The Smiley Smile Message Board

I just got a new pair of headphones for christmas and I was noticing all types of new details about this album, everytime I listen to it I like it more so I just wanted to do a commentary on it for you guys. It's often one of the more disparaged BB albums but it's so incredibly brilliant it should be considered one of the best.

Firstly, Friends is a great ALBUM. Each of these songs feels kind of slight, kind of forgettable. I think that's why it's often overlooked, but the songs actually all work together to create a really beautiful mood. While the Beatles were all trying to show off for The White Album, Brian was making incredibly unassuming music, music so unpretentious it almost feels unimportant, but that's Brian's vision, and hearing such a sophisticated producer/arranger have so much fun with a theme is a joy.

1. Meant For You
This song sets the mood so well, Mike's voice is really beautiful here, it's nice to hear a new vocal style from him. The difference between SMiLE (which Brian had abandoned less than a year before the recording of Friends) and Friends is the difference between Prayer and Meant For You, while one is so solemn and belabored the other is a simple little fragment.

2. Friends
The title track is so hokey. The original Rolling Stone review for this album characterized this as a "surf/fun in the sun" type track about fraternity among surfers. Which is just so off the mark. This song is really unique in that it's a psychedelic-waltz, why Brian was struck with a desire to revive waltzes is a really humorous little mystery to me, but the harmonica here feels straight out of H&V and the whole thing has that slight country-western vibe to it that Brian was working on.

3. Wake the World
Brian wrote in the twofer liner notes that he thought this was perfectly evocative of the change between day and night, and it really is. The lyrics are so charming "one by one, the stars appear, the light of the day, is not longer here". It's something that happens every day no matter what, and the cyclic nature of the song is so comforting. The rustic horn theme on the "wake the world it's a brand new morning" is so great and one gets the sense that "eggs and grits and lickity splits" could have gone there as well. You can even hear the sound of curtains sliding open to let in the morning light.

4. Be Here in the Morning
What I love about this song is the bell during the "be here in the morning" parts. It's sounds almost like a door bell, it's one of a lot of details on Friends, where the anticipation of the verse is met with the sound of the real world pay off.

5. When a Man Needs a Woman
There's another example of what I just described in the last song, near the end there's actually a really prominent kick. Just like, you guessed it, a kicking baby. There's almost something sad about this song, in the Jack Rieley Q&A Jack said Brian was bummed out that he wasn't conceiving a boy, and that he wasn't a real man because of it. So it's a little ironic that he has the lead vocal here, and actually anticipates his first born being a boy in the lyrics. This song is really pleasant regardless of that, just about a simple joy that Brian found in life.

6. Passing By
Alright, is it just me or is this song about riding in an elevator? The way the song sounds like it's climbing and climbing but never really goes anywhere? The way the end feels like a "grand finale" without seeming any different from the start is just so incredibly charming. The use of the Smiley Smile organ even gives it a very muzaky feel. The title even beings a smile to my face thinking about it like that. I don't really know what this song is about, but you get the sense it was something like that.

7. Anna Lee, The Healer
I love the traveling sound of this one, the way the honky-tonk piano rises and descends makes this song feel like it goes places, while the lyrics describe beaches and mountain tops. This song only has piano and bass through the verses and the fence-of-sound type production on them works really well. It feels like there's a lot more there but it's so minimalistic.

8. Little Bird
Brian must have really been impressed with this thing. One can almost imagine him excitedly deciding that THIS song was better suited to the Child-Is-The-Father part than Surf's Up. I don't know if that's the case but it's a perfect addition to Brian's songs. There isn't a better way of describing Dennis' songs than the way Brian did, "ballad with a punch". The lyrics are so zen-like, "the trout/in the shiny brook/gave the worm another look and told me not to worry about my life".

9. Be Still
Just a demo that turned out to be too good to improve on. While the Beatles would have problems with Let it Be getting overproduced, it's telling about Brian's general outlook on this album that a demo-ish track like this was deemed "fine the way it is".

10. Busy Doing Nothing
If you're a Brian fanatic you need to love this song. The way Brian daydreams himself as a breezy-cassanova/playboy with the bossa-nova is a real treat. The lyrics create this air of self importance, turning little tasks like giving directions and making phone-calls into serious commitments. The musical tension created, and the way it's released into just thin air is such a nice touch. This song is so clever, and has so much fun with itself you can't help but laugh.

