The Smiley Smile Message Board

It would be interesting to see people's opinion on which BB's album you think is the most overrated and which one is the most underrated.
This is just people's opinion, it doesn't necessarily mean it's fact.

I'll get things started:

Most Overrated: "All Summer Long"
Most Underrated: "The Beach Boys (1985)"

over-rated = Sunflower
under-rated= M.I.U

ah, that's easy, ps and catp.

Most Overrated: Wild Honey
Most Underrated: 15 Big Ones

Question to the OP:  do you mean by the general public or people on this board?  The answers would be vastly different.

overrated: Love You
underrated: M.I.U.

^  What he said!

Seeing as the general public are only aware of one BB album, I'm guessing OP meant on this board.

(Vastly) Overrated - Love You. A good third of this album is absolutely hideous.
Underrated - SIP. Despite it's (mostly deserved) bad rep there are a handfull of good songs on it. People very rarely mention this.

Also, although it's not a proper album per se I think some of the Smile material is insanely overrated.

To individuals. Their opinions, not to the general public

I think the general public definetely are aware of Pet Sounds, plus I think Smile and the Smile Sessions are also well-known to the general public as well.
Although other than the two, all the other albums, whether they be insanely great, or disgustingly horrible, is not well-known at all to the general public

Ok......

Maybe it's me, but I just don't understand why Love You gets put up on that pedestal.  I've tried and tried, but I don't see it.  To me, it's just another one of those late 70s Beach Boys thingys....

As for underrated, I'm gonna say Sunflower, just because so many folks call it overrated.  Really?  How can someone declare Sunflower, one of their most brilliant albums but a huge commercial failure, overrated?  Who's overrating it?

You are, by calling it one of their most brilliant albums  :lol

Apples and oranges though, I think Love You is one of their most brilliant albums.

But my answer to the original question is ....

Overated - Sunflower / Holland (its a tie)

Under rated - Smiley Smile

Overrated:  Surfer Girl.  Besides the title track, In My Room, Your Summer Dream, Catch a Wave. and Hawaii.  I've never really been crazy about Surfer Moon, I don't know if that's an unpopular opinion but it at least doesn't even compare to the other three ballads on the album in my opinon, South Bay Surfer is just laughable, Our Car Club and Surfers Rule are just generic forgettable car/surf songs, and then Rocking Surfer is instrumental filler.  I would say that Shut Down Vol. 2 was their first really great album.

Underrated:  The Beach Boys '85 gets a lot of flack because of the production but not only do I absolutely love the production, I think there are some really great songs here that don't get enough attention (aside from Getcha Back).  This was a particularly great album for Carl Wilson, both as a singer and a songwriter and probably the last time he would get a chance to really shine on a Beach Boys album (he's almost nonexistent on Summer in Paradise).  I think it also gets put aside as it was supposed to be a creative comeback for Brian Wilson and his material is, well, awkward to say the least.  And I guess considering it had been five years since their last album, they could have had better material.  But on its own as a whole, I think it's a good album.  Not a great one and not their best by far but one that deserves more attention among Beach Boys fans.

Love You-over rated
20/20 under

If we are referring to the fan base on this board:

Overrated: nothing, really. All beach boys albums deserve heaps of critical praise.

Underrated: LA Light album.

To the general public:

Overrated: None. No other Beach Boys albums is well known to the general public, besides Pet Sounds (which deserves all the acclaim it receives).
Underrated: Smiley Smile. A brilliant album full of brilliant melodies and experimentation. Essential listening.

On this board:

Overrated: Holland. Continues the creative freefall set into motion by Carl and the Passions. Just a heap of boring songs (besides Sail On Sailor, which is amazing). However, it is at least less self consciously roots-rocky and has a lot more of Beach Boy identity than the former album.

Underrated: None. People here seem to love absolutely everything Brian, Dennis, et. al. touched.

Overtated - Summer in Paradise
Underrated - Pet Sounds

Over - "Love You" - I always liked the eloquent quote on this board: "Would've made a great EP."

Under - "20/20" - Still don't understand how a record that has I Can Hear Music, Be With Me, Do It Again, Time To Get Alone, I Went to Sleep, Never Learn Not To Love, Our Prayer and Cabinessence on it, can also have the exact same star ratings as CATP and TWGMTR do on the All Music Guide -- fine as those later two may be.  Somebody pinch me and wake me up!

*pinch* WAKE UP!!!!!!

How is an album like Love You "overrated" when even some of the most hardcore fans on BB message boards such as Smiley Smile don't like it? That record's actual fan base is still incredibly small as it's not even a particular fave among rock critics. I don't get it.

It might have a very small fan base, but there are people who think it's one of the Beach Boys' best albums, while I think it's one of their weakest. So IMO it's enormously overrated by some people.

I think there's just as many critics that think of it as a near-masterpiece (e.g. Christgau..."A" rating, etc). Or..as it says in Wiki: "positively received by critics both then and today."

That, and I think it's sort of become the de facto point, by most, in terms of stating: "What's the last great BBs album?" or "So-and-so is their best album since Love You."


It may be controversial, but I still think it's pretty highly regarded.

I changed my mind. I'm having a good dream.

.

I agree.  I'm not a fan of Smiley Smile either but it doesn't get the praise that Love You does.  And you hit the nail on the head with 20/20. Sunflower has as many cooks as 20/20 but no one ever dismisses it as the disjointed hodgepodge many people call 20/20.

As I've always said...

If 20/20's "cobbling".........cobble away!


I also think the record was much more highly regarded in the 1970s, say, when the Priess book first came out, than it is today. For some reason, the whole "patchwork thing" back then was either not recognized by as many folks, or simply not as big a concern.

It's actually meant to be personal opinion, not opinion of a group of people, or the general public

I frequently forget 20/20 exists and I'm not exaggerating when I say that. It comes dangerously close to being an odds and ends compilation or something - the new nostalgia single(s?), two Smile leftovers, a Wild Honey/Redwood leftover, a Brian Friends leftover, three (actually four!) cover tunes, a couple other recent tracks they had lying around that just needed some polishing and a few new songs. It really shows, too.

You also get the sense that it was kind of put together more to finish out their contract than to release a grand, focused statement. Don't get me wrong, the songs have a lot of care put into them and there's a lot of good stuff, nor am I accusing the band of tossing something off to get out of a contract, but it is indeed a mixed bag. Sunflower is worlds more in the direction of a cohesive statement as varied as its sounds and styles are.

