The Smiley Smile Message Board

So the original idea of this thread was to establish a list of BB songs that we all like. Anybody can submit a favourite tune, and anyone can request it to be scratched from the list on the basis that they hate it, or are even just feel indifferent about it. As the thread is losing momentum I wanted to try and coax other members in to have their say.

Hopefully what we're left with is a list of songs that everybody here feels are good Beach Boys songs. There's no real point to it, although you could create your own comp from the list as Heartical Don suggests: The Beach Boys Classics As Selected By The Experts At The Smiley Smile Dot Net Message Board However it might end up being the shortest Greatest Hits ever!

Surfin Safari
Lana
Farmer's Daughter
Land Ahoy
Chug-A-Lug
Surfin USA
Lonely Sea
Surfer's Rule
Surfer Girl
Surfer Moon
In My Room
Catch A wave
No Go Showboat
Our Car Club
Cherry, Cherry Coupe
Custom Machine
Don't Worry baby
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
In The Parkin Lot
Fun Fun Fun
The Warmth Of The Sun
The Girl's On The Beach
Santa's Beard
Little Saint Nick
I Get Around
Wendy
Hushabye
We'll Run Away
All Summer Long
All Dressed UP For School
Don't Back Down
Dance, Dance, Dance
Good to My Baby
Don't Hurt My Little Sister
I'm So Young
When I Grow Up To Be A Man
Please Let Me Wonder
Kiss Me Baby
She Knows Me Too Well
In The Back Of My Mind
Guess I'm Dumb
Girl From New York City
Amusement Parks USA
Salt Lake City
California Girls
Girl Don't Tell Me
You're So Good to Me
Your Summer Dream
Help Me Rhonda
Help Me Rhonda (Endless Harmony version)
Let Him Run Wild
Little Girl I Once Knew
Trombone Dixie
Wouldn't It Be Nice
You Still Believe In Me
That's Not Me
Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Let's Go Away For A While
Sloop John B
God Only Knows
I Know There's An Answer
I'm Waiting For The Day
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
Caroline No
Good Vibrations
Our Prayer
Heroes & Villains (Cantina version)
Worms
Look
Child Is Father Of The Man
Windchimes (Smile version)
Cabinessence
Wonderful (SMiLE version)
Heroes & Villains (Smiley version)
Little Pad
Country Air
Aren't You Glad
I'd Love Just Once To See You
Darlin
Let The Wind Blow
Meant For You
Friends
Wake The World
Be Here In The Morning
When A Man Needs A Woman
Anna Lee The Healer
Passing By
Little Bird
Busy Doin Nothin
Diamond Head
Do It Again
Cotton Fields
I Can Hear Music
Time To Get Alone
I Went To Sleep
Never Learn Not To Love
Be With Me
We're Together Again
Celebrate The News
Old Man River
Sail Plane Song
Can't wait Too Long
Breakaway
Soulful Old Man Sunshine
Slip On Through
This Whole World
Add Some Music
At My Window
All I Wanna Do
Forever
Our Sweet Love
Cool Cool Water
Fallin In Love
San Miguel
My Solution
Don't Go Near The Water
Feel Flows
Long Promised Road
Take A Load Of Your Feet
Disney Girls
A Day In The Life Of A Tree
Till I Die
Surf's Up (71 version)
Sound Of Free
Over The Waves (Carnival Song)
Sloop John B (In Concert 73)
Sail On Sailor (In Concert 73)
Let The Wind Blow (In Concert 73)
You Need A Mess Of Help
Marcella
Cuddle Up
Make It Good
All This is That
Only With You (Live 1972 Carnegie Hall Version)
Sail On Sailor
The Trader
Only With You
Big Sur
California saga/California
Funky pretty
Radio King Dom
Rollin Up To Heaven
Pallisades Park
Talk To Me
Brian's Back
Had To Phone Ya
Susie Cincinnati
That Same Song
It's Ok
Johnny Carson
Roller Skatin Child
Solar System
I bet He's Nice
The Night Was So Young
Airplane
Mona
She's Got Rythm
Winds Of Change
Winter Symphony
Still I dream Of It
Lines
Just Once In My Life
It's A Beautiful Day
Good Timin
My Diane
Goin On
Stevie
California Dreamin
Rock & Roll To The Rescue
Getcha Back
Male Ego
Where I Belong
Somewhere Near Japan
Kokomo
Still Cruisin'
In My Car
Island Girl
Make It Big
Problem Child
Lahaina Aloha
Strange Things Happen
Summer In Paradise
Summer Of Love
You're Still A Mystery
Smart Girls
Soul Searchin

A fine list -  I wouldn't strike anything there... can I add a few? (They'll probably be among the first to go!)

