The Smiley Smile Message Board

I'm about halfway through my journey to collect every recorded Beach Boys album, and I downloaded "Adult Child"...

GOOD... LORD.

They actually considered releasing this piece of crap?!  We get a song about how we shouldn't "sit on our ass smoking grass"; we get the Beach Boys apparently planning gang-rape on a 'little tomboy' and insisting she shave her legs; we get a song that discusses stomach pumps and enemas; and we are informed that a cigarette butt, upon hitting water, goes "psssht".

I understand that Brian was deeply into his mental illness by this point, but he's not the only one to blame - the other Beach Boys are on there too.  Kind of shocking that they would happily sing about a naked fat guy, yet they had severe reservations about "Smile."

The ultimate low-point in the Beach Boys catalog, in my opinion.  Hell with "Summer In Paradise" - this is the bottom of the barrel!

You're crazy.

What he said.

Funnily enough I listened to this too today. I'll agree it's patchy but there are some sublime moments on there - for me, Lines and Still I dream of it are among BW's finest songs! Deep Purple (edit, meant It's Over Now - I always get the names mixed up) is great, Hey Little Tomboy would be a great catchy tune, but the horrendous lyrics definitely ruin it. That bit in the middle where they're all letching is ill-judged beyond reason. I love H.E.L.P. too. The rest I can take or leave. If I compare it to other BB output in the 70s and beyond  I'd say it's worse than Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland and Love You but better than all the others.

I meant to say, are there any good sounding boots of Adult Child as my copy sounds terrible?

I always thought it'd be a good move if the BBs release some of these 'un-released' albums such as Landlocked and Adult Child. I know Landlocked maybe wasn't strictly an album, but can you imagine how great a twofer that would be?

Funny you edited that last line, buddhahat. I was just going to call you out on how unnecessarily confusing that was.

 :-D Yes I read it back and had no idea where exactly I did rank Adult Child after all.

I also recently downloaded this and I cannot feel anymore differently.  I really really enjoy this.  It's probably something I would be embarrassed if someone overheard it coming from my car, but I really enjoy it.  There are some tracks where it's like "yea, I can see way this never came out" but for the most part it is a really enjoyable listen for me.

Some time ago there was a thread about your "guilty pleasure song" and I've decided mine is It's Trying To Say (Baseball).  I probably will never listen to it with anyone but my husband but it is so catchy and I love singing along.  My Diane and Still I Dream of It are so heart breaking and emotionally raw, two of the "real-ist" songs in the catalog.

I'm torn on the Adult/Child recordings. When I first heard it, I was like "wow! this is on level with Love You in being a cult album." Now, some of them are still good but not as much. I'll break them down:

Life is for the Living: Great upbeat parody of a lounge number. Carl gives a good vocal and the chord changes in the middle eight are brilliant.

Hey Little Tomboy: Creepy but a decent song. If you combined some elements of this version (Brian and Mike remaking the tomboy to be specific) and the M.I.U. version (The quicker intro before the vocals come in for one thing), you'd have a good ditty.

Deep Purple: Great cover of the 4 Seasons hit. I really like Brian's vocal here for the most part.

H.E.L.P. is on the way: A shorter version of the Sunflower outtake found on the GV set. Basically omits the Radiant Radish references (since the store was gone by 1976.)

It's Over Now: Excellent! Carl's slowed down vocal is perfect for this Sinatra like number. A highlight of these sessions.

Everybody Wants To Live: My sleeper. Filled with lyrics only Brian could get away with. The chord changes in the break are some of my favorite chord changes in ANY song.

Shortenin' Bread: Yuck. Do not like the synth version from this era or the L.A. version. Maybe I'd put My Diane or take a Love You song that was recorded in late 1976 (I Wanna Pick you Up?) in its place.

Lines: Not bad. Tag is very repetitive however.

On Broadway: Probably one of the worst songs on the "album." Terrible cover. I may even keep Shortenin' over this.

Games Two Can Play: Nice Sunflower era outtake. Simple and sweet.

