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Never been a big fan of this album. Really far below Surf's Up and Holland for me.

Also, I don't mean to be contributing to clouding up the board with crud, but I'm on number 18 of 29, so the show must go on!
I'm sorry for being an asshat.
I apologize.


8. Here She Comes
7. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone - I could really do without the cookie monster vocals
6. He Come Down - Sounds like I'm in a church where Mike is preaching. I'm okay with that though.
5. Marcella - People love this around here. I want to like it more, but I'm not there yet.
4. Hold On Dear Brother - Nice melody
3. Cuddle Up - Refreshing to me
2. Make It Good- I think this is just gorgeous
1. All This Is That - I really love this song

Like Surf's Up, this is another album I really enjoy.  Compared to it, I think the highs are higher and the lows are lower but the highs win because I place it (slightly) ahead of Surf's Up.  This album includes what are probably my least favorite Dennis tracks which I feel are much more "feels" than actual sings.  Had they been fleshed out more, this album would have been even better.  It also would have benefited from a couple more tunes to fill out that skimpy run time!

1. Here She Comes - I'm guessing this one won't average a good rating here because it's another example of the Beach Boys showing that they can in fact, "rock" quite nicely if they really try.  I still wish someone would have vetoed Ricky's not surprisingly drum heavy mix tho!  I guess he had more confidence in his drum skills than his vocals.
2. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone - A GREAT tune with a lot of meat.  The guitar versus fiddle mix is a little off in my opinion but the vocals make up for it.  I love it!
3. Marcella - So close to perfect but not quite.  I prefer the version on In Concert.
4. All This Is That - The fact that this track ranks as low as it does for me just shows how I feel about the songs I placed above it!  Fantastic song, production, and performance!
5. Hold On Dear Brother - Another nice job from the "new guys".  I know this is about Ricky's brother but I wonder if anyone at the time assumed it was about Brian.
6. He Come Down - Solid but I feel it goes on for a bit and think it could have been tightened up a little.
7. Cuddle Up - Almost but not quite.  Almost six minutes in length and most of it's style over substance.
8. Make It Good - I get it, Dennis.  You can produce.  Now go back to writing songs that are worth all the "lush" sounds you load on them.  Yuck!

Marcella
All This Is That

You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
Here She Comes

Cuddle Up
He Come Down
Make It Good
Hold On Dear Brother

You ain't no asshat, LGAFA, even if you have a problem with two of Brian's sh*t-kick'n'ist tracks...

1--Mess of Help
2--Marcella
3--All This Is That
4--Cuddle Up
5--He Come Down
6--Make It Good
7--Hold On Dear Brother
8--Here She Comes

I hope Billy will do a full remix of "Mess of Help" sometime, I would love to hear it. It's too counterintuitive to ever be a major fave for the large majority of BB fans, but its nothing more or less than the Wild Honey album on steroids. The return to the middle 8 for the tag is pure upside down BW genius, with some of the best combo vocal-instrumental contrapuntality on any BB record. I'm guessing that "Marcella" will likely be the consensus fave, and why not--it's "Do It Again" on steroids. More masseuses, please!!

If I could rewrite BB history, I'd put "WIBNTLA" on this record as Side 2 Cut 1; from hearing Evie Sands and Adam's band do it, there's little doubt that a full-bore BB version would have been the sound to give them a solid shot at chart action if it'd been out there at the time. They needed something like that out of Dennis instead of the orchestral stuff, IMO. (Alas, it wasn't in the cards.) "Cuddle Up" is rather wondrous, but it's arguably better situated on a Dennis solo LP.

Much as I like Blondie and Ricky, their two tracks here just don't mesh into any period of the BB sound enough not to be in (or seriously close to) stick-out-like-sore-thumb territory. Blondie's work on "He Come Down," though, is pretty darned awesome.

Four songs that I don't care for at all, two OK songs, and two of the most underrated songs in the entire BB catalogue.

1. All This is That
2. Cuddle Up
3. He Come Down
4. Marcella
5. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
6. Make It Good
7. Hold On, Dear Brother
8. Here She Comes

1. Mess of Help
2. Marcella
3. All This Is That
4. Here She Comes
5. Hold On Dear Brother
6. Cuddle Up
7. He Come Down
8. Make It Good

1) Marcella
2) All This Is That
3) You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
4) Cuddle Up
5) He Come Down
6) Here She Comes
7) Hold On Dear Brother
8) Make It Good

The biggest album-to-album quality drop in the history of the band, and that's saying something. Bizarrely overrated by certain fans.


