The Smiley Smile Message Board

10. Here Comes The Night - What the hell?
9. Sumahama - I like the track, and I think Mike sounds good, but putting it all together just doesn't work for me.
8. Shortenin' Bread - I really love singing this over and over and over and over.
7. Full Sail - Enjoy it a lot sometimes.
6. Lady Lynda
5. Good Timin' - Nice single!
4. Goin South - Love it.
3. Angel Come Home - Love it.
2. Love surrounds me - Superb.
1. Baby Blue - Some of the prettiest singing. Wonderful.

10. Shortenin' Bread - sounds a muddy mess to my ears.
9. Sumahama
8. Here Comes The Night
7. Lady Linda
6. Full Sail
5. Love Surrounds Me
4. Baby Blue
3. Going South
2. Angel Come Home
1. Good Timin'

To be honest the order of preference of choices 8-1 can be interchangeable according to how many grooves there are in the day.

1. Good Timin' - love the song, vocals, even the lyrics
2. Baby Blue - emotional; Carl shines


3. Lady Lynda - I still think it's a good song, maybe the best Al ever wrote

4. Angel Come Home - wish it would've been sped up a bit, it coulda rocked
5. Love Surrounds Me - I like parts of it, again it drags a bit
6. Here Comes The Night - a 4:00 version moves it up 3-4 notches

7. Full Sail - it's nice but not overly exciting
8. Sumahama - an OK song

9. Goin' South - I'm sorry but it's lifeless
10. Shortenin' Bread - simply the most misplaced song on any BB album EVER, and they picked the wrong version/mix

Coming off of 15 Big Ones, Love You, and MIU - three very "Brian" albums - and with Brian getting trimmer, playing bass, and losing much of his raspiness, this is the most disappointing album for me personally. I had my hopes very, very high. You need a magnifying glass to find Brian Wilson on L.A. (Light Album). It is in the Top 3 Carl Wilson albums however. His voice was rarely better.

1.  Sumahama
2.  Baby Blue
3.  Good Timin'
4.  Lady Lynda
5.  Shortenin' Bread
6.  Here Comes the Night
7.  Full Sail
8.  Love Surrounds Me
9.  Angel Come Home
10.Goin' South

My least favorite album up to this point. Some good songs, but for the first time I'm actively bored by a couple of tracks. The production is too sterile, and for the first time there is no audible Brian vocals. No thanks.

10. Going South- A boring piece of sh*t.
9. Full Sail- A boring piece of sh*t. I really hate Carl's vocals from 1976-1979. Technically fine for the most part, but sterile.
8. Shortenin' Bread- So, they're gonna put this on here...WITHOUT Brian on it? Really? REALLY?! At leats it's not a boring piece of sh*t...but it is still sh*t, make no mistake about it.
7. Here Comes the Night- I don't hate this. At least it goes more than 40 BPM. Still, late mid-period Carl vocals don't do it for me.
6. Sumahama- I don't hate this either, aside from the production. Competent, but not interesting. Notice a pattern?
5. Lady Lynda- Now we're starting to get somewhere. First song here I actually like. Sure took long enough.
4. Baby Blue- Finally...vocals with some damn character. Dennis sounds passionate as always, and Carl sounds like he has a pulse again.
3. Love Surrounds Me-  Love the rhythm, Dennis vocals, the production...simply splendid.
2. Angel Come Home- Fun Fact...this was a 15 BO outtake (albeit unfinished).
1. Good Timin'- Much  of it dating from 1974 (I recently 'acquired' the 1974 version...and no, it's NOT the one uploaded on YouTube), this is to me more proof that there were great tracks 'in the can' that could have been used sooner in place of some of the weaker tracks of the previous albums. Yeah, it would've made this album worse, but seriously...f*** LA Light.

2 Stars for me, and that's being generous.

My 2nd favorite studio album, right behind Friends!  I love every track.

1. Lady Lynda - Hard to choose a favorite, but I think this one barely beats out the others.
2. Full Sail - Quintessential latter-day Carl vocal.
3. Angel Come Home - A great moment for Dennis.
4. Love Surrounds Me - The last 30 seconds or so is some of the best stuff in the Beach Boys' recorded output.
5. Baby Blue - This one took a while to grow on me, but I love it now.
6. Good Timin - Good Timin!
7. Here Comes The Night - I enjoy the full 10:50 version much more than the edited one.  It's kind of like trying to edit the California Saga while keeping bits and pieces of all 3 parts - it doesn't work.  The full version is the best!
8. Goin' South - Great vocal from Carl. 
9. Sumahama - Charming.
10. Shortenin Bread - Perhaps the weakest track, but a good fun way to end the album.

Good Timin'; Lady Lynda; Full Sail; Goin' South; Here Comes The Night.  Yes, I know, I know, and I don't care.