Soulful Old Man Sunshine
Celebrate the News
This Whole World
Don't Talk (Put Your Head on My Shoulder)
Cabinessence

As being responsible for one of those threads, i'll gladly contribute.

I don't like, off those lists.....

Surfin' Safari and The Warmth Of The Sun (controversial, i know  ;D)

Nice thread! Let me add

Breakaway
The Trader

just out of curiosity.

Although I love Soulful Old Man Sunshine, I'll stick my chin out and say it'll be the first to go due to some people thinking it sounds like something out of a shampoo commercial. Well, if so, I'd buy that shampoo...  :)

Little Girl I Once Knew
Let Him Run Wild
God Only Knows
Wonderful (SMiLE version)
This Whole World
All This is That

Sorry, but I must dissent here -- IJWMFTT is a thoroughly cringe-worthy song in my opinion. Your mileage may vary, and I expect it to! :)

I confess that I'm indifferent towards the single version of Heroes and Villains, Celebrate the News and think that Let Him Run Wild is a tad overrated.

Thanks for the contributions. Many I had overlooked in my haste, especially Breakaway which is one of my favourites and Don't Talk which is obviously a stone cold classic, although I'm sure there's someone here who may disagree!

I'm afraid I have had to scratch Trader from the list as I am definitely not a fan, and although I was once well into Soulful Old Man Sunshine, it has started to grate a bit on recent plays.

All Summer Long
Meant For You
Good Timin'

Thanks Heartical Don. Love Meant For You, and have added Friends & Busy Doin Nothin to the list also. Have to confess, I am not much of a Good Timin' fan. It's a beautiful production but tends to be one I skip so mercilessly struck it through as soon as I had typed it!

Girl Don't Tell Me

(the list is getting really pretty BTW, I hope many will write in, and no one acts the threadkilla...)

What about "All I Wanna Do"? "Sail On, Sailor"? "Kiss Me, Baby"?

I concur.

I'd like to add:
Sloop John B. (In Concert 1973)
At My Window
Let The Wind Blow (In Concert 1973)
Cool, Cool Water
Funky Pretty

What about "Wouldn't It Be Nice"?  ???

The live Sloop John B is ok but there are far better songs on that LP imo.

Sail on Sailor I have never really gotten into and as Brian hates it, should be scratched for that reason alone I guess.

Funky Pretty's lyrics aren't exactly top notch.

Some pretty heinous ommissions, specfically Wouldn't It Be Nice - can't believe I missed that!

Sorry to instantly strike through the In Concert tracks. They're ok, but I'd rather take the originals any day. Guess I'm just not a huge BB live fan.

BTW at the risk of inciting a wave of destruction, feel free to suggest songs you'd like struck through, as I don't want to be the only one criticising evreybody's suggestions!

To show that I'm not completely negative, how about...

Forever
Long Promised Road
Where I Belong
Surfer Moon

I had typed a long reply, but as I was doing so, more songs were added to and stricken from the list.  At that point I honestly could not choose one to eliminate from those remaining, but with the new additions, I see one that I don't care much for, and that is At My Window.  Some of my favorites have already been eliminated, like Heroes & Villains, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times, Celebrate The News, and others.  I would have eliminated a few of those already crossed out, like Soulful Old Man Sunshine.

Let the Wind Blow and Your Summer Dream should also be on the list imo.

I would strike Little Girl I Once Knew as I don't think it's a classic.

Should have added:

I Can Hear Music
Only With You

and if it's okay to have live, unreleased versions, I'd make it:

Only With You (Live 1972 Carnegie Hall version)

Mucho sorry, but I don't like Long Promised Road that much. Where I Belong is debatable, but it may stay.

What abot "Somewhere Near Japan"?  :)

BTW I never liked "Don't Talk", worst Pet Sounds song, at least in my personal opinion, sorry.

Ok sorry about this, but as the list has grown I've realised there are a lot of favourites that I feel should be here. Feel free to strike away ...

I've added:

In My Room
Wendy
We'll Run Away
That's Not Me
Aren't You Glad
I'd Love Just Once To See You
Darlin
Passing By
Little Bird
Add Some Music
Don't Go Near The Water
Feel Flows
A Day In The Life Of A Tree
Johnny Carson
Solar System
I bet He's Nice
The Night Was So Young
Airplane
Goin On

Personal strikes from the list above:

"Don't Go Near the Water"
(I like it a lot, but it's more an OK song than a classic)

"A Day in the Life of a Tree"
(now, if one of the Beach Boys had sung the lead instead....)

