The Smiley Smile Message Board

If there is one thing unique in Beach Boys Fandom it is our obsession with second guessing track lists and coming up with our own "alternate reality".

It should surprise no one then that I have come up with my own fantasy That's Why God Made The Radio. I took out what I perceived as the weakest songs and replaced them with songs that, to me, made the album seem more cohesive and feeling like a true reunion/farewell (however you choose to look at it) album.

Without further ado, I give you Pixletwin's "That's Why God Made The Radio".

Side One
1. Think About The Days
2. That's Why God Made The Radio
3. isn't It Time? (J-Jam remix)
4. Spring Vacation
5. Soul Searchin' (MiC version)
6. Daybreak Over The Ocean
7. Waves of Love

Side Two
1. Shelter
2. You're Still A Mystery (MiC)
3. Strange World
4. My Love Lives One (MiC)
5. From There To Back Again
6. Pacific Coast Highway
7. Summer's Gone

I feel bringing Carl and Dennis into the lineup and a bit more emphasis on Al really lets the album take on a whole new dimension.

Am I the only one who obsesses about this? Anyone else have a TWGMTR track list they created? I would like to hear about it.

To be honest, I find that the released album is fine as it is.

I probably would have added Waves Of Love, but other than that I wouldn't change a thing

I'm glad Waves Of Love was left off. It's not a very good song, and Al already released it on his solo album.

It was put on Postcard from California on a reissue after TWGMTR was released. It wasn't on the original album

Well im certainly glad you took off Beaches + Bill and Sue.. Weak songs.. Spring Vacation is close to an exit stage left also.. You did a good job tho.. Just remember there is another bunch of songs in the can that we haven't heard.. According to Rolling Stone they recorded 28 songs.. How many they finished they didn't say..

Nope, not true. It was put out on the reissue of Postcard in early '12, but TWGMTR was not yet released when the new version of Al's album came out.

This album was bad. Period.

Having deceased members on a new album would just be creepy...

Over time I'm starting to understand this album had zero of The Beach Boys soul.

It's decent but it's not a Beach Boys record.

you know me too well Shady xoxoxo

I'll take that as a resounding "NO!" then.  :lol

I can see what you were trying to do with the "My Love Lives On" and the two 90's Beach Boy tracks, but they kinda seem like odd inclusions.

I thought so too, initially. But sonically they aren't that different from the 2012 tracks.

As for the creepiness factor, I understand that angle but, hey, I liked Free as a Bird and Real Love.

Hit the nail on the head with that one. :P

Decent tracklist, I think. Still a very flawed album, but I think it would have benefitted from those 90s tracks. Maybe some of the TLOS outtakes too?

Agree only partially. Main objection: context. The title track is pure, unadulterated Beach Boys, it might as well have been on All Summer Long, with a few minor production changes. There are other fine tracks.

My problem: it has a couple of clunkers, Mike Love stylee, and Private Life is simply, eh, too simple for me.

Erhm,... maybe I've missed something. What's this? The faster single mix?

TWGMTR is probably still somewhere in my top 10 of most enjoyable BB albums.

Your proposed tracklist is an improvement; I like it. However, I think I would substitute "Don't Fight The Sea" for "Waves Of Love" (which is too generic and the lyrics are horrible), and I would not have minded a Bruce Johnston song instead of "My Love Lives On" (one Al song is enough).

A little off topic but I will always wish they would've released "Spring Vacation" in, well, the spring of 2012, a few weeks before the album was released. I think it's one of the best songs on the album, it sounds like a commercial single, it sounds like The Beach Boys.

anyone who does not enjoy SV has formulated a concept about hating it without ever having actually "heard" the song or cruised down PCH with it blaring.

It's in my Top 30.

The album still works for me as it did when it was first released.  The Life Suite still tugs on the old heartstrings and I still haven't heard it without tearing up just a little.  I mostly ignore the middle section and pretend like those songs don't exist but they are what they are...nothing I can do about it.  If it turns out to be the final Beach Boys record (and it definitely looks to be the case)...it's very fitting...a mix of corny and heartfelt music covered in exquisite vocals.  Fine by me.

The one change I make to the playlist lineup for TWGMTR is to move "Strange World" to the end of the album. That way, it closes on a more upbeat note than on "Summer's Gone" (which, tho pretty, leaves me feeling quite depressed).

Really like it, especially the inclusion of My Love Lives On. However, I would've made it the last song on side 1 (and make Soul Searchin the last song on side 2). Also, I would keep off You're Still A Mystery and Waves of Love - make it a 12 song album.

Side One
1. Think About The Days
2. That's Why God Made The Radio
3. isn't It Time?
4. Daybreak Over The Ocean
5. Strange World
6. My Love Lives One (MiC)

Side Two
1. Spring Vacation
2. Shelter
3. From There To Back Again
4. Pacific Coast Highway
5. Summer's Gone
6. Soul Searchin' (MiC)

Ps, I too am curious about this J-Jam mix of Isn't It Time...

