The Smiley Smile Message Board

Here (http://www.mojo4music.com/19908/the-beach-boys-50-greatest-songs). Quite a predictable list, also seems like a straight copy of the list they compiled in 2012.

Haha, what a list... ;D
These are all the usual choices except maybe for "Cuddle up". But how serious can this be taken if you got more or less the complete Pet Sounds album there (more or less? - it is the complete album, isn't it?), not one song that came out after Holland, Do You Like Worms - which the band didn't even release - AND Barbara Ann? This roundup should be calle the pou-List  :-D

Not criticizing the songs. Just the half-hearted work put into the list.

Note how they avoid mentioning Mike's contributions. Even almost giving Brian credit for "The warmth of the sun"'s lyrics.

I never knew anyone hated Barbara-Ann till I started reading Beach Boys message boards. And "Do You Like Worms" is a released Beach Boys song as of 2011.

The only WTF moment on that list for me is "Tears In The Morning" (!!!!), otherwise there's a good case for the inclusion of all of these songs.

It was released as an unfinished archive track (I think it was even released in 1993 on the GV box) but that to me doesn't qualify as something that was worked on, finished and approved for release as an outing of the band which therefor could be considered a regular release. I know this is just my point of view. How embarassing imo that to fill out a list of your greatest songs people have to go back to unfinished material though. And in reality really not necessary.





I'm not saying that the songs weren't great (or at least good). I only said that it doesn't look like any harder effort was put in creating this list as these are probably more representative of what is popular and not necessarily of what is their greatest work. I mean this is not a 12-song list but 50 (!). You could really have created an (even more) impressive one.



"Barbara Ann" is a good song in itself. I also like the Party! version (still far from being one of their greatest) and some earlier live performances but after what it has become...well, the lesser said the better....

  The MOJO list from 2012 was rather good in my view. Very happy they picked "Surf's Up" as #1. I'm going to find my copy, more to come...

Let's see. They have You're So Good To Me, Wild Honey, Cuddle Up, Long Promised Road, etc. But no Kiss Me Baby, Little Honda, Time To Get Alone, Summer's Gone, etc.

It's obvious they keep making these damn lists just to annoy me!

"Help Me Rhonda" should be way higher than 49.

Why do they say Barabra Ann was the bane of Carl's existence?  Why Carl particularly?  I've never heard anything that suggests he especially came to hate it - can anyone tell me what I've missed?

PS - Please Let me Wonder is the big missing song on this list as far as I'm concerned.

Carl was quoted saying that many years later, as reported in Andrew Hickey's book.

To jump from topic, is it possible to get hold of Brian "Surfin Moses" picture in good resolution somewhere through web?? Or someone has it?:)
Would like to put it on a t-shirt, but need better resolution..
If someone can help it would be great!

They think that "Tears in the Morning" and "Barbara Ann" are better than "Sloop John B" and "Let Him Run Wild."

I can't believe they'd leave out Kiss Me Baby and Please Let Me Wonder in favor of Wind Chimes and Vegatables. 

I know lists are strictly opinion, but it seems like some of these choices were made for the sole purpose of stirring up a debate. 

Mostly what you'd expect. I could certainly swap ten or so without thinking too much about it.

Forever is way too low. And I think God Only Knows is the best.

But hey, at least there's no Kokomo  ;D

I would definitely have Warmth of the Sun higher, but I know that with Mojo being a British magazine, most of the UK press seems to dismiss their pre Pet Sounds material. 

About a year ago, Classic Rock magazine did a buyers guide to The Beach Boys.  If I remember right, the only pre Pet Sounds album they mentioned was Today. 

They listed Pet Sounds and Surf's Up and the two essential BB albums, with Sunflower, Holland, Today, the The Smile Sessions as superior. 

What, no...

All I Wanna Do
This Whole World
Time To Get Alone
Country Air
Good Timin
Our Sweet Love
Baby Blue
All This Is That
Wonderful
Busy Doin Nothin

Thanks for that.  Sounds like a book I should read.

I hate to threadcrap but I never got the idea of doing a list of anymore than 10 and better still 5.  I mean really...38th greatest Beach Boys song.  Lists like this lose traction for me after 10.

Too many great songs missing.  Too many easy choices added.  The actual numbers likely don't matter...although to put 'Surf's Up' at number 1 seems like a move to appear 'with it', 'hip' and 'cool' rather than a really TRUE choice.

And to put instrumentals on a VOCAL group's top 50 list is almost insulting.  No wait ... it IS insulting.

I can actually hear the talk around the 'table' as this list was compiled and finalized.  I distincly hear the words "I don't know", "I don't care", "If you think so." and "Maybe" being spoken out loud.

I also have reason to believe that not everyone at the 'table' has ever heard ALL there is to chose from.

Poorly done.  Short on research and long on compromised guesses.

In other word(s)?

Garbage.   :angry

These lists are always interesting on the surface. I can certainly think of far more troubling and/or boring articles than a list of the 50 greatest BB songs.

But the list strikes me as the compilers either making their own personal fetish picks (rather than even making a meager attempt at picking anything from a slightly objective point of view), and/or purposely trying to put some unconventional picks on there. Or, picking songs that are different enough to think of something interesting to write about it. I get it, if you do a list that more or less just replicates two discs of “greatest hits”, it’s not that interesting.

“Barbara Ann” belongs on a list of most important BB songs (for better and/or worse, it’s important and emblematic of a number of aspects of their career). But not so much on a “best” list where the whole point is to not just pick their top 40 hits and “well known” songs.

But putting “Tears in the Morning” on the list and ignoring something like “This Whole World” (off the same album no less), that’s the type of selection that makes me question the validity, the UK-centric nature of the magazine notwithstanding. If I compiled such a list, I’d put some stuff on there that isn’t my favorite. My favorite 50 isn’t the same as their best 50. Lots of overlap of course, but it’s not the same.

It’s also kind of a bummer that they do appear to have just repurposed the 2012 list.

A “50 Obscure Beach Boys Songs You Should Hear” list would be much more interesting; essentially a list of stuff that isn’t on “Sounds of Summer” and the like.

http://psychobabble200.blogspot.com/2010/07/june-28-2010-21-underrated-beach-boys_25.html

Granted. 

Very cool. Mojo would have been well advised to try something like that rather than re-printing the same thing from three years ago.

I've got a fudgin' blog and Facebook page going (see links in signature line), so I should put together something like this. Might be fun. I may just get to work..... (after I finish my NPP review!) 

The addition of the instrumentals probably can be explained quite easily: they are on Pet Sounds and since to so many people the Beach Boys only are about that album (and this in turn just because McCartney likes it) they had to put the whole album on that list. Each and every song....

 :wall