The Smiley Smile Message Board

Continuing my trend of getting you to admit your Beach boys hates, as well as stealing the 'top 5 Beach Boys albums' topic idea, I have decided to ask you all what your least favourite beach boys albums are!

Mine?

Least:
1) Stars And Stripes Vol. 1
2) Keepin' the Summer Alive
3) M.I.U.
4) L.A.
5) 15 Big Ones

For the record, 6) was going to be Surfin' U.S.A. followed by Surfer Girl. Feel free to eat me alive now.

Since OP puts LA, MIU and 15BO under SIP I will assume OP is massive troller.

No, seriously, I enjoy SIP more than you may think! I ain't no troll, trust me! ;D

I can't see how an album that has 'Wipe Out' featuring The Fat Boys tops Surfer Girl. But to each his own.

Beach Boys '85 (by a wide margin)
Summer In Paradise
Stars N Stripes
Still Cruisin' (though I like most of the songs sticking three oldies at the end was a real cop-out)
KTSA

My number 6 was "Surf's Up" so when you're done eating  mrmoustachioto you can come get some, bitches.

1. Summer In Paradise
2. Beach Boys '85
3. Surfin' Safari
4. Still Cruisin'
5. Party

1. KTSA- The band on life support
2. MIU- Brian trapped in Iowa
3. SIP- If only Dennis Wilson could come back to life for one day and listen to this.
4. BB 85- Brian held his great songs back for solo album
5. LA Light- they tried to hide lack of material with the long HCTN.

1. Stars and Stripes
2. All Summer Long
3. Summer in Paradise
4. Surfer Girl
5. Surfin' USA

this is a hard list. Summer in Paradise has no songs I hate but few songs I love. ASL contains some of my favorite and least favorite Beach Boys songs. Most of the Beach Boys surf instrumentals are not really worth listening to, in my opinion. especially "Boogie Woodie", "Carl's Big Chance" and "Honky Tonk".

"Drive-In" and "Do You Remember" are pretty annoying.

But Stars and Stripes is definitely my least favorite Beach Boys album. I don't think I've listened to it in years.

For the record, I excluded Still Cruising because I consider it more as a compolation. Same with Stars and Stripes - not that it matters, because I do enjoy that album quite much. And I refused to use the stock "but it has some nice Carl Wilson vocals" excuse with any album, because if that's an excuse, it can be applied to any album.

1. BB 85. Horrobly dated. The only BB's album without that certain timelessness that usually graces even their weakest work. Only Male Ego has any charm, but not much.

2. 15 Big Ones. Every pre -80's BB album has at least one original song I really love. This doesn't, but Blueberry Hill is a great, under-appreciated cover.

3. LA. Boring.

4. Party. Interesting and amusing, indispensable even, but as an album, it's not that great, something the guys themselves probably knew, too.

5. Sorry, I can't do this. With the exception of the first one, all the choices are a bit forced, like I really don't want to speak ill of them. But just to fill up the list I say CATP. But I don't really mean it.

Exactly!

Another hard list, as all BB albums have at least one passable/good/great takeaway, but mine would be:

- SIP
- MIU
- 15 BO
- The Beach Boys Christmas Album
- Still Cruisin' (even though it's really just a singles comp)

Special mention to Stars and Stripes and Nascar - neither of which I consider BB albums, but may well be the worst of anything official bearing the BB name.

Yeah, i didn't count Still Cruisin' if that helps

So much disdain for 15 Big Ones... :(

15BO is in context a horrendous album. If you view it as a Brian having fun playing moog versions of some of his fave oldies, it ain't that bad. forget about TM, Susie, Everyone's In Love and RnR Music (album version). The rest ain't that bad!!!!!

 :) I wouldn't say disdain, per se, more the inevitable outcome of a  numbers game - for me, it's a pretty close call across most of the catalogue, and with 30+ pretty good offerings, some hard choices had to be made. 

