Can any Beach Boy album be considered truely flawless?

[Mike's Beard]

Did they ever make an entire album which you consider perfect from beginning to end? Which you would not change a single note on?

[cablegeddon]

No. Pet sounds comes close and it doesn't contain any typical fillers but there's still a song or two there that I don't care for.

[Curtis Leon]

Disregarding the obvious (Pet Sounds, SMiLE),  I'd say Wild Honey is about as perfect as it gets. Short, but so very very sweet (Odd thought: What if Brian made a Wild Honey era version of Surf's Up using his '67 piano demo as the base?) 20/20 would almost make the cut, but the Bruce Johnson instrumental is a bit boring, and that weird effect at the beginning of Never Learn Not to Love nearly made me jump out of my seat the first time I heard it. Maybe if you cut that bit out and replaced Never Learn Not to Love with Celebrate the News or a finished up version of Ol' Man River or something.

[phirnis]

Friends - Holland - Love You

Not necessarily perfect by rock critics' standards but personally I wouldn't change anything at all about these three. All brilliant from start to finish, as is Pet Sounds, of course.

[stack-o-tracks]

Love You is perfect. Possibly the best album ever. Its just so off-putting. I would like to someday create something from the same well of inspiration that Love You came out of. Impossible though

[Mike's Beard]

As I've said many times before "Surf's Up" is my favourite BB album but it has it's flaws. Take a Load of Your Feet is too lightweight and SDT (which I like btw) would have been better suited as a one off single. Those Dennis songs really should have made the cut in their place. Also as much as I love the song, ANY of the Wilsons could have cut a much better lead on A Day in the Life of a Tree then Jack Reiley.

My biggest problem with Pet Sounds is it can lack energy at times and start to sound a bit 'samey'.  A little rocking guitar here and there could have helped. I've also noticed that every song has the verses sung in the same style, using a 3 note spiral at the end of many lines.

"Then we wouldn't have to wait so lo
                                                           o
                                                              ong"

"But that's not me
                             ee
                                 e"

"Where did your long hair go
                                             oo
                                                 o?"

Dare I say it but some of Smile is less then essential to these ears.

20/20 would have been perfect if not for that crappy Bluebirds Over the Mountain single.

I'd say the BB album that doesn't have a single weak spot for me would have to be Holland.

[runnersdialzero]

I've also noticed that every song has the verses sung in the same style, using a 3 note spiral at the end of many lines.

Way to ruin the album for everyone else, bub.

[The Heartical Don]

Depends on the standards one applies.

Do I know a perfect pop album at all, by anyone? No. But as for art in general, the question itself is a bit redundant. I could say that I can't find fault with Glenn Gould's 1981 interpretation of Bach's Goldberg Variations, but that may be different tomorrow... then I might prefer Angela Hewitt's one, which is a tad more playful and loose.

Pure maths is perfect. But you can't listen to it, nor read or just watch it in the commonsense manner.

Pet Sounds and SMiLE (as per TSS) are superb, 5-out-of-5 stars albums for me - and that is enough. Kind Of Blue is their equal, in jazz. And Svjatoslav Richter's version of the Well-Tempered Clavier, which is rather romantic, is the same in classical.

Compare art (e.g. music) to human beings themselves. You won't ever find a flawless one. You have your preferences, which even may change over time. Your loved one is not perfect, and nether are you yourself. But if there were no flaws in us, then there wouldn't be love at all, nor art. Life would be just one thing: immensely and frighteningly boring. Not worth living, in fact.

I am pretty sure of all this.

Thank you.

[The Heartical Don]

(double post)

[homeontherange]

f*cker. Pet Sounds is pretty much flawless and I don't think you understand how original it is compared to an album like Surf's Up.

[Mike's Beard]

friger. Pet Sounds is pretty much flawless and I don't think you understand how original it is compared to an album like Surf's Up.

You are correct Sir. I don't deserve to call myself a Beach Boys fan. I shall give away all my CD's of them to the local Oxfam and delete my smileysmile account post haste.

[homeontherange]

friger. Pet Sounds is pretty much flawless and I don't think you understand how original it is compared to an album like Surf's Up.

