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A few songs I really enjoy, and the rest is pure yuck for me.



15. Just Once in My Life - Carl just sounds off here.
14. A Casual Look
13. Blueberry Hill
12. Chapel of Love
11. T M Song
10. Rock and Roll Music - Not for me. YUCK!
9. Palisades Park - Could do without this, and the rest of the above.
8. Susie Cincinatti
7. Back Home
6. Talk to Me - Carl sounds great.
5. That Same Song - Brian sounds like he was really into this.
4. In the Still of the Night - Dennis sounds great as always.
3. Everyone's in Love with You - Mike sings beautifully here.
2. It's O.K. - I think this is a great song, and single.
1. Had to Phone Ya - I really like this. Going with the unified Sunflower theme. It's wonderful.

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what a clunker of an lp for me. boy, was i ever embarrassed to play this around anyone. what a letdown i had when this came out. 3 years for this pos. i still feel the group blew a huge chance for a major comeback releasing this junk. bad memories for me.

I almost like your list better than mine!
The BB's have way too much good stuff to listen to, so I don't even bother with most of this.

Very good:
1. Just Once In My Life - middleeight is one of my favorite BB moments
2. It's OK - had probably been a bigger hit if it had been the lead single
3. Susie Cincinnati
4. Back Home
5. That Same Song - gospel version is much better

Tolerable:
6. Everyone's In Love With You
7. Palisades Park
8. Rock And Roll Music

Not good at all:
9. TM Song
10 Chapel Of Love
11. Blueberry Hill
12. A Casual Look
13. Had To Phone Ya
14. In The Still Of The Night
15. Talk To Me

It's not so bad, though I think the project would succeed better if it were all covers or all originals.

1. It's O.K.
2. That Same Song
3. Had to Phone Ya
4. Susie Cincinatti
5. Back Home
6. Just Once in My Life
7. Chapel of Love
8. Rock and Roll Music
9. Palisades Park
10. In the Still of the Night
11. Blueberry Hill
12. Everyone's in Love with You
13. Talk to Me
14. A Casual Look
15. T M Song

It’s OK
Had To Phone Ya
Susie Cincinatti
Everyone’s In Love With You
That Same Song
Back Home

TM Song
Chapel Of Love
Palisades Park
Just Once In My Life
Talk To Me
Rock N Roll Music (works great live – here, not so much!)
A Casual Look
Blueberry Hill
In The Still Of The Night

Gotta lot of love for this album.  It was the current release when I fell in love with the Beach Boys' sound back in '76, and I played it a heck of a lot while editing schoolyard magazines at my bedroom desk. That and 20 Golden Greats, and Disc d'Or and all sorts of others in the days when I didn't now the difference between a studio and a compilation album! 


Today's order:

1. Just Once In My Life
2. Had to Phone Ya
3. Back Home
4. Susie Cincinatti (though I cannae recall whether my fave version is the album mix or the 45 mix or A N Other mix…)
5. That Same Song
6. Palisades Park
7. It's Okay
8. Rock n Roll Music
9. Blueberry Hill
10. A Casual Look
11 In The Still of the Night
12. Chapel of Love
13. Talk To Me
14. TM Song
15. Everyone's In Love With Love

Not too good but the group were more unified on this than anything until TWGMTT. The top six are fun
Susie Cincinatti
It's O.K.
Rock and Roll Music
Back Home
That Same Song
Had to Phone Ya
In The Still Of The Night
T.M. Song
Everyone's In Love With You (One I like sometimes but not always)
Just Once in My Life
Palisades Park
Chapel of Love
Talk To Me
Casual Look
Blueberry Hill
   

I like this album a lot, way more honest than holland was in my opinion. Will rank tracks later.

1. Susie Cincinnati
2. Had To Phone Ya
3. It's OK
4. Rock 'N' Roll Music
5. Just Once In My Life
6. Back Home
7. That Same Song
8. In the Still Of The Night
9. Everyone's In Love With You
10. Palisades Park
11. Talk To Me
12. Chapel Of Love
13. TM Song
14. A Casual Look
15. Blueberry Hill


I guess I should have known I was in trouble when my favorite song on the album was 7-years old, a former B-side, and a song that Dennis Wilson went on record as categorically hating (though I really don't get the latter).

Like John manning above, 15 Big Ones was the first new Beach Boys album I ever bought, having been hooked by Endless Summer and Spirit Of America. So, it will always have a soft spot with me, too. I do think it is one of Brian's best produced albums (so many tracks are fascinating with the BW touch), and I think Brian was doing (maybe subconsciously?) a Phil Spector album.

1. It's OK
2. Palisades Park (as BB covers go, this does not get the recognition it deserves)
3. Back Home

4. Had To Phone Ya (without Brian's tag/vocal, it coulda been a contender...)
5. Chapel Of Love
6. In The Still Of The Night
7. Just Once In My Life
8. That Same Song (Brian had something here, not developed enough)

9. TM Song (underrated, again should've been developed)
10. Everyone's In Love With You (if Brian would've written it...)
11. Susie Cincinatti
12. Rock And Roll Music (the single version would move it up a notch or two or three)

12. Talk To Me (without "Talahassee Lassie" it moves down to No. 15)
13. Blueberry Hill (Brian picked the wrong lead vocalist)
15. A Casual Look (they used to perform this live)   

+1 !!