I like Cabinessenceking's observations, and agree there's some cool stuff to get into (I love Palisades Park, go figure)

MIU
Summer In Paradise
Keepin' Summer Alive
Stars and Stripes
Surfin' Safari

Pet Sounds
SMiLE
Sunflower
Today
Holland

 :jedi

1. Summer In Paradise
2. L.A. (Light Album)
3. The Beach Boys
4. Still Cruisin'
5. Carl & The Passions "So Tough"

(Not counting Stars & Stripes).

1. Stars & Stripes
2. Summer In Paradise
3. Beach Boys '85
4. Beach Boys Concert
5. Keepin' The Summer Alive

(http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/2/20/800088/mikefinger2.jpg)

 :lol

There are many individual songs on all of those albums that I like quite a bit, but the albums I picked are hard to listen to taken as a whole.

Runners, your posts make my sides hurt :lol

Same here. #6 for me is Carl And The Passions, and #7 MIU, #8 Christmas, #9 Concert, #10 Holland.

I love even most of their so-called crummy albums (especially Party and 15BO). So this is hard to pinpoint but I can definitely throw these down:

1. Stars and Stripes (shudder)
2. Summer in Paradise (okay I haven't heard this, I'm just assuming I would rate it low based on general consensus. Meanwhile I am keeping my eye out for a copy to buy.).
3. Beach Boys '85 (don't mind the dated production, just think too many of the songs are dull)
4. Still Cruisin' (not enough new songs, plus meh productions. Love the Fat Boys song though!)
5. Surfin' Safari (too many novelty type songs, but obviously has some amazing songs too)

It is pretty bad, but I don't think it's right to rank an album you haven't heard.

1. Stars and stripes
2.SIP
3.party
4.15 big ones
5.KTSA

[/quote]

It is pretty bad, but I don't think it's right to rank an album you haven't heard.
[/quote]

You're right, it is unfair to rank it. I admit it. I'm just doing an educated guess since I like all the other albums so much (to varying levels of course) and don't have anything else I want to put in the bottom five. I'm not actually even saying it's bad. My ranking is therefore totally un-pure. But I stick by it! :P

Don't be mad at me, Mr. Love, you're on all my favorite Beach Boys albums, too.

Since I posted them in the other thread, I figure I'll include qualifiers here.

Bottom up:

1. Smiley Smile - Having heard the Smile material first, the holdovers from those sessions sound like a joke to me here.  To be honest, even "Heroes And Villains" (which I did hear before the Smile stuff) pales to its earlier incarnation to me.  Aside from "Good Vibrations", the few things that I really like on this album are barely even songs ("Whistle In", "Fall Breaks...", "With Me Tonight").  I find most of the later written material on it absolutely unlistenable.

2. Surfin USA - Beyond one great single, this album sounds like ALL filler (with the possible exception of "Farmer's Daughter").  "Misirlou" is OK but it was done better elsewhere.

3. Love You - Like Smiley Smile, I understand what Brian was going for but that doesn't make it any more pleasing to my ears.  Some of the melodies are nice but like most of their stuff immediately following the collapse of Smile, it sounds more like a collection of sparse demos than an actual finished album. 

4. Friends - While more pleasing to my ear than Love You and Smiley Smile, it again falls into that "unfinished sound" period of theirs for me.  And while I don't knock the sentiment of the title track some of the lyrics just make me cringe.  There's a lot of nice vocal work on the album but it just doesn't have any "punch" to me.

5. M.I.U. Album - While not much worse than the last three albums before TWGMTR, it's easily the most bland album in their catalog.  It has a few decent songs but it's really boring.


One thing I found interesting in the other list is I would see people who agreed on some things and not at all on others.  For example, I'm a big fan of the Blondie & Ricky stuff and would see someone rank Surf's Up through In Concert high (like me) but have it interspersed with the stuff I like least.  I guess that's what makes it interesting around here.  8)

Somebody hold my coat.

