The Smiley Smile Message Board

I'm sorry if this has been posted before, I couldn't find it in the search. I watched a doc where it was said the band briefly considered changing their name to just "Beach" in the mid-70's due to a problem of image, and I suppose to fit in with the more popular progressive or R&B scene. Does anyone know anything more about this? I'm certain they would have scrapped this idea the moment they decided to become Mike's retro side-show, but it's tantalizing to consider they were really leaving all options on the table for a little while there.

Wasn't it "Beach Men" or something similar in the late 60ies? I think I got it from the Carlin book. Brian had in mind to change the name but the others weren't interested.

It was 1969/70. Both Byron Preis's and Keith Badman's book (and probably others to) mention it.

I think it was at around the time that they switched to Warner Brothers and were thinking of getting rid of the surf-image. But the more hipper name "The Beach" was never more than an idea that was quickly dropped.

Weird - reread this part last night.  In the Carlin book he tells of how one day Brian came down to a recording session really excited over the idea of dropping "Boys" from the band name and becoming The Beach.  He figured they were men now and this might help shake the image they were saddled with, and had even drawn up the legal doc for them all to sign and make it official.  His signature would be the only one on there, as the other boys weren't very thrilled over the idea.  I think it was Desper who said that after it was shot down Brian put the doc on the piano and it sat there until Desper took it away.

The Beach wouldn't have been a bad name at all, really.

Let's say the whole band went along with this. And Warner Reprise or whatever label that would dare to sign them accepted it. Sunflower (or any configuration of their 69-70 material) would still have bombed and they would return to "Beach Boys" for the next album.

Yeah, that's really the only outcome I can see from this. It reminds me of when the The Animals became Eric Burdon and the Animals only to return to the original some years later... but then again, that was mostly a new band anyways.

"Let's say the whole band went along with this. And Warner Reprise or whatever label that would dare to sign them accepted it. Sunflower (or any configuration of their 69-70 material) would still have bombed and they would return to "Beach Boys" for the next album."

Ever the optimist :)

They probably would've held out until Holland.  After that, with all the changes and drugs in their lives, Landy attempting to get Brian back to basics and Mike attempting to get the band back to basics, the old name would've come back.  It would have taken a hell of a lot of other ifs and buts for this to work out. A clean Dennis and Brian being the most obvious.

You get a clean Brian and a clean Dennis together, and you would have had the best album of the 70's.

I'm not too sure about that. Surely the demons helped Dennis come up with such a tortured masterpiece as POB. A clean Brian in the 70's? He was sober for 15BO, wasn't he? That didn't go too well... Really glad he's sober now though.

I would never really want to rewrite history other than seeing SMiLE finished in '67. I'll stop there. But The Beach would have probably been a cool name for the band.

Well, I think "will" has a lot to do with that (the name's "Wil"son after all...). Dennis seemed really up for a solo effort and just "took off" with a little encouragement. Brian was more or less forced or at least manipulated to regurgitate something to capitalize on a moment.

....................the point is, of course, that Brian got in that state in the first place where, as Meade correctly pointed out, 15BO was sort of therapy music for him

I must point out that I absolutely love "Had To Phone Ya" but I am rather lost with the rest of it. After hearing this album I feel very sorry for the rest of the band members.

Palisades Park is awesome. The album isn't that bad.

I second you on Palisades Park!! It took me a thousand listens to finally "get" that album. I see it (and Love You) as a giant "f*** You" to the other BBs, and maybe even to the entire 70s rock and roll zeitgeist. When Brian's peers were doing concept albums, making "serious" artistic statements, recording 30-minute songs consisting of nothing but instrumental jamming and noodling, and there was rabid disdain among rock fans for any music that didn't sound like Zeppelin/ Stones/Yes/Tull/Who/Kiss/Sabbath/Floyd...Brian decided "f*** it! I'm just gonna do oldies!" Brian may not have been paying attention to the punk scene, but it seems like during that period he was, at the very least, in kindred spirits with groups like The Ramones, Talking Heads, etc. BW wasn't even trying, and didn't even know it, but in '76-'77, he was the ultimate punk!!

Just Once in my Life is the best one on there, although Denny's part on It's OK might be the best moment on the record.
I never thought of it as a f***-you as much as a halfway done weird BW album.

I can easily dismiss the entire project except for "Had To Phone Ya" which I can play over and over. Nice and short like "Wake The World" or "This Whole World". Except even more stoned sounding. Love the phone call at the end ("Hey, Brian!!!"). Like "For Once In My Life" too but don't really care about any of the other covers. The other originals are kind of weak too. Love the next album though and the one before it (Holland).

The Best song on 15 Big Ones, was written by Mike Love. That is how bad it is!

Concerning the name change to 'The Beach', I believe that Mike claimed in an interview that he threw that out there as a joke, but it was not a serious idea. That story conflicts with the ones written above. I am not saying one is wrong. I don't know, I wasn't there.

That Mike sure likes to take credit for things... hehe

Just looking at the covers, wouldnt the cover to Holland or Surf's Up look hip when credited to beach?

Changing their name, and then immediately changing it back again, would have probably done more damage to their reputation than the group themselves had done up to that point in time(1969/70). That's just my opinion though.