Awesome:
01. Back Home
02. It's OK
03. Susie Cincinnati
04. In The Still Of The Night
05. Palisades Park
06. Blueberry Hill
07. Just Once In My Life

Good/Okay:
08. Had To Phone Ya
09. That Same Song
10. Rock And Roll Music
11. Chapel Of Love
12. Everyone's In Love With You

Forgettable:
13. A Casual Look
14. Talk To Me
15. TM Song

Underrated, as it looks forward sonically to Love You. I mean, it isn't an album that approaches greatness, and it has nothing as good as the highs of Passions and Holland (except, arguably, Had To Phone Ya). But I'd rather listen to it than either of those early albums. It lifts out of the draggy, ponderous progressiveness of the group's previous work, and enters, ya know, fun territory. I dig fun.

Great:
1. Had To Phone Ya
2. That Same Song
3. Susie Cincinatti (shoulda been on Sunflower)
4. It's OK
5. Just Once In My Life


Very Good To Good:
6. In The Still Of The Nite
7. Chapel Of Love
8. Palisades Park
9. A Casual Look
10. Back Home


Awful:
11. Talk To Me
12. Everyone's In Love With You
13. Blueberry Hill
14. TM Song


Lowest Of The Low:
15. Rock And Roll Music (The lamest slice of dad-rock crapola ever. Makes ELO's version of Roll Over Beethoven sound like The Stooges. "Drinkin' beer from a wooden cup"? Bitch PLEASE.)

Never understood the hate for this album.  Yeah it's far from their best but it's also far from their worst.  I think there are some pretty good songs on here.  There's at least half a decent album here.

1. That Same Song
2. Just Once In My Life
3. Back Home
4. It's OK
5. Had to Phone Ya
6. Susie Cincinnati
7. In the Still of the Night
8. Rock and Roll Music
9. Chapel of Love
10. TM Song
11. Palisades Park
12. Blueberry Hill
13. Talk to Me
14. A Casual Look
15. Everyone's in Love With You

1.  Back Home
2.  Susie Cincinnati
3.  Blueberry Hill
4.  In the Still of the Night
5.  Palisades Park
6.  TM Song
7.  Everyone's in Love with You
8.  Talk to Me
9.  It's OK
10.Had to Phone Ya
11.Rock and Roll Music
12.Chapel of Love
13.A Casual Look
14.That Same Song
15.Just Once in My Life

Man they blew it with this one!! I can enjoy it for what it is but the group that made Holland only three years before was dead and gone.

1/ Susie Cincinnati - What would have been a lesser track on Sunflower reigns supreme here. Says it all really.
2/ Back Home - Good remake, Brian's giving it his all for once.
3/ Blueberry Hill - Brian actually did a really nice arrangement on this.
4/ Had to Phone Ya - decent version of a 4 year old backing track.
5/ Palisades Park - Another one of the better covers they did for this record.

6 - 11 - The other six tracks on the album are interchangeable for me and impossible to rank. Mediocre at best.

12/ It's OK - No it's not.
13/ Everyone's in Love With You - Mike, it's not 1972 anymore now your songs about TM are crap.
14/ That Same Song - The Gospel version rocks, this just sucks.
15/ Rock and Roll Music - This is just tragic.

Not just good – it rocks! Blows the two earlier versions out o' the water.

The dislike for Just Once in My Life is something I've never heard expressed before, I find it very surprising.

1. It’s OK (single version is 20x better, but still the best track here by far!)
2. Rock And Roll Music (single version is 100x better, but still the 2nd best here)

3. Back Home (worked better live)
4. Susie Cincinatti
5. Palisades Park (fun Carl lead vocal)
6. Had To Phone Ya
7. A Casual Look

8. TM Song
9. That Same Song
10. Everyone’s In Love With You

11. Just Once In My Life
12. Chapel Of Love (WEIRD!)

13. In The Still Of The Night (embarrassing)
14. Talk To Me (absolute train wreck)
15. Blueberry Hill (when the group vocals come in - WOW this is horrible...just drags on and on)

The track is great and Carl, as usual, is outstanding. I think Brian comes up short; he's a little off-key but enough to make it wince-worthy. I wonder what it would've sounded like if Carl and Brian reversed vocal parts?

Not their greatest work, but there are some pretty awesome songs on 15 Big Ones.