1. Cuddle Up
2. Make it Good
3. Marcella










4. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone






5. All This Is That.







and somewhere near the bottom of the sea:
6. Here She Comes
7. Hold On Dear Brother
8. He Come Down

1. All this is that
2. Cuddle up
3. You need a mess of help to stand alone
4. Make it good
5. Marcella

I'm sure this album is great and I appreciate the progressiveness and modernity all, it's just not really my style. I've listened to All This Is That ten times as often as all the other songs put together.

1. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
2. Marcella
3. He Come Down
4. Cuddle Up
5. All This Is That
6. Here She Comes
7. Hold On Dear Brother
8. Make It Good

1. Marcella - the mixing job on this song is AMAZING - probably my favorite 'sounding' song in the BB catalogue
2. Here She Comes - can't believe this is so low on everyone's lists! I love cranking this one up on the speakers - great song.
3. You Need A Mess Of Help
4. All This Is That - cosmically beautiful - not unlike 'Funky Pretty'
5. Hold On Dear Brother
6. Cuddle Up - I'm a big fan of Dennis contributions, but I this song is heavy overkill for me.
7. Make It Good
8. He Come Down

@Letsgoawayforawhile: I do like these threads! It's nice to see what other people's tastes are. You're not an asshat in my book ;D

I like this album a lot but it really could have benefited from a more unified group approach. As it stands we have two Dennis solo tracks, two Flame songs with Carl guesting, Mike and Al absent from half the record and Brian only on three songs.

1/ All this is that.
2/ Mess of help to stand alone.
3/ Marcella
4/ Cuddle up
5/ Here She Comes
6/ He came down
7/ Hold on dear brother



8/ Make it good - This song is nauseating.

This album is a real mess but I find I've been listening to it more and more in recent years, likely just out of a need to listen to something different as far as Beach Boys catalog goes. I love love love some of the tracks (especially 'Mess o Help'), but the Flame tracks stick out like a sore thumb and Dennis' songs, although majestic, they sound like they belong on a different album, altogether ("they sound like they belong on a different album"). I still like the album better than "Surfs Up", though.  :o

You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
Marcella
Cuddle Up
All This Is That
Make It Good
He Come Down
Here She Comes
Hold On Dear Brother

I don't care if these lists irritate other members, they're fun, so what the hell?

Definitely not my favorite album, but one I've grown to like quite a bit.  As many have said it sounds like 4 different albums going on at once, and it doesn't really flow at all, but I mostly like the songs - flow be damned.

1. All This Is That
2. Marcella
3. Make It Good
4. YNAMOHTSA
5. Cuddle Up
6. He Come Down
7. Hold On Dear Brother
8. Here She Comes

1. Cuddle Up - always at the top of my UNDERRATED BB songs list

2. Marcella - with better production coulda been an all-timer
3. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
4. All This Is That

5. Make It Good
6. He Come Down

7. Here She Comes
8. Hold On Dear Brother - I've learned to appreciate these two over the years

I'm gonna say it, and say it, and say it. And say it again. This album could've been better because of one simple thing. Why so few songs from a group with....

Bullshit.

You have nothing to apologize for, many enjoy these lists, and those who don't can just ignore the threads!

1. All This Is That (my all-time favorite BB song)
2. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone (no other song like it in the BB catalog)
3. Here She Comes (ditto)
4. Marcella
5. Cuddle Up
6. Hold On Dear Brother
7. He Come Down
8. Make It Good (sounds like a demo indicating the beginnings of a great song)

Overall, a great album, definitely in my top 5 BB studio albums.

So Tough is my favorite BB album to listen to anytime. I have probably listened to it from start to finish more times than any other by the group in the last 3 years because I don't have to be in any particular "mood" to put it on. To me it is completely accessible from start to finish even if it is a bit short on songs.

Every song is a winner for me. Here are my thoughts (if anybody cares):

01) You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - Rocks. Violin, banjo, slide guitar, loud drums, and it's kind of funky. Who cares what the words are about? My brother's personal favorite on here by the way (he's not much of a BB fan but he had me make copies of this cd and In Concert for his collection).

02) Here She Comes - I love the loud drums on this too. The piano jams (I'm a pianist so I can appreciate that) and nice vocals.

03) He Comes Down - The "I believe it" bit saves this song. That's 3 kind of rocking songs so far. What's next?

04) Marcella - This one. Yes, the live version is more energetic but hey, this is "Marcella". No more to say.

05) Hold On Dear Brother - Country/rock waltz. Great. Nice pedal steel solo in the middle. Blondie sounds very passionate about what he's singing.

06) Make It Good - Over the top. Beautiful orchestral arrangement. You can tell the difference in fidelity between Desper's mxes (this one and "Cuddle Up") and the rest of the album.

07) All This Is That - This is the only one that had to grow on me. I really missed Carl's beautiful voice on this when I saw them live last year.

