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"BACK THROUGH THE OPERA GLASS (The Beach Boys Album Sleeves)" is an extension of an old website I used to run that uncovers, reviews and tells the stories behind the many amazing album covers that have graced the work of The Beach Boys across the years. You can now download the FULL 470-PAGE project, in three PDF parts, completely FREE, via the links below.
Alternatively, the links can also be found on the new Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/beachboysalbumsleeves - comments welcomed !

PART ONE: https://www.sendspace.com/file/hzjiqt
PART TWO: https://www.sendspace.com/file/perodx
PART THREE: https://www.sendspace.com/file/6icng1

Ideally designed for reading on an iPad or a similar device (or your home PC) you can now read the full story of every album sleeve, from 'Surfin' Safari' up to, and including 'That's Why God Made The Radio', with loads of related photographs alongside. Includes exclusive comments and interviews with Dave McMacken (Friends), Drew Struzan (LA Light Album), Lawrence Azzerad (TWGMTR), the late Ed Thrasher, Fred Vail, John Van Hamersveld (Wild Honey), Dean Torrence (15BO/Love You/MIU), William Stout (LA Light Album), the late Les Williams (the original surfer on Surfin' USA)... and lots more !
ENJOY !

Disclaimer: The three above links are currently downloadable via Sendspace and I accept no responsibility if the incorrect link is opened and/or the download is incompatible with your own device. It works fine at this end!
 ::)

Where's part 2?  The first two links are identical.

Oops ! Good shout. Correcting now...
Edit: Correct links now above...

Excellent work. I love it!!

Lots of fun stuff there!  I'm enjoying every bit of it!

Very nice!  Thank you!

Thank you! DLing now. Looking forward to reading all 3 parts.

Thanks a lot Malc!!!

Kudos, Malc. I've often delved into your wonderful website----there's all the more reason to do so now!

Thank you Malc! I always loved the site and couldn't stop reading when I originally only wanted to look one thing up. I was afraid when I couldn't reach the site anymore that it was gone forever. It was definitely one of the best - probably THE best - Beach Boys sites on the web that I know (forums excluded)

Thanks for the positive feedback guys ! I really appreciate it. I understand that perhaps not everyone is quite so enamoured with the idea of simply reviewing and telling the tales surrounding the album sleeves, instead of hearing new music, or reading a first hand version of events (hi Rocky !), but just to get good comments from some of you makes it all worthwhile !!
The advantage of PDF format is that I can update, or correct, as and when needs be, and simply post a new link, so if anyone has any input into the layout or the stories then, please, let me know ! Happy to listen to all...
 :-D

Malc, thank you so much for releasing these to us. I'm reading part one right now and it is very well done. I'm enamored. It is a different view of the band's history and an important one, in my opinion. Reading and looking at those covers are a part of how we discovered the guys in the band. Part of what captivated us as we listened to each album. Thanks again! :)

Malc, I thought I would elaborate a bit on my earlier praise.  

Yes the presentation was really fun, with all the photos and little sidebars of info, but I particularly enjoyed the content of the text itself.  Man, you must have done a phenomenal amount of research!  I have been reading about my favorite band for years and I do have a number of books about them (mostly the obvious ones), but much of the information you presented is new to me.  Kudos!

I found myself agreeing with your personal evaluations of nearly all of the cover concepts and compositions, from the just-right covers, such as Surfin' Safari and All Summer Long, to the what-were-they-thinking covers, such as Today.  My one disagreement, though (and this is all just personal opinion) was regarding the Summer Days... cover.  Maybe I misinterpreted your writing here, but I got the impression that you didn't care much for that cover.   Personally, I've always liked that cover very much, even with the absence of Al.  Yes he should have been on there (and of course we all know why he wasn't), but I don't think it disqualifies this from being one of their better covers.  As far as the design, this is one of the first Beach Boys album covers I ever identified with years ago.  It just screams out SUMMER!  The clear sky and calm ocean give a relaxing feel, while the slight camera angle gives the shot just a bit of motion.  

That's just my own take, for what it's worth.  Well done, all around!  :)  

Thanks for your take on it ! Happy for folks to air opinions, after all, the project is based around my own and it's only right everyone has a say !! As you know, the text itself written a few years back, with the exception of a few new interviews and inclusions, plus TWGMTR, and maybe my opinions need an update ! We all mellow with time and I agree that SD does suggest more of a summer feel than others...
Must say that the most satisfaction I got out of this was for the Wild Honey to In Concert sections of the project. So much to uncover and discuss, and a lot more photos of that era were available... and the recent discussions with Dave (Friends) McMacken were enlightening too, along with his thoughts on the LA sleeve.
Glad you're enjoying it  - and I await further thoughts !!

Thank you so much, Malc!  Your Back Thru the Opera Glass site was a favorite of mine, so it's really nice to have all the great info that was contained on your website now archived in downloadable PDF form.

If there is anyone reading this who has not yet downloaded Malc's Back Thru the Opera Glass, The Stories Behind the Beach Boys Album Covers PDFs, do so now! You'll be getting one of the best BB books available for free. The graphical presentation is superb, with lots of photos and interesting background info on every one of the Beach Boys regular release albums.

Re-up? :)
Only got around to getting the first part, enjoyable reading.