1.) Summer in Paradise--"Summer of Love" is surely the worst song that the Beach Boys have put on an album, and the version of "Forever" seems like an act of grave defilement.  The other songs are merely bad, except perhaps for "Lahaina Aloha."  The accordion on that song is great!  Whoever played it should collaborate with Mike Love for a solo project.  Considering how much Dennis supposedly hated M.I.U., I can't help but wonder how he would have reacted if he'd ever heard this.

2.) 15 Big Ones--I am completely at a loss as to why Brian periodically calls this his favorite Beach Boys album.  The covers range from cringe-inducingly awful to merely mediocre and several of the originals are awful.  The only songs that I enjoy are leftovers from the early '70s or before, and would probably have been undistinguished on most earlier albums (except maybe "Had to Phone Ya").

3.) Keepin' the Summer Alive--I really don't like "Endless Harmony" and there is nary a worthwhile track to be found here.

4.) Still Cruisin'--Somehow, the fact that the band couldn't be bothered to put three new-ish tracks on at the end instead of classics really bothers me, even though the classics are significantly better than what the newer songs would have been.  Their presence makes it all too obvious that this is little more than an attempt to cash-in on the success of "Kokomo."  Still, the presence of "Somewhere Near Japan," "Island Girl," and "In My Car" makes this much better than the previous three albums, and as embarrassing  as "Wipe Out" is, a comparison with "Summer of Love" reveals that Beach Boys-hip hop fusion is much less embarrassing when the hip hop portions are outsourced.

5.) M.I.U. Album--I feel badly including the album that contains "My Diane," but the proximity of that great song to, say "Kona Coast," "Matchpoint of Our Love," and "Winds of Change" really highlights how vapid the other songs on the album are.  It would have been nice if Adult Child had been released instead, preferably with "My Diane" replacing "Hey Little Tomboy."

 ;D

^  Brilliant!

Huh?!
How about a list of five things Dennis would be doing, if he came back to life for one day, INSTEAD OF listening to SIP?
Is that too frivolous for a thread?
Well, let's give it a try....

And oh yeah, bottom 5
5) Surfin Safari
4) BB 85
3) SIP (VDP's accordion keeps it from rock bottom)
2) KTSA
1) Stars & Stripes

y'wot?

1/ Summer In Paradise - OK what can I say about this album that hasn't already been written 1000 times before?
2/ BB85 - The worst of 80's productions meets a bunch of Brian/Landy co-writes.
3/ Surfin' Safari - Face it, much of what Brian and Gary Usher wrote was not very good.
4/ 15 Big Ones - A great big dump on Holland's achievements.
5/ Love You - Would have made a great EP.

Hey, "Surf Jam" is one of the best surf instrumentals ever! I listened to that one more often than the others combined!

Well, my list...

1. Love You (great songs that sound like sh*t)
2. SIP (shitty songs that would sound better with real drums)
3. Carl And The Passions (yawn!)
4. Holland (yawn again)
5. tie between L.A. and BB 85 (more yawns)

I never listened to S&S, and I don't count Still Cruisin' as a full album.

1. Stars & Stripes
2. Summer in Paradise
3. Surfin Safari


That's about it. I can't bring myself to rubbish any of their other jeffs, there's plenty on them for me to love.

This is an interesting exercise but a tough one.

1. Stars and Stripes (might have been intersting if it had new stuff on it; never listen to it as it is)
2. Still Cruisin (as others have said, several good original songs (SNJ!!) but the "retread" of the 3 songs at the end make it lame)
3. Love You (just not my cup of tea; its inclusion is certain to raise comments)
4. Party (I enjoy the spontaneity, but since we have to pick 5...)
5. KTSA (just not good enough when compared to the remainder of the catalogue)

This is really a good question; nice job!!!

This was easy
5. KTSA
4. Still Crusin
3. Beach Boys 85
2. Summer In Paradise
Worst 1. Stars and Stripes

Of these I only really like Getcha Back, SNJ, Goin' On, Keeping The Summer Alive, and Santa Ana Winds. I would count Male Ego but CD was a new format and it wasn't on the LP or tape most people purchased. I also would count Living With A Hearache as good, but only in the shortened single version. The LP cut drags on way too long.