I wouldn't ever call it "overrated" or anything, I certainly don't hate 20/20 by any means and like every single song on it, but I do literally forget it exists on occasion and can see why some folks say it's a somewhat confusing, inconsistent experience.

Overrated - Love You
Underrated - 20/20 or M.I.U. (not because it's good but just because so many people talk about it as if it's the worst album in history)

All the better. ;D

But it's still pretty much a cult classic and it won't make the Rolling Stone top 100 anytime soon. Somehow it seems to rub some people the wrong way, which I've always attributed to the album being as non-"classic rock" as it gets, i.e. no "deep" lyrics, no "relevant" topics, no "real" instrumentation (by rock standards anyway), no impeccable performances... the list goes on. Some have compared it to punk, maybe in an attempt to make it seem as cool to outsiders as they personally feel it is.

I could still be wrong with all these assumptions, of course, they're just a way of trying to make sense.

Over: SMiLE

Under: Surf's Up

Most Overrated: None Beach Boys has been ever overrated
Most Underrated: M.I.U ALBUM

Considering that Do It Again, I Can Hear Music, Bluebirds, Be With Me, All I Want To Do, Nearest, I Went To Sleep, Cottonfields, and Never Learn Not To Love are all new recordings and that Time To Get Alone is a new track if not song, the rep this LP gets is confusing. Most of it was done together over the second half of 1968.

Well, other than Pet Sounds, I don't think *any* Beach Boys album would make the RS Top 100 albums of all time. That really shouldn't be the benchmark for whether some think a BBs album is overrated or not. And, FWIW, RS themselves gave "Love You" a pretty strong positive review when it came out in 1977 (while acknowledging that it still had a few cringe-worthy moments). As they stated: "The Beach Boys Love You is a truly wonderful album, and it is Brian's show from beginning to end."

Furthermore, the fact that it is a "cult classic" only heightens the perception that many people think it's a masterpiece or near-masterpiece. In fact, I can't think of any critic-of-name, offhand, that's ever given the album a truly negative review. Not saying there aren't any in existence, but again, the album seems to be pretty highly regarded overall (e.g. 4 stars on AMG) with many of the critical and even fan masses, while obviously polarizing a good deal of folks as well.



Hence, the claims of "overrated" by some. :)

Flipping through the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" book, three Beach Boys albums appeared. Today, Pet Sounds, and Surf's Up.

Surf's Up is not what I was expecting to see.

Last year (circa November) on this here little old board, there were 2 polls - one to vote for your favourite BB's offering (tallied by AGD), one to vote for your least favourite offering (tallied by Metal Flake Paint).

Love You came in at number 6 on the favourite, and number 8 on the least favourite.  So perhaps it gets the (dubious) honour of being the most underrated and overrated* BB's album; by the experts and connoisseurs of The Smiley Smile Dot Net Message Board, no less.

(*Although the most overrated BB's album is MIU - when rated by anyone in a positive light, that's clearly an act of obscene overrating)

20/20 is definitely a stylistic mess, but a few months ago I sourced the Japan Pastmaster version and it was nothing short of revelatory to me. Perhaps it was a byproduct of relative under-exposure to the album, but on first listen I was really impressed with what I was hearing, still messy but a kind of controlled chaos, I didn't expect to respond as well as I did.

Gussying it up with this hi-res cover art (http://www.albumartexchange.com/gallery/images/public/be/beachb-202012.jpg) probably helped me overcome my prejudice as well, for way too long had I let artwork that look like it has been peed on colour my listening experience  :lol

Underrated - LA or CATP
Overrated - 85

OR

Underrated - Surf's Up
Overrated - Sunflower (which I love anyway)

OR

Underrated - the oldies on 15BO - I think they have a certain charm.
Overrated - Isn't It Time on TWGMTR

Overrated: Smiley Smile. I've come to like this album more, but I still think it's a bit overrated here on these boards by many. It is quite a good album, but it's not anywhere as good as Today!, Summer Days, Pet Sounds, the Smile music, Wild Honey, Friends, Sunflower or Holland. Or Love You. Besides, I couldn't think of any other BBs album that I feel is really all that overrated.

Underrated:
I'd say either Surfin' USA or Party!

Overrated: Smiley Smile

Underrated: 20/20

I'm with you here Gertie.

I find that Surf's Up, Carl and the Passions, and Holland are simultaneously overrated by fans and critics and underrated by the general public, which makes this difficult.

Overrated: Holland.  "Sail On, Sailor," is good, even if I don't like it as well as some do, and I'm quite fond of "Big Sur" (which is better in Waltz time than in 4/4, by the way).  "Only With You" is pretty good, but I prefer Dennis' ballads from Carl and the Passions, particularly "Cuddle Up."  The rest of this album is dull, though.  I wouldn't call it the band's worst albums by a long shot, but it's not that great, either.

Underrated: L.A.  Not a great album, but it doesn't deserve to get lumped in with 15 Big Ones, M.I.U., Keepin' the Summer Alive, The Beach Boys, Still Cruisin' or Summer in Paradise as one of the band's worst albums, either.  The disco version of "Here Comes the Night" is nowhere near as bad as its reputation (though it is overlong), and I think I like "Full Sail" and "Angel Come Home" better than many of Carl's songs from the early 1970s that get more praise.  Even if it was planned for Bambu, "Love Surrounds Me" sounds great with the backing vocals.  It ends with "Shortnin' Bread," which Brian Wilson has allegedly called the greatest song ever on more than one occasion, and who are you to disagree with Brian Wilson?  Nobody, that's who.

Incidentally, even though I think they are the most over and underrated album, respectively, I consider these two albums to be roughly equal in quality.

Overrated: Holland or LA (Light Album).
Underrated: M.I.U. Album.

Over rated: Sunflower

Under rated: MIU

Over-rated: Love You
Under-rated: BB 85

I gotta applaud Bluesno1fann for starting this thread.  Some very interesting answers here.  I don't think I saw any two the same, and that shows that there really is no majority consensus.  And that makes sense, considering that each of our answers are based on how we feel about said albums.  Just after I made my post I realized that I had listed my least and most favorite BBs albums, and I'm sure a number of others did the same.  

I also realized that if this thread were based on the general public's reception of the albums, it would've been a very short thread.  Every answer would have been:

Overrated: None

Underrated: All of 'em!

John and Jane Q. Public generally don't know from Jack when it comes to BBs albums.  All they know is that the group came out with some really cool radio hits over the years.  I guess that's why there are so many best of's.  

Overrated: Smiley Smile

Underrated: M.I.U.