1. Angel Come Home
2. Good Timin'
3. Love Surrounds Me
4. Baby Blue
5. Here Comes the Night
6. Full Sail
7. Lady Lynda
8. Sumahama
9. Shortenin' Bread
10. Goin' South

1) Baby Blue
2) Good Timin'
3) Angel Come Home
4) Full Sail
5) Love Surrounds Me
6) Shortenin' Bread
7) Goin' South
8) Lady Lynda
9) Sumahama
10) Here Comes The Night (Another tie between 9 & 10 for me.)

Took me a while, but I really dig this album. I'd say it's really their last "artistic" album until That's Why God Made The Radio. Definitely an album I would not be embarrassed to play around friends.

1 "Good Timin'": A great song by Brian and Carl. A compact, yet full, lovely song. Bursting with harmonies. Love it so much.
2 "Angel Come Home": One of Carl's best songs. Sung with great feeling by Dennis. I don't understand why stuff like this wasn't a hit for the boys.
3 "Baby Blue": Up there with "River Song" as my favorite Dennis Wilson song. Wonderful vibe. Lovely vocals. Just great.
4 "Love Surrounds Me": One of my favorite Dennis Wilson songs. Great vocals, great vibe.
5 "Shortenin' Bread": I personally love this. It rocks. Does it fit in the album? Ha, maybe not. I'd love to ask Bruce about it's inclusion.
6 "Lady Lynda": A nice attempt by Al. A pleasant song with good vocals. Not extremely original, but very Al.
7 "Full Sail": A bit better than "Goin' South". It's pleasant, but nothing much more than that.
8 "Here Comes The Night": If it was the short version I might rank it higher. The vocals are great though.
9 "Goin' South": I understand the vibe Carl is going for, I just don't think there is much of a song here.
10 "Sumahama": I applaud Mike's effort, but this one does nothing for me.

Half shows what an adult Beach Boys can sound like past Holland, and half is crap. The LP could have been saved had the 45 version of HCTN been used and something with Brian dredged up from the last several years.

1.Good Timin
2. Angel Come Home
3. Baby Blue
4. Love Surrounds Me
5. Lady Lynda
6. Shortinin' Bread
7. Goin South
8. Full Sail
9. Sumahama
10. Here Comes The Night

1. Love Surrounds Me
2. Baby Blue
3. Good Timin'
4. Angel Come Home

5. Lady Lynda
6. Full Sail
7. Sumahama
8. Here Comes the Night

9. Goin' South
10. Shortenin' Bread

As others have alluded to, I find this to be the group's last decent album up until TWGMTR. It's a mixed bag of nuts to be sure, but one that is definitely bolstered by Dennis's contributions in much the same way 20/20 was. However, I can see what Walter Yetnikoff's objection was, as the Light Album is a largely cobbled together affair based around rescued songs from aborted side projects ("Sumahama" and both Dennis joints) or older Beach Boys albums ("Good Timin", "Lady Lynda", "Shortenin' Bread"). So really the only "new" stuff you've got here is three monotonous numbers from Carl and the disco single which had already come out by this point. As such, I think LA compares less favorably to MIU which at least seems to be somewhat unified.

01.   Baby Blue
02.   Angel Come Home
03.   Love Surrounds Me
04.   Good Timin'
05.   Lady Lynda
06.   Full Sail
07.   Goin' South
08.   Sumahama
09.   Shortenin' Bread
120. Here Comes The Night

Yep.  Half crap and half good. Annoying, considering that there were some good tracks not used.  Of course, some crap didn't make the cut either!

In a way L.A Light is their 20/20 for the 1970's. But 20/20 had strong songs throughout and was thrown together as a "contract filler". LA was their debut for a new label and they should have done better.

1/ Baby Blue - The "late at night" part ranks in my top 5 moments of the entire Beach Boys catalogue.
2/ Lady Lynda - A tour de force of great harmonies, the ending is esp fantastic.
3/ Angel Come Home - Wow. This song definitely came out 3 albums too late.
4/ Love Surrounds Me - Good,moody, atmospheric song.

5/ Good Timin' - Nice but not the masterpiece many seem to label it.
6/ Shortenin' Bread - Ends the album on a light note if nothing else.

7/ Goin' South - Even Carl's vocal can't save this bland effort.
8/ Here Comes The Night - A 3 and a half minute version would have sufficed, this just goes on forever.
9/ Full Sail - Coma inducing.
10/ Sumahuma - Funnily enough,I spent the first half of the album thinking "where's Mike?", then when he does pop up it's with this turd! I quite like the backing track but Mike singing Japanese in that nasal tone is horrid.

"Where the swallows go,
when they leave Capistrano,
fly away so gracefully,
maybe that's for me…

Snow drifts blowin' up against my door,
going clear up to the roof…
I could be lyin' on some sun-washed shore,
Truth is, don't know what I'm waitin' for… "

…

"South of the border
Think I'm goin' south,
Get my life in order.
Think I'm goin' south,
For the winter,
It's gettin' mighty cold"


Bliss, sheer bliss. Don't sell it short folks!

