The Smiley Smile Message Board

Which album would it be?(An over-all album that has a Beach Boys feel to it..to show that even after everything happened they still had it.) I'm about to do an experiment :)

Sunflower or Holland depending whether you want to showcase pop or a more progressive feel.

I'm trynna showcase a pop feel :)..catchy yet beautiful.

Sunflower. It's the one that turned me into an addict.

For me, Friends.

20/20 is a good album for pop, as well. Plus, it has a couple more familiar tunes included that the other two that I suggested do not have on them.

Try Love You. First Album I bought after Pet Sounds. Ate up every single second (still do) - and that was when I was 14.

Holland. Without a doubt.

Yes, acid would help you.

Then try Friends......

It would depend what they listen to regularly. To a general person probably Sunflower or Wild Honey

acid..:O

I introduced my partner to The Beach Boys the other day by showing him stuff from Adult/Child. He loved it.

He may be an exception though, he loves Dean Martin people like him.

To a regular music listener, probably Holland for progressive fans or BB85 for pop/rock fans (The 85 album is a strong pop album to anyone less critical discerning than Beach Boys fans, I've turned a few people on to them using this one)

i'm suprised no one has said "smiley smile" yet  :lol

I'd say 20/20 or Sunflower.

That's easy. Sunflower.

SUNFLOWER or FRIENDS. SUNFLOWER might have more of an impact at first listen. pick SUNFLOWER!

Wild Honey or Sunflower  8)

In Concert.  Gives a newbie the an idea of what the BBs had evolved into in the early 70s while still showing continuity with their earlier work.

Friends. Honorable mention: Sunflower

Suflower and/or Wild Honey (greatest album ever, imho)!

by the beach boys or in general?

thank you guys :) so i showed my gf this album...and guess what?

The Smile Sessions

That would be the best reissue for sure. I guess Wild Honey or Sunflower depending on the person's tastes.  POB for people who want something really different and good.

She dumped you.

Friends...

...because what they sing about is what I feel in my heart and I would like to convey to others but I could never say it myself.

Surf's Up for me, because nobody ever calls The Beach Boys "surfing Doris Day's" after listening to "Long Promised Road", "Feel Flows", "Til I die", and "Surf's Up". And "A Day In The Life Of A Tree" should a least provoke some interesting reactions.
Honorable mention to Holland, as it was one of my late father-in-laws favourite albums.

I would have to go with 20/20. Lots of great moments and styles on that one.

My second Beach Boys album was Sunflower, which seemed to do the trick pretty well. But if I was free of picking a "proper" album, I'd actually throw together a compilation. A cop out, sure, but I've had a good amount of success doing a carefully-picked mashup of 20/20, Sunflower, and Surf's Up.

yeah :( she said it's over! ..lol jk
She hated everything except forever and cool cool water :[...i thought she would love it since it's one of the best beach boys albums...young people don't appreciate older music sometimes...my parents always played 60's,70's,80's music when i was growing up so i always had the privilege of listening to classic stuff & knowing about it.

I don't know where this notion comes from that young people don't like The Beach Boys! I'm seventeen and I went to a party about a month ago where a good dozen of us were doing our loudest and most obnoxious Mike Love impressions on Wouldn't it Be Nice, my best friend named her car Rhonda after the single (we sing it every time we go for a drive) and even the relatively less popular stuff like Heroes and Villains gets us all scatting after we've had a few too many drinks!

i wish some of my friends had taste like yours :)..none of mines really know about the beach boys except for their hits which they know because of movies...my friends listen to purely dubstep,rap(wiz khalifa,kid cudi,drake,kanye west,jay-z)
i wonder if any of you guys even know any of those rappers i jsut mentioned lol

  20/20 or Sunflower at least shows off the individual talents of the group as songwriters
  and producers.

You do know a lot of us on this board are in our early to late 20s, some even younger, of course we know those rappers  :lol

Also, you got to realise that TBB's are pretty popular with younger people, it's even pretty cool to like them..