11. Diamond Head
This song is so radical, it's hard to think of many things like it from the other great albums of this era. I can remember a time when I didn't like this track but it's such a peaceful little daydream of tropical islands. The sound of the tides playing in the mix, the tapped strings made to sound like tropical birds, the Hawaiian guitar, it's perhaps Brian's best attempt at exotica. The guitars in the middle part actually sound like something off a Boredoms album.

12. TM
Why THIS song? It seems so weird and out of place. It's dissonant, atonal, jazzy feel is so bizarre. It's almost a blemish, but almost in the way that prayer rugs in certain faiths are purposely blemished as a reminder that nothing is perfect.

It would be hard to improve on Friends, I think Time To Get Alone and I Went to Sleep and perhaps even I'd Love Just Once to See You would fit on this album, but this album doesn't really need improvement. It is what it is, and that's good enough for Brian, so why shouldn't it be good enough for us?

  I really love Friends. It has a great, almost jazzy feel throughout. Busy Doin' Nothing is probably my favorite because I love bossa nova.

Friends to me is sitting in my garden back home a couple of summers ago, drinking beer with a couple of friends. I'm so nostalgic for that time, so Friends feels even nicer to me. That  It's such a warm record, musically and lyrically. I love it, in a different way to something like Smile or Pet Sounds. Brian's comments about it in relation to PS make a lot of sense to me.

Like the album, but it lacks one super strong track, too fluffy.  I like most of When A Man Meets A Woman but the falsetto at the end is horrible.   

I became a big fan of the BBs in 1992, and heard Friends for the first time in 1993.  From probably the 2nd listen on, it became my favorite Beach Boys album, and has remained my favorite since then!  Love it!

I feel like sound of the Friends album is pretty consistent in sound or a "theme", very homespun...there's no other album like it in every aspect.  I always thought the first half flowed perfectly, with the remembrance of Friends, we then start the morning in bed and wondering around, then contemplating the expecting wife, then a sigh of looking out the window (Passing By)...then the story continues on with Busy Doin' Nothin.

I remember for the longest time we were debating the 'wake the world mysterious sounds'. Like most people, we tend to over analyze things, and a lot of Smilers, including myself, thought it was a music stand falling down (instead of something obvious like the shades/blinds being pulled).

A great note about Be Here in the Morning is the fact that Murry did the bass vocals. When you go back and listen, it's like: "OH YEAH! It's pretty obvious that's not Mike's bass vocals."

And Passing By is like Brian singing the phonebook, I could just listen to Brian sing anything from 61-74 all day/night.

The introduction of Stephen Kalinich to the group as a collaborator or just lyric writing poet is a great debut for Dennis' song writing. I just wish they did more with Stephen during Sunflower-Surf's Up-So Tough. Somehow, I wish his World Of Peace Must Come could have been intertwined with a Beach Boy project and seen a release by 69/70 or connect with 20/20. But I reckon they got back together around 74-75 for California Feeling and Lucy Jones and Dennis' tunes for POB and so fourth.

BTW:Posted by: Fishmonk: "What I love about this song is the bell during the "be here in the morning" parts. It's sounds almost like a door bell,"
Where is this door bell sound? I've never heard it, not saying it's not there, just wondering where/when/what to listen to.

Aren't the directions that Brian sings in BDN actually real directions to his house? I remember someone saying that years ago.

Yeah they are. Although from where remains a mystery....

like where to start?

Yep.  I reckon it's the house of either a member of the band, Diane, or Danny Hutton

I like the album but to call it the "best album" baffles me (though its just my opinion-not looking for a fight).  Pet Sounds, Sunflower and Today (despite some filler) beat it by a mile.  I also think Wild Honey is better.   It's just not consistent-some of the songs are weak-like Transcendental Meditation, Be Here in The Morning and When a Man Loves a Woman  and Brian's vocals are pitched a little too high for my taste.  I think they were low on material-it has a very short running time and thats with two instrumentals padding it out.  Dennis and Brian make some nice contributions, but they needed more material and Carl hadn't started writing yet.

