic").

And of course people can have opinions -- but if we Beach Boys fans can't razz each other, then I think we're taking it all a little too seriously. And I'm sure that's not what the Beach Boys would want us to do.  

[TimmyC]

Nah man, it's not "easily" the best since Holland, that would be ignoring some of the few decent songs that can appear on M.I.U., KTSA, L.A. that even has a decent production (not the best for some of them but at least isn't insulted by autotune), and overall the great Love You which works far better as a whole and even tries to aim for something different and refreshing.. so come on, not "easily".

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Wait a minute - you think From There to Back Again does not at least RIVAL Baby Blue?!?! And "Baby Blue" of all songs??? Wow man. You can't say "there's nothing on (TWGMTR) to rival Baby Blue" as if that's definitively true and expect that to go unchallenged. I seriously mean no offense by this, but honest to god that is one of the most ludicrous things I've heard in a while. Maybe you're joking, it's hard to tell with these posts sometime!!

FTTBA is an absolute stone cold Beach Boys masterpiece. I love pretty much everything they've done, but you'd have a hard time saying that about any BB song since at least Love You, if not earlier. My opinion of course.

All in good fun man, but wow, honest to go I cannot even process your view on this, if you're serious.

The last 3 songs on TWGMTR are probably the best 3 consecutive songs on a Beach Boys album since Surf's Up.

It may not be the best album since Holland, but definitively since Love You (and I'm a big fan of MIU, to boot).

Make It Good/All This Is That/Cuddle Up.

Oh man Disney Boy.... you're making this so difficult. All This is That is absolutely phenomenal. Unfortunately it's sandwiched by dreadful shoot-me-in-the-face muck.  hahaha - but seriously if someone introduced me to the Beach Boys with Make It Good and Cuddle Up, I would disown them if they were my child, defriend them if a friend, quit my job if they were my boss, fire them if they were my employee, lose my faith if they were my priest, and get divorced if my wife. Anyone with me here? Anyone??

[Dave Modny]

Oh man Disney Boy.... you're making this so difficult. All This is That is absolutely phenomenal. Unfortunately it's sandwiched by dreadful shoot-me-in-the-face muck.   hahaha - but seriously if someone introduced me to the Beach Boys with Make It Good and Cuddle Up, I would disown them if they were my child, defriend them if a friend, quit my job if they were my boss, fire them if they were my employee, lose my faith if they were my priest, and get divorced if my wife. Anyone with me here? Anyone??

Well, since you asked...

I like "Cuddle Up" quite a bit. But, I'll agree with you on "Make It Good." I'm as big a Dennis fan as anyone, but for me, "Make It Good" embodies all the worst, most overwrought and ponderous tendencies x 10 that Dennis could ever be accused of. He was rarely off-mark in the channeling of his emotions and instincts, yet, he was with this one.

But...that's just me.

[Peter Reum]

I like about 70% of the album. There are a few lightweight songs, but overall it was surprisingly satisfying to my ears. I don't get too worked up about production values or studio tools. If the songs are solid, they will outshine whatever recording equipment or techniques were used.  The main criticism I have is that they didn't pull something of Carl and Dennis's to put on the album. There is plenty laying around that could have been utilized.

[rab2591]

Forgot to add this to my first post here: 1 year later I love the song 'Strange World'. I remember disliking it when I first heard it, but it has really grown on me.

[Dave Modny]

I think "Radio's" still quite solid after a year. Production-wise, I believe it will also hold up a lot longer than something like "Imagination," -- that one with its glassy, triple-tracked wall-of-Brian vocals. I was as swept away as anyone at the time for the mania of that release -- "the first all-new, Brian Wilson record to be released in over a decade" -- and find it virtually unlistenable today. Now, THAT one is MOR and bland in the worst kind of way. Conversely, I honestly don't think I'll feel that way about TWGMTR in 15 years because the strengths of the record (e.g. the "suite" at the end, the vocal production) are very strong, and they dwarf whatever MOR leanings Joe Thomas tends to have. As far as the autotune goes, it's simply this generation's studio tool-du jour. Not organic...but just the way it is. Perhaps, it's a bit overused and obvious in places, but short of spending 3 months in the studio to get everything as good as possible, I think it's a satisfactory solution to hear Brian in the best light vs. what might've been (and yes, I'm aware that Al's voice is doused in it as well on FTTBA).


As far as the songs themselves, looking at my initial track rankings, I still think it's pretty much the same order today. Though, I honestly don't hate the "fun-in-the-sun, name-checking, cliche-ridden" songs as much as I did at first. As a friend of mine stated...they're dopey...but they're infectiously fun, catchy and dopey. Not flat-out annoying and irritating. And while I would obviously prefer more of the "serious stuff," again, I don't flat-out hate them these days.


On the other hand, I think the record still had it faults. It really didn't feel like a group Beach Boys album in the traditional sense, where *everyone* usually brought their (hopefully) best stuff to the table and had more input. It felt rushed. But I guess that was then, this is now. Carl and Dennis are both dead. The rest of the guys are 70-years-old. Musical politics. Etc, etc. Vocally-speaking, I find it an absolute crime that that group's strongest vocalist, Al, the one whose sound could still bring back memories of days gone by, was almost an afterthought. I still shudder when I recall reading things like that he was initially only supposed to sing a tiny bit of FTTBA. Always the second-class citizen I guess and that "politics" thing again. I know it was necessary to showcase Brian, but did he really need to sing lead on the majority of the album's tracks? At the very least, if they truly wanted a hit "radio" single, it might've been a better idea to let Al take the initial lead on "Isn't It Time"...and go from there (I actually could hear *Brian* singing the "all of the things we used/want to do" bit instead).


All-in-all...still a solid "B" for me. I still listen to it regularly. And those last 3 songs (really more like the last 4 songs for me)...whoa....more than I ever expected or could've asked for. FTTBA is a flat-out Beach Boys classic, IMHO.

[Gabo]

Kind of a cheesy album imo. Everything sounds so self conscious, even the suite. Songs like "Beaches in Mind" sound like they could have come off a mediocre latter day Crosby Stills and Nash album, rather than a Beach Boys record.

Some of the bad songs though, benefited mankind as they were used in hilariously stilted promotional videos.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fl5iF9YuZg


When, Isn't It Time comes on, though, I always get up to dance.  :B I love that song.

[Nicko1234]

Agreed. It's easily their best since Beach Boys '85, that's about as far as I'd be willing to stretch it personally... Love You is consistently good throughout, whereas TWGMTR swags dreadfully in the middle. And the highlights on L.A. are better than the highlights on TWGMTR. There's nothing on the latter to rival Baby Blue.

Not sure consistent is exactly the word I would use to describe that album.