If this is what an "adult Beach Boys" sound like, I'll pass. The only good songs are "Love Surrounds Me", "Baby Blue", and "Angel Come Home". No surprise, given who wrote/sang 'em!

LA was the 3rd BB's album proper I listened to post devouring Surfin' Safari/Surfin' USA vinyl twofer (good ole SENC.101313/4), post my initial guzzling of BB compilations generica.

Loved it then, and still have a soft spot for it - LA has it's moments and it's challenges, and to me has a night time mood, as well as a bit of an introspective tone.

10. Full Sail - most BB songs will contain at least 1 thing that resonates, and for me it's the dong-ding of the ship bell at the start.

9. Shortenin' Bread - Carl and Denny do a great job on their vox, but this version doesn't really do it for me; actually, I find the whole Shortenin' Bread thing a bit of an acquired taste.  

8. Here Comes The Night - I'm not afraid of Disco and appreciate the nifty mixing effects, great vocals and a pretty epic finish and fade.  Having said that, it's no Nightflight to Venus

7. Sumahama - at risk of being pushed from a lover's leap, I will admit to liking this track.  Bruce et al did a fine job on the stringed intro replete with a coy fade into the main verse.  Mike's singing is a rather nasally, but I think he should get kudos for a step-up from anything he did on MIU.  Are the Japanese lyrics bogus?  Shirimasen and who cares - make up your own or chime along to Bruce's staccato "Suma" - "Hama"'s in the background.

6. Lady Linda - strangely, I can do without the classical intro and the classical "solo", but I think Lady Linda works really well and this version blows away the MIU one.  Used to get heaps of airplay on my local ABC radio station (AM).

5. Love Surrounds Me - pretty cool, really love the middle eight arrangement, although I find the the backing vocals a tad overcooked

4. Going South - other than the snow drifts interlude, wasn't a major fan, until John Manning turned me on to the Swallows fly section mid last year.  A yearning vocal from Carl, I can see him looking out from the frosted window of a cabin deep in the snow.  And did he ever go south, or was he just talking the talk?  These sections forgive the  the sax solo, but if you have a mono button on your hi-fi amp, hit it to make the sax part vanish into the back of the mix.

3. Angel Come Home - this is a fuckin' great song and I'm eternally grateful that the decision makers gave Dennis the lead.  Highlight is the "I couldn't tell how I, I wanted to hold her, I just let her go".  Big fan of the drums on this one as well.

2. Baby Blue is epic, that's it

1. Good Timin' - classic BB, doo-wop stylings, really good.

Get this album on vinyl, so you don't have to waste your time skipping past the MIU tracks.

The last really good, though not quite great, Beach Boys album. Actually quite hard for me to rank the tracks, because they're all very close together in  quality.

Great:
1) Baby Blue -- The last truly great Beach Boys track
2) Lady Lynda -- Al's finest moment
3) Shortenin' Bread -- I've always had a soft spot for Brian-goofiness, and Carl and Dennis' vocals are wonderful
4) Angel Come Home -- one of the best things Carl ever wrote.

Good:
5) Good Timin' -- never rated this one the way many other people do, it just strikes me as a bit Beach-Boys-by-numbers. Makes for a nice live track, though, and it's enjoyable enough.
6) Goin' South -- cut out the sax solo and this would be one or two places higher.
7) Love Surrounds Me -- there were better things on Bambu, but the tag is great.
8) Full Sail -- Competent.

Poor:
9) Sumahama -- not that terrible, but I've never liked Hollywood Orientalism in my music -- if I find it hard to get past on Tokyo Rose by Van Dyke Parks or Grass by XTC, then I'm going to find it unforgivable on a Mike Love solo track.
10) Here Comes The Night -- at least it's not the fifteen-minute 'medley' mix...

1. Good Timin'
2. Baby Blue
3. Lady Lynda
4. Angel Come Home
5. Shortenin' Bread (1977 version is so much better!)
6. Sumahama
7. Love Surrounds Me
8. Full Sail
9. Going South
10. Here Comes The Night (almost 11 minutes of utter shite! What the **** were they thinking?!)

1.   "Good Timin'"
2.    "Baby Blue"  
3.   "Lady Lynda"  
4.   "Angel Come Home"  
5.   "Love Surrounds Me"  
6.   "Sumahama"  
7.    "Full Sail"   
8.   "Shortenin' Bread"  
9.    "Here Comes the Night" 
10.   "Goin' South"    

Am I right in thinking, though, that the harmonies on this were largely by California Music rather than the Beach Boys? Certainly there are large stretches of the track where the only identifiable Beach Boy voice in the harmony stack is Bruce, though there are bits where Mike's definitely there...

