The Smiley Smile Message Board

Discuss, review and rate The Beach Boys - Endless Harmony, released March 14, 2000.

(http://www.smileysmile.net/images/albums/endlessharmonydvd.jpg)

A fabulous documentary film, covers all the bases (except Smile). 5 all the way.

I give it a 5, too, although I hate the parts were Mike tells everyone how great he is...
I think the darker days could have been more discussed (Manson and stuff) and the great music they made up until Blondie and Ricky left...

one of my purchases I never regreted buying. great documentary all the way though the band talking about their experiences and their music, what more could you ask for in a BBoys documentary? I love the live H&V concert footage they showed with the horn section. 5 from me

5. Solid. Only minor quibble is that the soundtrack is made up of alot of rejected material, which could confuse the newcomer.

great docu! it actually included love you, a 5 in my book.

I love this DVD. I mean the 1963 footage is amazing. The stuff from the 70s knocks me out too. Here are my complaints.  I wish vintage interviews from all of them (Dennis especally) were used (memory lapses are a real thing). I don't like the talking heads like Sean Lennon. I think Dennis' work should have been more fully intergrated. The bonus material could have been a whole second disc of raw interviews and "outakes". Finally except for Sunflower they make Brian seem like he didn't do anything from Smile to 15 Big Ones. I mean one second Brian won't leave his room, next second Desper and Bruce talk about how great he was during Sunflower. Showing a fat Brian during the Til I die montage was not bright either. Yet again I still love this thing. It really leaves out nothing musically essential and does give everyones point of view. For everything I just put it down for, I can say 10 nice things. Watch it for sure.

Excellent documentary! This and along with my greatest hits CD got me hooked on the Beach Boys. One gripe, some of the albums don't even get a mention (Wild Honey, Carl & The Passions, Keepin' The Summer Alive etc)

If I could improve this DVD I would have liked to see additional performances of Brian performing at the piano, additional exteneded interview material and maybe a making of documentary as extras. 10/10, A*****  ;D

I agree with you there. But its like most documentaries on bands it only mentions the supposedly 'major' works and songs by the artist which I can understand but it still wouldve been nice to have the band talk about those albums that you mentioned and others. I still give it a 5 though as this is by far my favourite Beach Boys documentary (not that theres too many) but this one covers the story really nicely and its good how its in their own words. I too get a  bit frustrated with Mike Love how he says things such as "Brian was melancholy, I was Mr. positive thinker. That was ME!" Just the way he says "That was ME!" really bugs me, he just sounds so jealous that he doesnt get more attention. Anyway its still nice to have everyone's opinions (I spose your not going to agree with everything that they say)

Just watched it a few nights ago. I rated it a 4.

But here is what bugged me. It showed Brian talking about Dennis gift in composing and producing but it never explored that. It never even played any of his songs (that I can think of). I kept expecting it to include live footage of Dennis singing Forever or Be With me... Alas, nope.

Anyway. I feel like this is sort of equivelent to the Beatles Documentary The Complete Beatles (narrated by Malcom McDowell). But there needs to be done on a Beatles Anthology-like scale with the Beach Boys. Alot more could be unearthed and a lot more quality time taken for all the episodes/issues that need to be addressed.

I gave it four. I think I have a nostalgic bias towards "An American Band" though :D

Me, too. I was lucky to see "American Band" in a theater back in 1985. Made a lasting impression. This is a good one, though. Much more in depth interviews from the band members. The post Sunflower/ Surf's Up years sure fly by fast, but this is the best so far at telling the story of the Beach Boys.

Can't get enough of this documentary, yesterday I watched it for probably the 20th time or something like that.

Some things I keep noticing:
- Brian somehow looks an awful lot like Al Bundy during that acoustic performance of Surfin'.
- Brian should make fun of Mike more often. The bit where he asks Al to pinch his nose and than starts singing California Girls is hilarious.
- Was Terry Melcher always that inarticulate?
- When they talk about writing Fun Fun Fun, Mike and Brian both do their best to appear relaxed, but it's very plain to see that they aren't.
- What was Hal Blaine thinking when he dyed his hair black?
- Carl had an incredibly soothing voice when he talked.
- Al should never perform Sloop John B solo on the piano ever again.
- Was Van Dyke always as pretentious as he was in that mid 70s interview? VERY annoying.

Given his social circle at that time, it's a miracle he could construct a coherent sentence

I love this movie.