OOPS I forgot Don't fight the sea.. Yea that works well on the lp.. TWGMTR is a excellent lp something to be proud of.. Oh I have cruised PCH hundreds of time and I still find SV.. OK at best right now anyway..  I wish they had recorded something really up tempo like SUSA.. That fast Chuck Berry style song  with harmonies and letting David rip on guitar.. Maybe its in the can awaiting a release.. Something pure R+R would have been icing on the cake..

I like Dont' FIght The Sea - especially because it features discernible vocals from Al, Brian, Carl, Bruce, and Mike.... I actually do have it on my playlist as a bonus track... The reason why I don't include it is because it reminds me too much of California Dreamin'. It's almost a rewrite of CaliDream. It's kind of kitschy in that way to me.

J-Jam is a member here  believe. I don't remember. But the link to download his mix is likely buried somewhere. It basically marries the LP and single version of Isn't It Time. It is a bit over long, but I like having both Mike and Jeff sing that little bit about the sun going down. Jeff's tremolo when he sings the "ness" in "kindness" is starting to bug me though.  :lol

I don't particularly like Spring Vacation, Isn't It Time, Daybreak or Beaches in Mind.
I don't mind Bill and Sue, Shelter and the title track.
The remaining tracks are the best things they've done since LA, with the exception of From There To Back Again, which is just a great track full stop. Overall, their most satisfying album since Love You, but the Dennis sung/Dennis written tracks on LA are better than most of TWGMTR.
My dark horse track is Strange World. It sounds like it could have come from TLOS and would have been better than most of that album.

I'll try this...

Side One
1. That's Why Got Made The Radio
2. Soul Searchin'
3. Isn't It Time
4. Spring Vacation
5. Shelter
6. Message Man

Side Two
1. You're Still A Mystery
2. My Love Lives On
3. Think About The Days
4. From There To Back Again (I'd quite like to start it with those amazing sounds at the end of Strange World)
5. Pacific Coast Highway
6. Summer's Gone

Really? I think it was the first time in decades that an album came out and actually sounded like the Beach Boys. It made me realize that most of Brian's solo stuff really comes up short. Having actual Beach Boys on his records rather than decent musicians trying to sing like the Beach Boys makes a much bigger difference and gives the sound 'soul' to me.

In any case, it may not have been a masterpiece, but for a bunch of 70ish year old's it was and is a solid release that I'm more than satisfied with.

This is one thing I thought was missing as well. Maybe there'll be one like this on one of Brian's new releases.

Also, I must be the only member here who dislikes Don't Fight The Sea ;D

I agree with Rab2591 and Mr. Wilson in that the album needs a rocker or at least one tune with a slightly elevated BPM that maybe gave Cowsill a chance to let loose a bit.  For a guy who keeps talking about making a rock n' roll record, Brian has shied away from doing so for a very long time.  I am very happy with TWGMTR on the whole though.  It could have been an absolute disaster.  And it is such a better last album than SIP.  I consider it a near miracle that it (and C50) happened.  While it has flaws, it has tunes and moments that made/make me feel that Beach Boys magic like some of their very best older material.  For instance, the vocal stacks that come in at 43 seconds into From There To Back Again just SOUNDS like that classic blend of the Beach Boys, and yes there is no Carl and Dennis contributing but I can hear them, they are there in spirit when you have Brian, Mike, Al and Bruce singing together .  And those accumulations of little moments make for a wonderful emotional experience for me still.  The selfish part of me wants another reunion album.  But the realist in me says if TWGMTR is the last proper album by The Beach Boys it makes for a pretty satisfying final statement.  They have given us so much to enjoy...

Nice comments, Rich. Two or three stronger songs would have made TWGMTR into a really stunning comeback/swan song, but what we have on the album as it is clearly harkens back to better days, and represents what's probably the best possible blending of these individuals that can be gotten given the volume of water under the bridge and the amount of sand that's eroded from the primordial beach from which this long, strange adventure was launched.

Beaches In Mind could have been that song. Definitely, it would be a much better song in a rocked up version.

I hope the version of "She Believes In Love Again" from the TWGMTR sessions sneaks out somewhere. I can't see where or how (or why) it would, but according to Bruce on the BBB forum, Capitol/EMI/whoever is in charge these days has a two-track completed mix.

Oh yes!!! In my custom version of the album I sped it up by one sixth, which already helps a lot to make not sound that boring. Then a bit of unusual drum sound and some rocking rhythm guitar, it would have been great!

Here's my custom TWGMTR:

A.
1. Isn't It Time (album version, sped up one sixth)
2. Beaches In Mind (also sped up one sixth except for the vocal intro)
3. Spring Vacation
4. Waves Of Love (saxophone version, but in my dream version the saxophone is replaced by Dave's lead guitar and the other BBs supply the backing vox. And the dit dits at the end are cut from 8 to 4 rounds.)
5. Strange World (like it better out side the suite)
6. That's Why God Made The Radio

B.
1. Daybreak Over The Ocean
2. Shelter
3. From There To Back Again
4. Think About The Days (I like it better in the suite than as intro to the album)
5. Pacific Coast Highway
6. Summer's Gone


First I tried including Don't Fight The Sea rather than Waves Of Love, but to my ears it didn't gel with the other tracks. Waves Of Love does.