And anything from *Love You*
(I'm firmly in the "why did they ever record -- or release -- that one?" category)

Just to end on a positive note, there are still a lot of great picks left on the list.

What about "Caroline, No"?

Can I get some love for "Chug-A-Lug"?  ;D

No you can't.

Ok, get striking...

Wendy, We'll Run Away, Goin' On, Aren't you Glad, Little Bird

None of them classics imo but I do like the live version of Aren't you Glad.

I'm afraid we'll end up with only one song: Kokomo. That'll mean the end of the board as we know it. The Blueboarders will p*ss themselves laughing.

Ha ha - I knew there was a song I'd forgotten!  I have to say, I'm surprised songs aren't being scrubbed at a faster rate. Wait until those cynical Americans wake up ... It'll be bye bye Good Vibrations  ;D

Yikes, I feel like a real heel, but I'm not a fan of "Country Air". I love every other track left on the list.

Just Once In My Life
It's OK
My Diane

Well, I'm sad to see it go, but (and I know this is going to sound corny) I'd hate it if we all liked exactly the same songs.

I feel like the thread nazi, but I had to scratch all but It's OK.

I know it's unreleased but Stevie anyone? It's one of my favourite BW compositions from the period.

I will have to log out soon. But I see the contours of a wonderful compilation showing through. Send the final list to Capitol and cash in a nice summer profit.

I can't believe Lonely Sea and Surfer Girl haven't been mentioned. Those should be added, though someone will probably have them struck out because they are "stereotypical Beach Boys songs" even though they are great.

Some I'd add:
Lonely Sea
Surfer Girl
Good to My Baby
You're So Good to Me

The ones not currently struck out are all fine with me. Some of the ones I love are out, but that's fine. :P

Scratch Stevie.

I'd add Wake the World, Be Here in the Morning, When a Man Needs a Woman, Cottonfields (20/20 version), Never Learn Not to Love, Be With Me, We're Together Again, Can't Wait Too Long, You Need a Mess of Help, Marcella, Funky Pretty, and Big Sur.  some of these may have already been scratched.

Some great suggestions there. I'd considered the Friends additions but didn't want to flood the list with Friends stuff but what the hey - they're great tracks (although they may not stay for long). I even used When A man Love A Woman on our firstborn's home movie!  Can't believe we've overlooked the post 20/20 stuff, especially Can't Wait Too Long & We're Together Again. I've added Old Man River too.

Afraid I will put the kaibosh on Never Learn Not To Love (the manson connection creeps me out) and Cottonfields. I've never been hugely into 20/20.

W-what?! No Where I belong? How about Somewhere near Japan? Couldn't we agree on this late-period forgotten classic?

I scratched Where I Belong, but I have to confess I never listen to BB post about 1980 so am not familiar with the song. I gave it a cusory listen and it did little for me, but if a lot of people love it I'll unscratch it. I thought Somewhere Near japan was a joke, but I'll stick it on there if you're serious!

As with many Beach Boys songs, "Where I Belong" grows on you the more you listen to it. Don't give up after just one song - if I'd done that I wouldn't have listened to Pet Sounds more than once!

By the way, scratch "Girl Don't Tell Me" and "Your Summer Dream".

Maybe it's just me, but I can't stand All Summer Long.

Fair point re: Where I Belong, so it is unscratched until someone else expresses a dislike for it.


Consider it scratched!

Oh, and another thing: add "Catch a Wave"!

I would scratch Friends, Be Here in the Morning, When a Man needs a Woman, Wake the World, Old Man River, It's OK, Be With Me and We're Together Again.

I'd like to add Fallin' in Love though which I think was released on the Love Songs CD so presumably is eligible.

It is incomprehensible to me that any Beach Boys fan would not love Wake the World.

This thread is right up there with Al's stolen car thread!  :lol

Sue me.  :)

It's a nice song and works as part of the album but I can't say that I absolutely love it.

For years, Brian called Friends his favorite album. I like it a lot too, although I like EVERY Beach Boys album.

But, other than MIU, IN MY OPINION, Friends is the only other Beach Boys album that doesn't have a stone-cold, classic Beach Boys song on it. Again, I like the songs - especially "Wake The World", "Little Bird", "Transendental Meditation, and the title cut - but I don't put them in that superior Beach Boys' song category. "Busy Doin' Nothin'' comes close, but I'm not sure that'a a classic.