The whole thing is great, but to me, it moves into absolute triumph territory in three key areas:

-(1): The way the individual band member's personalities stand out, especially Brian's oft-forgotten sense of humor, Carl's introspective spirituality, and Dennis's world-weary realness.
-(2): The use of period footage, magazine stills, newspaper clippings, etc. to illustrate the mood of the individual time periods and establish context for music.
-(3): The music. Whether you like the movie or not, you at least owe it for the unreleased material we got out of it. Soulful Old Man Sunshine, Sail Plane Song, Barbara, all that.

i owned the soundtrack before the seeing the movie...being that it was called the soundtrack, I expected ALL the songs to be in the movie (this was before I knew about how rarities were released in the BB-world)...It woulda been cool to hear more of the soundtrack in the doc....no complaints though

It's a good DVD although for a completest fan it is frustrating because you see and hear things you wish they would release on their own.

Just finished watching and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Never having seen a Beach Boys doc, it was an interesting watch. My only complaint, I think, is that it didn't get a chance to focus on other members of the band as much. I would love to have seen more on Dennis as he seems like such an interesting guy. I'm now tracking down the BBC4 special, Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy to get some more insight.

A 5 for sure. Love the clips from the late Carl, especially doing his vocal line on Surfer Girl in the rehearsal room.

I like this documentary because Brians answers seems very honest.

Too much glossing over on a lot of the details...Brian interviewed much better in IJWMFTT, and Love comes off as a fodahead...Al seems to be the only living BB that comes across clear headed and doesn`t make me cringe during the interview.

Where's the live footage of Sail On Sailor from?

Watched this again last night for the first time in ages, a good documentary but certain flaws prevent it from being brilliant so I'm only going to give it 4/5. To me it would have been better if Ricky and Blondie had actually been interviewed, David had been interviewed more and if they hadn't skipped over Smiley Smile, Wild Honey etc like those albums never existed. Like someone else mentioned a series of documentaries Beatles Anthology style would be the only way to do The Beach Boys legacy justice. One thing I hadn't noticed before was the inclusion of a snippet of Al's acoustic rendtion of 'California Saga: California' - it sounded amazing and I want to hear the whole thing but as far as I understand it has only been released on the ESQ 'One In A Million' CD which is now unavailable.

I really want to hear the full song, I wish Al had stuck it on Postcard as a bonus track.

I liked this one a lot when it came out, but it hasn't aged well for me. Mike is at his most insufferable here, I'm not a Mike basher, but I don't like his attitude here. Timothy White's comments are insightful, but I don't get much out of the comments from John Stamos, Sean Lennon, Glenn Frey, or Jackson Browne.  I like An American Band better because there are more complete music clips.

^^^^^

hasnt aged well for me either

so much about the BB's history is either left out, or skimmed over

there needs to be a more in-depth doco on the BB's covering all aspects of their history

this one just doesnt cut it

Yeah, we definately need an in-depth Anthology style documentary on the group.

theres just so much histroy to the BBs story, that its impossible to properly cover it all in a 90 minute doco

I think the celebrity interviews are fine.  As I recall-this doc first appeared on VH1 Music TV and it came out in 98 at a time when the BBs were still seen mostly as those old guys in Hawaiian shirts who sang Kokomo.  I think that by having Elvis Costello and Sean Lennon talking about how much they loved the BBs they aided the BBs in recovering some hipster credentials and this has certainly been good for the band.  I think the band has been reevaluated and people who once turned the radio off when they came on having more respect for them now-the documentary played a part in that as did all the reissues that followed. 

I disagree. Costello and Lennon just come across as hopeless suck-ups. Has anyone actually listened to any of Sean Lennon's music? Or for that matter, Costello's, since the late 80's?

I like his album with Bacharach

A great documentary. I just wish there was more. A 4.5 out of 5.

I always felt that it wasn't right that the Beatles have a several-part, several-hour-long Anthology documentary, and the Beach Boys don't.

We seriously need a big like 10 or 12 part documentary on the BBs. In depth. Told in their owns words (like Endless Harmony is, actually) and featuring tons of classic video clips and their music.
Something perfect for a newcomer.

Not even mentioning Manson is just daft. Like it or not (presumably not), it was a part of their history and to me it's a real elephant in the room throughout the documentary (albeit an elephant with a Swastika carved into it's head)....