1. Had To Phone Ya (I'm currently hooked to this song. Can't get enough!)
2. Just Once In My Life
3. Susie Cincinnati
4. It's OK
5. That Same Song

6. In The Still Of Night
7. Back Home
8. Chapel Of Love
9. Palisades Park
10. A Casual Look

11. TM Song
12. Everyone's In Love With You
13. Talk To Me
14. Rock and Roll Music
15. Blueberry Hill

1. Had To Phone Ya (almost considered writing about it for that Compositions thread, what a weird tune)
2. In The Still Of The Night (It's DENNIS WILSON singing IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT, for chrissakes)
3. It's OK (A rock song with clarinets/alto saxes/canned drums/moog bass? Yes please. Some cracking backing vox on an album without many, and of course, the tag)
4. Talk To Me (I kinda love how deranged the entire thing is, Carl's vox especially. Which I feel a bit bad about, seeing as Carl was going through some rough sh*t at the time...)
5. Blueberry Hill (ditto)
6. Chapel Of Love (Again, these things are insane to me. They are spectacularly weird productions, so chunky and thick. Nice BOWBOWBOWs too)

Here it gets difficult

7. Just Once In My Life (It's a little bit painful, but simply HUGE.  The bridge with the tack piano is great. The vox are just the wrong side of nuts that I don't really feel the need to listen to it much)
8. A Casual Look/Palisades Park (well done, but disposable - Palisades Park so much so that I forgot to write it in the list!)
9. Rock & Roll Music (Want the hot mix in good quality plz)
10. Susie Cincinatti (Boring, inoffensive, cheeeeers Al)
11. That Same Song (Needs a gospel choir)
12. Back Home (really don't like this one, tbh. BW's vox are painful, the track is boring, prefer mellower Sunflower versions if I had to choose)
13. Everyone's In Love With You (The most beautiful, moving, exquisite, touching, loving ballad written about a hairy Indian millionaire)
14. TM Song (Bollocks)

I've warmed to this one quite a bit...

Particularly:

01.  Just Once In My Life
02.  Had To Phone Ya
03.  A Casual Look
04.  Susie Cincinatti
05.  Back Home
06.  In The Still Of The Night

And then:

07.  Palisades Park
08.  Rock and Roll Music

Less so...

09.  It's Okay
10.  That Same Song (but not a patch on the filmed version with the gospel choir)
11.  Blueberry Hill
12.  TM Song
13.  Talk To Me
14.  Chapel of Love

Utter sh*t:

15. Everyone's In Love With You  

Exactly.  :hug

Highly enjoyable and very underrated (though just not quite as good as Holland and Love You!). Brian himself seems to love it as well. Wonderful and very inventive synth work amidst some admittedly dodgy lead vocals. I find myself listening to this one a lot. Only songs I don't care for are Alan and Mike's contributions.

1. It's OK
2. Back Home
3. Just Once in My Life
4. Had to Phone Ya
5. In the Still of the Night
6. Chapel of Love
7. That Same Song
8. Blueberry Hill
9. A Casual Look
10. Rock and Roll Music
11. Talk to Me
12. TM Song
13. Palisades Park
14. Everyone's in Love with You
15. Susie Cincinnati

Quite a weak album!

1. It's OK
2. In The Still Of The Night
3. Palisades Park
4. Susie Cincinnati
5. That Same Song
6. Back Home
7. Rock and Roll Music (prefer the single version)
8. Chapel of Love
9. Had To Phone Ya
10. Everyone's In Love With You
11. A Casual Look
12. Talk To Me
13. Just Once In My Life
14. TM Song
15. Blueberry Hill

1. Just Once in My Life
2. It's O.K.
3. Had to Phone Ya
4. Palisades Park
5. Back Home
6. Susie Cincinnati
7. In the Still of the Night
8. Talk to Me
9. That Same Song
10. Everyone's in Love With You
11. Blueberry Hill
12. Chapel of Love
13. T.M. Song
14. A Casual Look
15. Rock and Roll Music

It's not nearly as bad as it's sometimes made out to be, but it's tragic how the Beach Boys' golden opportunity was spent on something middling.  Case in point would be their biggest hit of the 70's, the hideous Rock and Roll Music cover.  The single version is a little better, but it doesn't take much to beat the lifeless one found here.

Somehow I really like "Rock and Roll Music". It's nothing particularly special but still... - That said, "It's OK" should've been the lead-off single I think. (Or, better still, "It's OK" should've been released as a single as early as '74 or '75. Somehow I think this could've been really huge!)

Fantastic
It's OK
Had to Phone Ya

Solid covers
Just Once in My Life
In the Still of the Night

Decent songs
Back Home
Talk to Me
That Same Song

Scraping the barrel
Chapel of Love
Palisades Park
Blueberry Hil
Rock and Roll Music (single version is better but still pretty aweful due to Mike's terrible singing.)

Insult to humanity
A Casual Look
TM Song
Everyone's in Love with You
Susie Cincinnati

Nailed it.

just have to say have never understood the Rock and Roll Music hate. I really like this song and Mike's vocal.

Stunning play, my man *doffs cap*

I really like "Chapel of Love" since it sounds like Brian is just excitedly speak-singing the lyrics and is almost too-desperately trying to believe what he's singing. It's definitely weird though, yeah.

Also, "Palisades Parks" cooks! It sounds demented in the best possible way! And what the f*** is Carl slurring excitedly and loudly in the middle of that one?

Bravo  :woot :woot

'Whooo.... Oh My GOD, this cookin' here I can't stand!!!!'

I pretty much hated everything about this album upon first hearing, but through the years have grown to love its modest charms. Gruff Brian + farting synths is a big winner in my book.