Hi, folks.  Everybody has a first post.  This is mine.

An intriguing discussion here!  I feel passionate enough about "You Still Believe In Me" from Pet Sounds that I went through the bother of registering, just to cast this great song into the hat.  Unsurpassed BW falsetto, echoed by the Group, emotive Tony Asher lyrics; what's not to love?

I love it. And welcome aboard.

What? That wimpy song? Are you kidding me? Mike Love could've written much better lyrics than that!









































 ;D ;)

If anybody hates "No-Go Showboat"...they have no soul.

Thanks for all the contributions so far. I was sad to see the bulk of friends go, but glad that Passing By and Busy Doin Nothin are still hanging in there!

Thanks Ivrimark (and greetings!) for adding You Still Believe In Me - great suggestion.

I may have overlooked additions/subtractions so if I've missed anything please let me know. I'm away for the day so won't be able to edit this until this evening, but please keep adding your suggestions.

PS: I'm going to add Diamond Head!

I kind of agree, even though Friends has been my favorite album by the group for quite a few years now. When isolated from the album context, none of the individual tracks seem to work so well, except maybe for the title cut and "Busy Doin' Nothing'". Perhaps even more than Pet Sounds, Friends is best experienced as a whole.

Heep Heep Hooray: Diamond Head is an absolute, uncharacteristic, daring yet loungy, chill out masterpiece! I will send anthrax letters to anyone who suggests crossing it out.

Oh, I'm very serious about Where I belong and Somewhere near Japan. And I'll second Catch a wave, You still believe in me, Wake the world and Friends.

My address is...

I don't rate Diamond Head that highly so scratch it please. Good to my Baby also isn't top notch so put a line through that one too.

I'd strike "I'd love just once to see you" from that list. Minimalist production and simple lyrical charm can only go so far.

In it's place might I suggest "Cuddle Up"?

While in Dennis mode, let's add Make It Good too... entered my head in the shower this morning and hasn't been washed out yet!

Each to his own, one man's trash is another man's treasure and all that but in all due respect I must say - Noooooooo!! Worst Dennis song of all time! Why he put it on "So Tough" when he had 3 songs he'd just pulled off "Surf's Up" laying around I'll never know.

And then let's scratch Make it Good too. Quite nice but not great. I don't think No-go Showboat is one of the best car tunes either.

I would add Our Car Club though.

Add "Custom Machine".

Has it occurred to any other posters that if this thread runs long enough we will end up with a list containing the entire BB's recorded works all with a red line through them?  :P

Haha, yes, I for one realized that. It will slowly descend into a lethal tit-for-that routine, just like Laurel and Hardy always had with James Finlayson. And we'll have the collected works, but completely censored inna Joe Stalin stylee.

I can't believe no one has mentioned Custom Machine yet! I'd like to add Girl From New York City, Amusement Parks USA, Salt Lake City, Palisades Park, Talk To Me, Almost Summer, Elbow '65, This Song Wants To Sleep With You Tonight, Orange Crate Art, and Take A Load Off Your Feet.

And as soon as they're added, I'd like them all to be scratched. Sorry.

I would add Disney Girls though.

NOOOOO!!! :'( :'( :'( :'( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( :o :o :o :o :( :( :( :(

Then we'll scratch the original scratches.

Scratcher, no scratching! ;D

Excuse my ignorance, but are Elbow 65 & Almost Summer Beach Boys songs? I'm unfamiliar with them. Also, hate to be a killjoy but I think we should leave the solo Brian stuff out - much that I like it, if we include solo stuff we'll end up with 3 different versions of songs i.e. the smile, smiley and BWPS version of vegetables!

The dreadful irony of a Beach Boys fan community that between them dislikes every single Beach Boys song ever recorded!

Aaargh -  I feel bad but please scratch it. Lovely song and all that but too full of artificial sweeteners. I can manage it a couple of times a year as a whistle-along,but then I have to skip. Sorry Nicko...

No problem. If it isn't there already then I would add I'm Waiting for the Day.

Ok having scoured my BB collection, I've added a few more, many of which are guilty pleasures but they're still favourites. Do your worst!