Good:
Good Timin'
Full Sail (some said it's boring but I find it to be the 'Steamboat' of LA)
Angel Come Home
Love Surrounds Me
Baby Blue

Decent:
Sumahama (slightly too long and slightly different in theme to the rest fo the album but still not a bad song by any means Myke!)
Shortening Bread
Lady Lynda (little too sweet for my taste)

Nadir:
HCTN



On whole a very nice album which coulda benefited from including another Cal Saga thingy like a suite of Cal Feeling/Looking Down The Coast/Santa Ana Winds instead of HCTN but their loss I guess...

This album on a whole is pretty decent, but coulda been pretty good...

I really love this album.

1. Baby Blue - just so, so beautiful! One of Dennis' finest ever ballads, which is saying something. Seriously, if - when it comes to representing L.A. Light Album - this is excluded from 'Made In California' in favour of Lady Lynda or Sumahara then i for one will cry actual genuine tears... A masterpiece.

2. Good Timin' - two minutes of pop perfection. My favourite Brian/Carl collaboration. Harmonies to die for.

3. Angel Come Home - a very nice song by Carl is elevated to classic status thanks to Dennis' brilliant heartfelt lead vocal.

4. Full Sail - i know a lot of people find it boring, but i really like the gentle melody and Carl's singing is incredible.

5. Love Surrounds Me - a great song, poorly produced. The more subtle version on Bambu is better. Still, as i say: great song.

6. Sumahara - despite Mike's painful attempt at singing in Japanese, this is a really lovely song with a terrfic melody. One of Mike's best solo songs.

7. Goin' South - ok, now this one is a bit boring. The melody is slight to the point of being almost non-exsistant - however Carl's typically beautiful vocal, and a great, surprisingly tasteful sax solo, save the day!

8. Lady Lynda - the merits of this one escape me a little. I love the group harmonies towards the end of the song, otherwise it's not a favourite.

9. Shortenin' Bread - give me the Adult/Child-era version any day of the week!! This is crap. Sorry Brian.

10. Here Comes The Night - utter garbage! WHAT were they thinking?? Good on Dennis for refusing to be involved with it! The original on Wild Honey is absolute gem and doesn't deserve to be tarnished by association with this complete bilge. Tragic!

10. Here Comes The Night (Booooooooooooo)
9. Lady Linda (jeez, write a song Al and stop recycling ya lazy ####)
8. Sumahama  (almost as sappy as everyones in love with you, almost)
7. Going South (nice)
6. Shortenin' Bread (dig)
5. Angel Come Home (like the verses a lot, chorus not so much)
4. Love Surrounds Me  (nice dark mood, production grates a little)
3. Full Sail (beautiful song)
2. Baby Blue  (no one talks about the solo Dennis version anymore since it wasnt on the Bambu release, I really loved that whistling thing. This version is a little too clean production wise for my liking)
1. Good Timin' (classic BB)

1.) Love Surrounds Me--I think there are better songs on The Bambu Sessions than this, but this bleak song from Dennis has an emotional resonance that I find lacking from so many of the songs on this ballad-heavy album.  I find both Dennis' lead and the falsetto backing vocals haunting.  In my view, this is the only really essential song on the album.
2.) Shortenin' Bread--My high placement of this song is perhaps as much an indication of my lukewarm feelings about this album as anything else, but the rocking out at the end of the album frankly has always come as a relief to me.  This also has Carl's only lead vocal on the album in which he doesn't sound bored.
3.) Lady Linda--I don't like the piano intro or coda, but Al gives a nice lead vocal and the harmonies are good, too.
4.) Angel Come Home--A very strange sounding song that works much better than I would have thought.  The backing vocals on the chorus probably wouldn't sound very pleasant on their own, but they come together pretty well.
5.) Full Sail--A pretty ballad from Carl that I prefer to his early 70's songs ("Long Promised Road," "Feel Flows," and "The Trader," all of which I think are a bit overrated).  It is a little dull, though.
6.) Baby Blue--I typically love a good Dennis ballad; I think his contributions to Carl and the Passions-So Tough are the highlights of that album and would take Pacific Ocean Blue over any of the band's '70s albums save Love You.  And while this song is certainly pretty, the writing and performances seem to be on auto-pilot if we compare them to some of his other ballads.
7.) Good Timin'--I've had a bit of difficulty understanding why people seem to like this song so much, which to me sounds vaguely pretty but only half complete.  It's been compared to "Surfer Girl," and though it is similarly a mid-tempo ballad, it lacks the earlier songs finest qualities--sublime vocal harmonies on both the verses and chorus and a divine middle-eight that transforms the song into a religious experience.  "Good Timin'" does admittedly have good harmonies on the chorus, but the verses are half-sung banal lyrical profundities that could never compare with the direct and simple innocence of the lyrics of "Surfer Girl."
8.) Goin' South--The dull version of "Full Sail," which was itself too dull to begin with.
9.) Sumahama--I find the melody and Mike's lead cloying, and the Japanese portion to be difficult to listen to, not so much because the lyrics don't make much sense (though they don't), but more because it's quite apparent that Mike doesn't understand anything he's singing and learned the lyrics phonetically.  That's not to say that anyone who doesn't understand Japanese should find it objectionable, but it makes the experience somewhat more painful for me.
10.) Here Comes the Night--I don't think it's as bad as some do, or as bad as I assumed when I first heard that there was an 11-minute disco version of this song. Rather than embarrassing, I mostly find this song boring.