1. Just Once in My Life
2. Had to Phone Ya
3. Back Home
4. That Same Song (version w/ choir would have rated higher even)
5. Palisades Park

6. Chapel of Love
7. Blueberry Hill
8. A Casual Look
9. T M Song
10. It's O.K.

11. Susie Cincinatti
12. Rock and Roll Music
13. Everyone's in Love with You
14. In the Still of the Night
15. Talk to Me

I do think Rock and Roll Music is a great live song. I love the Knebworth 1980 version :) Dennis beating the sh*t out of the drums 8)

Sheesh,  this album..    I'm an unapologetic fan even though I cop a lot of flack from people who know no better, serenading me with Kokomo etc,  and I gladly and proudly play most of their albums when friends come over.  But I will never play this.  Ever.  I can't really stand it to be honest.  I take what I like and forget the rest.  Also the cover is terrible.  They all look like odd.

Love:
1. It's Ok.  I really love this and it's on my BB faves playlist
2. Just Once In My Life.  I get a bit hypnotised by this song,  I adore it,  Carl's sluryness, Brian's yelly voice.  I dig it big time.

Ok:
Had to Phone Ya
Back Home,  though it's mainly because I love the live clip where he smacks the microphone around :)

Dislike intensely:
1. Rock and Roll Music.  Please.  Mike's nasal tones do not suit this song, it needs more guts. Dennis would have been better.

Ignore like it doesn't exist:
The rest of the album.

1. It's OK - Comes very close to recapturing the spirit of the early BB hits, even more so than Do It Again
2. Had to Phone Ya - Nice, very charming.
3. That Same Song - Fun. Brian sounds very into it. I especially like the version from the It's OK tv special with the gospel choir.
4. Back Home - Fun song, and it rocks. Isn't it amazing how the band automatically sounds A LOT better when Brian sounds like he's enjoying himself?
5. Blueberry Hill - Pretty cool arrangement. One of the few good covers here.
6. Everyone's in Love with You - Very pretty backing track (despite the overdose of cheese), awful lead vocal though...
7. In the Still of the Night - I don't dislike this. Dennis sounds cool. 'Little Girl (You're My Miss America)' 14 years on.
8. Just Once in My Life - I love the original version of this song... Obviously Carl and Dennis aren't singing very well, but Dennis sounds like he means it and that saves the whole thing a little bit.
9. Chapel of Love - Whatever.
10. Susie Cincinatti - Whatever.
11. Talk to Me - Whatever.
12. Palisades Park - Sounds incredibly bland compared to the original.
13. A Casual Look - Whatever. Again, terrible lead by Mike.
14. Rock and Roll Music - Awful. Chuck Berry should have sued the Boys for so brutally butchering his great classic.
15. TM Song - So bad that I suspect that Brian was intentionally f*cking with Al and Mike here.

The best
I just want to say that I'm a huge "TM Song" fan. It has the structured goofiness of a Friends song, or "When Girls Get Together". I particularly love the ending - the countdown, the purposefully obnoxious sax, and the abrupt conclusion of the song followed by the sound of someone smacking their lips and pulling a lyric sheet off of a stand or something.  And, yes, I do think Brian is making fun of TM, just like he did on Friends. Think of it as Brian's musically pleasant but snide undercutting of "Everyone's In Love You". It's like the perfect soundtrack for a late night Maharishi infomercial.

"Just Once In My Life" is a synth pop masterpiece. It's one of those instances where I think using a vocalist other than Brian (such as Dennis) would've helped the songs appeal. Emotionally, Brian's performance is good, but he just doesn't have a naturally gruff voice. It doesn't quite cut the mustard for the radio, while his smooth sound did.

"It's OK" is a great pop song. It's groovy and upbeat. The only flaws are that it feels a bit manic somehow, and the outro feels maybe a little undercooked with the "doot doots". Seems like a "dit dit" or a "doot doot" is what Brian just throws in when he doesn't have anything better.

The good
"Susie Cincinnati" has some really fun background vocals - as does "Rock & Roll Music" (and fart synths, which are instant win) - and "Had To Phone Ya" has shades of exquisiteness, but the bridge and outro seem rushed somehow, even there are some darn good ideas at work. "Back Home" is a guilty pleasure. The song and its execution is so simplistic, yet it's so catchy. Big ol' gruff Brian singing about staying home and people not believing how he's grown is oddly charming.

The rest
Otherwise, the album is kind of uninteresting and surprisingly bland, with a few good elements here and there.

For the second time.

Third times the charm for the TWGMTR followup.  :lol

I love "Had To Phone Ya" very much. I enjoy "Suzie Cincinnati" but prefer the bass heavy bootleg mix. I would rather listen to SIP than the rest of this album. This is one of the twofers where I skip the first album. The cover is their very worst. This whole project was just plain wrong. If they would have scratched it halfway through and waited for more original material then it could have been so much different.

Just relistened to this entire album and of the originals, most agree that TM Song is pure bad. Lyrically it's an abomination but the backing track is actually pretty interesting and imagine some better lyrics for it it coulda been in the vein of My Solution etc. Musically, the beach boys almost always hit the mark. Lyrically they missed many many many times.

I agree. There was always something about the "TM Song" backing track that appealed to me. I wish Brian would've had different plans for it and developed it more. I remember seeing Al (with Mike) on The Mike Douglas Show in 1976, and Al sang "TM Song" with an additional opening verse!