Indeed. The song could well end at approx. 2.20, and it would be a nice, country-ish ditty. But no, we get almost two extra minutes, which sink the song for me. The chorus isn't that god.

1.  LBWL
2.   SIP
2.   Stars and Stripes
3.   85
4.   MIU

And if I can't have LBWL, move SIP to numero uno and add Still Cruisin'.

All of them have at least one decent or better track*, but they also contain a lot of poor songs.

*Except LBWL.

5. KTSA (5 out of 10)
4. Still Crusin (2.5 out of 10)
3. Beach Boys 85 (2 out of 10)
2. Stars and Stripes (1 out of 10)
1. Summer In Paradise (0.5 out of 10)

Correct, which is why i'm staying out of this one !
I dont own the early ones (first 4/5) or anything from late 70's onwards (except the new one).
I'm content with the tracks from those on the GV box set.

This is rather more difficult to answer than 'Top 5 Fav' survey , I love ALL the albums but to qualify for my list they are certainly the ones that I play least (one of which for obvious reasons only comes out to play once a year) 

In no particular order ,

Surfin' Safari
Surfin' USA
Party
Christmas Album (original , not the expanded)
Concert

5. MIU
4. Keeping the Summer Alive
3. Summer in Paradisa
2. 15 Big Ones
1. Love You

You people are jerks! JERKS!

Anyone putting Surfin' Safari is not my friend anymore.

Of course we are, we wouldn't be on this forum if we weren't! :-D


Is LBWL Looking Back With Love? I should check that out then I guess. ;D

First Love
Country Love
Mike and Dean
Adrian Baker Sessions
Summer in Paradise

1. Summer in Paradise
2. Beach Boys 85
3. M.I.U. Album

I don't really count Still Crusin' or Stars and Stripes,  I see them as compilations.

All the other albums have more songs I like than ones I dislike or are unmoved by on them.

The rest are wretched, but First Love isn't bad late seventies soft rock.

lawl, those don't count, d00d. ^___^

two of 'em aren't even albums!

So many fabulous songs...

SIP
Still Cruisin'
85
MIU
KTSA

I would also add LBWL! Maybe as number one!  But, sh*t, First Love is pretty good.


I kinda excuse Surfin' Safari because it's the developmental stage

That's why I place it above Surfin' USA.

I placed Safari above USA because it's simply a much much much better album.

Surfin' USA is a great, great, great album.

ah, I see we are at a standoff in the Battle of Repeating a Word Three Times to Express One's Opinion.

Summer in Paradise
MIU Album
Still Cruisin'
Keepin' the Summer Alive
Stars and Stripes

I almost considered putting the unreleased Christmas album there but I guess that wouldn't be fair since it was ultimately unreleased and also since the CD they were eventually featured on (Ultimate Christmas) was mostly quite good.  And even though I put it on the list, I give Stars and Stripes a pass because it was never meant to be a conventional album and the boys actually pulled off some nice vocals and the production wasn't bad either, it was just that most of the singers in front of them were weak selections.  I guess Still Cruisin' was never really meant to be a conventional Beach Boys album either but its still usually counted as part of their core discography so I included it.

Yes, yes, yes!

1. Stars and Stripes
2. Summer in Paradise
3. Surfin' Safari
4. Still Cruisin'
5. Beach Boys' Party!

Yeah again I have to say that Surfin USA is a wonderful LP from the first decade or so of rock and roll. I think many here like classic rock and not rock and roll which to me is sad.

Well, yeah  ;D

I think Somewhere Near Japan saves that album from the list.

Yep, exactly.