20/20 seems to get it's thrown together rep mainly because 2 of it's 3 singles were released in advance of it's hitting the shelves. If Bluebirds..... had been put out a month later than what it was it would have been viewed as a taster for the upcoming album, not as an old single from the year before. Yeah it has recycled smile stuff as well but so did plently of other BB albums.

Overrated: L.A. (Light Album) -> Pretty much just due to this board.  It's a hit and miss album at best. The best songs are definitely among the best post-Love You, but the lackluster ones seem to go on forever.  One of the strengths of the Beach Boys is that even their weak material generally didn't overstay their welcome, but here not so much the case.  Out of all their albums, it's the one in which I'm most likely to go for the skip button when the good songs aren't playing.  Definitely the biggest spectrum between its good and bad material.

Underrated: Still Cruisin' -> Not because it's a good album, because it's not.  Out of the 7 new songs, there's 3 I like.  However, the weaker tracks I find more unremarkable than they are embarrassing.  When I look at the 80's material of many artists, this really doesn't seem too bad.

Okay I'm taking this both ways:

The general public:
Overrated - That's Why God Made The Radio
Underrated - Smiley Smile

Fanatics:
Overrated - Wild Honey
Underrated - Still Cruisin'

Overrated: Holland
Underrated: 15 Big Ones (Brian is all over the album, and that's a good thing)

I would agree. Take away some of the tracks of Cabinessence (and the blueprint of TTGA, if you will), as well as the first layer of Prayer vocals, and the rest of the album was done within a 6 month period (and more like less than three months for the bulk of it). Contrast that with the tracks on Sunflower, where sessions span a solid 18 months (not including the Water chant), and where the resulting record was literally resubmitted and reconfigured, twice, and then added upon recording-wise into what we now know and love. Or, perhaps more appropriately, Surf''s Up, where sessions span 12 months and *also* include the "dredging up" of parts of a few earlier tracks (Feet, SU). I also hear it sometimes suggested that it would've been great if SPS or OMR were included on 20/20, while others point out the inclusion of I Went to Sleep...which was started at literally the exact same time (and at the same time as the first lead single, DIA). And the other lead single...Bluebirds...it was also started only 2-4 *weeks* before the bulk of the rest of the album sessions.

Thus, personally speaking again, I think it's primarily the inclusion of the two Smile tracks that create that perception today, when in truth, recording-wise again, the record really wasn't any more "abnormal," drawn-out or patched than what came immediately after. As noted earlier, back in the day, I also think the record was rated a lot higher when people didn't know about, or give a rat's ass as to the origins or time-frame of those two Smile tracks, or in which various studios those other tracks were recorded. In that regard, if one views it simply as a collection of good songs, I think it's pretty darned strong in terms of its best stuff. I mean, Is it really any more stylistically varied than something like SU? Personally, I think side two flows like butter...and flows as good as any other BBs LP. But that's just me. :)

Overrated - Holland
Underrated - Sunflower  >:D

Good points. What fascinates me is that some fans seem to be quite passionate about expressing their dislike for this record. I respect everyone's personal reaction to the music, it's all perfectly valid... and I still find it all quite intriguing. Very few fans seem to be indifferent about Love You, it seems to elicit a strong reaction from both admirers and the ones who dislike it. Sunflower for example doesn't seem to do the same thing. So yes, I agree it's a very polarizing record for sure.

Over - Wild Honey
Under - Smiley Smile

Seems like the album that pops up most in this thread as underrated is MIU.

Urgh, I hate when people call "I Went To Sleep" a Friends leftover. It wasn't recorded until the Friends sessions were over!

With Smileysmile a close second.  How can that be, with this site being named after it?  ???

Oh, wait....it's listed as overrated just about as many times......



Interesting.......

I disagree. Although the answers vary, I think that some albums are more highly thought of in general on this board than others. Over all, Today is thought more highly than SDSN, Sunflower over Surfs Up, LALA positive and MIU negative. I don't agree with that always, but it seems to be more general opinion. The general view of 80s and 90s is low. Etc

That can be true. There definitely is a pattern. Albums such as MIU and 20/20 are constantly "underrated", while albums such as Love You and Holland are constantly "overrated". It's a shame, i was trying to expect the unexpected. But i guess that's just people's personal opinion.

The rankings from the "rate the album" threads:

Album   Avg
Pet Sounds   4.89
Today   4.65
Sunflower   4.61
Friends   4.39
Summer Days   4.34
All Summer Long   4.31
Wild Honey   4.21
Love You   4.21
Holland   4.21
Surf's Up   4.10
Surfer Girl   4.04
20/20   4.01
Smiley Smile    3.94
TWGMTR   3.91
Shut Down Vol. 2   3.68
CATP     3.49
SUSA   3.47
Little Douce Coupe   3.37
Stack'o'Tracks   3.36
BB Party   3.35
LA   3.12
Safari   2.80
MIU   2.80
BB85   2.51
15 Big Ones   2.47
KTSA    2.43
Stll Cruisin'   2.32
SIP   1.38

Sorry, still don't know how to get the pre or table features to work. The ones in bold have the most "overated" votes; the ones in italic have the most "underrated" votes; the ones that are underlined are the ones with votes in both categories.

Not too many surprises: the albums in the second tier of good rankings are overrated, and the albums in the second tier of less-than-good rankings are underrated. We haven't got enough votes here for it to be particularly significant yet; the original polls had a minimum of 60 participants, and in many cases more than a hundred.

Looking at the original ranking list, the "empirical" answer for what album is the most overrated is quite probably Friends. It's a good record; it's enjoyable, quirky and (mostly) laid back; and I like it just fine; but it just isn't the fourth best BB record. I can think of a number of reasons why the vote got bumped up in the way that it did, but I don't want to dwell on any of that now, because we don't have anything close to the level of data that would support any kind of encompassing theories. No question that the board has its particular quirks, and this is one of 'em.

Overrated: Sunflower.

It has some of their best songs, and some of their most mediocre songs. I'd still rank it up there close to Pet Sounds, Today, and Smile - but I've heard, too many times on this board, that it's better than Pet Sounds....I just can't agree.

Underrated: MIU

The vocals are great, some of the songs are brilliant. I can see why people think it's bad, but it isn't as bad as people make it out to be.

I waited years before buying this album all because it has been caste as a rotten record. It's actually got some great moments that any fan should hear.
______

In response to Friends being overrated: Friends has got some of Brian's most creative songwriting, some of Dennis' most creative songwriting. It's 4th in our ranking because as an album, it's that good.

