The Smiley Smile Message Board

Here's what I mean, hopefully some agree...1st Surfin Safari was their debut so there's nothin to compare it to, classic rock masterpiece in every way... Now- Surfin USA- it was their groundbreaker & it's great BUT it was essentially just a thrown-together collection to back the single which even tho a classic was partly a cover along w/ the 2 Dick Dales, honkey tonk etc. Surfer Girl - easily their 1st "essential". LDC was great but it's all recycled material etc. Shut Down vol2- gets a lotta flack but I say the bulk of the l.p was/is great. NOW- All Summer Long-Today-Summer Days-Pet Sounds::: ALL CLASSIC, ALL TIMELESS. Brings us to Smiley Smile- I always dug it but it was their 1st polarizing effort. Wild Honey- killer ,great album; last classic 60s BB l.p •°•. friends is for avid zealots, weak other than little bird. 20/20 has its moments but just like LDC it's covers, singles & outtakes. Sunflower is 2/3 a classic. Surfs up & Holland- the singles from both albums were it's best cuts. Love you- polarizing but it's their last masterpiece I don't care what anyone says. The 4 remaining albums of the 70s(15b1s,miu,light & ktsa) were all rehashings , recycled cuts & pieced together sh*t to pacify warners & columbia, period. Who concurs w/ this synopsis of the essentials ??¡?

Not me. By your definition, Surfin' Safari was also pretty much a "single backer", in that they'd had a hit single with the title cut already, and now the label wanted an LP out to "back" that, hence its existence. IMO, the non-single cuts on that album are pretty weak and sometimes embarrassing. Little Deuce Coupe is only partly recycled material, and the new stuff is great, with no real "filler". SDV2 is a mixed bag, with some great stuff and some very weak filler. Friends is great, and creates a definite "mood". Sunflower is, overall, their strongest post-'67 album, with Surf's Up and Holland following closely behind. IMO.

I don’t agree with your assessment of LDC - it is a powerhouse of an album. I honestly think it’s their best album they ever released as far as vocals/harmonies go. I used to never listen to it because I was uninterested in the subject matter. I thought of it as you did: an album with some great singles and the rest filler. But then one day I sat down and really listened to it. I realized that it’s a perfect display of Brian’s genius - both in songwriting and production. ‘Spirit of America’ has some of the best harmonies/vocals I’ve ever heard in a song.

SDvII, to me, is full of filler with some great singles. I mean, Pom Pom Playgirl, Denny’s Drums, Louie Louie, Cassius Love, etc - the replay-ability of those tracks isn’t great (to me).

And All Summer Long: that I see as an album full of filler with some AMAZING singles. I mean, Drive-In (which I actually enjoy listening to), Carl’s Big Chance, Our Favorite Recording Sessions, even Do You Remember to a certain extent - they seem like short filler songs/skits. It actually pains me because I think had Brian not chosen to put filler in those albums they would be seen like ‘Rubber Soul’, ‘Revolver’ (in that, they are fillerless albums full of brilliance).

But it just comes down to personal preference. I think 20/20 is a disjointed, jumbled mess of songs from everyone in the group. But yet I know other fans who love it because it’s their first true group effort, and each song represents the best that each member could give at the time. And I can totally appreciate that. Each track individually has its merits, but as a whole it leaves a lot to be desired.

MIU is a mystery to me. Because I really shouldn’t like it - but yet I listen to it often. I skip Hey Little Tomboy but otherwise it’s a pleasant album for me. But pleasant doesn’t make it a masterpiece, so I’d agree with you about those 4 70s albums (though 15BO has grown on me a lot in the last decade).

Yeah, Friends is a trip - I can see why some wouldn’t like it, but as an album I think it is one of Brian’s best ideas - this chill album about adult life - raising kids, supporting a family, and ways to cope with hardships. And the experimental ways in which many of the songs are produced, it is one of my favorites The Beach Boys ever recorded. So glad we got the extended version of ‘Meant For You’ on MiC.

I think this angle only holds for the pre-1965 albums. Post-1965, you may or may not like the records (or all of the songs), but I don't think any argument can be made that there is "filler" on any of them, or that any of them are "single-backers". There are way way way more tracks left *off* albums post-Pet Sounds than on them.

Regarding the early albums, the ones that have filler are:

Surfin' Safari
Surfin' USA
Shut Down Vol 2.

That's probably it IMO. Little Deuce Coupe has filler in the sense that 4 tracks were recycled semi-hits.

The "filler" discussion doesn't really work for me. In the mid-60s, most of the major pop/rock acts changed the way they put together their albums, which paved the way for the classic rock era. Rubber Soul, Today, Mr. Tambourine Man - they all sound great from beginning to end in a way that fits the classic rock logic. Does that make Surfer Girl a weaker album? I don't think so at all. '63-'68 is my favorite BB era but they continued to make great music well into their later years, with Holland and Love You being the standouts from the 70s as far as I'm concerned. I also have a soft spot for 15 Big Ones where you could argue that it's basically a collection of 80% filler. I understand that perspective but it comes from a particular point of view that I don't necessarily share.