In The Parkin Lot
Hushabye
All Dressed Up For School
I Just Got My Pay
Sound Of Free
California (From California Saga, Holland)
Had To Phone Ya
Winter Symphony
Belles Of paris
Pitter Patter
Still I dream Of It
Lines
Kokomo

And I'm afraid I have scrubbed Our Car Club, Custom Machine and Lonely Sea. Where I Belong and Somewhere Near japan, I'm still fairly unfamiliar with so will leave. The latter sounds like a stinker to me but it does have a certain kitsch charm that could grow on me. Plus I've just nominated Belles Of Paris and Kokomo so who am I to talk?! The Carnegie Hall version of Only With You, I have never heard so again I'll leave that for someone else to judge.

Interlude:

current standings: 65 preliminary 'winners' against 63 'scratched' losers.

There is many a BBs classic amongst the losers.

Conversely, there are quite a lot of dubious minor things in the 'winners' section.

What does that say about the SSnet community?

Are we the weird sickos like sane people perceive us as?  ???

You're right - this list is beginning to shame the entire board! Apologies people. I am going to ruthlessly cull everything I think is not that great and I urge others to do the same!

btw I have added Lets go away for a while, and Sloop John B.

OK, then cull if you would...

Lonely Sea
Catch a Wave
In the Parkin' Lot
All Dressed up for School
You're So Good to Me
Had to Phone Ya
Winter Symphony
Lines
Still I Dream of It

Please scratch 'Cabinessence' out.

Will do, as long as you appreciate it will be like drawing a scalpel through my own heart ...

Can I propose 'Our Prayer'?

BTW the list with 'goodies' is dwindling rapidly. We're down to 50. I hear Michael deMartin laughing out loud, somewhere, in a parallel universe...

Hey, this topic is about songs we ALL love.
There are many scratched songs that I really like. :)

I love it Don, but only really in the context of smile, and in honesty I quite often skip it to get into H&V so I'm afraid no sooner had I typed the last r, I was moving my cursor to the change colour drop down box ...

Sorry I couldn't resist it, but you're absolutely right and (call me a sadist) I think the most rewarding part of this thread is watching the 'classics' being struck down!

I think what a topic like this demonstrates is there is very little that is universally held as sacred amongst Beach Boys fans, or fans of anything for that matter, and our concepts of what 'The Beach Boys' actually are vary wildly also: One man's Beach Boys are all beardy, pot smoking TM freaks, and another's have tight white tennis shorts and are hanging out with Ronal Reagan. There are essentially 4 or 5 different bands that people like on this board!

...is a good excuse for your pretty sociopathic inclinations... but anyhoo, you are right. I bet everyone is surprised at what songs get the thumbs down from another person. I am going to work on my list of 'personal enemies to be shot' now... :police:

ha ha! - joking aside, I hope this thread isn't perceived as an excuse for a bit of wanton destruction. I think it's quite healthy to establish that the thing you regard to be most sacred, just kind of winds somebody else up! I think we should all bear this in mind when the perennial BWPS arguments re-surface. One man's Good Vibrations is another's Lady Lynda.

I like both! Unbelievable, isn't it? ;D

After 3 years of lurking, I finally had to get a log in and add to this.

Can I scratch Let the Wind Blow? Pleasant but one of my least favourites off Wild Honey

Can I add (at least for 5mins!!):

Mona
In My Car
Lana
San Miguel
Help Me Rhonda (Endless Harmony version)

Thanks!

ha ha - I think this is one of the great things about this band. There so many guilty pleasures to be had, unlike say The Beatles. There's not much scope to be alternative in your tastes with them, unless you make a big deal out of being into Maxwell's Silver hammer or Mister Moonlight, then it kind of stops there!

Greetings Cliff! I will gladly add these, Mona especially, although I think someone has already expressed a strong dislike for all the Love You material so it might not go unscratched for long.

I thought I'd added Help Me Rhonda (the Summer Days version) but just realised I overlooked it, so tha goes on there too.

If anyone gets rid of Mona, i shall despair.

Yes. Um, can you, if only for 5 seconds, include 'Winds Of Change'? I like that, honest.

It's on there, unscratched and proud

Ok, please add:
Lahaina Aloha
Strange Things Happen
Summer In Paradise
Still Cruisin'
Make It Big
Problem Child
Summer Of Love  :angel:
California Dreamin'
Rock & Roll To The Rescue
Dance, Dance, Dance
Cherry, Cherry Coupe
Getcha Back
Island Girl
It's A Beautiful Day
She's Got Rhythm
Susie Cincinnati

Wohoo!

  Don't be shy -  it's good!