Inspired by AGD's work in the Top 5 Beach Boys albums thread, and for those of you interested, I present the current results:

Rank - Title - Points - [First place] - (Average vote)

    1. SIP - 98 - [10] - (4.26)
    2. S&S - 64 - [10] - (4)
    3. BB'85 - 48 - [2] - (3.43)
    4. Still Cruisin' - 32 - (2.46)
    5. MIU - 29 - [1] - (2.64)
    6. KTSA - 28 - [1] - (2)
    7. 15BO - 20 - (2.86)
    8. Love You - 17 - [2] - (3.4)
    9. Surfin' Safari - 14 - (2.3)
  10. LA - 11 - (2.2)
  11. Party! - 9 - (1.eight)
=12. Smiley Smile - 5 - [1] - (5)
=12. CATP - 5 - (1.67)
=12. SUSA - 5 - (2.5)
  15. ASL - 4 - (4)
=16. Friends - 2 - (2)
=16. Holland - 2 - (2)
=16. Surfer Girl - 2 - (2)
=16. Christmas - 2 - (2)
=16. Concert - 2 - (2)

M.I.U. Album
L.A.
Keepin' the Summer Alive
The Beach Boys (1985)
Still Cruisin'

15BO and Love You is worse than Surfin' Safari? That's insane.

15BO is worse that Surfin' Safari.

15 Big Ones blows Surfin' Safari out of the water. It's OK, Had to Phone Ya, Chapel of Love, That Same Song, Back Home, In the Still of the Night, Just Once in My Life - all great songs.

Maybe people are grading it on a "curve".  Safari is the sound of a young band doing their absolute best.  15 Big Ones is FANTASTIC band (who'd just released Holland not too long before) schlepping through a bunch of oldies with the shell of their former producer behind the board.

I agree.  15 Big Ones is far from a great album but it's not a bad one.  Surfin' Safari isn't a bad album either but I don't think it's particularly memorable either with the exception of maybe three or four tracks.  15 Big Ones has a bunch of really good tracks even if it has some clunkers too.  It's OK, Had to Phone Ya, That Same Song, Susie Cincinnati, Back Home, Just Once in My Life.  I really like all of those songs and a few of them I think are close to great.

Here we are in the realm of personal taste. All I can say is that I enjoy listening to "Surfin' Safari" much much more than listening to "15 Big Ones".

The cover is much nicer, too! ;D

Hey, thanks MFP!

I notice Love You is around number 8 over on the Top 5 thread; as per its crowd splitter rep

Sorry and I know that the word 'great' is overused but In the Still of the Night? Yikes.

I think In the Still of the Night is indeed a great song/production. Absolutely love Brian's use of synth strings here but then again I'm a big fan of Chapel of Love as well...

I honestly don't think that anyone could objectively make that claim though.

Well, I can certainly accept it's not a great song in the same sense that God Only Knows is. Personally, however, I like it almost as much, probably because I'm a huge fan of BW's use of vintage synthesizers and I don't mind the rugged singing at all.

 :lol  Well done!!


We all know the bad albums = More Love, Less Wilson.  For me, they're all guilty pleasures.  But I do enjoy knocking 'em (in no particular order)

Keeping The Summer Afloat
It's a structure that ran out of cement 1/3 of the way through.  Don't take the elevator and -- DON'T LEAN ON THE WALLS.  Those are load bearing posters.

MIA
The beginning of the recycling era.
Brian:  "Can we do that? -- people will know it's the same riff as Hawaii."
Mike:  "It's in homage to ourselves."
Brian: "Ooooh.'"

Bummer In Paradise
The amusement park era, a la Spinal Tap.  "Hey...I wrote Kokomo!"  Two words:  JAZZ ODYSSEY.

Still Crusin' (The Buffet Line, on a Cruise Ship)
Even they didn't finish it.   :lol

The Beach Boys ('85)
Rhymes with:  'Beach Boys Ain't Alive.'  Execute order 66.  The Love era begins.  The world yawns.

L.A.
Mike:  "Hey Denny...all that stuff I said about you being a no talent bum...forget I said anything.  Say...look over there!"  SWIPE!