08) Cuddle Up - My favorite song on this album. My favorite "lullaby" ever by anybody. I had it played at the end of my wedding reception to wind the party down. I could dig a whole album of pieces like this and "Make It Good" (add "Barbara", "4th of July" and whatever else Dennis was doing).

That's it I guess. No weak tracks for me at all, I love every song. I can't say that about too many albums by any artist. Criminally underrated even amongst BB fans but to each their own. Maybe Bruce would have dragged it down with "Ten Years Harmony"? We'll thankfully never know!

That's great! For years I DJ'd wedding receptions and often thought about doing that, but always chickened out. Now, looking back, I wish I would've played it.

1. All This is That
2. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
3. Marcella
4. Cuddle Up
5. Make it Good
6. Here She Comes
7. Hold On Dear Brother
8. He Come Down

1. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone.  I love the film clip to it as well,  very grungy,  hard to believe it's the same guys with the striped shirts and slicked hair :)
2. Here She Comes
3. All This is That
4. Marcella
5. Cuddle Up
6. He Came Down
7. Hold On Dear Brother
8. Make It Good

1. Marcella
2. All This is That
3. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
4. Cuddle Up
5. Everything else

Beyond the four songs I listed, I see the rest as nothing but filler.  Not bad songs but very forgettable in my opinion.

I like these threads myself. I like to rank all my albums.

Mess Of Help
Marcella
Here She Comes
Cuddle Up
He Come Down
All This Is That
Make It Good
Hold On Dear Brother

Good rock album, to me as interesting as anything from the 1971-73 Jack era.

1. All This is that
2. Mess
3. Cuddle
4. Marcella
5. He Came Down
6. Make it Good
7. Here She Comes
8. Hold On Dear Bro'

It's the one Dennis song I really can't stand. I love most of his stuff, am indifferent to a couple of Bambu songs but Make it good is the one song I struggle to reach the end of.

Wonderful album, easily in my personal top 10 of BB records.

1. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
2. Cuddle Up - always reminds me of the very best of Morricone
3. Marcella - fantastic song and production, would love to read/hear some of the original lyrics
4. He Come Down - like a precursor of "That Same Song"
5. Make It Good - sort of underrated, to me it sounds very POB in a way
6. All This Is That - just plain gorgeous
7. Hold On, Dear Brother - at first I thought they were singing about Brian, which of course they're not - anyway, it's a good song
8. Here She Comes - probably the most unlikely song to bear the BB name - personally I really like it!

The "new guys" did pretty fine on this, although they clearly couldn't rival the songwriting abilities of BW, DW, or even Alan Jardine.

A patchy one, but boasting the second best cover art in the canon (after KTSA).

In order:

1) Marcella - love this track; funky, rockin' and this album's Sail on Sailor (with a little Break away thrown in).  I first heard this track out of context on Ten Years of Harmony many years before I heard the full album, blown away and remain so after hearing the album sequence (although think they should have kicked off with it)

2) Cuddle Up - massive; a watershed for DW's and DD's collaborations, and Mr Desper's production makes it even more so - a close place for number 1, and hopefully a "study video" is in the making

3) Mess - love the insistent tack piano and it just keeps gettin' better, love it

4) All this is that - 2nd best TM song by these guys or anyone and a great number; a great Mike lead and Carl absolutely fantastic.  A gift to hear it during C50 and included on the concert vid.  I've always loved Robert Frost's poem; beautiful here and the poem was used years later to influence the Archie marries Veronica/Betty series.

5) Make it Good / He Come Down - both songs have a lot to offer, and I want to like them more than I do; which is to say they're OK/alright but don't really gel as much as the others.  Daring production and ideas on both, but just not as "there", I guess

6) Here She Comes - kickin' intro builds an expectation, which evaporates as the first verse comes together and the song decides to never end.  All to their own, but I think a lot of the +noise about this track comes from it's (undelivered) promise of a groove - it's certainly out-grooved and sent to bed by Marcella

7) Hold on Dear Brother - next...

Together with Holland my favourite era of the BB. Here we go:

1. Marcella - God, I love this tune, but the live version is much much better. They simply rocked! Carl shines on this one.
2. Cuddle Up - gives me goosebumps every time. Dennis had a lot of soul.
3. Here She Comes - a great Fataar/Chaplin production. The drums sound maybe a bit too heavy, but I really dig Ricky's sound. The bridge starting at 1:52 is one of the finest moments on the album (especially the piano part).
4. All This Is That - love the vocals. Wonderful song.
5. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - a nice rockin' tune with some lovely piano and guitars.
6. He Come Down - I like the gospel idea behind it. Sounds like they had a lot of fun doing this one. Great vocals from Mike!
7. Hold On Dear Brother - another fine Fataar/Chaplin production. The guitar is simply beautiful.
8. Make It Good - I somehow can't get into this one. On the upside, it features Dennis.