They're up there, and as I don't want to be the only one doing the striking through, they're currently unscratched, brightly mocking the likes of cabinessence and Don't Talk. We need a real board curmudgeon to blaze a trail of destruction through the list now I think (paging Sheriff John!..)

OMG - how did Summer Of Love slip through the taste net? Quick! Scratchy-scratchy!

Scratch Mona (sorry hypehat), She's Got Rhythm, Winds of Change and It's a Beautiful Day.

My fault ;D

Well, at least I got my 5 seconds of fame with Winds of Change.

You are a brave soul.
Scratching everything but Getcha Back (the only BB's 80's song i can really stand), Cherry and Dance....

I always thought Mona was a song off Love You most people could 'get', seeing as it's bouncy and simple and quite classically BW - the Spector line always makes me smile.

Are bootlegs an option? if so, i nominate 'Dirty Ding Dang', aka 'Rolling Up To Heaven', aka 'Hard Times', aka etc.....

And I got my 5mins of Mona.

Maybe they could be sequenced together-Winds of Mona, anyone?

Ah... Their Farts Were Full Of Spring, yes...

"Syncopate Al, syncopate...."

and I'm going to take the scalpel to Lana, Cherry Cherry Coupe, Help me Rhonda (Endless Harmony version), Rollin Up To Heaven (would be funny if it was the last song remaining, but I can't bring myself to leave it for fear that this might be the outcome) and Getcha back.

Rather tellingly, there is nothing that is universally liked beyond 1973

I think there is a chance that just about all of the songs will eventually get crossed out since there is always somebody that doesn't like a song.

4 uncrossed songs that I don't care for are:
 -Surfin USA
 -Help Me Rhonda
 -Darlin
 -Only With You

This is a great thread!

Can I scratch out Can't Wait Too Long and add from the guilty pleasures playlist on my ipod:

Don't Back Down
Trombone Dixie
Land Ahoy
Santa's Beard (love the chorus!)

I never even knew those first three songs might qualify as guilty pleasures. Love them all, especially "Land Ahoy".

Ahem... can I propose Guess I'm Dumb?

Trombone Dixie is an ace choice.

Oh boy, the good stuff is going now. CWTL? OWY? Gone?

Glad to see Guess I'm Dumb in there -  one of the best BBs songs that never was. The Pet Sounds song that missed the boat in my book.

(But I'd like to give the Don's copy to my 11-month old to see if she can improve it with her new teeth....)

I've just scratched San Miguel, and added Little Saint Nick

 :lol bull's eye...

Please scratch 'Land Ahoy'.

Please scratch "Guess I'm Dumb."

this is called insubordination. A court martial is awaiting you.  :police:

"I Know There's An Answer" should get a change. Please add.

A couple more if you'd please:

Surfers Rule
Farmers Daughter
I Can Hear Music

Scratch "Surfers Rule" at once!  :)

Those other two I like. Also, add "Girls on the Beach". The key change in the last verse sends shivers down my spine every time.

Thanks for the additions. I love Girls On The Beach too - should definitely be here aswell as I Know There's An Answer.

I'm afraid I Can Hear Music has already been and gone!

Worried that this thread is turning a corner - so much of the very best material has bitten the dust already.  Is the goal now to find one song we can all agree is not bad!?!?!?
 :o ::) :lol

Some of the songs crossed off is really disturbing to me  :o

The claims of "Girls on the Beach" being a trite "Surfer Girl" re-write always puzzle me. Yes, the initial melody is similar. Very similar, in fact. But the rest of the verse ("The girls on the beach are all within reach") is something entirely different. Dennis' part is what really seperates the two songs from one another and really takes the listener to some place completely different - "Girls on the Beach" is different enough and stands on its own just fine, I think.

In a way this doesn't surprise me as watching discussions here over the years I've been astonished at the songs people dislike. I do hold out hope that there are songs on the list that everybody hold dear.

I've just realised that Smile is woefully under represented, but then what would make the list? Most smile songs are fragments, or early sketches of songs that materialised later on. Nevertheless, I'm going to add:

Heroes & Villains (Cantina version)
Worms
Look
Child Is Father Of The Man
Windchimes (Smile version)

I'm going to scrub Farmer's Daughter

56 left. I am pleasantly surprised about the songs remaining. 'Little Pad' is a nice outsider; 'Passing By' is in there.

I can't really imagine anyone crossing out Cali Girls or Surf's Up. If someone does, however, he/she should be shot given a last warning.