Today: 28:54
Friends: 25:30

I really love Friends as well.  I wouldn't call it my very favorite, but I give it an A.  Love busy doin' nothin' (natch!), the title track, etc.  I have always thought Anna Lee is really underrated.  The instrumentation is so sparse (just a piano, at times) but still creates a nice little rhythm, a nice atmosphere.  I also have never understood the animosity toward Transcendental Meditation.  The music is a really cool fusion kind of sound, with some nice dissonance thrown in, and the lyrics, far from absurdly celebrating TM seem to lightly poke fun at it.  "Transcendental meditation can emancipate the man and get you feeling grand.  It's cool!"  I'm sorry, those are phenomenal lyrics!  Certainly not meant to be taken serously.

Every track on the album is strong, and "Friends" (the track), BDN, and Little Bird are all minor masterpieces, IMHO.  WAMNAW and Passing By come close.

Diamond Head is one of my least favorite BB songs... just doesn't sound fulfilling to me. I love Transcendental Meditation and everything else. Meant For You is in my top 10 songs ever.

Friends is so great, but it just seems to be missing something. I don't think I listen to any of their albums front to back anymore unless on vinyl. It is worth buying even if just for the radical album cover!!   :3d

It doesn't seem like the band was short on material during this time.
Smiley Smile was released in September 1967
Wild Honey in December
Friends in June, 1968

That's three whole albums in 9 Months. Look at the Beatles, there were 17 months between Sgt. Peppers and The White Album, with only the Magical Mystery Tour EP coming out in the interim. If anything the Beach Boys did too many albums during this era. It must have really confused the record buying public when a band as big as the Beach Boys released not only Smiley Smie but Wild Honey and Friends. Three totally different records that at first glance have nothing to do with one another. I think Brian was absolutely inspired during those 9 months and that his songs were borne out of everything that he had thought up during SMiLE.

Friends is basically the Beach Boys' Sgt. Peppers. Some people don't like stuff like When I'm 64, and Friends is Brian's equivalent. 

The three albums are the three movements of Smile.

Smiley Smile has Fall Breaks [Fire] near the start, Friends has Water as the 2nd to last track. Basically they're like a rainbow from one side to another.
Or like Zarathustra said, "I name you three metamorphoses of the spirit: how the spirit shall become a camel, and the camel a lion, and the lion at last a child"

You have Smiley Smile, this really drole impression of psychedelia, it's like Brian putting on airs. He's trying so hard to be cool, working with Van Dyke parks on this overwrought masterpiece. He's the camel that just allows itself to be ridden.
Then you have Wild Honey where Brian becomes a lion, breaking out of the mold, rocking straight through from start to finish. Brian's tearing down all that artifice that was built up.
Finally there's Friends, where he becomes the Child, just being creative and imaginative. It's totally calm and unassuming, there's nothing there then just the peace inside Brian's head.

I think that's all basically the idea of something like "child is the father of the man", coulda been a pretty radical double LP probably. All three albums actually would fit on 2 LPs too, so it's easy to make a mix. :D

I love it too.  It's one of the few BB albums — especially from that period — that is evenly handled, & holds together as one cohesive, consistent piece.  (Except maybe for TM tagged on at the end.)  Plus it was all new songs at the time.  Contrast it to the hodge-podge of WILD HONEY, or 20/20, for example.

I like reading what everyone has to say about Friends, and other Albums, but no way I could ever say " The Best Album Is:"   
I like too many to pick out just one.

It took me a couple of years to decide but I now think the best album is Surf's Up.

Everyone knows the best album is Summer In Paradise!!! ;) ;) :-D :-D

It's in the chorus during the "be here in the morning, be here in the evening, be here and make my life..." You can hear it best at around 30 seconds in, in the right channel. It definitely sounds like a bell to me.

I love the bass guitar and percussion on the songs. Add to that, the vocals and key changes of the songs and their beauty.

Haven't read the whole thread but this seems to be fitting:

http://www.goldminemag.com/article/cover-story-friends-the-beach-boys-feel-good-record (http://www.goldminemag.com/article/cover-story-friends-the-beach-boys-feel-good-record)



EDIT:

Fishmonk, really a nice review of "Friends" !
"Passing by" is very cool, it reminds me of the Beatles' "Flying" from Magical Mystery Tour with less psychedelic effects.

It's my favorite Beach Boys album. The PastMasters CD is a real fun listen.

