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I was putting together a Surf's Up-era compilation today (a disc of material that had been recorded by then and either ended up on that album or was still unreleased as of that album) and was thinking about how much I like Al's compositions and co-compositions. It seems Al is most often discussed for his covers or, in a more modern topic, for his voice having remained strongest among the Beach Boys. But to me, songs like Good Time, Susie Cincinnati, Loop de Loop, and even ones people seem to poke fun at, like Take A Load Off... and Don't Go Near the Water, are really pretty good. They're not brilliant or groundbreaking, but they are fun and sometimes clever. And it probably goes without saying that his vocals in those years were really fantastic.

That said, I've got to admit that I don't like Al's work at all in the later 70s and beyond.

Anybody else like those earlier Al songs, or have anything to say on the subject?

I think Al is a very good songwriter. His early 70s stuff is great imo. "Lookin at tomorrow" is probably my favorite cut on the "Surf's up"-album. To tell you the truth, almost everything Al does/did, gets me in some kind of way, except for the MIU-album and the lyrics to "California calling". I think his songs on Still Cruisin are good too, although "Island girl" sounds much like Buddy Holly's "Everyday" to me.
And listening to "Cottonfileds" and other Al-produced songs, I think Carl wasn't the only one who learned alot from Brian.

i think California Saga speaks for itself, it's just great. I feel like he had something to do with Out in the Country, it sounds like his vocals. Susie Cincinatti is really good and so is the single cut of Cotton Fields. I love the story about Good Time that i think David Sandler (i'm prolly wrong) said about the horn line, Brian just wrote the whole thing while having a convo with him

Al is very underrated, I live his early 70s stuff, his version of Back Home I think is the best one, I also like Walkin'. I think his production style is very nice, its not as unique as Brians but it has its charms, its kind of rustic and raw, even listening to MIU, there is a great raw drum sound under a lot of it, I don't think its overproduced at all.

I really like almost everything Al has done. Walkin', Lookin' At Tomorrow, the California Saga, Susie Cincinnati, Loop de Loop, Island Girl... Even California Calling and Take A Load Off Your Feet!  ;D

Oh yeah, that "almost everything" means that I don't particularly like his job on the MIU album. I can "tolerate" it, but I don't like it much.



I had never made the connection, but you're right!  :o The choruses are really similar...

 . . . & let's not forget Al's contribution to the live tours . . .  For SO MANY years -- decades -- he was important at the concerts, especially after Brian flaked-out...  At a zillion+1 live shows, didn't he do lead for HEROES & VILLAINS, YOU'RE SO GOOD TO ME, SLOOP JOHN B., YOU STILL BELIEVE IN ME, RHONDA, etc., etc., . . . ??  . . . & he plays a nice rhythm guitar too, no?  ???

The highpoint for me would be when he nailed those four lines in 'Don't Go Near The Water'. They just sound so damn awesome.

The rest of his stuff I'm kind of so-so on. Take A Load Off Your Feet Pete and Good Time are fun but I wouldn't say I want to hear more of his songs on the albums, there's a decent amount.

And let us not forget his great, Brian-esque falsetto in "Be Here in the Morning", the sublime "Lady Lynda", his funky lead to "On Broadway", awesome cover of "Peggie Sue" or the epic "Santa Ana Winds"/ "Looking Down the Coast" either!  Jardine did some good stuff in the seventies.

On a related note, did Al handle the falsetto on "Surfer Girl" in concert after Brian left the touring band?  I've always wondered about that.

You know, I really, really dislike almost all of his later 70s stuff. His material from the later years just seems so CHEESY to me, even by Beach Boys standards. All the oldies didn't help (for me) either.

What's with his gimmicky production, though? All those sound effects!

Agreed with all sentiments except Loop de Loop. He butchered that song!

Sail Plane Song blows it out of the water. It's a shame, really...

I like the early loop de loop that was on a Landlocked boot, but not the finished version on the ... Endless Harmony? (I forget) Is that early version considered "Sailplane Song?" I know the demo version on EH is called that.

I'm pretty sure the title "Loop de Loop" was bandied about circa '69/'70 when it was under consideration for either "Add Some Music (Sunflower)" or that "Last Capitol Album".

Al is very underrated, glad to see this post about him. I was able to speak to him once and he was a very nice man. Anyways he and Brian sounded so close from Pet Sounds through Holland that it's still hard to really know exactly who did what. He had a really fine streak of songwriting from Friends through Holland as well. He really has a lot of talent and I know that the Beach Boys were better for his being there. That's not to take anything away from David, but Al had more time to develop his talent within the group. As far as his work from the mid 70s on, I think all of the Beachhn Boys, with the exception of Dennis, were not turning out as consistent of work later on, but with that in mind Al still had a lot to offer when he did apply himself. Santa Anna Winds is a terrific song, as good as any the Beach Boys ever put out, he demo especally. Re Loop De Loop I think the original is a great track but he should have left it alone when it came out in 1998.

Al's got some pretty weird ideas for songs, which I Love, but he is a little, er, obvious I guess. He seems to lack subltety in his delivery, but over all he's pretty cool. Lady Lynda, however, really blows. When I first heard the Cal.Feeling boot as a kid, one of my favorite tunes was Santa Ana Winds.

Lady Lynda is an interesting idea that doesn't quite come off. I like the early live versions because the are less forced or plastic. Yeah the Santa Anna Winds on California Feeling is the one I really like too.

To my ears, that could be said about pretty much every song recorded and released by the Beach Boys from MIU on.

Luthor you have a good point. Listen to the live KTSA it kicks the studio versions butt. Somewhere Near Japan is a good studio cut, Dennis' stuff had a cool sound, but yes most of the concert versions are a lot less sugary.

The interesting thing about Al is that many of his songs are based on other peoples' compositions.  OTOH, though, he's got more of a flair for lyrics than most of his bandmates.  I think as a lyricist, even though he's written some dodgy ones, he's generally underrated.

I agree. I think "California [On My Way etc.]" is a brilliant lyric. Probably one of the best lyrics written by a Beach Boy.

I guess I'm the only one who likes Lady Lynda.  Just listen to the line about hearing the birds sing in the Spring. Who can't like that?

Nope.  There are two of us.  The number just doubled.  Great song.

Tripled. I love it. I also like the demo version...

Wow, we're getting a math lesson AND talking Beach Boys! This is fun and educational!

(Secret admission...sometimes--SOMETIMES--I like Lady Lynda too. But I can honestly say that other times I simply despise it. It isn't logical, but it is true.)

I like it too, especially the key change [if that's what it is]  near the end onwards.

Lady Linda is ok. I'd like it more if there were no cheesy Bach quotes.

The melody is very heavily based on the Bach melody. Without the Bach piece, there would be no Lady Lynda at all. Or do you mean just remove the overt quotations, such as at the beginning, and just hope most people wouldn't recognize the chord progression and melody they were hearing?

I like Lady Lynda, but I think the demo and live versions are MUCH better! The LA track is wayyyy overproduced/overdone. The guys had a habit of doing that. Another Al example is Santa Ana Winds, the original version is 500 times better