Are there any songs on it that regularly make the compilation records? No. But as a whole it truly stands out as one of the most cohesive and creative Beach Boy albums released. So to me, it's no surprise that it's 4th on the rank the albums list.

I don't think any of their albums are overrated, but I do think LA Light Album is much better than people think.

I have to change mine.

Overrated: Wild Honey
Underrated: Carl and The Passions

So True!

Most over-rated: Surf's Up
Most under-rated: M.I.U.

I think I'd take "M.I.U." over "Holland" or "Love You"...anyone else with me?

No.

 ;D

No way.  Some tracks on Holland are a snoozefest but MIU is pretty far down on the scale for me personally.

As far as I'm concerned, that's an excellent articulation of how the LP has come to be overrated. It's the "gestalt theory of the LP" coming into play, and it's akin to a particular kind of consensus that took hold after a long series of enabling discussions. What's most interesting about this is that some explain Friends as being the 60s version of Love You...Brian's organ/piano base for most of the Friends material is much less disruptive/divisive than the farting synths and the harsh voices on Love You, so its smoothness (which in more than one instance is little more than a kind of quirky blandness) works in its favor.

Now please remember that I do like the LP, I'd grade it a 3.5/5 (and probably 7.5/10). And I admit to being biased wrt to hearing more uptempo materials, which is one reason why I prefer Wild Honey to Friends. I think it's certainly in the top ten, and not far off the top five (it's a crowded, closely contested field for the 6-10 slots). But I think the "gestalt" effect has had a hand in elevating Friends to a position that has come to be more received wisdom than actual fact.  (Clearly, YMMV!!)


Well, eight folks (out of 101 voting) gave MIU a 5/5, and 57% of respondents gave Holland 4/5 or lower, so it's theoretically possible...OTOH, 39% of participants gave MIU a 2/5 or lower, as opposed to 7% for Love You and under 3% for Holland.

Overrated:  Wild Honey

Underrated:  LA Light

Over - Surfs Up

Under - MIU or Surfer Girl (should be hailed as 1st BW masterpiece)

Across the board (hardcore fans, rock critics, general public):

Overrated: SMILE. As an album or complete collection, Smile just doesn't make it for me ... I like the individual songs, but feel they work better as originally released -- spread out among the later LPs. And I love Smiley. As an album, it just doesn't flow or work in my opinion.

Underrated: MIU. I bought MIU and Love You on my 13th birthday, and enjoyed both of them equally. As the years go on, I've had a love/hate relationship with the album ("This isn't cool! I hate it! Only 'My Diane' is any good!") ... but I've come to the conclusion that the album is full of really good pop songs, and works in a sort of late '70s/end of summer kind of way. I always enjoy listening to it whenever I put it on. Not saying it's a masterpiece, but it has merit and doesn't deserve it's status ... which I think is primarily related to most of the lyrical content.

That's an outdated monicker you have there.  Brian Wilson is a L.A. Dodger now.

I know! I never thought he would play again. Updated.

  Underrated: SMILEY SMILE or SURFIN' U.S.A.
  Overrated: WILD HONEY

   

 The few good songs on SIP (those not written by Mike*) were destroyed by Mike.  As always, one of the all-time turd albums ever released by a major rock group.

 * except for "Surfin"

Underrated: LA
Overrated: Wild Honey (and or) Holland

Now, see?  That's how I feel about both Smiley Smile and Love You.    :-\

There's no way anyone can argue, though, that Love You and Smiley Smile are anywhere near as bad as Summer in Paradise. It's just an entirely different level. I like Love You and Smiley Smile, but I can see why someone would not. But neither of them can conceivably be compared to Summer in Paradise.

Overrated: Sunflower (though Holland is the album most overrated by music critics)
Underrated: M.I.U. It's not that underrated but has a few better songs that perhaps it gets credit for.

Here are the songs from SIP I don't consider to be crap.

Hot Fun In The Summertime - an ok cover of what is an average song to begin with.
Surfin' - Not great but hardly a blight on the original.
Strange Things Happen - as good a song about Al Jardine getting sexually aroused as we're going to get.
Slow Summer Dancing - I really like this one.
Still Surfin' - tired subject matter but a nice tune.
Lahaina Alhoa - saved by Carl's fantasitic vocals.
Summer In Paradise - there's a really good song trying to get out here. Only Mike can work the word Kokomo into a song about saving the planet.

Summer of Love is so bad it's enjoyably bad.

Can't defend the rest though. Island Fever is another lame Kokomo re-write and turning Forever into a metal lite power ballad is unforgivable. It's worth mentioning that most 60's stalwarts were making rubbish albums around this time.

Over-rated: Love You

Under-rated: Beach Boys '85

Underrated: Love You, Light Album, 15BO, Little Deuce Coupe, Friends

Is Friends under-rated? I thought everyone loved it, bar Bruce and Mike (still curious to hear what it was Mike said he didn't like about Friends, if anyone can enlighten me).

Looks like the winners are:

Overrated: Wild Honey

Underrated: MIU

Revisionists unite!

Arghhh.................. some of these choices......................

Pistols at dawn!!   :lol

But... but... but Wild Honey is F**KING BRILLIANT!!!! Heads should roll for this gross injustice.

Albums such as Wild Honey, Sunflower and Love You are Works Of Genius!  They are effing brilliant in every way so IT IS IMPOSSIBLE (shouting here) for them to be "overrated".

Is Abbey Road overrated?  Is Monet's Lillies painting overrated?  Is Yosemite National Park overrated?

I would agree, however, thet Smiley Smile is UNDERrated.  VASTLY VASTLY underrated.  And with respect to Carl, Smiley Smile was NOT a bunt, but a based loaded triple!

Smiley Smile is the Father Of All Indie Music!   check it out.

Get me?

I don't think Sunflower is overrated per se, but I think it's overrated compared to Surf's Up (which is often underrated compared to Sunflower...). I think MIU is mostly shite, mind you...

Just my opinion…
Most OVERRATED: Holland
Most UNDERRATED: Carl And The Passions

Just my humble opinion.  No need for disagreeing with this post with all caps. 

In the eyes of the general public

Overrated - Pet Sounds - Generally regarded by many as the greatest album of all-time.  I don't even think its the BB greatest album.

Underrated - Every album from Wild Honey - Holland - In the US, many people outside the Bri-universe don't seem to know these albums exist

In the Bri-universe

Overrated - Smile / Love You - The released version of Smile has a lot of great moments, but not enough great material throughout the album.  The best songs of Love You are equal to the album cuts on most of the BB material from 62-73. 