 I also love regarding the Friends-20/20 2-fer as one album.

Really nice read from Dave Beard. 
And it speaks to one of the reasons( maybe the most important) Mike disliked Dennis.  Dennis was the first to interact with Mike's Swami. Mike has stuck with it, to this day, but Dennis knew him first!  Oh how that must eat at Mike every darn day.  Dennis got all the girls first; Dennis had all the fun first; DENNIS knew and THEN  introduced Mike to Sexy Sadie. How to feel about that... 

Friends is a really cool album. It's not my favorite but it's really nice and mellow. One of their best vocal eras I think. I never heard any of them sing better.

I adore Friends with a passion. When I first heard it, it blew my mind because I'd been under the impression that Brian's production skills/will had petered out after Smile, and then suddenly I'm listening to this gloriously produced, beautifully played/sung epic of peacefulness.

Except "Passing By" destroys "Flying".

imo.

I had the exact same reaction when I first heard the album.  Very well put.

I'm not sure exactly what is the source of the impression so many people have (and I once did as well) that Brian did nothing after shelving Smile, but Wild Honey and Friends are sensational, wonderful, irrefutable proof that it is not true.

As I've stated over in the albums section of this board, I think Friends is very strong musically, but on the lyrics it's rather bland.  The vocals are top-notch, but the subjects of the songs are uninteresting to me.  I think it would be a real kick to hear an instrumental only version of the album (or instrumental with backing vocals).

MEANT FOR YOU is a cool intro to the album, although it sounds like a Smiley Smile leftover with the organ accompaniment.  The fade out reminds me of the snippet of WALK ON BY in the bonus tracks, and how it was faded just as you get into it, but that is all they had recorded of WOB.  MFY would have worked better for me if they had resolved the wordless ending on a sustained chord, setting the stage for FRIENDS.

FRIENDS, the song, is incredible, though.  A real mind-blower.  I wouldn't change a thing about it.  Somehow the simplistic lyrics work great with the psychedelic structure of the tune. 

WAKE THE WORLD is another great song that's very atmospheric, very much like COUNTRY AIR. 

BE HERE IN THE MORNING is where my interest level starts to drop off and remains at a low for the rest of the songs.  As I've stated above: great song structures, blah lyrics.  And I'm sorry but BHitM is just plain silly to me!

Well, sorry to be so critical, and I'm not saying that Friends is bad, but as a Beach Boys fan my standards are very high!

Oh, one more thing (and it's positive)!

I think Friends has the best cover of all time.  The art on the front cover is so reflective of the music on the album and of that time period.  The photo on the back cover is excellent as well.

It's too bad that 20/20 (which is an album that's more my cup of tea) had such an uninspired design, even with the gatefold.

20/20 is my least favorite later-day BB album. There's good songs on it but it doesn't really have it's own mood or feeling.

I agree. It starts very promising though. Three charting singles in a row. Side B  is the weak side, although the songs are good, they don't fit together very well.

The Nearest Faraway Place is not very good, compared to Diamond Head, Passing By, Let's Go Away For Awhile, and Pet Sounds it sounds like the soundtrack to a bad movie.
TTGA and IWTS are both excellent, Be With Me is fantastic, and I Can Hear Music is a beautiful performance from Carl. The SMiLE tracks are of course terrific, but they just feel out of place.
20/20 took something like twice as long to record as Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, and Friends combined. When people say the boys were out of material after SMiLE, they're thinking of 20/20. It feels like an attempt to put something out to appease Capital and make some money. If I could delete any one album from the BB canon, it would probably be 20/20.

The other tracks feel very Beatles inspired. Music was getting into a really rockist mode, and it feels like Dennis was really picking up on it with All I Want to Do, or Got To Know The Woman (from Sunflower) but that stuff is much less interesting than some of his other productions. Bluebirds and Cottonfields are passable efforts that don't really stand out on their own, and NLNTL is an okay song without a great melody.

What's really missing is Break Away, that's a really fantastic song. None of the bands original studio albums is a double LP or an EP, but it feels like the band would have been better off releasing an EP with Break Away, I Can Hear Music, Be With Me and maybe Al's Cottonfields.