It's Trying to Say aka Baseball: Nice Denny tune. Being a huge baseball fan, I may be biased  ;D

Still I Dream of It: I can't describe this amazing song with words. Go buy the song separately for .99 cents on Itunes!

Keep working through the catalogue - when you get through MIU and Summer In Paradise then give us a review of Adult Child again - there is more creativtity and beauty in just a shard of Still I Dream Of It than in both of MIU and SIP combined.

What's not to like?

It's a lot closer to the best than to the worst BBs album, in my estimation. There's only one song I don't like: "On Broadway." And "Lines," "It's Trying to Say (Baseball)," "Still I Dream of It," "It's Over Now" and a couple others are among my favorites.

Pure Craziness.

This is in my top 10 BB albums, it suits my personality perfect.

Crazy as a clowns c*ck  ;D

At the risk of being shouted down. Is it fair to rate and critique a unreleased work?

Comment and discuss by all means but to score against official product...I'm not sure.

It's fair to discuss, comment on and critique the material that we know. And if that material was intended to be an album, then it's fair to critique it as an album. Plus--and I KNOW someone will correct me if I'm wrong, here--this isn't just a collection of session tapes, for example. Unless I'm mistaken, this was assembled and turned in to the label, and unreleased because it was rejected. There is a world of difference between this and, say, "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" (until its eventual assembly and release long after the fact) or other such tunes.

Not anywhere near the worst. I'd rank this album along with the entire '76-'78 era as my second favorite BB period. BW was writing some of his best and most adventurous songs (chord wise, anyway). Not sure what it is about the Beach Boys you enjoy, but if it has anything to do with interesting melodies, quirky subject matter, or unusual instrumentation, I would imagine you might enjoy this 'record'. Try harder.

Only a real fucking idiot would casually toss around a phrase like 'gang-rape' in a song review. Go check yourself.

I know what you are saying but I would guess any album contract would state the work has to meet not just the standard required of the artist (high you would hope) but be judged by a label to be of a good enough quality to release. After all, they are paying the artist and any expenses related to the album release.

When a 'album' becomes a 'album'? I'll leave that to the lawyers.

Oh, I'm not disputing why it was rejected or the label's right to do so. Just saying that it was complete enough to be submitted, so it's complete enough to be considered now.

Agree to disagree.

...and worst 'album'. SIP.

I agree to agree. (btw, what are you disagreeing with me on?)

It's Tryin to Say and Shortenin' Bread are great, Deep Purple is bad (a hit by the Four Seasons?  Really?) and most of the rest is pretty good.  Some of the all-time great/bizarre lyrics are on that set of songs... PFTTTTTT?

It was not a official label release so not in my definition of BB album. A album to me is something I could buy today at a store or obtain legally if out of print.

I remember a similar subject was discussed a few years back when Brian released SMiLE. Ego Board I think.

I figure the original poster might like some backup of sorts.  :-)

The Adult Child set has a few *brilliant* songs -- "It's Over Now", "Still I Dream Of It", "Games Two Can Play", and (yes) "HELP", which is genuinely tongue-in-cheek.  (I really think it suffers because of the context -- I heard it first on the box set as an outtake circa 1969, at which point it feels more like a bit of a goof than a postcard from the depths of Brian's disintegration.)  I've even got a soft spot for the likes of "Deep Purple".

But as an album... it's the Beach Boys equivalent of one of those late Elvis sets, where they got him to record about half an album's worth of stuff before he got bored or flaked out, and then they shoved in whatever they could dig out of the vaults to fill out the record.  And it shows.

If you're going to have an album where Brian isn't fully involved, I much prefer the potluck everybody-bring-a-dish approach of Carl & the Passions or LA.  "Sumahama" may not be a brilliant song, but you can tell it's the best damn thing Mike Love has to offer, he really wants to make this work.  "Here She Comes" may be odd by Beach Boys standards, but you can tell they're really committed to it.  Even "Here Comes The Night" succeeds on its own terms, even if the very fact that it's setting out to do that rubs fans up the wrong way.  But "On Broadway", or "Hey Little Tomboy"?  It's hard to convince me anyone believed in them.  And "Shortenin' Bread"?  I'm sure Brian believed in it, but that belief fails to reach outside of the back of his own head...

