The Smiley Smile Message Board

In a 1970 interview Carl Wilson said that they had been making "progressive" music for the past five years. Does anyone believe that the music during the "democratic era" was "progressive" in any way? I'm asking this because, to me, it seemed that after Brian's departure the band just seemed to be more concerned with trying to keep up with the current musical trends (usually to mixed results) rather than innovate.

There are definite attempts at progression from Dennis and Carl. Be With Me, Slip On Through, Feel Flows, Make It Good, Steamboat, Trader, Carry Me Home, Holy Man, River Song, Love Surrounds Me all take Beach Boys music into an arguably progressive direction. On balance there's way more regression following Holland when it became certain member's focus to add the words "surfin" or "cruisin" or "summertime" into as many songs as possible. I don't think Dennis was ever concerned with musical trends, his music just goes where it goes. Cuddle Up is blatantly trend defying. Unless I'm forgetting the big '72 super lush overblown orchestral romantic trend that was sweeping the country.

I think Carl was right, and (as a group) they were certainly progressive from '65-'70, more than most people realized, particularly at the time.

Maybe starting around the Jack Rieley era, the 'progressive' element was played up a little bit, to the point where it could be perceived as trend-hopping. Though I think the musical content (particularly from Brian and, as Jon mentioned, Dennis) was still just as unique & natural as before, perhaps without the same kind of commercial drive as the '65-'67 period.

Certainly after Holland, the band as an entity sort of went in another direction.

Brian was progressive 1961-1968.

Well, they were always "progressive". Even Lonely Sea is insanely forward thinking for a band that was known for a few hits about surfin' and cars. The hits themselves were progressive, even early on. The 1-2-5 progression in Little Deuce Coupe, the use of atypical instrumentation in rock music (Catch A Wave, All Summer Long, Good Vibrations)...that's progressive. Sure, we can say that they became "progressive" on Today, but the band was always moving forward with each album and trying new things.

It's safe to say that 1964-73 is the "progressive era" of the band, with hints of it before and after. Dennis still followed his own muse as we all know.

Perhaps unwittingly progressive?

They might've tried to sound more contemporary, but the final product was unique and experimental psychedelia rock/pop. The Beach Boys sound is very distinct in that period and differs hugely from what their contemporaries were up to.

Anyone here ever heard of an album called In The Court Of The Crimson King? What about Dark Side of the Moon?

I agree with those who say they were progressive up to and including Holland.

Sadly dragging Brian back and forcing him to produce killed that (with other members obviously culpable too).

"Progressive" was just what people were calling early 70's album-oriented FM rock. ("Acid rock" or "psychedelic rock" no longer fit).  Chicago was "progressive", so were the Steve Miller Band, the Moody Blues, Jethro Tull, etc. Nothing to do with whether or not the music was avant garde or anything.

What I find interesting is that the Beach Boys were able to re-invent their music and their image so successfully. The late 60's counter-culture revolution seemingly left the Boys as dead-in-the-water as were Herman's Hermits or the Dave Clark Five. Those groups -- in the mid-60's as popular as the Beach Boys -- finally gave up the ghost and disbanded 1970/71, but the BBs fought through to find renewed success, albeit only as a second-tier "progressive" rock band, along side early 70's acts such as Fleetwood Mac, Frampton's Camel, or Jo Jo Gunne.

15BO and Love You are progressive. With 15BO the songs may have largely been oldies and in some cases backward-facing, but the sounds and arrangements were unique. Love You ups that ante. There are flaws, and obviously some people don't like one or either of those albums, but they both absolutely have their progressive elements.

I love both of those. They are progressive both in the genre sense and in actuality were pushing music forward. But there are different types of progressive in the literal sense. I feel that the Beach Boys music through Surfs Up were moving themselves forward in a logical direction with other influences. Than they reinvented themselves in So Tough and Holland. So Tough is pretty straight forward rock with the exception of the last 3 songs. But Holland is another big step forward. The 3 parts of the California Saga? Steam Boat would not have been out of place on Dark Side of the Moon, and the moog solo on Leaving this Town. Not to mention Brian's Fairy Tale going way out in left field!

I don't think Dennis was especially progressive with a bunch of the Pacific Ocean Blue and Bambu stuff. There was a bit of the "f*** me I'm sensitive" vocals over electric piano backing. If Bruce Johnston had done it, we'd all want to vomit, but because it's Denny cooing "I love you", it's ok. Now at the same time, he did do a lot of great stuff. But I wouldn't say it was progressive, per se. "River Song" sounds like something Elton John coulda done in like 1971 or so. "Pacific Ocean Blues" is that kinda mildly funky rock music that you could occasionally hear in the mid '70s. These are songs I really like by the way. I think he wrote some really nice stuff, and I do believe he followed his muse, but I don't think he was particularly "progressive" at all. He took what was popular and did his own cool stuff with it. I'm sure if he had been more functional and did a lot of recording in the '80s, I'm sure it woulda been soaked in Yahama DX7 sounds and gated drums. Nearly everybody did it, and I wouldn't doubt Dennis woulda too. He was pretty trendy.

I see it more as "hip" than "trendy" and therefore not a bad thing.