Underrated - Surfin USA / That's Why God Made the Radio - Surfin USA is a fun record that isn't always taken seriously.  A lot of positivity toward the closing suite on TWGMTR, but to me, the whole album is a journey.  I hear it almost as a concept album about The Beach Boys' final summer together.  Especially when Brian says "I'm better on my own" in PCH at the end. 

Underrated: BB85 - I love almost all of it, mostly for Carl.
Overrated: Smiley Smile - A great big 'meh' of an album.

every album from surfin usa thru holland and love you are ALL solid phenomenal records but the weak albums from miu thru 85 arent so much underrated as they were just a waste..those albums matter to us zealots but historically they made no impact yknow

I will admit that the quality significantly went downhill after Holland.  But I wouldn't call every album that followed a "waste."  While the quality of albums as a whole declined, there's still some really good songs there.  Even the much maligned Summer in Paraside has some redeeming qualities. 

It's hard to say anymore what's under- or overrated.

Once when there were limited outlets for music criticism, and every mention you saw of an album was negative, and you liked that album... then you could have assumed it was underrated.

But now, with the internet, everyone is offering their opinion of every album of every name band, on blogs and message boards and social media, and you can always find someone who shares your opinion. And any album that has been praised to the skies gets a backlash, and every album that has been panned gets a reappraisal. Sometime the backlash/reappraisal becomes the new orthodoxy, and the process starts all over again.

In general, on this forum, (but outside of it, who knows) I think the pre-Today albums are underrated and the post-Holland albums are overrated (with maybe M.I.U. being an exception). I've mentioned before my incredulity, for example, that TWGMTR is rated higher than Shut Down vol.2.

I would add TWGMTR to the overrated pile, there's about 4 songs on it I like.

Overrated: Holland
Underrated: Party!

Calling party underrated is like calling 15big ones underrated, both cover albums w the exception that 15 is covers and rehashed outtakes.

He right.

This is really tough, so I will say:
Underrated: Smiley Smile - cause it was expected to be SMiLE, but in its own stoned way, it is brilliant;
                  LA (Light Album) - cut the disco track down to 4 minutes, add It's a Beautiful Day, and you've got the best BB's album since Holland.
Overrated: Love You - I guess I can understand why the Brianistas love this album, it's the only latter day BB's album that is all Brian's vision...but it's not Son of SMiLE or Pet Sounds Revisited.

I dont see how or why anyone would think theres anything good about the light album or ktsa...think about it : the beach boys were a rockin band , the light album other than shortenin bread is essentially muzak, brian was hardly involved and it was a collection of outtakes...ktsa just awful...I love the beach boys, ive been a zealot/pundit my whole life but their post.holland output minus love you is grim and soulless.

Plenty of good stuff on each album, there's just a couple of clunkers to skip over.

Do you know what the word 'pundit' means?

Overrated: Holland (and MIU after reading this thread)
Underrated: Light Album

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. Interesting opinions so here's mine

Underrated: Love You: this is more a public perception thing as I know a lot on here share my absolute passion for it.

Overrated: Holland and Sunflower: try as I might I just can't get into these albums. Holland is soooo boring and Sunflower just feels so dated.

In what ways do you mean?

If you remove Sumahama, replace the album version of HCTN with the single version and add It's A Beautiful Day and another track by either Dennis, Carl or Brian, then you'll have the best BB's album post-Holland IMO. Agreed with KTSA though.

I don't mind Sumahama.  KTSA is much weaker than LA, though. They should have been great covering Chuck Berry, but School Days fails to ring the bell; and why on earth did they resurrect When Girls Get Together? Embarrassing.

A collection of outtakes? ???

Around here? 

I personally feel that both 'Love You' and 'Smiley Smile' get overrated by a wide margin.  Someone earlier used the word "hideous".  Perfect for too much of what is contained on both albums.  Also way BENEATH the levels of capability as demonstrated beforehand by both Brian and Group.

Underrated?  Little Deuce Coupe and Carl and the Passions.  2 really well done efforts which have withstood the test of time with ease.

Depending on the time-frame/era that fans entered into this specific musical 'journey' I DO understand that the 'view' of the proceedings changes.  Mine is from spring 1963.

I can only speak for myself but I love the fact that the BB as a major pop/rock group had the guts to release albums as downright experimental as Smiley Smile and Love You.

Overrated: Friends
Underrated: Love You

Overrated:  Sunflower

Underrated:  Summer In Paradise

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!    :wall

 ;D ;D ;D

Hey, it was bound to happen sometime  :lol

Pet Sounds, Smiley Smile, Friends, Surf's Up and Sunflower are rockin'?

Also, is Darlin' a bad song just because it's an "outtake"/rewrite?

Over rated-The cocaine sessions
underrated- The campfire sessions

Who cares? It doesn't sound like one, maybe the least "back-to-basics" track on the album.

Overrated:  Surf's Up.  The critic's darling, it just isn't in the top ten Beach Boys albums IMO, a few moments of greatness and the rest is dross.  Not nearly as consistently good as Sunflower.

Underrated:  20/20 - or Sunflower Part 1, this was their first great true group effort.

light album and ktsa are just forgettable, a couple decent cuts per album but overall more miss than hit.

Overrated: All Summer Long  I think there are quality tunes on there and I have the mono/stereo version saved on my iPhone.  While it enjoys a fair amount of listens,  it realistically is just a decent effort.  There is nothing particularly bad about the album but it lacks the punch of Today and, hell, even Shut Down Vol.2 has some nice kick to it and is more enjoyable of an album as a whole.  For a summer album, for that period, I'd prefer Summer Days.

Underrated: 15 Big Ones  I can see that it was a strike out at the time and they blew a great chance to gain critical praise. But I spin my copy quite frequently. I think "Talk to Me" is amazing and just about everything else is quite enjoyable except "TM Song" and I'm not a huge of "Everyone..." but it does get stuck in my head at times.

Overrated: Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) Why does this get so much praise and respect? It's an uneven hodgepodge of different styles, different levels of quality and different moods. That may sound like a good thing, but on an actual listen it's a mess. They recycled a song from their previous album which I call lazy. The filler on this is much more distracting than the filler on Today! and speaking of that album, this was a major step DOWN from that. Today! going into Pet Sounds is much more representative of Brian's growth. This album is like the awkward, unexplained valley between those two peaks.