There are several songs on 15 Big Ones with cool backing tracks, but, as mentioned, the lyrics and/or lead vocals disappointed. I'm thinking specifically of "Had To Phone Ya", ""Blueberry Hill", "Just Once In My Life", and even "Talk To Me/Tallahassee Lassie"

Do I have to? ;D

I've actually never given this album a fair listen. I've tried on several countless occasions to play this album all the way through, but have never quite gotten there.

It's Ok is one song that I truly despise. It's really NOT ok. I played the 'Warmth of the Sun' comp a few years ago during a road trip with my family: they were really liking the mix (hearing some of the tunes they hadn't heard since their childhood), then "FUN IS IN IT'S NO SIN, IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN" blasted the hell out of my speakers and I couldn't find the 'forward' button fast enough. WHY DID THEY PUT THAT SONG ON THAT COMPILATION!? Because the Beach Boys can find any possible way to screw anything up.

It's Ok is the first sign of their harking back to the good ol days...nothing wrong with nostalgia, but the way they did it was just awful. It's a precursor to KTSA and SIP.

Back to some good things; I think Palisades Park is great (I've never heard the original), Had To Phone Ya is alright (I've never really dug it like everyone else around here). Blueberry Hill was another standout for me.

I'll go back and try to listen to this album all the way through...for some reason I can't but help skipping songs on this one.

'Palisades Park' has a great track on there ... almost like a '60s session sound. I love 'TM Song' and 'Had to Phone Ya' too. This record is pretty good compared to what came after Love You. And better than Holland is some ways.

Yeah, I'm tellin' y'all, that song owns. The original version is super boring (even tame) in comparison! The guitars and synths on that track are outtasight!

I like "its ok" for being the ultimate sleazy 1970s BBs song.

made me bust out laughing :lol :lol

It's so sadly true though.

It rules.
And the original of Palisades Park rules too.

"It's OK" is a feel good song. I love it. You have Mike in all his glory (albeit a little wordy), you have Marilyn all over the song, she's helping out Brian on the high part, you have hand claps, harmonies, and Dennis on the tag. What more do you want. Whenever I hear the song, either on 15 Big Ones or a comp, it brings a smile to my face.

One thing about "It's OK" always perplexed me. On the NBC-TV Special in 1976, when the Beach Boys performed the song, and a great version it was, even with the fake shots of Brian participating on stage, they alternate the lines. They sing, I believe, from memory, "Gotta get with it, gotta go through it, gotta go to it..." or something like that. The song was recorded before that concert wasn't it? I wonder why they flip-flopped the lines? Just one of those little things...

I think its cool that Brian made the track with fellow wall of sound acolyte Roy Wood and his band Wizard. The vibe in my opinion is Brian and Mike letting loose after the Surf's up- Holland years.

Kind of like how on "Isn't It Time" this past tour, it seems Al could never decide whether it's "everything we used to do," "everything we want to do," or "everything we'd like to do." 

Well, we all know what a modest guy Al is, how he likes to keep it clean--didn't feel comfortable syncopating in front of all those people...I think he didn't want to refer back to the "act of love" as an, er, integral part of the romance being referenced in "IIT."  >:D

1. That Same Song - Brian really nails that lead vocal!  
2. Chapel of Love - It's Brian going crazy. It's deadpan vocals by Mike and Al. Everything is great about this!
3. TM Song - I love that groovy organ. "1,2,3,4" indeed Brian.
4. It's O.K. - Man, that Moog! I missed Dennis vocals on this song when they played it live on the reunion tour.
5. Had to Phone Ya
6. In the Still of the Night - Such a solid track! There is only one Brian Wilson.
7. Back Home - Carl and Brian plays everything except the drums on this one. That's Dennis job, when I come to think of it - this is The Wilson Brothers anthem of the mid 70s!
8. Just Once in My Life - Piano, Organ and Moog: Brian Wilson. Bam!
9. Rock and Roll Music - Brian on Organ/Piano, Moog Bass and Arp. Supercool.
10. Talk to Me - A soothing sleepwalker.
11. A Casual Look - Again, superb background vocals.  
12. Susie Cincinatti
13. Blueberry Hill - Smoooth. Apparently Bruce Johnston on piano. And no Carl Wilson on this track!
14. Palisades Park - Passive aggressive vocals by Carl.
15. Everyone's in Love with You

The Beach Boys most underrated album. Together with Surf's Up and Love You, It's their best output in the 70s!

1. For Once in My Life    Perhaps their best cover
2. It's OK
3. Susie Cincinnati
4. Had to phone Ya   the tag brings it down
5. In the Still of the Night     David Coverdale rocks out
6. Palisades Park
7. Everyone's in Love With You
8. Rock n' Roll Music

Obviously, not a patch on what came before, as the albums from Wild Honey through Holland  happen to be my favorite albums by anyone, anywhere. Much of the songs are covers of material that date from a time period I despise. So..why do I love this album as much as I do?

15. Talk To Me- I hate the 'Tallahassie Lassie' part of the song. Not so instrumentally, but Carl's vocals. I'm not familiar with the original song, but probably wouldn't be to my taste. As for the rest of the song, it's okay if rather boring. Not my style at all.

