The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hi everyone,

It's very old-school to talk about 45 RPM records and A-sides and B-sides. But I think the decisions as to what to promote as the radio song and what to put on the flip went far in shaping public perception of the group and, ultimately, its creative direction. In some cases, I think they should have  reversed the side designation. What are some of the B-sides you think would have made better A-sides? I think one example would be "Forever" over "Cool, Cool Water." As much as I love "Water," the single edit is awkward, and it just would have sounded weird on the radio. "Forever," on the other hand, was a ready-made classic ballad. Looking forward to hearing your choices.

This is the kind of thing Phil Miglioratti and I discuss in the latest episode of Surf's Up: A Beach Boys Podcast Safari, titled "The Beach Boys' Brilliant B-sides and What Is a B-side Anyway?" Now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and here on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-93394161/the-beach-boys-brilliant-b-sides-and-what-is-a-b-side-anyway

We now have 17 episodes in total. You can access the complete selection here: https://soundcloud.com/user-93394161

Thanks for that Mark, and just listened to the cast (great stuff)
Its always been a keen topic of conversation with my Tribute Band mates (especially Sean Macreavey) , what a travesty for Dennis having minor classics relegated to the B-Sides ? (well not really, i see it as 2 for the price of 1 AND if anything should assist in album sales)
Keep up the good work, it's appreciated

Thanks for listening, Rob, and for the kind words. Yes, I think the band would have done well to put more Dennis stuff on A-sides. But the zero performance of "Slip on Through" likely put the kibosh on that.

Dennis became the James Griffin of the group; Brian had always been their David Gates.