New book: The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys

[Lowbacca]

Does anyone have any information about this?  It suddenly popped up on social media profiles of Al and others, I hadn't heard anything about it before.

--> https://geni.us/beachboysbook

Not much context is given. If this is supposed to be the grand official chronicles of the band, in their own words, with rare archive pictures, you'd expect a bit more fanfare (and murmurs beforehand). Apparently they have been extensive new interviews with the remaining Beach Boys.. does that mean someone talked to Mike, Bruce, and Al for a few days, and then asked if Brian has something to add, to which Brian replied: "Huh?". It would be nice to know some more about this project. If it's not just a quick cash grab... Or did Al simply jump the gun again? 

(Also, where are Dave, Blondie, and Ricky? They are/were Beach Boys too...)

Their only official book, The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys is the ultimate chronicle of one of the world’s greatest bands. Through their unique sound, complex harmonies, sensational live shows and use of innovative recording techniques, The Beach Boys became woven into the cultural fabric of America and influenced generations of musicians globally. This book documents how it happened. Order now at:

[Emdeeh]

There was an overpriced, limited-edition, signed deluxe edition available last year. This is the more affordable "bookstore" edition, coming out in April. The latest PR makes it sound like it just became available for pre-order, but that's actually been available for a few months now.

Here's a link (below) to the description of the limited-edition version. Presumably, the contents of the upcoming bookstore version will be the same, minus the autographs and the extra-fancy outer packaging.

https://www.genesis-publications.com/book/9781905662845/the-beach-boys

[Pretty Funky]

Ordered it through Amazon a few months back. Looking forward to it. Early April delivery.

https://www.amazon.com/Beach-Boys/dp/1905662858/ref=sr_1_2?crid=V6NK9L45OHW8&keywords=beach+boys+book&qid=1706121543&sprefix=beach+boys+book%2Caps%2C375&sr=8-2

Earlier thread here.

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,28364.0.html

[HeyJude]

It's a very cool book. I think the Genesis version was obviously not do-able for most folks, but this version is well worth the price, trust me.

[jeremylr]

HeyJude, how about reviewing this tome for us when you get a chance?

[HeyJude]

A great new interview from Ken Sharp/Goldmine with Howie Edelson discussing the new book:

https://www.goldminemag.com/music-history/beach-boys-biographer-sorts-out-the-positivity-and-discord-of-legendary-group

[HeyJude]

Got my copy in the mail yesterday from Amazon. I don't know who is on the fence still about this, but the book is *definitely* worth picking up.

[Ian]

Did a cursory look through my copy (I contributed to the book a little by the way) and it is a very handsome coffee table book.  A lot of great photos..they are mostly familiar to me but are well presented.  Also memorabilia, such as handwritten lyrics, tape boxes. There are a lot of interview quotes with all the survivors, as well as famous "talking heads" such as Roger McGuinn, Wanye Coyne, Rufus Wainwright, etc. There are also a lot of archival quotes from Carl and Dennis.  Don't know if I will learn anything I don't already know....but it looks like every album is discussed, as well as many tours, fellow musicians, etc.....So I think it will be a fun read.

[Howie Edelson]

***** Review from SHINDIG.

[HeyJude]

Had this thing been put out like 20 or 30 years ago, it easily could have ended up one of those "Tribute" anniversary magazines at the grocery checkout.

I've seen some newer fans who maybe don't have the perspective of what things were like pre-Sunshine Tomorrow, pre-Smile Sessions, and certainly pre-Pet Sounds Sessions.

This used to be the typical coffee table book:



I have this book somewhere in the collection. It's the book that is about half pics of the 1984 Washington DC gig, including pages and pages of the *other* artists that played. Like full page pics of Hank Williams Jr. In a Beach Boys book.

This new book had the team and resources that just didn't exist decades ago. While there are a number of amazing books on Brian and the Beach Boys from a scholarship point of view, I've rarely felt compelled to call a Beach Boys book beautiful. But finally we have something worthy of that description. That it was done with love and care and with the actual band members actively and enthusiastically participating only makes it more impressive.

I'd also say, unless your specific niche-within-a-niche of Beach Boys scholarship is regularly collecting every unpublished photo in existence that you can, there are some pretty impressive photos in the book that are new to me. The family stuff in particular.