The 72-74 was their live peak. It's too bad In Concert features so many 'oldies'. Also, 6 of the 8 songs have been played live. Now, if we only get to hear them in excellent quality one day...

This is the easiest to rank so far for me.

1 - All This Is That - one of the many highlights of last year's tour.
2 - Cuddle Up - mostly gorgeous, especially the instrumental middle section going up to the haunting harmonies of the final verse (I do find the (final) chorus (in particular) a *little* intense)
3 - Marcella - rocks
4 - Hold On Dear Brother - love the emotion in Blondie's vocals here 'I need your lo-o-o-ve...'

5 - Mess of Help - pretty cool

6 - Make It Good - a bit too intense for me
7 - Here She Comes - its alright, but a little bland
8 - He Come Down - I prefer it when Mike preaches the virtues of surfing

01.  Cuddle Up
02.  Marcella
03.  All This Is That
04.  Hold On Dear Brother
05.  You Need A Mess Of Help
06.  Make It Good
07.  He Came Down
08.  Here She Comes

True, certainly in terms of available material. After the songwriting bonanza of Sunflower and Surf's Up, and adding two additional songwriters, they could only come up with eight tracks for their next record? And nine for Holland?

Er,

1. Cuddle Up
2. Mess O' Help (a sucker for raucous banjo on pop records, and the tag is dynamite)
3. Here She Comes (Don't get the hate. Bass is cracking. Blondie Chaplin, man.)
4. Marcella (prefer the live version, this one is too 'produced' which is a strange criticism for this band. It saps a lot of energy from it)
5. All This Is That (slight, but gorgeous. Carl slays it)
6. Hold On Dear Brother (meh attempt at CSNY country rock)
7. He Came Down (fuckin' Maharishi. Histrionic. If you want evidence for BW's ever-weird id surviving the 'recluse' era in one song, this would be it. Who else?)
8. Make It Good (does everything that Cuddle Up does, but wrong. No dynamics to justify that splendour, unlike the former, it's just constantly surging and its only recourse for more drama, as Dennis was shooting for with this stuff, is to go discordant and louder. Definitely the worst Dennis song)

All This is That
Marcella
Cuddle Up
You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
He Come Down
Make it Good
Here she Comes
Hold on, Dear Brother

First of all, lets clear this up. Surf's Up has 10 track, this has 8, and everyone declares this too short, yes?
Surfs Up: 33:51
CATP - "ST": 34:20
Stick that in your Mike Love sized pipe and smoke it!

Anyhoo...

1) Cuddle Up - THAT is emotional Power
2) All This Is That - Would be 1) if CU didn't mean so much to me
3) Here She Comes - Brilliant work by Fataar and Chaplin - so out of the ordinary for the boys yet feeling so right.
4) Marcella - Classic Brian
5) You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - Dislike the tag as a Middle 8, but it'll do
6) He Come Down - THOSE LYRICS... UGH
7) Hold On Dear Brother - tad too long
8) Make It Good - Have never understood a word Dennis is singing.

1. All This is That
2. Marcella
3. Cuddle Up
4. Make it Good
5. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
6. Here She Comes
7. Hold On Dear Brother
8. He Come Down

1. All this is that - One of the best Beach boys songs ever and the best one NOT written by Brian and stellar live this summer- the highlight of the how for me!
2.  Marcella - A great Brian song on a not so great album.
3. Hold on dear brother - For some reason I really love this song.
4.You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - A great Brian song with a great Brian sentiment....

5. Cuddle up - Good production - sketch of a song
6. Here She Comes - Eh - this is where the album drops in quality for me.
7. He Come Down - Great vocals from Mike!
8. Make It Good - I don't love it....

1. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone - Is 'Til I Die Brians last great song? Forget it!
2. He Come Down - Mike is epic creepy. Al is KILLING on the "Down, down, down" vocals. Great work by Brian arranging those amazing "Yes I believe in"-vocals. Fantastic Mike/Al/Brian-song.
3. All This is That - The intro is just amazing. I was so grateful when they played it in Gothenburg last year.
4. Make It Good - I feel Lion King vibes from this song - 22 years before the fact! Take that Elton!
5. Cuddle Up - If you are unhappy in love and listening to this, your heart is gonna get beaten up.
6. Here She Comes - The B-Section rocks.
7. Marcella - Only the last minute is interesting.
8. Hold On, Dear Brother - Too slow. Can't stand listening to this song sometimes.