I'm So Young, Don't Hurt My Little Sister, In the Back of My Mind. And some of the objectionables are quite unbelievable. :P

Yeah it's a pleasant surprise that Passing By is still there - it's one of my favourites. Little Pad too. It sort of exemplifies weird, out-there but still beautiful Beach Boys for me and it would be nice if some of the real left-fleld numbers got a unanimous thumbs up from the board.

It wouldn't surprise me if the ones you mention do get crossed out although you'd hope not. I think the definite untouchables will be God Only Knows and Good Vibrations. We should have a sweepstake!

I have a brilliant idea. A new BBs comp CD.

Title: The Beach Boys Classics As Selected By The Experts At The Smiley Smile Dot Net Message Board

We're sure to sell a million units by July 2010!

Great idea, but it may be the shortest greatest hits ever released!

 :lol

Smart Girls!!!  :o :o :o

Cue Gatling gun...

Could also be called "Songs you never knew The Beach Boys made"

It's BW solo so doesn't count (phew!)  ;D

I hate to shorten the list, but Santa's Beard? I can't stand that cutesy-ass lead vocal. Sorry.

It's a weird list in parts, but the rest of the songs I like. It's just that there are so many that I like that have been crossed off the list!

Radio King Dom

Don't worry about shortening the list! It's a weird list - a mix of stone-cold classics and kitsch oddities - because people have added personal favourites late in the day. What might have made more sense is to have written the entire catalogue down to start with, but even an arch time-waster like me didn't have time for that!


Gleefully added - I love this section. If only he'd expanded it out into a whole song.

.

"Don't Talk"? "Cabinessence"? "Our Prayer"? "We'll Run Away"?

Monsters!

Cheers! When hearing this one for the first time, and when it disappeared after what? 5 seconds? I was almost angry, with a glimmer of hope that the song might return in full. It's Brian's ultimate teaser for this listener...

Please don't judge us  :'(

I was responsible for Our Prayer! Don't get me wrong - I love it for what it is, but I'm never quite convinced that it belongs at the beginning of Smile. You have this sombre, religious chant and then (according to most smile fans, and BW himself if BWPS is to be believed) you're launched into the speed-fuelled, comedic Heroes & Villains. It feels a bit jarring to me. I've always thought it should be nestled in with Surf's Up or Child, or even Good Vibrations, but those Smile mixes never work for me, and so I've begun to view OP as a bit of an awkward puzzle piece, and for those reasons I gladly struck it from the list!

I've seen this game played before on other forums and problem is, the "winner" of this game is never the best, most ambitious, cleverest, most progressive song/band/movie/whatever. It's usually the most mediocre, harmless, inoffensive, anonymous, middle-of-the-road one.

Curses, I genuinely thought I had invented this game! Nevertheless, my prediction is that if it comes down to 1 or 2 songs it'll be Good Vibrations and God Only Knows. I suspect everybody here likes those, although more power to anyone who wants to vote them off.

Oh, I forgot to nominate 'Brian's Back'. Thank you for the reminder!

I can't tell if you're joking or not and so alas: It's on the list ...  :thud

(humming)...and Good Vibrations/ Caused A Big Sensation/ Not To Mention Ole' Pet Sounds...

hehe... and I nominate Sail Plane Song (a true favourite of mine, much better than the various Loop De Loop versions around).

Is that the one from the 20/20 sessions? That's got a much more chilled out druggy vibe than the other ones. I like it too.

It's on Endless Harmony - I did not know that it was from the 20/20 sessions... tks for the info. I like the weird, slightly narcotic character of that one... I always thought it perfectly invokes the hazy feeling of someone up there where the air is rare, or doing deep see diving.

I'm pretty sure it's 20/20.. Couple it with the other extraneous 20/20 stuff: Old Folks At Home, We're Together Again, Walk On By, Can't Wait Too Long & Dennis' A Time To Live In Dreams and you've got a pretty groovy, drug-fried EP going on!

The song reminds me of those Richard Bach fictions like the Reluctant Messiah -  its simplicity of style really seems to evoke an air of being in a one-person plane and away from it all. So cut-off you're at peace... where as Loop-de-friggin'-loop brings me backdown to Earth with a bang!

Incredible line-up that -  some of the BBs' most exquisite and ethereal non-SMiLE vocal harmonies. Never mind an EP, let's have 20/20 re-issued as a Deluxe edition with bonus disc*!  Gotta be more stuff in the vaults.


*Unless AGD comes along and corrects the 20/20 theory that none of us has double-double-checked at Bellagio911 yet!

