The Smiley Smile Message Board

I'd just like to share that I travelled British Airways recently and on the 'classic albums' selection on in-flight entertainment, one of the half dozen albums is Wild Honey.  I had it with me on my iPod, but still played it through a couple of time just to create ratings.  The description for it said: 'Released 1967 this feel-good summer album epitomizes the spirit of Californian lifestyle - sun, sea, sand.' 

Typical description of a Beach Boys album, likely written by someone who didn't even bother listening to it.

That's what I thought.

I recently flew QANTAS domestically in Oz and one of the featured albums was BWPS.

"Wild Honey makes you feel those Good Vibrations all over again! Turn back time to when things were more simple and all that was on your mind was the beach and the surf. Wild Honey was a breakthrough instant classic that Mike Love definitely came up with the idea when eating Wild Honey and is definitely what happened because he wrote is with his cousin Brian Wilson. "Brian has always been a musical genius in fact I remember when we would do those 4 part harmonies he would have them all laid out in his head and it was all I could do to hold onto one!".

Brian Wilson and crew specialized in summer concept albums – All Summer Long in 1964, Today and Summer Days in 1965, the decidedly more downbeat Pet Sounds in 1966. But Wild Honey is where the Beach Boys really capture the grimy feel of beer-soaked California sand under your feet, even if they released it in December 1967. It cruises through the yearning Carl Wilson soul of "Aren't You Glad," the beach-party shindig "How She Boogalooed It," the a cappella finale "Mama Says." Wild Honey has it all – the hedonistic rock & roll spirit and humor of their early cars-and-surfboards hits, plus the pensive depth of Pet Sounds, all in one 24-minute blast.



http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-10-coolest-summer-albums-of-all-time-20120718/the-beach-boys-wild-honey-1967-20120717