Underrated: Smiley Smile Even many fans seem to hate it, and the Boys themselves dont seem to hold it in any high regard either. I want to know more about these sessions and the intent behind them but nobody in the know seems willing to talk about it. Whether you personally like listening to it or not, you have to respect the fact that it took serious balls to release. It completely went against everything that was defining pop music at the time. It's one of the biggest WTF moments in music history, completely predated the back to basics movement, has a unique sound thats never been emulated by any other group, and is just as experimental as Pet Sounds and SMiLE.

EDIT: I wanted to keep this simple and just do one for each. However, in hindsight I think I should add a few points. Wild Honey may be an enjoyable listen for some people and that's great. I dont care if someone really likes it or whatever, but I think it is worth noting that it's a major step down from what came before, and not even in a cool experimental way like Smiley. So I guess you could call that overrated, in that it gets a lot of attention here when technically speaking it isnt a very good album. Surf's Up could also be considered overrated in that everyone in the fandom hypes it up as the cool Beach Boys album, when listening to it now, I'd say it's anything but cool. I dont know if it's fair to call it overrated tho looking at it just in the modern context. I just think it may have been cool then but it hasnt aged well at all and now looks very dated and tacky. Also, as far as the general public is concerned, Today! is very underrated. The popular narrative is that the Boys were a light surfing group and then WHAM out of nowhere, Pet Sounds. But in reality, Brian had been growing since '64, with '65 as a big big step forward. Just as it was for the Beatles. It actually really surprises me that he names Rubber Soul as the impetus for PS when he basically had already made Pet Sounds (just not quite as musically advanced) with Today. The general public needs to know about and appreciate that album, and it's a crime not many do.

I agree 110%. It took me a very long time to get around to listening to it due to all the bad word of mouth surrounding it even here. I assumed it must be junk. When I finally gave it a shot I was blown away by how good it was, outdated synth sounds and awkward lyrics aside. It's not a critically acclaimed album or a fan favorite. It's not something that you'd see rereleased in 180g vinyl or as a boxset. It's just a cult classic with a small but dedicated fanbase. Nothing more. Overrated? More like virtually unheard.

To be fair, the BWPS sequence doesnt do it much favors. Ive always loved the SMiLE music, but felt it was less than the sum of its parts. Then I tried out a personalized two-suite/side structure as opposed to the way it was on TSS and it really gave me a new appreciation for the music as a cohesive statement. Im not plugging my version so much as suggesting you try playing around with the order yourself and seeing how you feel.

When calling any 60s BBs album overrated keep in mind no one else was making better albums, there were groups that were good but the BBs were the cream of the crop for a solid decade thru 72.

That could possibly be true for the early 60s, Im not too familiar with that time period. But when it comes to '65 through the rest of the decade, that's just simply untrue. After Pet Sounds the Boys didnt make another "masterpiece" album again in that decade. I know a lot of people love Wild Honey and Friends but compared to the amazing work other artists were doing at the time, Im sorry to say but the Boys came up short. Im NOT just talking about the output of the Beatles either. I've listed some of my favorite albums from the late 60s before, so let's just limit it to '68 then. In a year that brought us The United States of America, We're Only In It For the Money, Odyssey and Oracle, Saucerful of Secrets, Anthem of the Sun, Cheap Thrills, Crown of Creation, Electric Ladyland etc...you're telling me nobody made a better album than Friends or Wild Honey? That THOSE were the gold standard? I could do the same thing for '67, '69 all through '72 if you really wanted but I hope you get the idea. Fact is, once '65~'66 changed the rules and albums were thought of as works of art in their own right, plenty of bands were making amazing albums every year. The Beach Boys, much as I love them, were not album artists. Their albums tend to be really short, uneven and not particularly daring or experimental post Smiley and up until Holland (which I consider their return to form). Aside from Pet Sounds to 1966 and maybe Today to 1965, I really dont think you could claim the Boys made the best album of that respective year.

Not to say the Boys didnt make some great albums. I think Today! could be considered the first album that's a complete work of art, even beating out the Beatles' Rubber Soul. Yes, there's still filler, but it's at the end as a sort of epilogue to the album. It's unintrusive and not long. I call Summer Days overrated because its a huge step down from that accomplishment. The filler is back, it's annoying and it wastes space. The cohesiveness of Today is gone, they recycled a song off that album, and overall the themes therein arent as deep or emotional. Despite all this going against it and how it can only be described as a major step down from its predecessor, it's still hailed as a classic and one of their best. I just can't agree with that. As I said, I think you can call Wild Honey or Surf's Up overrated too, but at least I can understand why they might be so liked. WH is them doing a style they never had before or again, so it could resonate with listeners in a way their other albums wouldnt. SU was supposedly "cool" when it was released, even if it's far from it now, so I respect the fact that you probably had to be there to appreciate it. It's not overrated so much as it hasnt aged well at all. But for Summer Days there's no excuse, really. It's just a mediocre album sandwiched between two classics.

Aside from the worst track on the record (Shortenin' Bread), LA fit perfectly with the "yacht rock" of the time...right at home along side Ambrosia, Chris Cross, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Michael McDonald-era Doobies.  All immensely popular at the time.  It's a VERY good and VERY underrated album.

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with this statement.  Although I love The Beach Boys 1960s output, there were definitely bands making better albums. 

The four lads from Liverpool for one. 

Led Zeppelin put out their debut in 1969

Pink Floyd's first two albums Piper at the Gates of Dawn and A Saucerful of Secrets

The Who released Tommy in 1969.  My Generation and Sell Out are very good albums too. 

Not to mention Hendrix, The Yardbirds, Cream, Vanilla Fudge.  Like I said, I love the Beach Boys, but if you think there aren't better albums from the 1960s, you're either an extremely rabid fan, or you need to expand your horizons when it comes to 1960s music. 

Yeah, the post above me lists some other talented bands from the 60s; I'll throw in a word for the Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, and The Doors, too. That's really why i love the 60s so much—the Beach Boys were in their prime, and so many other great artists were on the making music, too :).


Also, I think 20/20 is an underrated album.

Total mind fart on my part.  I really don't know how I forgot The Doors.  Their self titled debut and Strange Days are up there with the best albums recorded in ANY decade.   

There's also CCR, who put out a ton of great material. 

If you only count quality (you can't really say quantity because The Doors and CCR both had short shelf lives), both The Doors and CCR can each legitimately challenge The Beach Boys as the greatest band ever to come out of the USA. 

If you count quality, then the USA is the greatest band of all time. They came, made what is quite possibly the best album ever released by any band, gave a single tour where they performed said album in its entirety and then disbanded. A perfect run...even if it only lasted one year.