You're seriously saying if ANY album, from the ENTIRE catalogue could be deleted, you'd pick 20/20? Wow. This is a band with some seriously crap records under their belt...

The first few tracks kick ass, losing speed with Bluebirds Over The Mountain, which is rubbish. Some nice licks, but the sing-songy wishy washy lyrics don't do it for me. Be With Me is obviously incredible. As is All I Want To Do, saved by Mike's vocal. I honestly can't listen to Faraway Place all the way through, although it's more of an arrangement problem than anything musical - The solo piano version on the Olympia concert is nice in it's faux-BW chord changes etc.

Inspired by the recent thread on the pair, BW's produced Cotton Fields isn't pop gold like Al's, but once it clicked with me it's my favourite. Something about all the echo on BW's piano and the guitars.

Everything else is of course brilliant - Never Learn Not To Love is the greatest 60's production BW never did (Dennis or Carl?). I like ending with the Smile tracks, but then that's probably just because I like Smile tracks. They make sense, i guess - the album is getting bigger and more ornate as it progresses, so they fit into that.

And it WAS a odds and sods collection to get rid of the last album in their contract with Capitol, so they could head to pastures new.

AMEN to that! It has wretched to- bland- good to- mind blowingly awesome trax, but I really dislike that album...

The Beach Boys have recorded such a huge amount of material there are some of us who think every little fragment should have been pressed to vinyl, but editing is just as important to the band's overall legacy. That's what makes Sunflower a great album, merciless editing. 20/20 is an album without an artistic edge, it's an album that didn't feel necessary, an album made just because it was harder not to make an album.

The Beatles have been more aggressive with their catalog, more careful about what they label as a "Beatles LP". I mean some sources actually list things like "Stack O' Tracks" as part of the main discography. If there ends up being a series of reissues next year, Brother Records should take the time to clearly define the BB Canon and edit it a little more artfully.

I was surprised that someone said Friends didn't have its' own mood or feeling - to me it's all about mood and a laid back feeling, a chilled out vibe but with beautiful harmonies and arrangement.  It's not about "hits" or rock dynamics, it seems to reflect Brian's mood and muse at the time rather than a competitive "got to have a hit" or keep up with the Beatles style production.  That's why the two instrumentals fit perfectly and are not filler at all.  I absolutely love Be Here in the Morning and When a Man Loves a Woman - the latter being about Marilyn of course.  I have to admit Transcendental Meditation is weak, it does disrupt the mood - the song should have been more laid back to reflect what meditating is actually like.

there was additional material that could have been included - but most likely the songs were not finished at the time the album was due.  You're as Cool as You Can Be (love to hear that - great title), Our Happy Home, We're Together Again, Old Man River, and the track of I Went to Sleep were done before the album release, although We're Together again was worked on more later (I believe the string overdubs).  We're together Again and Old Man River would have worked nicely on the album, and I Went to Sleep would have been a perfect choice (it describes what most listeners did on hearing the album!).

When a Man Loves a Woman is about Marilyn...?  wow... last thing I expected from Percy Sledge was that he wrote that song with her in mind...


 ;D

20/20 is a great album. The only crap song is "Bluebirds over the Mountain" which has awlful lyrics and a wretched lead from Mike. The heavy metal guitar solos are out of place on it too. Slot "Breakaway" in it's place and you have a masterpiece.

to me, 20/20 was the white album of the Beach Boys....random songs from everyone.
A lot of random music styles into one record.
If only we received a double album (not concert) by the guys.
I wanna say a comeback double LP, but somepeople would think instantly 15 Big Ones.
To me, a double album from 74-75 would have been great, a comeback LP with songs from everyone.
If there wasn't enough to fill the album, just throw on some rare concert songs like Jumpin' Jack Flash or Wishin' You Were Here

There were plenty of songs; in 74-75 we got Endless Summer, Wild Honey&20/20, Friends&Smiley Smile, Spirit Of America, The Golden Years Of The Beach Boys ( Mail Order), and American Summer( RCA Music Service).
Double LP, not Concert;  comeback LP's with songs from everyone named Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson,Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine and a host of others, like( but not limited to)Roger Christian, Gary Usher , Doc Pomus, Noel Sherman and Chuck Berry.

And there are tons of Beatles fans who think the white album is their greatest (although I'm not one of them!) 