Understood… and yet to my ears "Don't Fight…" is the superior track.

What other Postcards… tracks would anyone like to see on there? I love "And I Always Will…" – has an air of "From There To Back Again" about it that fits well (and aye, I know it also has an air of "Winds of Change" about it).

In fact if the best of Postcards… and the best of TWGMTR were combined, given Postards… production values and BBs harmonies throughout, you'd have an absolute stone-cold classic BBs album. IMHO…   A shame the two came out separately … almost!

Perhaps. What might be your tracklist?  ::)

I think My Love Lives On deserves better than being on That's Why God Made The Radio...

I honestly can't believe some of the negative views on TWGMTR , i think it's absolutely superb and i wasn't expecting much at all , it surprised me big time.
 Could do without Beaches In Mind but big deal. Bill and Sue has a terrible main lyric but the chorus is classic BB's.
There's a few real gems ,especially at the end of course ,and most of the rest would be standouts on any BB's  album from the mid-70's onwards.

I really think it's a great album , then again i haven't tried speeding any of it up by a 6th yet so maybe i could make it better.

One thing I do like about the album is the way everything sounds, autotune barred. I thought the production was very well done. Classic BW work, but modern.
The closing suite is in my top Beach Boys moments, and it makes me terribly excited for what is to come from his 'suite' album.

However some of songwriting is weak, and I will be trying out some of these tracklists. Daybreak, like most Mike Love music, is not inherently bad, its just not good at all (the best part of the song is the acapella intro). Replacing it with something like You're Still A Mystery really makes for a stronger album, as well as making you wonder why it wasn't released on this album, regardless of when it was recorded. Most of these songs were written quite a while ago anyway.

I am the other member of the board who doesn't like it   :)
Maybe I haven't listened to it enough, but the melody seems weak to me. Also its so short, and always end right as I'm expecting a cool change or something.

I am also not a big fan of DFTS.

And Carl's WoL vocals kinda blows.

I've always loved San Simeon - would've been a good one to place next to Daybreak Over The Ocean.

Lack of a strong melody, not much change in the chord progression, the lyrics are pretty weak ("Don't fight the sea" is repeated nearly 40 times in it). I'm glad other people think it's great, but I'll never understand the hype.

It is of course nice to see Al Jardine out there with a solo single, he's our cute little guy with the voice of a 20 year old.

Still a gorgeous album.  Still an album I never thought I'd see.  I prefer the vinyl track listing, but I'm happy with the song choice.  You need the frothy stuff like "Beaches In Mind" and "Bill And Sue" to lull you into a (false?) sense of security before Brian yanks the rug out from under you at the end.

I don't listen to it that often right now, but that's mainly because the last two tracks are still *devastating*...

Cheers,
Jon Blum

I did a quick n lazy mash up of TWGMTR and Postcard before xmas and agree that if an album were to have been made using tracks from both it would have been a fantastic Beach Boys album.  I really wanted to include Shelter but I was trying to make it as 'Beach Boys sounding' as possible and in Shelter Foskett is too prominent for me.

A
1) Think About The Days
2) TWGMTR
3) Spring Vacation
4) California Feelin' (Postcard)
5) Looking Down The Coast (Postcard)
6) Don't Fight The Sea (Postcard)
B
1) Daybreak Over The Ocean (Included this so the album has a 'group' feel and I don't mind it!)
2) Isn't It Time (Single Version)
3) Strange World
4) From there And Back Again
5) Pacific Coast Highway
6) Summer's Gone

This is the best track list I can come up with.

1. That's Why Good Made the Radio
2. Too Cruel
3. Isn't It Time
4. Shelter
5. San Simeon
6. Pisces Brothers

1. A Postcard From California
2. Looking Down the Coast
3. I Don't Wanna Know
4. Think About the Days
5. From There To Back Again
6. Pacific Coast Highway

That's Why God Made The Radio (2012)

1. That's Why God Made the Radio
2. Isn't It Time?
3. PT Cruiser
4. Spring Vacation
5. Waves of Love
6. Shelter
7. Daybreak Over the Ocean

1. Cool Head, Warm Heart
2. Strange World
3. From There To Back Again
4. Pacific Coast Highway
5. Think About the Days
6. Summer's Gone

Last year I made a cd drawing from Postcard and twgmtr along with a couple of songs from LOS.  shared it with a few friends telling them this was the latest BB music.  It was well received.

Yes- it's on my list of Beach Boys albums.

My one wish is that TWGMTR's production/sound was similar to Postcard which has better sonics; especially in the "natural" sounding vocals dept.

Both are pretty impressive offerings, all things considered (especially for TWGMTR).

Is Bruce ever going to bloody-well boot/leak "She Believes In Love Again"?