14. A Casual Look- Again, not my style of music. Not my favorite Mike vocal either.

From here, it's all good

13. TM Song- I actually like this, as I find the opening funny, and the only thing that bugs me about the arrangement is that damn sax.

12. Blueberry Hill- A bit too busy, but I really like the part where it's just vocals and bass. I wish the whole song was like that.

11. In the Still of the night- Yet another song from that hideous decade, yet I like this. Maybe it's the Dennis vocal, or Brian's falsetto, or the fact that I like the Boyz II Men version, but this actually works for me. The other back-ups kind of hurt it for me.

10. Everyone's in Love with you- quite like this, although it is a bit too sappy

9. Palisades Park- I've always been partial to this song, actually, and this is a good version. Love the circus organ solo.

8. Susie Cincinnati- I've never liked them using older songs for 1976-and beyond albums, but this strangely fits

7 Rock & Roll Music- I like this more than most people, but the single version is what really gets me going. Love the synth sound, and to me this kills the Beatles' version. Of course, I am a bit biased...

6. Back Home- This is gonna sound strange, but this version is so superior to the unreleased versions it's sickening. Brian's voice adds to the song, actually.

5. Chapel of Love- Another 'oldie' that I actually like. Rough or not, I like Brian's voice on this as it has character...but the track is what spices my pumpkin but good. Add a heavy kick drum to the synths and hi-hats, anCd Brian just invented the sound of the 80s.

4. Had to Phone Ya- I like both this and the Spring version, but again it's the track that just slays me. There's an instrumental version out there that is killer...

3. It's Ok- Catchy and fun, although I wonder how it would have sounded if Brian did finish this in 1974. Nevertheless, I quite dig it.

2. That Same Song- Partially elevated because of the 'gospel' version, but  on its own its still good. I wish Brian had done more along this style. Vocals similar to his backups on 'He Come Down' that start at the 1:40 mark (where's he's doubling Blondie on the 'yes I believe' part...'Oops' the track and you can hear him very clearly)

1. Just Once in my Life- Phenomenal. By far the best production on the album...if the whole thing had sounded like this, the album would have a much higher critical standing.

You hate the '50s/early '60s?? I mean, civil rights wise, things were pretty rough, but musically I think the that era is great, with lots of great one-hit wonders and lots of great early rock 'n roll, r&b and other stuff happening.

The 50's were terrible on a social level. This is why rock and roll was born.

Actually, yeah, musically I do. I recognize that it is supposed to be good music, I just...can't get into it. It's not lack of familiarity, either, as that was the music my dad mainly listened to, and I heard plenty of it. I can dig Elvis, but not the 'Shooby-doobie doo wop, hold me darling' type thing.

The 50s saw the beginnings of the civil rights movement that would have its full flowering in the 1960s.  1954 was the Brown v. Board ruling.  1955 was when Rosa Parks led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which was also when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. first became noticed (admittedly, King's mentor, Bayard Rustin, was involved in similar protests throughout the South starting from the late 1940s).  Without these, the legislative victories of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s could never have taken place.  All of which is to say, it was a time during which much more social change was taken place than is generally acknowledged, with the popular view that all of 1950s culture can be gleaned by watching "Leave it to Beaver."  I think the emergence of Rock and Roll is reflective of what was going on in that sense.

I kind of have a soft spot for Rock 'N' Roll Music myself, if only because it was the first Beach Boys single that I ever purchased and thrilled to as it happened (I was still a little too young to appreciate, or even acknowledge Holland when it was first released).

Looking at it today, there's still a few quirky things that I enjoy about it: The prominence of all three Wilson brothers in the backing vocals. That barely there falsetto that floats in around the 1:20 mark and again at 1:58. The lead guitar figure in the right channel that permeates throughout the song (including the little "fires" before each chorus -- really dig the one at 1:15). The "Sea Cruise" organ sound.

As far as ML's nasal vocal goes, I've heard far worse (and more annoying) from him.


All only IMHO, of course. :)

Album really isn't as bad as I originally expected.

Just Once in my Life (SOOOOOOOO underrated. GREAT closer)
Back Home
Susie Cincinatti
Had to Phone Ya
It's OK (Like the sped up single better)
That Same Song
Chapel of Love
Rock and Roll Music
A Casual Look
In the Still of the Night
Medley: Talk To Me/Tallahassee Lassie
Palisades Park
Blueberry Hille
Everyone's in Love with You
TM Song

I adore this album, possibly more than I should.

A+
Had to Phone Ya
Blueberry Hill

A
Rock and Roll Music (why don't people like this???)
That Same Song (the version with the choir would be an A+)

A-
Susie Cincinnati (doesn't belong on this album, but oh well...)
It's O.K.
Just Once in My Life
Chapel of Love (my biggest guilty favorite)
TM Song
Palisades Park

B+
In the Still of the Night
Talk to Me/Tallahassee Lassie

B
A Casual Look
Back Home

C
Everyone's in Love with You

I feel the same way about this album too. I also agree with you on Chapel of Love. I especially enjoy the last verse where Mike follows Brian after each line. Only Brian could pull off a song such as this.

This album is awful and I despise it but...

1, Just Once in My Life - The only really good song on the album imo.