"All This is That", "Mess O' Help", "Marcella" are top-shelf songs. I also really like "Here She Comes", especially the "Listen, listen, hear the music play..." section! I'd probably like "He Come Down" if it didn't have such repulsive lyrics. Dennis's two songs are underdeveloped and overproduced, and as far as I'm concerned his only missteps in an era when he was the group's greatest songwriting asset. (Though "Cuddle Up" is a bit better than "Make It Good", even if both are a bit histrionic...) "Hold On Dear Brother" isn't a bad song per se but I don't really ever desire listening to it.

1. All This Is That - great intro with that almost sinister bass rumbling along, playing an E note despite the A and D chords. And then the little bass lick before the lyrics start. Magic.

2. You Need A Mess Of Help - has a song containing banjo and fiddle ever rocked harder? Love the lyrics, love the gritty vocals

3. Marcella - would've gone higher on the list if there had been a definitive version. Studio version is too held back but features better (imo) harmonies than the live version. Live version rocks harder but I think the start/stop drum pattern during the solo makes the song stumble

4. Cuddle Up - terrific build-up and breakdown

5. He Come Down - love it. "Hey yon doo come a-nauga ton" indeed.

6. Make It Good - too short, but very emotional

7. Here She Comes

8. Hold On Dear Brother - the last two songs on my list don't do anything for me, and I really like We Got Love and Leaving This Town.

1) Mess
2) All this is that
3) Make it good
4) Marcella
5) Cuddle Up
6) He Came Down
7) Here she comes
8) Hold on dear brother

1 "Marcella": classic Beach Boys, could've used more audible Brian vocals which may have helped it chart, because it really did have "The Beach Boys" sound, albeit a '70s version
2 "All This Is That": beautiful song, beautiful vocals by Carl and Mike
3 "You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone": used to be my favorite from the album, but I gotta admit Carl's gritty vocals sometimes sound goofy to me
4 "Here She Comes": it doesn't really sound like "The Beach Boys" to me, but its a sturdy piece of early '70s mellow rock and roll
5 "Cuddle Up": better than "Make It Good" in that there is actually a song here beyond all the gussying up
6 "Make It Good": the early '70s orchestral equivalent of a shitty emo song
7 "He Come Down": good intentions, but horrible execution: especially Mike's vocals. Doesn't work
8 "Hold On Dear Brother": one time I got in my car and this was on. I had no idea what band it was until I popped the CD out and saw it was The Beach Boys


I agree. It really is nauseating. I like a lot of Dennis' stuff, and I love a lot of ambient or mood music. But this song seriously has nothing to bite into for me. It sounds like a guy trying to make a powerful, emotional statement, without any real emotional reason for it.

Huey Lewis & The News's Stuck With You is nauseating. No song Dennis Wilson ever, ever wrote is "nauseating". Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Thank you.

Fascinating change in style for the band.  My only complaints are the mixing on a few tracks and the complete lack of cohesiveness with Dennis' songs.  Also, although Make It Good may have a Captain, it lacks a hook.  The Brian-led Love You aside, this and Holland are the last instances the band really feels daring.

1. Marcella
2. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
3. All This is That
4. Here She Comes
5. Cuddle Up
6. Hold on Dear Brother
7. He Come Down
8. Make It Good

Where's the "Like" button?

1. Marcella
2. You Need A Mess of Help to Stand Alone
3. All This Is That
4. Cuddle Up
5. Here She Comes
6. Hold On Dear Brother
7. Make It Good
8. He Come Down

1. Here She Comes
2. All This Is That

3. You Need A Mess of Help to Stand Alone

4. Marcella
5. He Come Down

6. Make it Good
7. Cuddle Up
8. Hold On, Dear Brother

"Make it good" is like a brother of "Cocktails" for me. Both really powerful pieces with very soft vocals without traditional structure. Love both of em!

First wave of a double-dip Beach Boys recession for me. I enjoy this album slightly more than I do Holland, but its got its issues for sure-- mainly lack of Brian.

Marcella
Cuddle Up
All This Is That
Here She Comes
Make It Good

You Need a Mess of Help
He Come Down

Hold on Dear Brother

1. He Come Down

Hell yeah!  ;D

Look up 'hit & miss' in the dictionary and they could just show a picture of this album by way of explanation.

OUTSTANDING
1. Cuddle Up

VERY GOOD
2. All This Is That
3. Make It Good

GOOD
4. Marcella
5. You Need A Mess...
6. Hold On Dear Brother

AVERAGE
7. Here She Comes

POOR
8. He Come Down

One of my favorite albums by the band, and IMHO criminally underrated. There's not a track I don't like. The album may be disjointed, but IMHO it shows each facet of the band's sound. I just wish Brian's vocals on the three songs he was on were mixed louder. I actually prefer this to Surf's Up...the highs on this album don't reach as high, but there's not a track I skip.