Looking back at what I've written, I think I may have been a bit overly harsh, as I think that Light Album is a generally pleasant listening experience.  But this band can, and has, done better.

This is the correct answer.

Eric, I know we're all entitled to our opinions and all, but.... really?! :o

Isn't it funny how different we all are? I mean, I really don't like this album, yet others do. Yet, BB 85 is one of my favorites, and most people hate it@

A very nice album, as underrated by some of the fanbase as Passions and Holland are overrated. A fair attempt at a beach Boys equivalent to Rumours.


Unbelievable:

1. Good Timin' (One of the band's greatest)
2. Baby Blue

Excellent to very good:

3. Love Surrounds Me
4. Angel Come Home
5. Lady Lynda
6. Full Sail

Good to fair:

7. Here Comes The Night (Takes up too much of the album, but if it was the length of the single, it would be one class higher. Disco rules)
8. Goin' South
9. Shortnin' Bread

Horrific:

10. Sumahama.

Great
1. Baby Blue (Absolutely gorgeous)
2. Good Timin'
3. Love Surrounds Me

Good
4. Angel Come Home
5. Full Sail
6. Lady Lynda

Decent
7. Shortnin' Bread
8. Goin' South

Awful
9. Sumahama
10. Here Comes The Night (Why!? It was such an awesome song on Wild Honey!)

You know, it's funny.... I can easily understand the debate over whether The Beach Boys should've recorded a disco song, though I didn't have as much objection to it as others. But, I think they did make a good choice in picking "Here Comes The Night".  It was a good song that wasn't an old single, never made a comp, was rarely (never?) performed live, and was a really good candidate to be "transformed". I think it works fairly well, and it kinda gave the song a second life. I know some may disagree....

I'd add Good Timin' to that list.  But the fact that L.A. is generally considered to be the best post-Love You album speaks volumes about how far they fell.

I can only come up with a dozen decent post-Love You (late 70s/early 80s) songs, and that includes outtakes (Still I Dream Of It, It's Over Now, Lines, Everybody Wants to Live, Stevie), tunes that were supposed to be solo Dennis (Love Surrounds Me, Baby Blue), and songs that originated from an earlier time (My Diane, California Feeling, Angel Come Home, Good Timin’).  That leaves just Goin' On, and even that one borrrowed from Smile.

Good Timin'
Lady Lynda
Sumahama (Love this song)
Full Sail
Baby Blue (sorry, Dennis's voice starting in 1976 is practically not listenable.)
Here Comes the Night (guilty pleasure)
Angel Come Home
Goin' South
Love Surrounds Me
Shortenin' Bread

Sorry, you're messed up in the head.

1. Baby Blue
2. Angel Come Home
3. Good Timin'
4. Love Surrounds Me 
5. Lady Lynda
6. Full Sail
7. Goin' South
8. Sumahama
9. Here Comes the Night
10. Shortenin' Bread

Easily one of their most ecclectic albums.  The best songs are great and highlight Dennis' last shining moments for the band.  The worst songs are boring and tacky.  A higher peak than the albums surrounding it, but probably also the worst low points of those as well.

For me the worst thing a song can be is boring. That's why Brian on Oh Darlin was better than the released version even though carl's vocals were technically better

Yup! Really!  :)

But if you include live albums and solo albums, then that bumps it down a couple of notches.

1. Lady Lynda: Beautiful melodies (even if they're stolen), beautiful harmonies (as good as they ever were), beautiful arrangement (there's no such thing as The Beach Boys sounding too sweet), and it's got my girlfriend's name. I love it.
2. Good Timin': I think the backing track could have used a little bit more work, but those harmonies are gorgeous. Easily one of their better songs from the late 1970s.
3. Baby Blue: Beautiful.
4. Shortenin' Bread: Goofy and groovy. I think it's fun.
5. Angel Come Home: OK chorus, but not one of Dennis's most inspired songs.
6. Love Surrounds Me: Again, Dennis has written better songs.
7. Here Comes the Night: For what it's supposed to be, I don't think this is all that bad. But obviously it's out of place and way too long (the 7" edit would've done just fine).
8. Going South: Just boring.
9. Full Sail: Also just boring.
10. Sumahama: One word: cringeworthy.

