The Smiley Smile Message Board

Inspired by the Sunflower album topic, I figured we could try and construct a perfect Still Cruisin' album by using Brian's solo material. Here's what we got:

BBs material:
"Still Cruisin'"
"Somewhere Near Japan"
"Island Girl"
"In My Car"
"Kokomo"
"Wipe Out"
"Make It Big"

Brian Wilson:
"Love and Mercy"  
"Walkin' the Line"  
"Melt Away"  
"Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long"  
"Little Children"  
"One for the Boys"  
"There's So Many"  
"Night Time"              
"Let it Shine"              
"Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight"              
"Rio Grande"  
"He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move"
"Being With the One You Love"
"Let's Go to Heaven in My Car"
"Too Much Sugar"     


Here's my take on the PERFECT Still Cruisin':

Side A
One for the Boys
In My Car
Still Cruisin'
Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long
Island Girl
Kokomo
Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight
Being With the One You Love

Side B:
Make It Big
Somewhere Near Japan
Walkin' The Line
Melt Away
Love & Mercy
Rio Grande

Interesting idea. I think I would probably place Kokomo either as track 2 of side 1 or track 1 of side 2.

I would fill out Still Crusin with things like "Barbie," "Chasin' The Sky", RRTHR, Cal Dreamin, Happy Endings some of the random single stuff.

Pixeltwin: That's not a bad idea. Honestly, I think it turns into a decent little album with Brian's contributions. It creates a nice balance. You have Mike Love's all fun, no pain music pitted with Brian's emotionally confessional, kinda niche work. Neither element becomes overbearing this way.

Matt H: I think if you make it all the singles and promo songs, there just isn't enough depth. "Barbie, you are yummy like ice cream!" Um... no.

As bad as that song sucks, I think Brian sounds pretty great on it.

"Perfect", I think, is hyperbolic. And to do what you want is to ruin a perfectly good BW album, but I agree that there's a lot of stuff from vaguely (i.e. ball park) that era that could be used to make Still Cruisin' a better album than SIP, at least.

Eh, BW's first solo is good, but hardly a perfect album I'd refuse to mess with. Besides, my mix leaves "Night Time" available so he has something to sing when he wants to wear leather pants.

 
 
 
The Perfect Still Cruisin' Album

"Still Cruisin'"
"Somewhere Near Japan"
"Island Girl"
"In My Car"
"Kokomo"
"Wipe Out"
"Make It Big"

i would leave out the oldies and replace them with:
 Rock & Roll to the resque
 California dreaming
 problem child
 chasin the sky
 east meets west

Totally agree with this. Also the version of "Don't Worry Baby" recorded with the Everly Brothers for the "Tequila Sunrise" soundtrack and "Happy Endings" with Little Richard from "The Telephone" soundtrack. It would've made for a handy catch-all of stray tracks. 

Yep, that would've been a nice, LONG, enjoyable album. I'm not sure that "Problem Child" was recorded at that time, though. And, you know, all of those replacement songs would've fit nicely both musically and lyrically with some efficient sequencing. Brian's 1988 solo album was already history by the time Still Cruisin' started, but there was one song floating around, "The Spirit Of Rock And Roll", which would've been a nice Beach Boys' song at that time. It'll never happen, but I wish somebody from Capitol would take this idea/project and run with it. A little remastering, sequencing, new artwork, liner notes, and a budget price....I'd buy it.

I think the below is a great idea.  I remember wondering at the time why they didn't do it.  But the studio Beach Boys and Brian Wilson solo were very different animals in those days, in terms of sound.  The mix and match with a Brian Wilson solo album seems really at odds, an uncomfortable mix.  It's like side two of the vinyl version of TWGMTR.... it's a Brian Wilson solo album.