THIS DOCUMENTARY IS FANTASTIC. PERIOD. It's like the Beach Boys' "Beatles Compleat".

It is so blankety-blank good. :)

Brilliant documentary.
However, a major complaint would be that a lot of their best work from their best era (1966 to 1973) other than Pet Sounds and Smile was overlooked, and rather forgotten. Lucky to even get a brief mention. While their overrated 1961-1965 era got a majority of the attention.
Not to mention skipping over David Marks leaving and Al Jardine rejoining,  and Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar leaving.
Other than all of the above, it is one of the best documentaries about the Beach Boys.
4 out of 5.

I gave it a 4. This is one of the last Beach Boy products I've seen in my 14-month Beach Boy immersion spree (which includes books, music, and video).

In light of the recent release of MiC, and the comments mentioned already, the time has really come for a multi-part Beatles-Anthology treatment of the Beach Boys. My proposal

Part One: Origins to 1964 (Family history, birth of the band, Al leaves, David arrives, David leaves, Al returns, Murry-the-tyrant, ends with Brian's first breakdown on the plane to Houston on 12/23/64--ends with band worried about Brian--how will band continue?)

Part Two: 1965 to mid 1967 (Brian quits touring, intro of Glen, then Bruce, wrecking crew (hello Carole Kaye & Hal Blaine!), Today!, Pet Sounds, Smile, breakdown--ends on a downer, Smile is scrapped)

Part Three: mid 1967 to 1973 (Picking up the pieces post-Smile, irrelevance in the U.S. after missing Monterrey, transition from Capitol to Reprise, Jack Rieley and the search for social relevance, Bruce exits, Blondie & Ricky arrive--this part ends on a downturn with focus on poorly attended concerts but kick-ass live music clips showing band is in best form in concert)

Part Four: 1974 to 1988 (Endless Summer brings band back from the dead, Dr. Landy is called in, Brian's Back!, Love You, Adult/Child, Carl tries it solo, so does Mike (ha ha), Dennis is gone, Terry Melcher tries to save the day--success with Kokomo but will it last?)

Part Five: 1988 to present (Brian releases BW88 with Landy's "help", Beach Boys can't "Still Cruise," Mike tries leadership role and Summer in Paradise tanks, Carl is gone, Boys split into three touring groups led by Mike/Al/Brian, Brian gets legally separated from Landy, Boys reunite for 50th)

A 2-hour film is produced for each part with accompanying box set collection. Think of what we could have:

--full Carnegie Hall live set and other jewels from the band's live peak in the 1970s
--Adult/Child, Landlocked, Carl & Mike solo albums given the "Legacy" treatment in separate releases

All in good fun....never happen.

All-in-all so much more *could* have been done in 2012 for the 50th anny--why was there no great promotional effort, a 24-hour a day Beach Boy channel on Sirius/XM, etc?

As the most commercially successful American rock band our boy deserve their own Anthology!

A guy can dream, can't he?

Yeah, a nice dream, giving the Boys the full blown Beatles Anthology treatment.

Couple of things I found on what I believe to be a press release for this doc -

It states:

TOURING: The Beach Boys have toured consistently for over 30 years. Endless Harmony contains excerpts of some of their best live performances and the last concert with Carl Wilson.

A SPECIAL TRIBUTE: to Carl Wilson who was extremely popular with other artists such as Elton John for whom he sang on Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me and Yellow Brick Road. Jackson Browne and Tom Petty talk about their relationship with Carl.

MARILYN: Brian's ex wife talks about Brian and life with him during his good times and bad....comments about his family.

What happened to these bits?! This would've made the documentary even cooler...

I like American Band better {1985 } this is still an excellent video tho .. There is some live video in this where they are playing outside with Blondie + Ricky .No sound tho. Sure would like to see the rest of that.. 5/5

a great update, but 'American band' stills wins hands down......


perhaps I don't give a crapper what the other interviewee's think about Brian and the band....

I would rather watch 'the band' and 'brian'.....

a wonderful doco still, 4 out of 5.......

more of Brian at the console explaining/listening to his stuff would have been a better inclusion...

kiss a litte bit..... fight a little bit......

etc etc

Rb

I agree, I find the talking heads in this doc particularly wearying upon repeat viewings.

While Endless Harmony is still the definitive documentary on the history of The Beach Boys, there seems to be a lot left out. 

It's not easy to cover almost 40 years of history, but this documentary does a decent job of it.