Carl wrote Angel Come Home.  Arguably the only decent track he wrote after Holland.

and it's 80% Carl singing that song ^^

Full Sail is pretty competant I would say and avoids the bore which Goin' South becomes imo. I agree Angel Come Home was one of rare good musical pieces coming out by the late 70's. Shame Carl/Dennis didnt go off on their own after the airport fight

Oops. You're right, Carl wrote it, of course. But I would say he wrote a few more tracks that weren't all that bad. 'Heaven', 'I Wish for You', 'Where I Belong'...

This is much better than MIU but has a mixture of very good and very poor tracks. The best ones are top quality and the worst are embarrassing. Whilst I like one or two tracks on KTSA and '85, it took over thirty years and the passing of both Dennis and Carl before the rest of the band could release a decent album again.

Very good:

1. Love Surrounds Me - An excellent song and hints at a direction that I think they should have followed (using Dennis' talents a lot more).
2. Baby Blue - Another great song and good vocal performances. A great example of why this album is streets ahead of the MIU disaster - Carl and Dennis are back.
3. Good Timin' - A nice song with more great vocals from Carl. It might not be the most original song, but its very enjoyable and the brief appearance of the 'Surfer Girl' melody is a far better nod to the past than lyrical references to Fun, Fun Fun, or Good Vibrations. Its a good example of good later Beach Boys work (there are some similarities with TWGMTR, for example).
4. Angel Come Home - The arrangement and backing vocals could have been better but its a good song and Dennis' lead vocal is great. His voice was in the process of deteriorating, but he attacks this better than any of his band mates could have, with power and emotion. I would say that parts of the verses give the impression that he was having to work his voice harder and harder to get something from it.

Not so good:

5. Shortenin' Bread - I enjoy this, but I think they were capable of better.
6. Full Sail - Too slow and a bit boring. I don't like the production or arrangement. It'd be passable as filler if the album didn't have several worse tracks on it.
7. Lady Lynda - A good effort, but not top my taste. Overly sentimental and cheesy.
8. Goin' South - Full Sail but even worse. I love Carl's voice on almost anything, but I get bored of this very quickly.

Awful:

9. Here Comes the Night - I think this is an awful track that drags the whole album down but I do at least find it amusing. Terrible vocal sound and a major error of judgement in my view but as a disco attempt, its reasonably well executed. I'd have preferred it if Bruce had 'gone disco' and rerecorded a whole load of Beach Boys songs in this style for a solo project, to sit alongside Going Public and his savaging of Deirdre. I like disco, but I don't like an eleven minute Bruce Johnston-led disco reworking of a great Wilson/Love song.
10. Sumahama - Terrible in every respect. I wonder if this type of song is partly why Mike's reputation as a contributor to the Beach Boys has suffered. At least he was trying something a bit different, even if the end result isn't good. He's not exactly sticking to any formula or trying to recreate their classic sound. In the end though, it might give the impression that this is what Mike comes up with without Brian  and Maybe that causes some people to underestimate Mike's lyrical contributions in the earlier years. At this point, Mike's voice is nasal and unpleasant and his songwriting is as weak, but that should never take anything away from his earlier work.

The album feels like a compromise. Brian was absent again but Carl and Dennis returned with songs and vocals, which improves things considerably. Mike isn't around much and there's a lot less Al, but they each contribute a track to the detriment of the album. Dennis had better material than Carl at this point and replacing some of the weaker tracks with more Dennis would have really lifted this album.

01.   Baby Blue

02.   Angel Come Home
03.   Love Surrounds Me

04.   Good Timin'
05.   Lady Lynda
06.   Sumahama

07.   Full Sail

08.   Goin' South
09.   Shortenin' Bread

10.   Here Comes The Night

The first six on my list are among my favourite Beach Boys songs.

I (mostly) love this album.  Ranking most of the tracks is going to be tough, but here goes:

1. Angel Come Home
2. Baby Blue
3. Good Timin'
4. Lady Lynda
5. Sumahama (I've always liked this song a lot.  I could do without the Japanese bits, but I think Mike's melody is top notch)
6. Goin' South
7. Love Surrounds Me
8. Full Sail
9. Shortenin' Bread
10. Here Comes The Night (Predictably, my least favorite, but I really don't hate it...for about the first 3 or 4 minutes.)

1. Love Surrounds Me
2. Good Timin'
3. Lady Lynda - Great last minute
4. Sumahama - One of Mikes best
5. Full Sail 
6. Angel Come Home
7. Here Comes the Night
8. Baby Blue
9. Goin' South
10. Shortenin' Bread

 1. Lady Lynda
 2. Angel Come Home
 3. Sumahama
 4. Good Timin'
 5. Baby Blue
 6. Shortenin' Bread
 7. Love Surrounds Me
 8. Goin' South
 9. Full Sail
10. Here Comes The Night

Over time, this has become a favorite of mine. Yes, it's a bit slick but I really enjoy the overall melancholy feel of this album. Probably their last great effort ever, even though I do like TWGMTR very much too.