8. Make It Good- For years, I didn't like this song. These days, I have grown to like it a lot, if not quite love it. My wife once said it made her think of  'When the Tigers Broke Free '. Doesn't really go anywhere, and the sound is a bit squashed, but even lower-quality Dennis is better than most work by non-Beach Boys. IMHO
7. Hold On Dear Brother- Love the vocals on this.
6.- Here She Comes- Love the bass on this cut; I don't care if this is more of a Flame v BB song, I love it.
5. He Come Down- Much like 'Anna Lee The Healer', the piano on this cut makes me think of Vince Guaraldi. One of two tracks featuring heavy Brian involvent (vocally and production-wise)
4. Cuddle Up- Love love LOVE this song, although I sometimes get tired of telling people that Brian is NOT on the song. 8)
3. Mess of Help- For some reason Carl's vocals on this make me think of a Dr Hook song. This is the other song on the album that Brian co-produced, and is all over the track vocally.
2. Marcella- The third song Brian is on vocally (on the tag), and only song featuring Bruce (the high harmonies early on)
1. All This is That- my favorite Brian-less song, and one of my favorite songs period. And as good as the recorded version was, the live version at the C50 show I went to last year tops it

ha, okay ...

1. He Come Down (honestly, I think this is the most BW-sounding track here ... goofiness intact!)
2. Make it Good
3. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
4. Hold on Dear Brother
5. Marcella
6. Here She Comes
7. All This is That
8. Cuddle Up

I think this is one of the group's better albums, I prefer it to Surf's Up or Holland these days ... more honest in it's fragmented nature.

It certainly has the most BW involvement.

The C50 version of "All This Is That" is gorgeous. What a great version. And Brian sounds positively amazing doing Carl's parts.


You really think this has more BW involvement than "Mess of Help" and "Marcella"?

Actually , it was confirmed to me that it does. Brian worked his ass off on that and was one of the last times Brian produced a song for the BB to that extent , if not THE last time. He also contributed piano and (allegedly) percussion, although I have my doubts about the latter. He did quite a bit of work on 'Mess of Help' as well, but not quite as much.

Brian's involvement on the recorded version of Marcella was limited to his vocal cameo.

1. Marcella
2. All This is That
3. You Need a Mess of Help
4. Here She Comes
5. Hold on Dear Brother
6. Cuddle Up

7. Make it Good
8. He Come Down

       Three masterpices:

     Marcella
      Cuddle Up
      All This Is That
      
      Two very good:
      
        You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
       He Come Down

       Three  terrible:
          
         Make It Good
         Hold On Dear Brother
         Here She Comes

      
    

Man, I really hate these threads. As a Beach Boys fan, I basically love everything they did, up til about '78 when the patchiness kicked in. It's such a joyless pursuit to go 'ooh, well actually I think I don't really like that middle eight, so I'll rank that a notch below' etc. It's all good, It's prime era Beach Boys!

I swear on my life, til I saw these threads, I'd never, ever had a negative thought about ANY track pre MIU.

Anyway...the thing that inspired this rant? Make it Good. It's one of my favourite pieces of music by anyone, ever. Not being structured like a pop song doesn't take a thing away from it. It's like a tone poem, or a magical spell...pure art and emotion. It's not overblown, it's magnificent. If you don't like it, I pity you, because there's something missing in your soul.

That is all.

I love learning new things here. I agree with DonnyL - "He Come Down" has always struck me as a Brian thing through and through. To see it confirmed is pretty cool. Anyway, here's my rankings. I love this album and agree it's underrated. Not a bad track in the bunch. I only wish there were a few more.

A+
Marcella
You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone

A
He Come Down
All This Is That

B+
Make It Good
Cuddle Up
Hold On Dear Brother
Here She Comes

A solid 100+ of an album! Sounds like both The Beach Boys we know and love and some scrappy indie-band all at the same time.... I love each and every second of this album equally and fully.

I don't care who produced (or didn't produce) what, or who sang where or what or whatnot. This is an absolute gem of an album and would be considered the greatest work of any other band.... LOVE IT!

1, All This is That

2, Marcella
3, Cuddle Up
4, Mess of Help
5, He Come Down
6, Make it Good

7, Hold on Dear Brother
8, Here She Comes (these last two shouldn't have been included)

I'm 100% with you! It's such an exceptional album, very unusual and somewhat patchy yet it still has a very special mood all of its own.

Coming off the heels of the exceptional Surf's Up, it was a major let down. While it was released with PS as a bonus, it still fell short of the mark we were all expecting. Here was the  opportunity to keep the momentum going forward and we got a sub-par effort. Mess of Help, Marcella, and All This Is That were excellent with the rest being heartbreakingly mundane. While Holland definitely reclaimed some of the greatness, it would have fared better had CATP not been released.