Cheers,
Jon Blum

Gotcha. (I'd have taken your side of the argument with pre-BWPS Smile, btw. And still do. On that one, I'd say it's sessions, not an album, and not relevant for apples-to-apples comparison to BWPS.)

If Sumahama is the best ANYONE ON THIS EARTH has to offer, we're all in trouble...

The Japanese Millenium Edition sounds ok. Nice cover with 1976 Brian in his robe on the beach.

You have strayed far off the path of righteousness my son.  I will pray for you.

I love every single track on Adult/Child except Hey Little Tomboy and On Broadway. How can anyone not crack up hysterically when they hear "a cigarette butt when you throw it in the water goes pffft" or "doughy lumps, stomach pumps, enemas too"?

Mixed, mastered, banded and delivered to the record company.

While I think songs like Sea Cruise are better then On Broadway, and Lazy Lizzie better then Lines, Adult Child works for me in a way Love You doesn't. Perhaps because as weird as many tracks are. the singing is a bit better. There are two groundbreaking songs on it. Still I Dream Of It and It's Over Now. Like The Night Was So Long and I'll Bet He's Nice on Love You they work as the kind of emotionally naked tracks that shows Brian at his best. The two highlights on Adult Child are even better because the arrangements are tasteful and break new ground.

Life is for the Living: A fun track with a great melody, Brian never wrote music like this before or since. The lyrics make this work as a pure comedy track. The vocals are crazy but fit the piece.

Hey Little Tomboy: It is a cute (if slight song). I think the talking bits are hysterical.

Deep Purple: Brian's could have sang far better a mere two years earlier, but he does sing it with passion. Another great production

H.E.L.P.: Dates from 1970 and quality wise that automatically gives it a boost. Terrific vocals, and genuine humor. Nothing earth shaking but it's well put together and truly better then Take A Load Off Your Feet.

It's Over Now: Wonderful song, Marilyn and Carl both do a nice job. Her voice is so much better on this then it was on Let's Put Our Hearts Together. One of the Beach Boys best of their post Holland era.

Everybody Wants To Live: Musically this is pretty modern for the time, the lyrics are again quite funny. Could Adult Child been the real Brian humor album. I like the deep harmony on the chorus. The vocals are notably better then Love You's.

Shortenin' Bread: Brian (and Mike) loved this song. This isn't really a great take off it, as to me it's just too juvenile. Again three years earlier the vocals may have been good enough to save it. Would like to hear the Spring version (I know this is the music from it, but the original vocals have to be better then this.

Lines: Kind of dull, nothing to really make it stand out. I like the cocaine joke made on the liners of the Brother vinyl boot. Something like "Not the kind of lines you may think". It is very Brian to write a song about everyday life he just didn't make it interesting.

On Broadway: Terrible, Al sounds awful. I think Sea Cruise, Shake Rattle and Roll, or  Come Go With Me would have been way better.

Games Two Can Play: One of my favorite Brian songs. Just sums up the casual excellence of his late sixties work. The vocals, the wry lyrics, the melody, they are all perfect in their simplicity. Just good music period.

It's Trying to Say : Not something I would list in my top 100 Beach Boys songs, but Dennis does sing it with warmth. The melody is quite nice, and it's just harmless fun.

Still I Dream of It: One of the best Beach Boys songs of any era. Brian sings this very well, and it's hard to understand why he didn't always let his new voice work for him. In other words this is the perfect pitch and key for someone with a limited range and had voiced all his late 70's work like this I would think much better of it. The lyrics are great and so real.

All in all Adult Child was my favorite post Holland group project. While it's not a great cohesive whole, there are tracks that show Brian on top form.  

I think "CRAP" is a bit over-exaggerated. Adult Child needs more than one listen. It had to grow on me, that's for sure. Certainly not everything is up to par, but as a whole it can be enjoyable. Don't listen too often too it. Same goes for Love You for example. Typical "you love it or hate it" kinda albums.