The Perfect Still Cruisin' Album

"Still Cruisin'"
"Somewhere Near Japan"
"Island Girl"
"In My Car"
"Kokomo"
"Wipe Out"
"Make It Big"

i would leave out the oldies and replace them with:
 Rock & Roll to the resque
 California dreaming
 problem child
 chasin the sky
 east meets west
 

 
   
 

My Perfect Still Crusin album is this

Still Cruisin'
Somewhere Near Japan
Going To The Beach
Island Girl"
In My Car
Kokomo"

Side Two

California Calling
Keepin' the Summer Alive
Hot Fun in the Summertime
"Summer of Love"
Slow Summer Dancin' (One Summer Night)"
Summer in Paradise
Forever

Songs i forgot

Rock & Roll to the resque
 California dreaming

But it's been that way since Surf's Up, at least. Brian does his thing and the BBs either hop on board, or they don't.  MIU and KTSA are the only BB albums where Brian was involved and the sound is uniform (until TWGMTR), but you get the sense Brian wasn't in control. I think if you take the BW88 songs, give it a "bigger" sound and take out a bunch of the percussion doodads and some of the weirder synths - plus add the BB harmonies - and it could work with the Still Cruisin' material.

It's very much hypothetical. I'm imagining a world where the rest of the BBs decide to keep Brian closer to the fold. And I think they needed him to bring depth and substance at that time. An entire album of "Kokomo" is just not substantial enough. Sure, do a song or two like that. But then you gotta move on.

I would also leave Brian's album alone in regards to this.  In regards to the rest, I was never a fan of "East Meets West" or "Happy Endings" but most of that other stuff fits in right nice on this record, and certainly WAY better than the oldies.   ::)

I'd go with

"Still Cruisin'"
"Somewhere Near Japan"
"Rock & Roll To The Rescue"
"California Dreaming"
"In My Car"
"Chasin' The Sky"

"Kokomo"
"It's A Beautiful Day" or "Problem Child" *
"Don't Worry Baby" with the Everly Brothers
"Island Girl"
"Make It Big"
"Wipe Out"

* Either hold the album back until the completion of "Problem Child" or use a better ten year old song instead.  Your call.

I think the songs in bold improves the album, even Happy Endings! It's depressing to include 3 oldies to complete an album...

01 Still Cruisin'
02 Somewhere Near Japan
03 In My Car
04 Kokomo
05 Make It Big
06 California Dreamin'

07 Rock n' Roll To The Rescue
08 Happy Endings
09 Spirit Of Rock n' Roll
10 Island Girl
11 Chasin' The Sky
12 East Meet West

My call is the brothers ruined the ideal harmonizing, their voices sound out of place & frankly - boooooring. Don't touch the classic, as they say.

1. Island Girl (the most rollicking song should be 1st)
2. Kokomo
3. California Dreamin'
4. It'a Beautiful Day
5. Make It Big
6. Walkin' the Line
7. Problem Child
8. East Meets West
9. Rock & Roll to the Rescue
10. Wipe Out
11. In My Car
12. Still Cruisin'

This what I call "The Perfect SC album".com

This link doesn't work.

Thank Him

I wouldn't want to dilute the listening experience for good material like Melt Away and Rio Grande by putting them on an album with guff like Still Cruisin, Kokomo and In My Car. Still, each to his own...

I think Dutchie has the right idea, but I would dump Problem Child and East Meets West - as bad as the worst tracks on SIP

How can an album that includes several songs from the still crusin album be considered anywhere close to "perfect"?  ;D

ok, but the single versions of CD and RnRTTR were out in 1986......so in 1989, they could be called oldies used to complete your lineup.

A lot of people are leaving out Rio Grande.  That surprises me, because I'm think it is Smile esque. I do like the idea of mixing Still Cruisin with BW 88. One for the Boys would open and Rio Grande would close the album.

I like beacharg's line-up the best. Even though I dislike most of these songs, I really think that using "Chasin' The Sky" (recorded in 1983) would improve any 80's Beach Boys archival release.

I do, too. But I gotta admit that I like RangeRoverA1's idea to start with "Island Girl". Or at least Side 2...

I don't think much else can be done to improve what's there short of adding California Dreamin' and Chasin' the Sky.

And furthermore...I'll echo a statement I made a long time ago here: Capitol should take all the then-new "Still Cruisin" album and SIP album, combine it all on one CD and put it out there. Hell, call it "Kokomo Deluxe" or whatever. The point is ALL commercially released Beach Boys material should be available. Good, bad or ugly. It makes no difference. If it was out then, it should be out now.

