The Smiley Smile Message Board

Here's a little game. Although it's probably impossible, let's try to find a Beach Boys opinion that absolutely everyone can agree with. It's easy: you just drop a statement about The Beach Boys, and as long as not a single person disagrees with it, it's a contender.

My first attempt: Brian Wilson was the most talented Beach Boy.

agreed!

This has been done with songs. The results are interesting.
 http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,8462.msg139920.html#msg139920

It is my opinion that the Beach Boys are the greatest and most important musical group in American music history.

well, everyone I know who do not like the Beach Boys think that they are a "Surfing" group and that's all they did and that all their songs sound the same... ::)

See, I don't get that at all. How can anyone say that Surfin' USA sounds like Help Me Rhonda or California Girls or Good Vibrations?

Al Jardine wanted the innocence. Don't get much more popular than that.

California Girls can be considered the 'theme song' of the group  ;D

That person I would called uninformed and prejudiced. He may not even know those are Beach Boys songs.

yeah it seems they have only heard a song here and there....

I'll contribute a question to the mix:

How does Brian Wilson manage to write these songs that bring up similar emotions in so many different people?  How have these songs transcended both time and generations continuing to communicate their simple yet instantly relatable messages?  Perhaps the answer is he captured the human experiences of joy, heartbreak, loneliness, longing and love more effectively than any other songwriter ever has?  Perhaps that is too simple, but I also think there is some truth to that.  Brian Wilson songs cut very raw at times, at times so specific to a certain topic or emotion but able to be interpreted in so many different ways.

Because they all have those high-pitched voices. And that one 'Two Girls for Every Boy' song they do also.

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Ah, now I get it. Sort of like thinking the Beatles songs all sound alike, with the beat music and the accents. Especially when they sang "I'm Henry the Eighth, I Am."  :lol

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yes that one and "Little old lady from Pasadena"

How about that, at one point or another, the band has made choices that are downright maddening?  So many what could have beens.

Anyone who judges the beach boys as the fun in the sun group just because they sang about surfing, cars & girls on 6 out of 29 albums are just ignorant. :-D

Pet Sounds is pretty good I hear  :)

I don't agree with the next notion which I see many times:

"The Wilsons are the best members of the group."

The band was better with Carl & Dennis, no doubt about it. Performance-wise, having Mike, Carl & Al sharing the lead vocals really made them more dynamic as a concert band. Dennis, he was just flat-out cool.

The band is great as a united thing, not like divisions.

How about this one: the Beach Boys post Pet Sounds 1967-1973 output is criminally overlooked and underrated. That's something we could all agree on, right?

The Beach Boys were a thing that existed.

Brian looked pretty damn sharp with those glasses he wore during The Pet Sounds sessions.

Al Jardine currently has the best voice of them all.