Really like Carl's songs on this one, even though they may seem a bit underwhelming in terms of songwriting. I don't mind. Great singing by everyone involved. Now if only they could've added California Feelin' and Calendar Girl...

1. Good Timin'
2. Baby Blue
3. Angel Come Home
4. Shortenin' Bread
5. Love Surrounds Me
6. Goin' South
7. Full Sail
8. Lady Lynda
9. Here Comes the Night
10. Sumahama

A+
Angel Come Home

A
Good Timin'
Baby Blue

A-
Love Surrounds Me

B-
Sumahama
Lady Lynda
Shortenin' Bread (without the wanky guitar, it’s a B+)

C
Here Comes the Night
Full Sail

C-
Goin' South

The last of the "Classic" albums
1.baby blue (wow what a beautiful song)
2.angel come home (Ditto)
3.good timing (Good song)
4.love surrounds me (Good song)
5.full sail (nice relaxing song)
6.lady linda (Not bad)
7.summahakma (it's ok)
8.Goin south (not a really good song Imo)
9.Shortening bread (The BW version was way better)
10.here comes the night (WTF??) lol

1. Baby Blue - My #1 favorite Dennis Wilson song, and a nice apology for the M.I.U. stinkfest. Rest in Peace, True Beach Boy.
2. Good Timin' - Absolutely wonderful.
3. Angel Come Home - Very good indeed.
4. Love Surrounds Me - Same here. Pretty great song.
5. Lady Lynda - Better live at Knebworth, but hey, still pretty good I guess.
6. Shortenin' Bread - Right on Brother Bri!
7. Goin' South - Not too bad, really.
8.  Full Sail - Even Carl can't quite save this one.
9. Sumahama - Insulting. And I'm not even Japanese.
10. Here Comes The Night - And there goes the night....booed offstage and rightly so. Gimme the Wild Honey original any day!

1. Baby Blue - Magnificent.
2. Angel Come Home - Sounds like a Dennis song. Amazing.
3. Good Timin' - Not as good as some members of this board make it seems, but still pretty good.

4. Lady Lynda - Love the "darling, your love is like the coming spring" part.

5. Sumahama - There were so many better songs on First Love, like the title track or You're Looking Better.
6. Love Surrounds Me - *yawn*
7. Shortenin' Bread - Dennis' vocals are so creepy, the Adult Child version is MUCH better.
8. Goin' South / Full Sail - They're the same song, right?  ;D
9. Here Comes The Night - This was so unnecessary

From Worst to Best:
10. Sumahama. Complete sh*t. Probably the worst song the BB's ever did, with the exception of some of the SIP tracks. f*** this song is horrible. Hearing Mike sing in Japanese is intolerable. How did this monstrosity get on this album?! It should have stayed in the vaults with most of Mike's solo work.
9. Goin' South. Don't really like this song. Best way to describe this song is by using RangeRoverA1's word: "Dullville".
8. Shortenin' Bread. An all-right cover. Hasn't really grown on me though. Especially don't care for the vocals.
7. Full Sail. Another all-right song. Don't care for it too much, although I really like the intro.
6. Here Comes The Night. Not as bad as what everyone says, in fact I really, really like this! Understandable that it is one of the most hated BB's tracks, but still they did a good job at Disco. Love Carl's vocals. That being said, it's not as good as the original "Wild Honey" version, and it should have remained a non-album single.
5. Lady Lynda. Not as bad as what some people have said. Always liked Al's compositions!
4. Angel Come Home. Strange for me to hear a Carl song sung by Dennis. Still great, however. Still growing on me.
3. Good Timin'. Great song. Great Vocals. A must-check for any average Beach Boys fan.
2. Baby Blue. Not a favourite, but still I can understand how most people love it. Great Carl/Dennis duo! Sadly the last Dennis Wilson composition on a BB's album (if you discount "You Are So Beautiful" on "Live at Knebworth 1980"). R.I.P.
1. Love Surrounds Me. In a way, slightly underrated, judging by other people's ranking. One of my all-time favourite Dennis Wilson tracks!

1. Good Timin' - 329 (14)
2. Baby Blue - 317 (12)
3. Angel Come Home - 297 (3)
4. Love Surrounds Me - 254 (5)
5. Lady Lynda - 247 (4)
6. Full Sail - 181.5
7. Shortenin' Bread - 144
8. Sumahama - 143.5 (1)
9. Goin' South - 130.5
10. Here Comes the Night - 101.5

My thoughts?  An album of huge discrepancies in quality, there's rightfully a major gap between the top and bottom halves.  A pretty fair ranking, though I would place Shortenin' Bread lower.

I like L.A. Light Album. I play it quite often. But I don't care for disco, so of course HCTN is last in line.