With People like Taylor swift and Katy Perry covering the songs it's exposing them to a whole new audience. Now with the Grammy's thing The Beach Boys are as relevant as ever, hell I'd put them up with the Stones and The Beatles in terms of 60's bands who have most successfully transcended generations

Of course we know those rappers! We love all kinds of stuff, from 80s hardcore punk to mainstream pop like Kanye (who, despite what I've read people here say, is a great musician imo), it makes putting a playlist on shuffle a little jarring, but the music's all good  :-D

I have a bad habit of putting people off The Beach Boys, as, due to my obsession, its basically all I play people. However, it does work to some extent on some people, but only in a few instances. (my dad likes an amount of songs that he didn't before). And then in the band, 3/4 members like the beach boys, the fourth doesn't (Loves Our Prayer though?), so thats a no go.  :(

Wow really? :] that makes me feel more comfy...and it's a great thing when young people are turned on to great 60's/70's/80/s music...they are with the beatles and stones it would be ridiculous if they werent!
it's good to see bands that are out right now praising the bb's (mgmt,foster the people,crystal castles)

i used to listen to punk/heavy metal but my taste has changed so much :] i've been an avid music listener since about 10 ..i mean as far as listening to albums and checking into singers/bands/groups discographies.

You should try K. 504... or K. 626... or K. 581....

yeah you shoulda gone with Wild Honey or Friends. or both!

i might've made a mistake by going with sunflower huh?

Wild Honey wouldn't have worked for me at all. Took me years to get into it and appreciate the "underproduced" approach.

From personal experience, I'd choose Surf's Up. That's the one that did it for me, mostly because it encapsulated so many myths surrounding BW like no single other record did. Also it contains some of their strongest material ever (with the possible exception of "SDT" and "TALOYF", both of which I still find very enjoyable) and personally I prefer it over Sunflower.

SMiLE (the first 19 or 20 tracks from disc 1). Or Friends.

Do Twofer's count?  :lol If so Friends/20/20.. If not, then it would be a tough decision but I think 20/20 would win out.. I know it was thrown together, WE know this, that average new listener doesn't though, and to my ears it has never really *sounded* like a bunch of singles or whatever the usual gripes are with this album. There are some downright classic cuts, such as "I Can Hear Music" and "Time To Get Alone" the familiar sound of "Do It Again" and we even get a couple of SMiLE tunes as well. I've always loved this album, the tight groove of songs like "Bluebirds..." a lovely contribution (as always) from Dennis and the return of those bigger than life harmonies that had been stripped down a bit in the past several albums after Pet Sounds all made for a great listen. I know this isn't the coolest choice and I did consider "Sunflower," strongly.. but for me it's 20/20. (Mind you this isn't my personal favorite or anything, but I think for a casual fan of Pet Sounds and maybe a few singles the production and feel of this collection of songs would probably appeal to those people.)

Do not play BB85 to anyone, unless you want to get rid of them!

what about getcha back? or i do love you? those are good :)

They're average songs and they sound horrible and the rest are well below par, though I do enjoy Male Ego. That album is unlikely to entice anyone into the wonderful world of the BB's.

male ego is so scary and sounds so un-cool and "old" i can picture a great grandfather singing it on the balcony or something smh

I can accept that, there's nothing remotely cool about BB 85. I still listen to Male Ego though occasionally and enjoy it. The rest I'll pass on.

I Do Love You is one of the best bb songs to ever be recorded...harmonica by stevie wonder and carl singing his heart out..how could you not love that?

"One of the best", c'mon I could name 100 better than that. If you like it though I can go with that. Enjoy!

Male Ego rocks - Carl's backing part is amazing and thee track kicks off. I'd also rep for It's Getting Late off that record too, Carl's vocals are amazing on that. The rest of the record,  well, eh.

I'd pick Friends myself. It's such a charming album.

Don't worry, I understood.

I've turned my brother, sister and several friends into BB fans via Surf's Up. Yeah not every song works (I'm thinking of you, Student Demo Time) but the album shows the BB's at their experimental, daring best and songs such as Feel Flows and Lookin at Tomorrow and Long promised Road are, I think, revelations for those (such as my bro, sis and mates) who'd previously considered the band a good-time pop group only. My brother in particular is now a fanatic, having even forked out for the SMiLE boxset.