Overrated: Holland (Sorry about this one, but I feel like too many of the songs on this album are kinda boring and dragged out. I LOVE Steamboat though.)

Underrated: Surfin' USA (Seriously? An album with Lana, Lonely Sea, Farmer's Daughter, and Finder's Keepers only has 3 stars on the albums rating page? Heresy, I say!)

I would take the Beach Boys album over any named above, other than the Beatles. Now if you had said Bob Dylan or the Kinks.....

Thats your opinion. But to claim that the Boys made the objectively best albums of every year from 62 to 72 is just fanboyism no matter how much we all love the band. Almost as bad as the nonsense some people were saying about the Beatles in another thread. Claiming that they're more important to our cultural heritage than Shakespeare, their discography is better than every other band's combined (!) and so on. There's preferences and then there's hyperbole.

I get what you mean. I love Pet Sounds, but there are other albums by The Beach Boys that I prefer.

Sorry, just not a major fan of the bands you mentioned.

Right, again its your opinion. I have no problem with anyone saying for example "I prefer Beach Boy albums to their contemporaries." Thats an opinion. What I must protest is statements like "The Beach Boys made the best albums of every year from 1962 to 1972" thats a statement, and a very narrow-minded one that ignores all the other great bands and their output at the time. Y'know what Im saying?

In terms of filler, Beach Boys had a higher ratio than most of the big groups. But they also were making up to three albums a year (for 3 years straight!) at one point. In terms of sheer number of good-excellent songs I don't think many groups can compete with the catalog they released. You could make at least a dozen completely solid albums between 1962-1971. The problem is in that time the boys released over twenty!

Having said that I wouldn't change any of those songs for anything! I can get just as much enjoyment out of the likes of Pom Pom Playgirl, Chug-a-lug, Ding Dang, In The Parkin' Lot, Drive-In etc.

I totally get what you're saying. And I give them leeway up through 1965 or 66. By that point, albums were starting to be considered works of art in their own right, and cohesive statements from the band rather than the latest single and a ton of filler/studio outtakes. So the filler on Surfin USA or something is understandable, but for me the filler on Summer Days, or Mama Says on Wild Honey is not. By that point, it wasnt "just the way things were done" anymore, it was laziness. Or maybe not laziness per se, but a lack of strong material then. If their contemporaries could relase 45 minute albums with nothing but great songs that could knock your socks off and the Beach Boys had to scrape the bottom of the SMiLE barrel to fill out a 24 minute album...to me, that really doesnt reflect well on them at all. Not a huge deal, but to suggest then that they released the best album of that year while they were pulling desperate stunts like that is laughable.

I wouldnt go THIS far, but someone who really didnt like the band could accuse them of release more albums that were watered down instead of fewer better albums as a way of milking the fans. Im not accusing them of that, but it could be a valid counterargument to what you're saying.

I am right with you. All this woulda, coulda, shoulda 50 years down the line does nothing for me. These albums are what they are and cannot be changed. Take what has been given and enjoy. Growing up when these albums were released, I was always amazed at how much of the filler was enjoyable to listen to. I couldn't say that about very many other groups during that time frame.

I love that we have so many albums to choose from! Corny as some of the material is there's nothing for me that beats an original Beach Boys record on Vinyl!


(http://s27.postimg.org/xgjkn5clv/IMG_6638.jpg)

Especially when a side is finished, having to get out of your easy chair or barkolounger, walk over to the turntable, flip the record and put it back on the TT to play the other side. All that considerably helps to keep the "flow" of the album going ::). Thanks, but I'll stick with the CD and you can keep your vinyl. Don't need the rice krispy effect either.  ^-^

Vinyl is much higher quality. Plus it's just cool to have the music as it was originally released, in analog format, with the full size coverart. At least I think so. It's annoying to handle and have to flip the side, so thats why I record them as lossless FLAC files. Best of both worlds.

That is where the new AP SACD releases or the Japanese Pastmasters CDs give you the best of both worlds.

Perhaps. I still love collecting vinyl though. And it's not nostalgia or anything since I grew up in the 90s. Vinyl just has a warm analog sound and a certain indescribably elegance to it.

I don't mind getting up to turn the record over. I need at least that much exercise.

Yes!!! I thought I was the only person who felt that way!

It's weird that in the eighties everyone kept talking about the incredible, miraculous high-res clarity of CD sound, how CDs made vinyl sound like crap. I read one of Paul Williams's old books on Dylan recently and he mentioned how he hadn't lived till he'd heard whatever Dylan song on CD, and now he could die happy.

You never hear people talk that way anymore. When people are defending CDs, they just talk about convenience, and its assumed that mint-condition vinyl is of the same if not higher quality fidelity.

Me, I wouldn't know, everything sounds fine to me. I'm glad I don't have to count to twenty while fast-forwarding through a song on cassette anymore.

Hell yeah.

Nobody talks that way anymore because it's a proven fact that vinyl can hold more information and produces a more dynamic range of sound than a CD. A quick google search shows numerous articles explaining why this is better than I can. It's not just ornery old farts longing for the good old days or hipsters trying to be anti-mainstream for its own sake.

I'll say for myself, I started out listening to various psychedelic albums by ripping them from youtube to mp3 for my iPod. Since I got the SMiLE boxset, I bought a record player to be able to listen properly. And once I had one, I figured I might as well buy more to play on it. Now I have a nice little collection of ~30 vinyls, and Im always hunting for more as I sample different albums on youtube. I have to say, the difference between mp3 and vinyl/FLAC is very noticeable. Sometimes there isnt a huge difference Ill admit, and others it's a completely night/day experience, with new instruments buried in the mix I never heard before. Depends on the album and whether it's 180g or just a standard vinyl.

The only thing I hate about them is getting them out. You always risk getting them dirty, and it's annoying taking them out of the covers and stuff, especially as you're trying to avoid touching the face of the disk as much as possible. That, and the more you play them you risk wearing them out. Thus, on the maiden listen, I plug the player into my computer and record it to FLAC. Then just edit the two sides together into one file and you've got the best of both worlds.

To each his own, but as far as Im concerned...vinyl is king  :hat

I read all that stuff too, but you know what, the best way to tell what sounds the best is your ears. If you like what your hearing from old vinyl then that's is your thing. Personally, my ears like digital. I like clean, clear, crisp sound. No snap, crackle or pop and they don't wear like records. Hell, with the Beach Boys releases I actually prefer all of the 2000-2001 releases over what came before or since. I like the new AP releases, but more as a for "old time's sake" type of thing. Either way though, it is all digital and it sounds great to my ears.