Later that night...
Bruce:  "What did you get?"
Mike:  "I don't know, his drunk handwriting stinks.  Umm...ok 'Love Surrounds Me?'  Uh...one called, looks like... "Baby Blue?'  And... 'He's a Bum?'"
Bruce: "Ha!  Maybe that one's about you, Mike!"
Mike:  "...he can keep that one."

long pause...
Bruce: "I'll add 4 minutes to 'Here Comes the Night..."
Mike:  "Make it 5."

Mike had hardly anything to do with LA at all. And I know you're just being funny, but I find it interesting that when Dennis's songs aren't on the album everyone says they're making a big mistake by not putting them on, and when they are on album it's implied that they were stolen! Man this band can't get a break.

I think it's that the band can't give itself a break -- or couldn't in the past.

For how many albums did the group choose the best available material?  They arguably did for Pet Sounds, but most other albums included at least one head scratcher while leaving some excellent material in the can.  They rightly deserve to be criticized for that.

Yeah Aegir, I'm just goofin' on the clunker albums.  Kickin' em when they're down.  As for LA...I like Dennis' songs the least, ironically.  They don't mix with the material or something for me.

These albums are all favs (especially MIU and LA.  I really love those.)  But, I like them all.  However, they are below the threshold of most casual fans, even some hardcore fans!  And I'm not blind...I know they're slight.  But good too.  Unique.  Always unique.

I think Jeff's right -- they really did pick bad material.  I don't know if it was ego that wanted them to think they could write as good as Brian used too.  Or if their style/brand was limited to their own material.  In the end...I'm GLAD they did stick with their own material.  I don't need covers of "Every Breath You Take."  I'll take slight "California" references and Beach lingo all day.

I'd rather hear Kona Coast than Peggy Sue.  Summahama and "come on pretty mama" is fine with me.

I got beeeeeeeeaches in mind!   :-D

I still don't get what's wrong with In The Still of The Night - It's Dennis Wilson singing IN THE STILL OF THE NIGHT for gods sake.

But yeah, 15BO is still a pretty crap album. It's really car crash value that makes me listen to it outside of a few tracks (and Chapel Of Love is definitely not one of them). Something along the lines of 'how could you release this?!'

:lol

15BOs is something else!  It gets a lot of play from me, cuz I love it... perhaps it is the "train wreck" thing.  Every once in awhile I catch myself thinking...am I really singing along to Talk To Me?  Am I cranking Blueberry Hill?

Yes.  yes I am.

In The Still Of The Night and Just Once In My Life are epic good though.   :'(

1. Summer In Paradise.
2. 15 Big Ones.
3. Keepin' The Summer Alive.
4. Stars And Stripes Vol. 1.
5. M.I.U. Album.

I can't remember whether I voted on this and I can't be arsed to check, but FWIW at the moment - and bear in mind all have redeeming features:

1. SIP
2. MIU
3. 85
4. KTSA
5. Surfin' Safari

Solo:

1. LBWL
2. Youngblood
3. Going Public
4. Carl Wilson
5. GIOMH

Not in any particular order:

Summer in Paradise
Still Cruisin'
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)

And that's it. I can't name any other album, I enjoy all the rest. These are not bad either, I just never listen to them.

I have yet to listen to SIP, Stars and Stripes, or Still Cruisin'--which I presume would all be in this top 5--so keep that in mind with my list...

Bottom --> Top :

1) BB85
2) Surfin' Safari
3) Surfin' U.S.A.
2) Keepin' the Summer Alive
3) L.A.

My choices, in no particular order:

1) Party
2) Stars And Stripes, Volume 1
3) Summer In Paradise
4) Beach Boys Concert
5) 15 Big Ones

Party: I don't see the point of it. I lie, obviously it was intended to buy more time for Brian to concentrate on Pet Sounds. It's disappointing to me because there's no new original material from The Beach Boys on an album bearing their name.