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

A great new interview from Ken Sharp/Goldmine with Howie Edelson discussing the new book:

https://www.goldminemag.com/music-history/beach-boys-biographer-sorts-out-the-positivity-and-discord-of-legendary-group

Fantastic interview! Book sounds amazing.

[Ian]

Yeah....in the late 1970s and early 1980s no thought when into placing anything in context....photos from 1972 were identified as 1978 and pics from 1968 were labeled 1964....Like in American Band...every old clip was labeled 1964-which left me thinking that Carl's weight really fluctuated wildly....In fact the Shindig Clip of Fun, Fun, Fun was 1965...etc, etc.  And like I said-they showed home movies with David Marks in the band and no Brian....but never mentioned David by name......and never even mentioned Blondie and Ricky......so books like this are a big improvement on that era!!!

[Howie Edelson]

Spoke with my buddies Mark & Phil about my work on THE BEACH BOYS BY THE BEACH BOYS. . .

https://soundcloud.com/user-93394161/howie-edelson-on-the-beach-boys-by-the-beach-boys?fbclid=IwAR0Aa8gCjmqLnmElDMedQIpMPRq5OTMRWIaG_U4jbRFtPP7b4A2pnjyGrCw_aem_AUOTvnmi_TjaG1OYjO7u0kq-ikx_fL3icu2IuiZvAsfVExAKdIH6E-AmpI4EeQQqALGqIjA8lfNzeQrTFmme8Tf3

[Bedroom Tapes]

Excellent work to all involved!  Thanks for the updates Howie on the goings-on in the BB world.  I appreciate it.  👏😎

[Emdeeh]

Link to interview without Facebook's nefarious tracking added:
https://soundcloud.com/user-93394161/howie-edelson-on-the-beach-boys-by-the-beach-boys

[Ian]

Finished the book-as I said before, very handsome book-packed with photos. It really goes for the positive though-many, many pages on Pet Sounds but Smile is covered in a much shorter time. No discussion of the tense 1967 European tour and the decision to not appear at Monterey is not discussed (though Mike mentions it in passing when discussing 1970 Big Sur Festival there). Every album gets a mention but more in depth conversation about some would have been cool.  Bruce leaving in 72-is covered only by a very positive quote from Bruce and comments from Mike from a 1972 interview (so nothing new to reveal there), Very little on Blondie and Ricky-though they are mentioned of course.   Nothing on the 72 European tour or the TV special with Elton John but the Holland album and stay is covered.  It air brushes the rough patches....the decline of Dennis in 78-80 is more hinted at then discussed, no mention of the 77 tarmac fight, the disastrous 78 Australia-New Zealand tour, Brian's second decline in 78-79, and only hints that Carl was so dissatisfied with the BBs by 1980 that he'd go solo the next year.  So not as comprehensive as it could have been and punches are very much pulled.  Still, probably the most lavishly illustrated and handsomely presented book on them that we are likely to see.

[MyDrKnowsItKeepsMeCalm]

If the book covers the band just up to 1980 as per Howie's interview, then unfortunately 'minimal bad vibes from 1977-1980' makes some sense.

[Ian]

Right...the book is designed to enhance the brand not wallow in the mire....Hence you have to end in 1980....but truth be told 1976-1980 was not a fun time to be a Beach Boy for the most part

[HeyJude]

I think we all know enough about how the band and organization work that we should and do understand what is or isn't going to be dwelled upon in their own book.

The book is *their* words, so anything in the book has to A) Have been said by them at some point and B) Get through the approval process.

I think Howie's print interview in Goldmine and the recent "Surf's Up" podcast give a very good insight into how the book was put together and why the book was constructed in the way that it was.

Was it not fun to be a Beach Boy in 1976-1980? I mean, I bow to nobody in my fascination and interest for the later era (going beyond 1980 as well), and tons of nasty stuff happened during that era. But they also released FIVE albums in that time period (with another couple of album's worth of material going unreleased), so I think it's also true that the ugliness and icky stuff often controls the narrative.

There's a place for all of that stuff (see: Steven Gaines), and I'm all for ALL of it being told. But this book is essentially authored by the Beach Boys in their voice. Imagine the rigamarole involved in any *one* of them doing a book, and then imagine what's involved in getting *all* of them to sign off on it. I think the whole team on this book did a THOUSAND percent better on this thing than anything we would have gotten years or decades ago.