You are correct Sir. I don't deserve to call myself a Beach Boys fan. I shall give away all my CD's of them to the local Oxfam and delete my smileysmile account post haste.

Sorry. I'm in a bad mood this morning and can't really handle when someone attacks Pet Sounds, my favourite thing in this world.

[Newguy562]

Disregarding the obvious (Pet Sounds, SMiLE),  I'd say Wild Honey is about as perfect as it gets. Short, but so very very sweet (Odd thought: What if Brian made a Wild Honey era version of Surf's Up using his '67 piano demo as the base?) 20/20 would almost make the cut, but the Bruce Johnson instrumental is a bit boring, and that weird effect at the beginning of Never Learn Not to Love nearly made me jump out of my seat the first time I heard it. Maybe if you cut that bit out and replaced Never Learn Not to Love with Celebrate the News or a finished up version of Ol' Man River or something.

i totally agree :]

[Newguy562]

besides the 2 obvious albums...pet sounds & smile which are perfect in every way
i'd have 2 say wild honey..just the whole vibe of it is awesome.. plus it's the only beach boys "r&b" album

[SBonilla]

Did they ever make an entire album which you consider perfect from beginning to end? Which you would not change a single note on?

For me, it's THE BEACH BOYS' PARTY album, a perfect concept album.

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

Pet Sounds is flawless. It's not my current favorite, just because I've already played it a billion times, but even the parts that are "samey same" are still very different, and help bind together the album as a whole.

I think that CatP-ST is damn near flawless, although He Come Down almost torpedoes it. I scratch my head when people claim that Here She Comes and Hold on Dear Brother aren't "really" BB songs but give a pass to the fake gospel that, while fun, isn't exactly an original idea (other than comparing the Maharishi to Jesus in some pretty trite lyrics). While it isn't as cohesive as Pet Sounds, So Tough covers a lot of cool ground. It brings exciting new southern rock-type vibes to the band's sound, and includes Dennis' cinematic ballads in addition to some fun middle-period Brian Wilson rockers. I love Marcella, and Mess of Help, and I almost crash the car when I start dancing. Great production, too. Not a wall of sound, but it does have a lot of depth and the voices and instruments are clear and crisp.

Wild Honey is mostly flawless, except for the oft-cited muddiness and How She Boogalooed It. I'd Love Just Once to See You took a while to grow on me, but I like it. Still, that and Mama Says (which I ADORE, for obvious reasons) don't really fit. But it is an unbelievable album nonetheless, close to perfect.

[The Heartical Don]

Oh, and I wouldn't change ONE note on Summer In Paradise, not for the life of me. Because each and every change, however tiny, would improve that album - and it would become less laughable and become better as a result.

So as it stands, SIP is a truly flawless disaster. Let's keep it that way, folks.

[Jason]

Today, Pet Sounds, Smiley Smile, Sunflower, Love You.

[The Madcap]

Beyond the obvious answers of Pet Sounds and Smile, There are a few that  come really close for me. Today would be flawless if it weren't for "Bull  Session With The Big Daddy". Wild Honey would be flawless if it weren't for it's absolutely horrid production. Sunflower has a few weaker tracks, but the only one I outright dislike is "At My Window".

[SloopJohnB]

Little Deuce Coupe, Pet Sounds, Sunflower, Holland, Love You. I wouldn't change anything on those.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

I think Pet Sounds is pretty damn close to flawless.


Summer Days would be perfect if not for "Old Man".

[Malc]

Personally (and I guess this is what it's all about) I cannot fault Sunflower or POB. Not one track on either than I have to skip. Then again, Surf's Up, C&P and Holland also rarely get passed over - but for me the first two win hands down if unflawnessness comes to shove.  

[Ram4]

These are the closest to flawless:
All Summer Long, Today!, Pet Sounds, SMiLE, Wild Honey, Sunflower

[Smilin Ed H]

Pet Sounds
Wild Honey
Friends
Love You
Holland

Today, Sunflower, Surf's Up and 20/20 almost make the grade

[TdHabib]

Pet sounds can be played all the way through and is flawless, might be the best album ever made. That's the only BB album with no embarassments for me, but Today, Sunflower and Love You come very close. Today really is the closest simply because the bummer is a talking track!