The Smiley Smile Message Board

Thoughts on Ricci Martin's Beached? It's coming out on CD in Sept.

http://theseconddisc.com/2015/07/21/catch-a-wave-second-disc-records-expands-ricci-martins-all-star-beached-featuring-carl-wilson-dennis-wilson-chicago-horns-and-more/

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Been wanting this for a long, long time.

More Carl recordings? I'll buy it!

I haven't been able to get to the turntable in years. It will be nice to have this on CD.

yeah.. really enjoyed that one... Will have to buy :-)

I spoke to Ricci briefly in 2000 and asked him if there were any plans to re-release Beached on CD and at that time he said he would like to do a re-mix of the album where all of Carl's backing vocals were pushed up in the mix. He was thinking about calling it "Beached 2000".

From the article, it sounds like that may have happened on a couple cuts at least.

Very much looking forward to this after all these years!

I'm excited to hear it. The few clips that are up on youtube sound like someone held up a mic to a boombox.

Available for preorder:

Beached (Expanded Edition) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B011PIA9KQ/

it is Amazing.. even better than some of the Beach Boys albums from the 70's , I wish THEY had recorded the songs on the album themselves as an album , or at least some of the songs from it,,it actually reminds me, in a way, of Dennis' POB, in the sense of the arrangements, and the sadness of some of the songs,,,underrated classic..

Found a promo copy for a buck back in 1987. Would never part with it.

me too, except it was 2002, funny thing was Side 2 was blank, needle would just glide over it.

Looks like I'll have to re listen, because my opinion after first hearing it in the late 70s was "meh".

Same here. My copy should still be in pristine condition. I think I played it once upon buying it and has sat not listened to for the last 38 years. I hope it isn't warped. ;)

Anyone who digs late 70s yacht rock will like it.

The only weakness in the album is Ricci's voice. He did not inherit his father's golden tones. If Carl had sung these songs, though, wow! Would've been a 5 star album.

Inspired by this very thread, I took my demo copy out of its sleeve for the first time this evening.

"Meh" strikes me as about right. Lonely Summer's right about Ricci's voice; the album has something here and there, but has the wrong voice all over it. Given the cast, this should have been a California masterpiece, not a "meh"-sterpiece…

At last got my hands on a copy of this. It's like a poppier sister album to POB - as mentioned above, the weak link is Ricci's voice.

Been debating whether or not to get this.  There's a few great-sounding tracks up on YouTube, if anyone's on the fence.

I agree -- Ricci's voice isn't all that memorable.  It's not bad by any means, but it's just not Carl Wilson.  Or Denny.  Really wish it had been the Beach Boys doing the bulk of the vocals, with Ricci "taking lead" here and there.  It's a nice album.  But more Beach Boys would have made it a lost masterpiece.  The songs are nice... and the production is really good -- tight, well mixed, original.  There's definitely that POB swagger to the sound of it.

My Old Radio (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpZ9UeNqsyM)

I didn't buy this back in 1977, so decided to give it a try.  Yes, you have to say Ricci isn't the best of singers, but after a few listens, it's growing on me.  The songs are pretty good, especially "Belle of the Ball"  "Here I Go Again"  "I Don't Like It" and "Stop Look Around."  There's so little Carl stuff I don't already have, so worth 12 bucks to get a bit more.  I've already commented in the Carl's 1st solo album thread so won't repeat here.  Except:  The notes say re-mastered, not re-mixed or anything about bringing Carl's vocals up in the mix.  Carl can be heard clearly on many of the tracks.  I would like to have a better breakdown on who plays what, where.

With Carl and Dennis singing these songs, it would be an amazing album!

Can you make that happen?

Oh, I wish!

Sorry to bump this thread, but I’ve been listening to this on CD recently and think it’s a very cool album.  Ricci passed away in 2016, and I couldn’t find any comments on Beached that were posted posthumously, though I did see that Peter Reum (an old friend) had commented years ago on the “what are you listening to recently” thread about Ricci’s album. There are several really good pop songs here, I’d recommend it to newbies.

I bought the album when it came out in ‘77. I was at a local record store, and knew the album was due out, but also suspected that nobody at any record store would know about it because Ricci was an unknown.  So I’m looking around through the bins, and the store owner (the only person in the store) asks if he can help me. I say that I’m looking for an album by a guy named Ricci Martin, expecting a blank stare in response.  Shockingly, the guy says “yeah, I’m waiting for that too!”, turns out to be a huge Beach Boys fan, and he and I became very good friends from that point on.  That was Bill Yerger, a terrific guy.  Spent many hours in that store, talking beach boys and dreaming of Smile being finished/released. Bill passed on several years ago, but Beached always makes me think of him.

RIP Ricci and Bill.

Thanks for bumping this. Never gave it a listen but I'm really enjoying "Stop Look Around" and "My Old Radio"!! Really good quality on the production especially. This is the sort of sound the Beach Boys should've been pursuing under a Dennis/Carl lead. I suppose LA Light was that attempt but the production and mastering didn't elevate the final product to say the least.

I always thought that Ricci sounded a lot like Nick Kershaw, In fact, any time Nick's "Wouldn't It Be Good" comes on the radio I think of Ricci.  I always enjoyed Beached, it was a decent lp.
 :)