Still Crusin' definitely needs to lose the oldies.  The main song I'd add would be Chasin' the Sky.  And it would be fine with me to leave off BW's uninspiring In My Car.  And since we are talking about an album that epitomizes the BBs lack of cohesive artistic integrity at the time as far as coming up with an entire album of new material is concerned, on a serious note I'd love to see Chasin' the Sky released on an official BBs compilation.

Does anyone have any insight on why "Chasin' the Sky" wasn't included on Still Cruisin' (or any other comp for that matter)? I figure it either has to do with rights issues/money or the band not really liking it. Or both. It's just bizarre how Still Cruisin' omits that tune, in place of the zillionth reissues of the 60s oldies.

You are right.

Carl stated it was because it was on a different record label so they couldn`t include it.

Interesting... was this in an interview at the time of the album's release?

  "Chasin' the Sky", a decent song, was about 6 years old by the time STILL CRUISIN' was assembled. Of course the irony is that the oldies at the end of the record were already 20 years old or older. It still ticks me off that they did not use worthy cuts like "Sky", "The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll" and "Let's Go to Heaven in My Car." Bottom line is The Beach Boys and Capitol did not have enough confidence to make STILL CRUISIN' all (relatively) new, further irony that such an album would have been a *** LP. IMO.

 Historical note- I think STILL CRUISIN' and STEEL WHEELS came out the same day. I could be off, but it was close.

One month apart: STILL CRUISIN' 8-29-89   STEEL WHEELS 9-29-89

 In the immortal words of Robert Christgau: "Everything rocks and nothing ever dies."

Yes.

You may be able to find it on this board if you use the search function.

And yet it sold really well!!! Another missed opportunity... Any album with Kokomo on was always going to sell well at this point - they should therefore have really strove to make the album excellent, rather than barely-passable as it instead was.

Here's the thread w/ that Carl interview http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15607.msg369050.html#msg369050

"Chasin' the Sky" is so bad, that I'm amazed that anyone would actually like that garbage.

That song suxx so much.

Oh RangeRover, what're we gonna do w/ ya? Lol.

I luv Chasin' the Sky. Those intricate Beach Boys harmonies layered upon a passionate hard rock melody, w/ lyrics full of coming-of-age wonderment..."chasing the sky. waiting for my ship to come in" It's perfectly placed in the film Up the Creek, in a scene where a group of young guys are driving along to their destination...they're chasin' the sky  ;)

I never favor a song because it's "passionate".

Nice, but I don't listen to a song for lyrics. Never saw that film.

Definitely better than average 80's & 90's BB. I sometimes wonder if Dennis had ever heard it or not... Interesting chord progression and very descent guitar solo. Strong lead vocal from Carl. It at least deserves to still be in print somehow.

"Chasin' The Sky" is another vapid '80s BB song. Besides Brian's stuff and some Carl solo songs, the band was shockingly incapable of putting any real depth in their songwriting. I don't think Dennis would've been impressed. God bless Carl, but I find it sad to hear him singing this stuff, or even writing songs like "Keepin' The Summer Alive". He'd lost his way. He was tired of fighting for Brian and Dennis only to have them succumb to their demons. So he joined the Traveling Bruce Johnston Short Shorts Circus.

I like Chasin' the Sky. It makes me want to play Mike Tyson's Super Punch Out on my Nintendo Entertainment System and watch Miami Vice!

A lot of their output was pretty shitty in this period and, yes, Brian's solo album, love it as I do, would've sounded far better with the BB voices on (and production values from a decade earlier), so in that context, Chasin' the Sky, as AOR as hell, is one of the better things the band did.

AGD's site says they recorded the vocals in January 1984.

Here's a clue; Chasin' The Sky was not written by any of the Beach Boys, it was recorded for the movie Up The Creek. Here's another clue; the Walrus was Paul. Some of the music was weak, but not just Carl's. Brian was doing no better. The 80's was not a great time for songwriting, at least released stuff, for the band.