Yes, 20/20 is a hodgepodge of (mostly) leftovers with a few clunkers, but for me there are more high points than Friends.  Usually, when I listen to the twofer I will skip ahead to Do it Again after Wake the World, and then it depends on what mood I'm in as to whether or not I skip anything on 20/20.

I like "The nearest..." very much and would call it on of the sronger tracks on the album. I believe though that the track sequence is one big problem. Here are some things I would change:

- take off "Cabin essence". "Prayer" would be okay but CE just doesn't fit. I just have this idea to follow "Prayer"with "Bluebirds...". That would sound cool
 
- I really dislike the intro to "All I want to do". I like the song but that intro just turns me off, so I would try to coe up with a better one

- "I went to sleep" and "Time to get alone" should be parted by anotehr song or two (that goes for Dennis' songs too)

- "Cottonfields"..... I don't know. Al's version is far superior to Brian's but maybe it could stay on the album in this version

- "Break away" and "Celebrate the news" should be on there

- Take off "Never learn not to love" and use it as a b-side only

- if "California slide" was done during these sessions then put it on !!

- "I can hear music" should've been the opener to side 2


IIRC Desper wrote in his book, that the BBs had to go on tour befor they could really "finish" the album.

BTW here's the original "Bluebirds ove rthe mountain" for everyone who's interested:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwlIe-F-nak (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwlIe-F-nak)

Take off "Never Learn Not to Love"? Really?? That's a fantastic song!

Don't like it too much. The vocal arrangement is very good and the overall production. But all in all I don't think it's more than a filler. There are better ones

BHITM and F were even better live-Carl and Al both really getting the job done very well.

are you basically/sarcastically saying that their comeback albums are the old one re-released   ;D...sure, it's nice, I have a couple on vinyl. But I want something new. I think I posted a double LP tracklist that had more than enough tracks (outtakes from previous albums from the 70s).

Friends is one of my favorites, too. A while back a friend and I were hanging out, he was cruising the internet on my computer, and I thought, what a great time to introduce him to some great Beach Boys material...what album should I put on? - So I thought through many albums, Pet Sounds? No, too personal. Today!? No, too many ballads. Love You? :lol. Then It hit me: Friends! The most lovable/chill album the Beach Boys ever created

I put that album on and my friend, who listens to virtually nothing but heavy-rock music, said that he really liked the album and loved its mellowness. It's, in my opinion, the most accessible Beach Boys album ever made.

Also, Bruce Johnston is entitled to his opinion, but like many of you I don't understand his criticism of Friends.

Oh man, did I leave off the Smiley again? 
I've just got to get better at that...

FRIENDS is cool, but I personally prefer WILD HONEY and 20/20.  But it's all a matter of taste, they're all good in their own way.

It's funny. I was 17 when this album came out. Tough teenage years. Moody...smoking lots of cigarettes. Depressed over relationships. Not an easy time at all. Friends was there for me to get wasted...in a good way. The music brought me to a place where I could hide inside of it. Wrap myself in it and receive real comfort. What amazes me is that at that time Friends was considered to be such a bore to my own friends. A waste of time. The title song meant so much to me earlier in the year. And people couldn't understand why. It dropped off the charts with a bang and got such little airplay. And yet I loved it. And the album was so great. How wonderful to be able to read everyone's praises 42 years later. I guess I was right way back then. Not bad for a kid.

Friends has been at the very top of my list for quite a few years now. In its own unassuming way I think it's just as good an album as Pet Sounds, though I can see why it won't make the top spot of your typical Rolling Stone "greatest records of all time" listing, minimal cultural impact by the time of its original release probably being the main problem here. Also this record doesn't hit you the way that most classic pop/rock albums do, but I really don't mind that at all. To me this album feels like a very beautiful and mellow version of many things I've always loved about the original Smile recordings. Probably the freshest-sounding music I've ever heard and quite adventurous too...

Duplicate post

Apart from "Friends" (the song) and maybe "Transcendental Meditation" he basically dismisses the whole album, wondering how it even charted at #126, saying that #1026 would've been a more appropriate chart position.

During the The Beach Boys 30th anniversary program, he also said that Friends had an ugly album cover.

Is it safe to assume Bruce is blind and just never told anyone? ...nah, if he was he probably would've wrote better music...unless he's deaf too, which might explain a lot....