Oh, I can absolutely see why it was considered a letdown when it came out. I still absolutely love it and I don't think "He Come Down" and DW's contributions qualify as mundane.

1. marcella (classic Brian)
2.Cuddle up (This one is a song that touches my heart and brings me to tears)
3.Mess of help (good song)
4.all this is that (Catchy tune)
5.make it good (mellow)
6.he come down (bad lyrics decent melody)
7.hold on dear brother (This would be better if it was about Brian with Carl singing it telling Him to hold on dear brotherr, but as it is,it's boring)
8.here she comes (worst song on the album)

1. All This Is That - Awesome. Great group harmony and Carl's lead is stupendous. His swooping vocal on the end is one of the truly jaw-dropping moments in the Beach Boys discography.
2. Marcella - Classy all the way. I just love it. Go Brian!
3. Cuddle Up - Dennis' heart dreaming on multi-track. Beautiful.
4. You Need A Mess of Help to Stand Alone - Rockin' n' very strong track.
5. Make It Good - More than good! Great, really. Not as lovely as 'Cuddle Up', but almost there.
6. Hold On Dear Brother - The better of the two Chaplin/Fataar tracks, and I kinda rather like it. Dunno why.
7. Here She Comes - Like it okay. But...eh.
8. He Come Down - Don't get this one, really. Maybe someday.


Uh, pretty solid I guess! Uneven, but in a good way.

1. All This Is That - One of my all-time favorite BB songs--no idea how such an exceptional BB song like this arrived on a mediocre BB album like this...
2. Cuddle Up - The melodramatic teen in me loves the lyrics and strings, but all of me can't get enough of the simple piano interlude that follows the first chorus.
3. Hold On Dear Brother - I discovered this album at the right time in my life, for this song gave me comfort ("What can I love that isn't you? But you never understand inside of me...".  Blondie's best vocals.
4. Make It Good - I like how the music and Dennis' voice interact throughout the song.  Seems heartfelt.
5. Here She Comes - This doesn't even sound like the BB to me--but whatever, it grooves.
6. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone - Can't really stand Carl's vocals on this track; the groove makes the track passable.
7. Marcella - Can't really stand any of the vocals on this whole song, but I do like the neato guitar-work.
8. He Come Down - Nah, just stay up there.

P.S. This is my first post! Glad to be here. :)

1.Marcella: Just an all around great song.
2.All This Is That: It was this song that got me into the album. It's oh-so nice and melodic. I'm glad they still do it live.
3.Cuddle Up: One of Dennis' finest moments on record. Absolutely fantastic.
4.Here She Comes: One of many great rockers on this album, and probably the best Fataar/Chaplin composition on a Beach Boys record.

5.He Come Down: Probably tied for fourth with Here She Comes, but the latter is just a bit better. This is probably the most fun sounding songs on the album, and I like that a lot.
6.You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone : This ones alright. The vocals I think could be better, but it still works.

7.Make It Good: I used to really like this song, but upon more recent listens, it just seems a bit too free form (if those are the right words). There isn't much real structure to it. There's no denying its power though.
8.Hold On Dear Brother: Never has been a favorite of mine. Just sorta drags along. Not the best start to side 2.

Yes. I did. "All This Is That" got me into the album, but once I started to listen to the album as a whole, I realized that I found "Marcella" a bit more enjoyable. Tastes change, and who knows? Tomorrow "Make It Good" might shoot up into my top 5.

From Worst To Best:

8. He Come Down.
7. Hold On Dear Brother.
6. Marcella.
5. Make It Good.
4. Here She Comes.
3. All This Is That.
2. Cuddle Up.
1. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone.

           Whoa,  Billy - Vince Guaraldi.  Cool for Cats - Dougie, Let's Dance that Boogie-Woogie!  Are you into bossa nova/samba as well?

I liked what Roger The Shrubber had to say.  He lined them up as tracked.  Sheriff John Stone, DonnyL and Billy too.  I agree.  There are no bad tracks, but the rule says order -so order I will.  This record had power under the needle and lots of soul.        The vocals on this record are some of the very best they ever recorded.  I'm sure Brian, and all of them were very proud to present this.  Then it sunk like a stone.  I prefer to say that rock  skipped ever so lightly over the waves.

1. All This Is That - 347 (19)
2. Marcella - 338 (15)
3. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone - 322 (10)
4. Cuddle Up - 289 (7)
5. Here She Comes - 185.5 (2)
6. He Come Down - 168 (1)
7. Make It Good - 167
8. Hold on Dear Brother - 127.5

My thoughts?  Surprisingly, this album had the most lists of all.  I think I would have preferred either Marcella or Mess of Help to get top spot, but All This is That was the reasonable choice.