I remember (can't quote right now) reading in Andrew Doe's Complete Guide To The Music Of The Beach Boys that he described Johnny Carson as "you'd either be shouting "MORE, MORE!", or you'd thrown the disc out of the window, it's that kind of song on that kind of album"... And I think Lazenby had that same experience when listening to the "dirty version" of Hey Little Tomboy for the first time.

That's everything I look for in an album. ::)

I like Adult Child but can't really get on with the older stuff- HIOIW, G2CP in that context, I know it was delivered to the record company that way but I know them first and foremost from the GV box so think of them as Sunflower/surfs up outtakes.
The new non-orchestral stuff is good but even rawer than Love you, I think they could have easily bolstered it up with other stuff from this era like Marilyn Rovell, Lazy Lizzie, My Diane, That Special feeling, Sherry she needs me etc.

How about a 1978 Beach Boys album to make EVERYONE unhappy?  8)

Almost Summer (Brian Wilson - Al Jardine - Mike Love)
Everybody Wants To Live (Brian Wilson)
Schoolgirl (Dennis Wilson - Gregg Jakobson)
Hey Little Tomboy (Brian Wilson)
It's Over Now (Brian Wilson)
Sad, Sad Summer (Mike Love)

She's Got Rhythm (Brian Wilson - Mike Love - Ron Altbach)
It's Trying To Say (Brian Wilson)
Match Point of Our Love (Brian Wilson - Mike Love)
Still I Dream Of It (Brian Wilson)
Pitter Patter (Brian Wilson - Mike Love- Al Jardine)
My Diane (Brian Wilson)

I like Adult/Child. It is not one of those albums you can play all the time, but when you do it is an interesting experience. I feel the same way about Sweet Insanity.

I actually think the NASCAR album is the worst. Bad timing and only available in gas stations? It is an album very low on the totem pole for me.

I'm late to this, but I think Adult/Child is far from bad. In fact, it makes a ncie contrast with Love You if you give it a chance. There's only "Tomboy" for the silliness, there's more than an ounce of truth in "Life is for the Living" is "Everybody Wants to Live Just Once" always seemed like an anthem to me, even though it had silly origins. Most of it is serious, beautiful material. "It's Over Now" and "Still I Dream of It" are two of Brian's best from any era, "Everybody" is very strong and emotional, "Life" is pure fun and "Deep Purple" has a nice arrangement (even if Brian's singing isn't his best, it's still fits the tune). Some of it may be weird, some of it may be poorly sung, but you really have to give it a chance because I love it now even though my first reaction wasn't as hot. It definitely should've seen release.

And, by the way, I've always thought "Tomboy" was always intended as a hoot, and is nothing particularly shocking. Songs with more shocking lines have been written by people with no signs of mental illness (at least on the surface) and no-one has batted an eye. "Tomboy" is just pure fun and I enjoy it.

Schoolgirl followed by Hey Little Tomboy .... now THAT'S risque....

i love the record so much i have a copy on vinyl

I just downloaded a cool boot with the Love You demos, and some from Adult Child on it like Till I dream of It and It's Over Now. You realise that Brian was really knocking out killer tunes at this point, but they're killer because they are SO melancholy, unbearably, beautifully melancholy. I've been listening to the Cocaine sessions as well and the same could be said of those. You wouldn't wish that kind of turmoil and misery on him now, but man you do miss those achingly beautiful tunes. I like about half of TLOS but I don't think Brian is any where near the songwriting abilities he had even in the late 70s.

I totally agree about Tomboy.  Lazy Lizzy though, that's a whole nother story.  That song gives me the creeps.

adult child is an ok album has some good stuff like Life is for the living and tomboy no were near as good as love you and I prefer the MIU and summer in paradise albums

Dear lord, please tell me you are kidding!

I downloaded Summer In Paradise once and thought it was absolutely painful (IT'S A LOVE THING!), but having just bought "MIU" on vinyl recently, I have to say that I honestly enjoyed it.

"Belles Of Paris" was painful, but "Peggy Sue" had me dancing around the room.

"She's Got Rhythm" is 100% awesomeness!

Am I right in concluding that opinions are, erm, divided on this?