Yeh got to agree Surf's Up's probably the best album for getting people into the band. It's got it all. It was the one that got my brother into them. Failing that I tend to think Brians solo debut or BWPS might be gateway albums. A couple of people I know have worked their way back from those into the BB's work.

I was thinking over this question yesterday, and I would like to suggest Carl & The Passions-So Tough. It kicks off with a rockin', guitar heavy song, goes into the early 70s vibe of Here She Comes, has the rollicking He Comes Down, the always fun and funky Marcella. Hold On Dear Brother has an Exile on Main Street-type sound, very stirring for me, followed by a very representative, powerful  Dennis ballad with Make it Good. All This That has vocal excellence and a mellow feel. Finish up with comforting, haunting romanticism of Cuddle Up.

I never skip any tracks, and don't consider any of it to be filler. It's the Beach Boys at their most versatile and least trite (although He Come Down has the hokey religious stuff, the chorus makes up for it). It fits in well with the period it was released in, and is very accessible. Might be my favorite BB album of all time, actually.

I agree with everything here, Hypehat. Male Ego and It's Getting Late, along with Where I Belong are the only songs I like to listen to from BB85. I also was just talking with a friend who knows a little about Smile, and I played him Friends, he totally loved it. I'm hoping to ease the rest of catalog on him bit by bit.

On of my other favorites on BB85 is Maybe I Don't Know. I know it is a little slick musically, but Carl's vocal is terrific and I like the way he changes how he sings the chorus each time through.

No, I guess she just doesn´t like The Beach Boys..

CATP is one of my favorites and giving it to someone as an introduction should be rather interesting! It may seem like a rather untypical album but when you think about it it reflects the individual group members' personalities quite well (as does Holland, which even has Brian working on a more avantgarde project apart from the other guys' plans).

CATP was the third BB's album I heard in it's entirety, after Pet Sounds and MIU. My introduction to the band was strange.

Indeed it was! :-D What did you think about those two (MIU and CATP) initially?

mmm.. must check out I Do love you again.
It's not my favourite post Pet Sounds album but the one that seems to make the best impression on non Beach Boys fans is Carl & The Passions. Not sure why but it's been my experience.

I enjoyed them and thought they were very different to PS and the hits, but since I didn't have any other BB albums to compare them to I just assumed they were what was to be expected from the rest of their canon. I was younger then :-D

Perhaps some people who aren't usually receptive to the BBs are put off by the falsetto harmonies which are so prominent on their other albums. CATP vocals are a bit more understated although still beautiful (All this is that)

In the process of converting a female friend at work into a BB fan. Her tastes are so SAFE, trying to broaden her mind a bit. Have started with the Today!/Summer Days... two-fer which went down a treat! She requested to keep it for longer for extra listens. Next up Friends/20/20 and Pet Sounds. Then gradually gonna work towards the more avant-garde stuff...

Y'know, the only full album I would sit a new fan down with is Pet Sounds.  If I'm trying to convert someone to fandom, I don't want them hearing any throwaway tracks, and although others may disagree, I think every post PS album has at least 1 or two of those.

I realize I'm cheating, but I'd edit down the Sunflower/Surf's Up twofer.  Trim the fat, and the better tracks on those two albums represent some of their absolute best material.

please check it out :) it was one of the songs that made me realize the beach boys werent washed up completely by the 80's

I suggest The Byrds Notorious Byrds Brothers........ very Beach Boys feel, but psychedelic!

wonderful album that would have godly if the byrds didn't implode.

.... except these aren't post Pet Sounds, Wolfgang being long gone........

One of the greatest albums ever made. I don't find it in anyway reminicent of the Beach Boys but it is utterly magnificent in every way.

true, a very nice track. Not sure why it passed me by to begin with. Think their 80s stuff left me a little cold - they didn't put out that much good stuff in the 80s but then who did? :)

the only people i listen to that was strong in the 80's were...the smiths,michael jackson,prince,the cure,even a little bit of the rolling stones (my guilty pleasure) lol

it's one of the four decent tracks on BB 85 - the others being Male Ego, It's Gettin' Late and Where I Belong. The rest, unfortunately, is utter guff. Crazy how much Timothy White raves about BB 85 in his Newest Faraway Place book. 'Almost as good as Sunflower' - methinks not.