2, It's OK - Pleasant but obviously a retread.
3, Had to Phone Ya - Not bad but a shame they couldn't have completed it years before when Brian was at his peak.

4, Susie Cincinnati - But completely out of place
5, Blueberry Hill
6, Everyone's in Love With You - Too twee but at least Mike writing about something he cares about

7, That Same Song - Massively under-produced
8, Palisades Park - Semi-likeable
9, Talk to Me
10, A Casual Look

11, Rock and Roll Music - Another poor production from Brian and nasal vocal from Mike
12, Back Home - A terrible mauling of a pleasant song

13, Chapel of Love - Dire production and lead vocal from Brian
14, TM Song - Embarrassing
15, In the Still of the Night - Abysmal vocals and production.

1) Just Once in My Life- Usually the only song I listen to off of this album. I start with this and just move on to Love You on the two-fer
2) It's OK- I just like the tag, really.

Everything else is interchangeable. I hate this album. The concept of "selling out" has never been made more clear than on this album (I understand that's a loaded term, especially for a pop group). And I do not understand the love for In the Still of the Night. I am pretty much a Dennisista, but that lead hurts me deep down inside. Worst Beach Boys song I've ever heard.

Sleazier than Cruisin' (not technically a BB song though)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGOnW8Rui9k

Love Cruisin'!

May I ask, how is it not technically a Beach Boys song? Was it sung by imposters or something?

I'm sure you know full well that it was recorded by Celebration so what is the point of that question?

I thought it said Still Cruisin'. My apologies.

Apologies then for my slightly sniffy response.

One of my least favorite abums by them
1.Had to phone ya (Nice arrangement)
2. It's ok (Decent tune)
3. Susie Cincinnati (good song but totaly out of place on the album)
4.Just once in my life (The cover tune I like the best)
5. Back Home (good song, bad production/vocals)
6.that same song (I agree with those that say that the choir should have been on it)
7.TM song (bad lyrics, interesting arrangment, but yet out of place on the album)
8.everyones in love with you (One of mikes better tunes)
9. rock n roll music (the second cover tune I like)
the rest are equally bad....

Or as I call it: 12 Little Ones, 3 Decent Ones.

1. Had To Phone Ya - YEAH! I think. Yeah.
2. It's OK - It's okay. More than, even.
3. Back Home - Cool.

4. Susie Cincinnati - Eh?!
5. That Same Song - What?
6. Talk To Me - No....
7. In The Still of the Night - ....um...
8. Just Once In My Life - er...uh...
9. Rock And Roll Music - ....well when you put it like that....
10. Palisades Park - ...okay, but wha-
11. A Casual Look - WTF!
12. Blueberry Hill - Seriously?
13. Chapel of Love - ....no...no I don't think so...
14. TM Song - dude shut the hell up...
15. Everyone's In Love With You - ....like #$%&?@ right now. Jackass.

 To sum it up:  >:(

1. Talk To Me - Soooooo underrated.
2. Just Once In My Life
3. That Same Song
4. It's OK - Good song but Mike's over-nasally singing just irritates me here
5. Susie Cincinnati
6. Back Home - Obviously no Do It Again, but when I'm in the right mood this one kicks ass.
7. Had To Phone Ya
8. Rock and Roll Music - Absolute shite but fun! Defines the album really
9. Chapel of Love
10. TM Song
11. Blueberry Hill
12. In the Still of the Night
13. A Casual Look
14. Everyone's In Love With You
15. Palisades Park

1. It's O.K. - 457 (10)
2. Had to Phone Ya - 425 (7)
3. Just Once in My Life - 376.5 (10)
4. Susie Cincinnati - 370.5 (3)
5. Back Home - 368 (2)
6. That Same Song - 346.5 (2)
7. In the Still of the Night - 272.5
8. Palisades Park - 269.5
9. Rock and Roll Music - 252
10. Chapel of Love - 249.5
11. Blueberry Hill - 201
12. Talk to Me - 189.5 (1)
13. T.M. Song - 184 (1)
14. Everyone's in Love with You - 183.5
15. A Casual Look - 175

My thoughts?  Still don't quite get the love for That Same Song, but I might only dock it a couple spots.  I maintain that the album version of Rock and Roll Music is awful and should be much closer to the bottom.  Conversely, I'm surprised at how low Talk to Me ended up being.  Everything else pretty much makes sense in my mind.

From Worst To Best:

15. TM Song.
14. Everyone's In Love With You.
13. A Casual Look.
12. Blueberry Hill.
11. Chapel Of Love.
10. In The Still Of The Night.
09. Rock And Roll Music.
08. That Same Song.
07. Talk To Me.
06. Susie Cincinnati.
05. Had To Phone Ya.
04. It's OK.
03. Back Home.
02. Palisades Park.
01. Just Once In My Life.

This album has some good songs, some not so good songs.

1. It's OK
2. Had To Phone Ya
3. Back Home
4. That Same Song
5. Just Once In My Life
6. Susie Cincinnati
7. In The Still Of The Night
8. Chapel Of Love
9. Rock & Roll Music
10. A Casual Look
11. Talk To Me
12. Blueberry Hill
13. Palisades Park
14. TM Song
15. Everyone's In Love With You

1. It’s OK
2. Had To Phone Ya
3. Everyone’s In Love With You
4. Rock N Roll Music
5. Susie Cincinatti
6. TM Song
7. Chapel Of Love
8. Palisades Park
9. Just Once In My Life
10. Talk To Me
11. That Same Song
12. Back Home
13. A Casual Look
14. Blueberry Hill
15. In The Still Of The Night

Bump.  Hope that's okay.