You might be surprised. A month back I posted this in a similar topic:

Hope it's going to climb even further as time goes by, maybe becoming a bit of a cult classic... Always thought that the group missed out on a great opportunity by not releasing 40th anniversary editions of both Friends and Sunflower in 2008 and 2010 respectively (or Today! in 2005, for that matter).

I just posted this in the youtube-thread but I guess it is of interest and fitting in this thread as well:


This was new to me. "Friends" in Holland. Playback but still interesting to see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-M6WdZ9yR0 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-M6WdZ9yR0)


And speaking of Friends, where does this come from ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tilogc9K2Ag&feature=related (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tilogc9K2Ag&feature=related)

He's got a point about the cover though.   ::)

What, that's it's ugly?

NO WAY

I recently found the (somewhat rare) reel to reel tape of the Friends album.  On the back cover, there's a caption that is nowhere to be found on the original LP. 

It says, "The Beach Boys... one of the very few group efforts to remain constantly in the forefront of musical creativity, ingenuity and popularity.  Friends... their newest excursion into the sounds and meanings of a uniquely different generation of people and "friends."

Discuss.   :)

Whaddyamean, "Found"...like you were walking down the sidewalk and you found it?

One of nine songs performed on Twien TV show, 1968.


Undisclosed TV studio in 1968. Apparently includes an interview where Dennis, of all people, really raps enthusiastically about TM!

I like the album covers concept, but not the execution.   

Thank you ! Would love to see the whole interview with Dennis about TM.

I've seen GOK from that Twien TV show on youtube. Was also playback. So I guess they just mimed to the recordings and there's no chance of a live version frrom then, is there ?

To the best of my knowledge, no chance.

The complete performance circulates (and was added to the Not For Broadcast DVD of a couple of years back). But - although I've seen several recordings - all of them seem to be playback. Too bad, as they did perform live that day.

Oh ok...so the guitar leads were actually plugged in then, not just for looks?

That's what I always understood, that I was a live-performance in front of an audience. Someone must have been doing some editing afterwards. One can hear the applause between the songs and the boys introducing the songs, but the songs you hear are the studio-versions

Very interesting. Thanks.

That wee Friends clip is seriously wonderful. Thanks for finding it!

Did they play Friends often in '68 then? How did it sound?

On TV, at least twice more: The Mike Douglas Show (live vocals over studio track) and a live version from an unidentified television show.

In concert, one performance confirmed so far- http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/7-13-68.html (http://members.tripod.com/~fun_fun_fun/7-13-68.html). Possibly more though I don't think it was a setlist fixture for long.

Nothing unusual about that since Dennis was the one who introduced the others to Maharishi and was the first of the BB's into (and out of) TM.

Sure, nothing unusual. What I meant to write was that it was more to do with the manner in which he was talking about TM, i.e. maybe a put-on.

I think he's being sincere in that footage, although you are right, his "manner" is different than in subsequent years. I think its due to the fact that he'd be ambushed with permanently "manner" altering doses of LSD two different times in the coming months. He was never really the same after that and I think this Friends/TM footage really illustrates the difference as his whole approach to speaking changed soon after.

And, who knows what else changed.
Maybe the Dennis we know, the uber-creative one, might have never come thru without the two doses. 

Allright guys, now is the time that someone should upload the clip of Dennis talking.....

Can't you simply find it on youtube and post the link?  You're usually so good at this!

Thanks. But I never saw the clip of Denny talking about TM on youtube or anywhere else. If no one uploaded it during the last two weeks, I don't think it's there....

I wish I had a giant sized poster of this album cover for guests to see as soon as they walked into my house...

Right!? It's their best album cover in my opinion.

Anyone know who made it?

http://www.pipeline-operaglass.moonfruit.com/#/friends/4517887535 (http://www.pipeline-operaglass.moonfruit.com/#/friends/4517887535)

All this talk had me put Friends on... This album is Uber Awesome....

Dunno if I'd call Friends their best album, but it is my favorite.  If I were gonna be stuck on a desert island and could only pick one to play on my solar-powered CD player, Friends would be it.