1. Good Timin'
2. Baby Blue
3. Love Surrounds Me
4. Angel Come Home
5. Lady Lynda
6. Shortenin' Bread
7. Full Sail
8. Goin' South
9. Sumahama
10. Here Comes The Night

1. Love Surrounds Me
2. Full Sail
3. Baby Blue
4. Good Timin
5. Angel Come Home
6. Goin South

7. Lady Lynda
8. Sumahama
9. Here Comes The Night



10. Shortenin Bread

10. Here Comes the Night
9. Sumahama
8. Shortenin' Bread
7. Goin' South
6. Lady Lynda
5. Full Sail
4. Good Timin'
3. Angel Come Home
2. Baby Blue
1. Love Surrounds Me

Lady Lynda
Angel Come Home

Shortenin Bread
Here Comes The Night
Good Timin

Baby Blue
Love Surrounds Me
Full Sail
Sumahama

Goin South

It seems like I forgot it.

10. Here Comes the Night (shocker)
9. Shortenin' Bread
8. Goin' South
7. Sumahama
6. Full Sail
5. Angel Come Home
4. Good Timin'
3. Baby Blue
2. Love Remember Me
1. Lady Lynda (Except for the Bach intro, but that's easy enough to edit out in audacity)

Crazy to see Love Remember Me getting some iffy rankings here!

1. Good Timin - A great tune with some really great harmonies
2. Angel Come Home - A brilliant song with a great vocal by Dennis Wilson
3. Lady Lynda - Great song brilliant harmonies
4. Love Surrounds Me - A kick ass song just brilliant from Dennis
5. Baby Blue - A beautiful song, Carl and Dennis's vocals are magic
6. Full Sail - another beautiful song I love the mood of it
7. Goin' South - Cool little song
8. Sumahama - Not a bad song but the Japanese lyrics annoy me
9. Shortenin Bread - Quite like this one but there is something about it that I Hate
10. Here Comes The Night - NO just NO

It has some good songs, but overall not really consistent

1. Angel Come Home
2. Lady Lynda
3. Baby Blue

4. Love Surrounds Me
5. Sumahama
6. Good Timin'
7. Full Sail

8. Goin' South
9. Here Comes The Night
10. Shortnin' Bread - I love the Adutl/Child Version, but this re-recording is dull.

L.A. (Light Album)

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

1. Good Timin'
2. Love Surrounds Me
3. Baby Blue
4. Shortenin' Bread
5. Angel Come Home

6. Lady Lynda
7. Sumahama

8. Goin' South
9. Full Sail

10. Here Comes The Ngiht

1. Lady Lynda - Al's best composition, beautiful song in general with up-lifting chord changes.
2. Good Timin' - Classic Carl vocals, enjoyable to come back to listen to.
3. Full Sail - Really touching Carl vocals, calming, pleasant song.
4. Shortenin' Bread - Fun to listen to, love the Brian Wilson craziness vibe.
5. Goin' South - A bit slow, but nice to listen to.
6. Here Comes The Night -  A fun track, but not one I'd listen to often.
7. Baby Blue - Pretty rough Dennis vocals, beautiful harmonies & wonderful Carl vocals.
8. Sumahama - A progressive move for Mike, nice backing vocals and strings.
9. Love Surrounds Me - A song I tend to avoid, Dennis vocals near unbearable, but there's a nice background synth & harmonies.
10. Angel Come Home - Rough all around, Dennis's vocals from 76' onward are unbearable to listen to.

10: Shortenin' Bread
9: Shortenin' Bread
8: Shortenin' Bread
7: Shortenin' Bread
6: Shortenin' Bread
5: Shortenin' Bread
4: Shortenin' Bread
3: Shortenin' Bread
2: Shortenin' Bread
1: Shortenin' Bread

This is actually one of my favorite albums

10: Here Comes the Night, I like it, but I usually zone out about half way through.
9: Love Surrounds Me, I like this one too, but Dennis’s vocals are extremely rough, which is usually fine, but with this one, its just... a bit much.
8: Sumahama, lasts about 2 minutes too long, but is nice to vibe to.
7: Lady Lynda: I really like this song, just cut the intro.
6: Shortenin' Bread: I’m one of those people who actually likes this more than the 77 version.
5: Good Timin', amazing vocals, nice intro. It should be another minute longer, it ends before it should.
All of these last four are always going back and forth.
4: Goin' South, this song is just beautiful and calming, and as I am from a place with some harsh winters, I can relate.
3: Angel Come Home, everything works about this one.
2: Baby Blue, same comment as last track.
1: Full Sail, wish Carl made more quiet songs like this and Going South. Just perfect.
This is an amazing album to fall asleep or wake up to. Or take a late night drive

I'll only say that I think Full Sail is a much better song than it's generally given credit for -- a lovely, melancholic tune with Carl's best lead in years, well suited to the adult contemporary production style that is otherwise not to my tastes. The only other songs I enjoy without reservation are Good Timin' and Baby Blue. However, I don't think it's a bad album, which I wouldn't say for anything later under the BBs' name until TWGMTR.

Well, in my opinion KTSA and BB85 are over hated