The album has grown on me with many repeated listens.  I don't think the average music fan will recognize the BW touches on these songs.  It's all in the details!

Ranking from best to wreck IMO:
1. It's OK - The original mix is awesome!  I love Mike's lead, the sax, the drums, and the harmonies!
2. Chapel of Love - I love this tune.  Plain, simple, and perhaps a bit manic.  Brian's vocal commands here.  Even though he had laryngitis, he really hit it home here.  I sense so many emotions in his vocal: sadness, desperation, depression, mania, and not giving a flying surfboard about it.
3. Just Once in My Life - Masterful synth-work.  Brian makes a great attempt at Spector production.  His and Carl's vocal make the song beautiful.  The switching of lyrics is a smart choice.
4. Palisades Park - I like Carl's vocal and the beat this song provides for me.
5. Blueberry Hill - That tack piano and those bells are outstanding, as well as the saxes in the beginning.
6. Everyone's in Love With You - I like the production here, and I actually enjoy this song.  It's one of Mike's calmest leads.
7. TM Song - I don't like the talking interlude.  I would rather hear the music and it could be longer.  I love the bells and the guitars.
8. In the Still of the Night - I like Brian's falsetto.  I like Dennis' vocal, but the production seems rushed and sparse.
9. Talk to Me - I get jarred with the sudden switch in song.  Carl's lead is calm, but not my favorite.
10. Back Home - I like the production of his live performances better than this one.  The vocal is soulful in my opinion.  Brian was giving his all here, and I enjoy it.
11. Had to Phone Ya - Don't get me wrong, the song is great, but the hastily added drums overtake the production so much that they distract from those strings.
12. Rock and Roll Music - I like the MiC mix so much better than this rushed mix.
13. That Same Song - The gospel version makes this song look sparse in comparison.
14. Susie Cincinnati - Breaks the flow of this album as well, and it does not belong here.
15. A Casual Look - Breaks the flow of the album IMO, Mike's vocal ruins the enjoyment of this sparse mess.

 :smokin

15. A Casual Look
14. Blueberry Hill
13. Palisades Park
12. Talk to Me
11. Chapel of Love
10. Rock and Roll Music
9. In the Still of the Night
8. Everyone's in Love With You
7. T M Song (Catchy as hell, never really understood the extreme hate for this one!)
6. That Same Song (Gospel version blows this one out of the water IMO)
5. Susie Cincinnati (Great song, but out of place on this album.)
4. It's OK
3. Back Home (Prefer to 1963 and 1970 versions over this one though)
2. Just Once in My Life (Love Brian's vocals on this one!)
1. Had to Phone Ya (Simply stunning)

It's OK
That Same Song
Back Home
Susie Cincinnati
Palisades Park
Everyone's In Love With You
In The Still of the Night
Rock and Roll Music
Talk To Me
A Casual Look
Chapel of Love
Just Once In My Life
Had To Phone Ya
Blueberry Hill
TM Song

Very underrated album I'd say, in spite of some serious flaws:

1. Susie Cincinnati - Al rocks.
2. That Same Song - my favorite new original song. Love the gospel influence.
3. A Casual Look - my favorite cover on the album.
4. Just Once In My Life
5. It's OK
6. Back Home
7. Everyone's In Love With You
8. Had To Phone Ya
9. In The Still Of The Night
10. Talk To Me
11. Rock And Roll Music
12. Chapel of Love
13. Blueberry Hill
14. Palisades Park
15. TM Song

I agree with Wata. Sometimes, i find myself being really mad because of their wasted potential, other times I find myself screaming "...And the hoorses!" on Back Home. Maybe it was their destiny to have this clunker of an album. It's really charmy, and, who knows really, what would happen to the later beach boys if this album wouldn't have been at all.

 This album is a true proof that even at their lowest, you can find their best sassy and funny sides in it.

1.   Had to Phone Ya (My 14th most listened track ever according to my last.fm)
2.   Just Once In My Life (Goosebumps at the “every pot of gold…”-part. I LOVE their voices here)
3.   Back Home (yiheaaiiyeaiheyeahh… I love this!)
4.   It’s OK (I like the alternative version the most on MIC, the intro there really gets me going)
5.   TM Song (Underrated. Love Dennis here)
6.   Palisades Park (I gave that gurl a huuug, I the tunnul uf luuuve!!)
7.   Talk To Me (I always tend to imagine Carl In drag here when the song switches)
8.   Rock And Roll Music (Their biggest miss IMO. They could’ve just put out HtPY first instead!)
9.   Susie Cincinnati
10.   A Casual Look
11.   In The Still Of The Night
12.   Blueberry Hill (This was the reason I absolutely hated this album before. Now I can see how they made it intentionally bad. I find it ok now

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Not a big fan of the songs under this line

13.    That Same Song
14.    Chapel of Love
15.    Everyone's In Love With You