1. You Need A Mess Of A Help To Stand Alone- one of their best rockers.
2. Cuddle Up- beautiful.
3. Here She Comes- groovy.
4. Hold On Dear Brother- cool.
5. All this is that- cool as well.
6. Marcella- a bit over produced but not mixed very well.
7. He came down- not bad but good have been better.
8. Make It Good- um, What ever you're singing about Dennis, I'm sure it's beautiful. I'm sure it'll grow on me.

1 all this is that... Hands down best track on this album. Al, Carl & Mike...love it
2. Marcella
3. Mess of help
4.  Cuddle up
5. He come down
6.  Hold on dear brother (
7. Here she comes ( why is Ricky's vocal buried?
8. Make it good i love Dennis but this song never did it for me

ill bite

8 he came down
7 here she comes
6 dear bro
5 marcella
4 mess o help
3 all this is that
2 make it good
1 cuddle up

Not a bad album.

1. All This Is That
2. Marcella
3. You Need A Mess Of Help
4. Cuddle Up
5. Here She Comes
6. He Come Down
7. Make It Good
8. Hold On Dear Brother

1. Here She Comes
2. Hold On Dear Brother
3. All This Is That
4. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
5. Marcella
6. He Come Down
7. Cuddle Up
8. Make It Good

8. He Come Down
7. Make It Good
6. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
5. Here She Comes
4. Marcella
3. Hold On Dear Brother
2. Cuddle Up
1. All This Is That

1 All This Is That--- A true BBs classic. Very psychedelic, and one of Carl's best vocals.
2 Here She Comes--- A cool rock song, with a great bassline!
3 Marcella--- One of the BBs best 70's songs, very Stones-esque.
4 Cuddle Up--- Very meaningful ballad by Denny.
5 You Need A Mess Of Help--- Another good rock song, with an interesting vocal by Blondie and Carl.
6 Hold On Dear Brother--- Very interesting, country infused song.
7 He Come Down--- Okay, this is pretty bad.
8 Make It Good--- What the hell is this? It's very emotional, and intense, beautiful even, it just doesn't fit with the rest of the music on the album.

Probably their most under appreciated record, even if it is heavily flawed.

Hold On Dear Brother - Very underrated
Here She Comes - Also underrated
You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - Nice Title
Marcella
Cuddle Up
All This Is That
He Come Down - It's grown on me






















































Make It Good - This song can go f*ck off

8. Make it Good (I think it's a fine song, but it just kinda, ends so abruptly, if that makes sense. It really sounds more like an unfinished demo than an actual fully-fleshed out song)
7. Here She Comes
6. Hold On, Dear Brother
5. Cuddle Up
4. Marcella
3. He Come Down (Such a fun song!)
2. All This is That
1. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone

1. All This Is That
2. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
3. Marcella
4. Cuddle up
5. Hold on dear
6.  Here she comes
7. He Come Down
8. Make It Good

1. All this is that
2. Marcella
3. Cuddle Up
4. Mess of Help
5. Hold On Dear Brother
6.  Here She Comes
7. He Come Down

Large Gap
8. Make it Good


Amazingly, I realized that I really dig the hell out of this album when looking at individual tracks. Even  Make it Good is alright to me, although not at the level of the other tracks.

1. All This Is That
2. Marcella
3. Make It Good - This sounds like a Paul McCartney song. Every time I hear it.
4. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
5. Hold On Dear Brother
6. Here She Comes
7. Cuddle Up
8. He Come Down -Yeah, you know what? Just, no.

1.You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - What a great opener, really kicks ass and I love Carl's vocals
2. Make It Good - Beautiful from Dennis I love the orchestration
3. All This Is That - Great song and beautiful harmonies
4. Marcella - Another kick ass track
5. Here She Comes - What a cool tune
6. Cuddle Up - Absolutely beautiful tune from Dennis. Maybe slightly over the top
7. He Come Down - Cool tune, Mikes lyrics don't do it for me through, harmonies are great though
8. Hold On Dear Brother - Not a bad song at all but a little boring

Very good, underrated album.

1. Cuddle Up - heartwarmingly great
2. All This Is That
3. Marcella

4. Here She Comes -I think it's very cool
5. He Come Down
6. Hold On, Dear Brother
7. You Need A Mess of Help To Stand Alone

8. Make It Good -doesn't go anywhere

Carl and the Passions – "So Tough"

Here's my rankings based purely on personal taste...

1. Marcella
2. Cuddle Up
3. All This Is That
4. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone

5. He Come Down
6. Hold On, Dear Brother
7. Make It Good

8. Here She Comes