Stars And Stripes, Volume 1: I want(ed) to like it, I really do (did). I like some of the country artists who participated in the project (Junior Brown is an amazing guitarist, and Willie Nelson... enough said!) but the album seems forced, and, once again, there's no new original material from The Beach Boys.

Summer In Paradise: I don't despise this album as some people do. But it's an epic misnomer to call it a Beach Boys album. It's a glorified Mike Love (whom I also don't hate as much as some people do) solo project that happens to feature Carl Wilson, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston. All of the Beach Boys have demonstrated at one time or other that they're competent songwriters but this album doesn't give anyone other than Mike (and Bruce... for half a song, anyway) any room to breathe or create.

Beach Boys Concert: I find early live recordings of The Beach Boys disappointing. They simply didn't have what was needed logistically to pull off anything they recorded after the Surfer Girl album. The instrumental tracks on their records became progressively more demanding, layered and interesting, to say nothing of the vocals (which were good to begin with but only got better!) and it wasn't until they began adding supporting players in 1969 or 1970 that they were able to begin doing respectable live renditions of post-Surfer Girl material. (BTW, I love Beach Boys In Concert from 1973.)

15 Big Ones: This is effectively half of Party all over again. Way too damn many cover songs. I don't care if their take on "Rock And Roll Music" gave them their first Top 5 U.S. hit in a decade, it was still a cover... coming from a group that was still perfectly capable of delivering original material at the time, as preceding albums like Carl And The Passions/So Tough, Holland, Surf's Up and Sunflower aptly demonstrate.   

Agreed for the most part. Their first concert album certainly wasn't their best, but it's enjoyable enough.

And welcome to this forum! Hope you enjoy it around here, and looking forward to your posts!

1. Stars And Stripes Vol. 1 (I listen to Summer In Paradise more often than Stars And Stripes. Can't stand most of those country artists).
2. Summer In Paradise (I play it once in a blue moon, like maybe twice a year, mostly because I sorta like the Sly Stone cover tune, but the rest...the production...)
3. Beach Boys 85 (don't care for most of the material, or the production. Getcha Back is awesome. IJAMOT is cool too).
4. Keepin' The Summer Alive (I actually like much of the album, but I had to choose a #4, and this is it).
5. L.A. (Long disco song makes this my #5)

1. Summer in Paradise (I think this one goes without saying.  The only song I get that much out of is Lahaina Aloha, which seems to work in the same way that previous decent Melcher/Love compositions did. On the other end, there's the awful Summer of Love and a remake of Surfin' that is not much better.  The rest range from mediocre covers and originals.  Still better than most contemporary top 40, which I hate with a passion, so I can't call it the nadir of music.)
2. Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 (This one loses a lot of points because of how unnecessary it is.  I'm really not interested in hearing country interpretations of Beach Boys song with Beach Boys on backing vocals.  About 4 songs are tasteful enough and provide variation on the originals so as not make it completely useless.)
3. Surfin' Safari (In terms of having interesting material, this one really suffers. There's nothing on here I would really miss if I didn't hear it again. What the album does have is historical importance, as unlike the later period albums this one is actually crucial to the Beach Boys career.  Although most of the songs are inoffensive, little stands out.)
4. Keepin' the Summer Alive (Another thoroughly mediocre affair and out of all the albums of the band besides the ones above, this is one offers the least in terms of highs.  The production and vocals sound quite sterile at points, with the latter being particularly frustrating given that they could still sing at this point.  It's never really awful, but rarely manages to go above middling.)
5. Still Cruisin' (This one isn't really that bad.  Out of the 7 tracks worth discussing, Somewhere Near Japan, Kokomo, and In My Car are the ones that interest me.  It loses points because of how little new material there is here and the out of place 60's songs.  Little Deuce Coupe, which was another contender for its quasi-compilation elements, at least has a cohesive feel musically and conceptually.  With a few rogue 80's singles to add this one could have been an okay hodgepodge affair.)