I remember upon release that reviewers were fairly fond of it, especially the vocals and it being recorded digitally and all that. To me, the vocals sound scratchy, like everyone has a sore throat. The background vocals sound nice and clear, but nothing challenging like on past albums. Best songs for me are Getcha Back, It's Gettin' Late, Maybe I Don't Know, Male Ego and when I'm in the mood, I Do Love You. Better Brian tunes and no Boy George song would made this CD more enjoyable.

C'mon BB85 sounds like sh*t, you'd never play it to a novice as their introduction to the Beach Boys. It's wimpy and cold sounding and the songs bar Male Ego are lifeless. Even Neil Youngs Landing on Water sounds better, very 80's but at least committed and idiosyncratic not just bland.

You are correct, it is not an album to play for a novice fan. Now, tell us how you really feel. ;) Really, depending what a new fan wants to hear, it is usually always better to start with either mid-60s or early 70s material.

I'll give you The Smiths :)They were pretty amazing. Some REM and being Irish.. The Pogues ;) As for the BBs ..It's Gettin Late, Where I belong.. Rock 'n' Roll to the rescue is fun and its nice to hear McGuinn playing guitar on California Dreamin. And now I'd add I do Love You (converted!)

As far as the 80s are concerned, check out the tracklisting to Rhino's LEFT OF THE DIAL: DISPATCHES FROM THE 80s UNDERGROUND (http://www.amazon.com/Left-Dial-Dispatches-80s-Underground/dp/samples/B0002XL2X4/ref=dp_tracks_all_1#disc_1).

Virtually all of this material is excellent and many of these bands/performers represented the best material of that decade. I would only add the work of Talking Heads, The Call and Lloyd Cole to the Rhino selections to complete the list.

I find "Rock and Roll To The Rescue", "In My Car", "Male Ego", "Getcha Back", "Where I Belong" and, I suppose, "Kokomo" to be the only 80s tracks by the Beach Boys I would even want to listen to (unless we're counting KEEP THE SUMMER ALIVE in which case I would add a few more). Thank goodness Brian released a pretty strong solo album in '88, so the decade wasn't a complete wash for the band!

I would add "Somewhere Near Japan", "Make It Big" and "California Dreamin'" (AC Hit) to that list.

Going to have to go with Sunflower for this. Dennis at one of his best, as well as Bruce; as well as Carl, Brian, Mike and Al doing a great job on this. A true team effort, which you can't say for too many BB's albums.

Though 20/20, Surf's Up and Holland do come close, it's gotta be Sunflower. No doubt in my mind!

(http://dkpresents.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/tbb-surfs_up.jpg)

Yeah, Surf's Up is what got me into this group hardcore too, because it absolutely shattered my preconceived notions of what music by "The Beach Boys" was supposed to sound like -- and I, like most casual listeners, was at that point only familiar with the early hits (and maybe I had heard Pet Sounds but it didn't immediately resonate with me) -- that it was honestly shocking to me. This album is almost the antithesis of everything that this group is musically, at least to most people I would imagine. Look at that gloomy, defeated cover! Hear those socially-conscious, mystic, or downright depressing lyrics! Behold the musical psychedelia of much of the material, and the complexity as well! Even "Take A Load Off Your Feet" and "Disney Girls", if not exactly fitting into any of those other proclamations, provide a nice respite from the heaviness of the rest of the album, the nostalgia and humour are in these cases appreciated!

I don't think this album is The Beach Boys conforming to trends so much as it is making the trends conform to The Beach Boys, and having it work very well indeed by putting their own spin on what was popular at the time as only this group could have done.

I guess Sunflower or Surf's Up. Maybe even 20/20. Although for me it was Smiley Smile that did the trick...

It really does. If it was someone not so sold on Pet Sounds (basically not head over heels over Pet Sounds), then probably Sunflower. If they're obsessed with Pet Sounds, I'd say Surf's Up if it had to be one album. Or the Smile sessions if they haven't heard those. That's a huge part of the story (obviously). Maybe just every album after PS & Smile in chronological order for them to get the full story, to see the transition.