By the way, check out this neat little video.  The combination of Alice And Wonderland footage with Passing By creates a strangely beautiful effect, imo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXz3N3RGEtw

Reupping this thread to point out the sound of a baby on When A Man Needs a Woman, it's like the sound of a baby speaking at the "it's not going to be just you and me" part. Is it just me? Also I love the transition out of the instrumental interlude, very smooth bg vocals.

I'd also like to comment on the stereo mix, I don't know if this was redone for the twofers or if it's true to the original mix, but it's really fantastic! This was the first BB album to be in stereo and it's a really excellent implementation. The title track is especially excellent, it has this true airiness to it, and the bass is so rich and creamy. Diamond Head especially has incredible stereo depth. Love this album. Listen to it right now if you can!

P.S. Check out an alternate version of Friends: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg8SO24gygU
Is there a moog on this track? Listen especially on the "Let's Be Friends" part to the bassy thing around 1:12 it's super funky like a clavinet or something. Don't hear that in the album mix.

Sounds kinda like Carl has a cold in that YouTube version....

I think I recognize that mix from one of the Unsurpassed Masters discs.  Could be wrong though.

Same as this methinks?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS8P-DI2aoI

Hey, that picture at 0:30 is cool. Never seen it before.

And what does Carl say at the end off-mic?

Summer Days wins that award for me

I have my own Friends mix called, "My Perfect Friends"...

Side 1 (hypothetically)
1. Meant For You
2. Wake the World
3. The Night Was So Young (The melody to Wake the World and this are kinda similar, and with Be Here in the Morning there is a Day/Night Theme)
4. Be Here in the Morning
5. Friends
6. When A Man Needs A Woman
7. Passing By

Side 2
8. Do It Again (SOT version, Inst. insert b)
9. All I Wanna Do (Adds beautifully to the meditation theme of the album)
10. Anna Lee
12. Little Bird
13. Be Still
14. Busy Doin' Nothing
15. Summer Means New Love (Not a big fan of Diamond Head. I really need to be in the mood for Hawaiin music, and that is rare.)
16. Transcendental Meditation

I really like that mix (especially the addition of The Night Was So Young and All I Wanna Do) except I'd keep in Diamond Head - absolutely love that song. I'd also replace the SOT version of Do It Again with the Endless Harmony version...I think Brians(?) falsetto in that is the tops.

Thanx, it took me 3 or 4 tries until I settled on that... and the intro to that particular version of Do It Again knox me out..as well as the harmonies at 1:25...

Needing an instrumental?

no love for Nearest Faraway Place? Moni Kani?

Nearest Faraway Place is much worse than Diamond Head imo. For a long time I couldn't really listen to Diamond Head, but it really is a great track.

For an alternate Friends I'd want to include I Went Sleep and/or Time To Get Alone.

I actually had both of those on my other mixes, but for the sake of keeping the disc short like the original Friends (as short as I could) I ended up saving those for another mix.

Mona Kani sounds like a great choice, never considered it... I guess since SMNL is not played that much in my own song cycles I decided to add it.... it really is a mellow tune...

I think Walk on By and Old Man River both fit nicely too.

Also I don't know how I feel about Do It Again. One way to conceptualize Friends is as an exploration of genres that were being done in the 60s especially around LA. Sunshine Pop, Psych, Exotica, Easy Listening, Bossa Nova, Jazz, Country Rock. It touches on all these different points and I think this album is the direct predecessor of The Turtle's Battle of The Bands. Friends doesn't have a unified concept like that LP does but it has a subtler spirit. That's why I like the addition of Do It Again as it touches on another key LA 60's music scene. The only problem I have is that I don't like Do It Again that much as a song.

The Picture at 0.30 must be from I'd say late 70's?? 77 or 78?? Power of Google  :lol
I don't know what Carl says at the end unfortunely Sorry I will listen more closely via headphone or even cut out and clean up the end bit will report back..

If anyone has that picture, could you please post it?

Regarding Carl: Thanks, it's not that important, so just take your time if you wanna try it. :)

It's automatic when I talk with old Friends...

I think We're Together Again fits perfectly.

that article has some great pictures!

I like keeping most of the original Friends running order but dropping Transcendental and have the last three tracks be I Went to Sleep, Diamond Head and Walk On By and then dropping the Smile material from 20/20 and making it all '68 - '69 material.

It certainly is! Sat in the park listening to it today, it was wonderful.