"In the Parkin' Lot" and "Pom Pom Playgirl" to me aren't filler. Yes, on SDVII they aren't on the same level as "DWB" and "WOTS" but they are very enjoyable and good.

The modulations and opening and closing harmonies in the former are amazing and sound amazing on vinyl (especially in stereo). The latter has a nice lead by Carl and a I love the drums and the fadeout drum part by Dennis. Very punk sounding for a lack of a better description.  If you get a chance, listen to the Keep an Eye on Summer sessions. It is so fun jamming out on piano to those two tunes for the "tracking sessions."  Good way to enjoy a beer and a Friday/Saturday night!

What I really miss about cassettes is how once every other week one would get fucking chewed up in the tape deck on your hi/fi. Great days.

Here's some controversy...

Most underrated: Keepin' the Summer Alive. It's by far NOT their greatest, but personally I don't think it's as bad as many people say. There are a few clunkers -- "When Girls Get Together" and "Some of Your Love" especially (and "Livin' With A Heartache" just goes on FOR FREAKIN' EVER) -- but there are a few gems that are often overlooked...the title track is a great rocker, the second half of "Endless Harmony" is classic Beach Boys harmony, and "Oh Darling" is a solid tune with a really nice Carl vocal. Yeah, I prefer the bootleg version of "Santa Ana Winds," but the official version has its charm. Heck, even "Sunshine" is growing on me.

Most overrated: Pacific Ocean Blue. There. I said it. Seems to me that among the fan community, and has been since I've been involved in the online community (since 1993), anything Dennis does = holy. People even curse me for not liking "Make It Good." Well...Pacific Ocean Blue is not the end-all be-all, folks. "River Song" indeed is a masterpiece and is worth the price of the 2-CD/3-vinyl LP set alone, and "Time" just kicks so many asses...but most of the rest...well...dated. Yep. The instrumentation and production on much of the album just SCREAMS 1977. The bass harmonica makes the music sound like the theme from Sanford & Son. The electric piano makes you think you're watching What's Happening!!. I'm not saying I don't LIKE it....I'll gladly listen to it over Carl's albums any day....but it's not this magnum opus people make it out to be.

Fair enough. But that crackle and pop only occurs on older and/or dirtier vinyls. Taking care of them and cleaning them will negate that, not to mention there's software that can seamlessly edit out those hindrances. Not trying to convince you to change your ways, just saying in the modern era, analog and digital technology can come together to do some really amazing things. As I said, best of both worlds :smokin

95% of my albums are all from the 60's and 70's. They were taken care of, but not always played on the best turntables and stylus'. I can't afford to spend $300-$400 on a disc-washer, but I do clean them each time before playing. I do digitize my albums, but do not have the patience to edit out all of the noise. It's one of the reasons that I like CDs. Minimal care required; just keep them in their cases. I definitely understand why you like records. They do sound different, a warmth, if you will that can be lacking on CDs.

Jon Stebbings is coming for you and he is pissed.....

I must be the only person that never had this problem. The only tapes I lost were those 3 for 99 cent blank tapes the drug stores sold.

OK once every other week was a slight exaggeration, it did happen to me more times then I cared for. I had to buy Queen's Innuendo three times over!

Nearly two years later, I'd still agree with those choices. Though I'd also agree with those who say L.A. Light Album, CATP and 20/20 are underrated, and that TWGMTR is overrated.

I would just like to remind everyone that my opinion *also* remains unchanged. Just so you know.  :p

Overrated=Surf's Up

Underrated=Surfin' USA

Overrated: Pet Sounds
Underrated: Summer In Paradise

Overrated: LA Light
Underrated: So Tough

I used to hate Keepin' The Summer Alive, but I'm slowly starting to change my opinion. Right now I have more issues with the actual production, than the material.

aniversari's right, no BBs album is overrated. I say everything from surfin usa to love you is underrated, minus 15big 1s.

kook? is that you?

Overrated: Surfin' USA
Underrated: Still Cruisin'

I concur w Aniversari.

They're all rated correctly.

overrated: albums (recorded) after Love You

underrated: Party

I mostly just want to reject the premise altogether. And even if I didn't, I'd want to clarify it: rated by whom, etc. But who the f*** doesn't love making lists and whatnot?

So, in terms of the general public: none and all except Pet Sounds, respectively. Because I don't think most average people could name an album other than Pet Sounds.

In terms of this board? Overrated would be Sunflower, Holland, and LA. Underrated would be trickier because someone more or less worships all of them.

But mostly, I'd go back to rejecting the premise.

Overrated-Smiley Smile......Sort of like the Beach Boys combined with the Mothers of Invention with a bit of Todd Rundgren's "A Wizard A True Star"........with none of the inspiration of "A Wizard A True Star". It's like the mindset of "Smiley Smile" was, "This music is gibberish anyway so let's just throw something together and hopefully some guy tripping in San Francisco will con themselves into thinking this is 'art'.

Underrated-Summer In Paradise.......I find this extremely tunefull. I love the melodies and harmonies of "Hot Fun In The Summertime", "Strange Things Happen", "One Summer Night", and the Bon Jovi-ish arena-rock take on "Forever"....plus I find the "Surfin' re-recording to be a lot of fun.
I only have it on cassette...bought it out of the cut-outs in 2002...and I play it on whichever of my cassette Walkmans I'm using on my long walk that day (played that cassette on my walk today as a matter of fact) and put it in my tape deck at work regularly.
I've even transferred the cassette to CD-R because I refuse to pay the high prices for the CD second hand.

The general public might be forgiven for thinking Pet Sounds was the only album the Beach Boys did. One classic album, a dozen or so hit singles, and a bunch of rubbish after that.

You mean one masterpiece album, one magnum opus collection of unfinished-but-still-brillant music, two or three classic albums (Today, Love You, Smiley) and then a bunch of hit singles, awesome semi-obscure deep cuts and finally a whole lot of rubbish after the mid-seventies or so.

Rubbish, what a fine word to describe the music of the Beach Boys. Helluva fan, there.

Since lonelysummer hasn't stepped in to defend himself....

You completely misinterpreted what he said. He's saying the general public are fed the myth that everything since Pet Sounds is rubbish. He was agreeing with the captain that all their albums are underrated except Pet Sounds, because Pet Sounds is the only album whose existence is even acknowledged.

Thanks for explaining, UB. I thought that was Jim DeRogatis for a second.

Ok, then my mistake. I was catching up reading pages and pages of posts. This place can be daunting if you are away from it for a few days. ;)