I've never assumed I'll EVER hear or see these guys publish a book or film or anything where they talk about Rocky Pamplin sleeping with Marilyn, or Dennis getting punched in the throat, or talk about Carolyn Williams, etc.

In that "Surf's Up" podcast, Howie actually very starkly explained what happens when, for instance, you go past 1980, where you'd get to talk about some great stuff, but then you'd also open huge cans of worms about those same things.

I would LOOOOOVE for these guys, or ANYBODY, to FINALLY go *deep* about what the f**k happened in 1998 for instance. That story has STILL not been told, not even close. But I've also been studying and observing this stuff long enough to know where and how I'm going to find or *not* find more out about that.

As I've probably already said multiple times, we're not going to get a Lewisohn type of deep dive on everything until these guys are all gone (if at all), and in that scenario we'd be lucky if *we're* still around to see that.

I finally really got deep into this book over the weekend, and just spun "Made in California" while I read it, and it was a BLAST. It was exciting. This book isn't a pulled punch or a nostalgic piece of memorabilia. It's got tons of words from these guys, and I'm not going to begrudge them (or the FANS for that matter) having something that doesn't *immediately* go straight to Murry being abusive, Brian dropping out, Carl passing out in Australia, 87 lawsuits, etc.

[Ian]

I agree with you.  Good points!

[Howie Edelson]

Thanks for the kind words, Jude.
YOU seem to always get it.

[HeyJude]

I also have to say: Anybody complaining about the prominence of David, Blondie, and Ricky in this book (e.g. not having their names and faces on the front cover) must know ZERO about the history of this band and how the organization/politics, etc. have worked.

Remember the 50th reunion tour? There was a SPECIFIC (and OBVIOUS) reason the names on all the posters and merch always read: Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks, *in that order*. Same order (in reverse obviously) that Jeff would announce them on stage.

I don't know how you can be a lifelong fan and own ten thousand photos of Brian Wilson and not immediately vibe and innately know why the cover of this book has the six principal members, and ONLY them, on the cover.

Also, the pedants complaining about "not enough rare photos" also appear to not understand what a BOOK EDITOR is. I think some fans who have hard drives squirreled away with every odd duck photo of the band don't understand how shaping/editing the flow of a book works. I wasn't involved in the book, but I'm guessing edict #1 in making this book was NOT "find a photo nobody has ever seen." It was surely about ILLUSTRATING the STORY they're telling.

AND, if you claim a photo isn't "rare enough" even though it has NEVER actually been published in a book (meaning you've had it on your hard drive since 1997), then you're in a very small bubble.

Some of this stuff is like complaining that the "Hotel Tape" isn't in "Endless Harmony."

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I also have to say: Anybody complaining about the prominence of David, Blondie, and Ricky in this book (e.g. not having their names and faces on the front cover) must know ZERO about the history of this band and how the organization/politics, etc. have worked.

Remember the 50th reunion tour? There was a SPECIFIC (and OBVIOUS) reason the names on all the posters and merch always read: Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks, *in that order*. Same order (in reverse obviously) that Jeff would announce them on stage.

I don't know how you can be a lifelong fan and own ten thousand photos of Brian Wilson and not immediately vibe and innately know why the cover of this book has the six principal members, and ONLY them, on the cover.

Also, the pedants complaining about "not enough rare photos" also appear to not understand what a BOOK EDITOR is. I think some fans who have hard drives squirreled away with every odd duck photo of the band don't understand how shaping/editing the flow of a book works. I wasn't involved in the book, but I'm guessing edict #1 in making this book was NOT "find a photo nobody has ever seen." It was surely about ILLUSTRATING the STORY they're telling.

AND, if you claim a photo isn't "rare enough" even though it has NEVER actually been published in a book (meaning you've had it on your hard drive since 1997), then you're in a very small bubble.

Some of this stuff is like complaining that the "Hotel Tape" isn't in "Endless Harmony."

^This

[Howie Edelson]

Cut to the dude missing the ENTIRE point and posting on numerous boards the same unsolicited "review" of everything the book DIDN'T cover.
It's literally the difference between working in the business and not.

[PrayForSurf]

Howie,

Big thanks from Mark Dillion and me for giving us a behind-the-curtain peek at "The Beach Boys by The Beach Boys!

We hope to do it again soon,

Phil

The interview:
https://soundcloud.com/user-93394161/howie-edelson-on-the-beach-boys-by-the-beach-boys

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