I'll second that! Or Wild Honey with Redwood's Time To Get Alone, that early version of Been Too Long with the beautiful A capella intro, Lonely Days, early version of Cool Cool Water. Or Sunflower with umpteen brilliant bonus cuts. The amount of incredible stuff that got left on the shelf - it doesn't bear thinking about!

What we really need is reissues of all the albums from 1970 on, at least, if not the whole catalog. All of them have an insane amount of unreleased material that could be used as bonus tracks. With a little bit of marketing and hype around the 50th anniversary of "America's Band" I think some reissues of these albums could really start to change the way most people in the States view the Beach Boys as artists.

Am I alone now in thinking this was a SMiLE track, or at least that that acapella intro was a SMiLE out-take?  I know, no documentary evidence... somehow the descending bassline from the end of BWTL/CWTL was slipped onto one of the SoT SMiLE boots -  was that a genuine error, or was it on one of the pirated tapes to begin with?

Oh, the questions, the questions.  Oh, the mystery, the mystery. Oh, no, gotta get my daughter from nursery...

I agree. So many albums now have had the DeLuxe re-release treatment, as double sets with scores of unreleased stuff and new annotation. A lot of these are quite redundant, because the added alternate takes etc. simply don't justify the asking price. We are quite in a contrary situation... so many goodies only available under the counter for fans with criminal tendencies. who would sell their own mother away as a slave to get admission to reprehensible counterfeit product; something all of us here thankfully avoid like the bubonic plague, because we'd all burn in hell eternally, in a fire induced by a heinous cow in Chi-town.

We shoud start a petition. We may not reach the 50,000,000 mark, but surely we can get to 50 autographs?

No when I listen to it it sounds so Smile, that I share your skepticism, but everyone always states that it's definitely Wild Honey, so who knows?

'Why Do Fools Fall In Love'

for: the great falsetto, the equally great bass, the stunning a capella line, and the truly Spectorian instrumental beats somewhere near the end. It's probably their greatest cover this side of 'Just Once In My Life'.

Please?

The other BBs appear in the sampled bits!!  ;)

How 'bout Soul Searchin' and You're Still a Mystery?

Smart Girls is 10 times worse than the baddest Mike Love solo track. They should use it to torture information from captured terrorists!!!  In other words - please scratch!!

Ah, c'mon. The only BB-related song better than Smart Girls is Summer of Love!!!

Someone has to punch in the open door: scratch "Brian's Back".  :police:

LOL - I hate Smart Girls with a vengeance. It is the worst example of a psychologist putting politically correct garbage into the mouth of a super-talented but frail pop icon, who never meant to put girls down in any of his songs in the first place. Why on earth should Brian apologize in such a piece of dreck? Unfortunately, for obvious reasons he could not muster the courage to 'just say no' to Landy in this matter.

Why are you guys even saying "Smart Girls" exists...it doesn't.....it doesn't.  :'(

Ok on that basis I'll add these songs, but am afraid I have to scratch Soul Searchin (and obviously Smart Girls) as it doesn't really do it for me. Love You're Still A Mystery though. How come the other BBs appeared on that? I thought it was part of the Paley Sessions?

I forgot. Smart Girls does not exist. I never purchased it, or listened to it. My comment was channeled to me by medium Char. She has access to things that are beyond the grasp of mere mortals. She also knows the whole of Smile that is in the vaults at present.

Does she read tea leaves, this Char lady?

looking over the tracks, there's some that would take a major benefit from being remastered, of course I'm refering to the ones that aren't actual releases like Sound of Free and You're Still a Mystery; they are fantastic tunes and I think they'd get more credit and attention being remastered, there's a lot goin on in that Sound of Free track.

Can I suggest Male Ego...and may I question how Problem Child got on there?  ;)

Um, not that I know of. She appears on Dutch Dreck TV in programmes where she 'channels' the deceased, and even small babies. Miraculous that seemingly sane, middle-aged adults fall for her tricks. Shows you that the world is going downhill fast.

That would be the Chai lady.

Sound of Free was legally released, but yes, it could still need a remastering.

It might be in the colonies, old chum, where the mother tongue has been debased (or should that be "debazed"?) but not here in the Empire's glorious homeland it wouldn't. From Wiki:

well, i understand it was legally released, but who's heard it on the only media it came out on: vinyl?   ;)

I admit I wasn't a huge fan of Where I belong either, but when Adam Mar's band covered it, I instantly loved it and fell in love with Carl's cut

Point taken.  :-D

Carl's best vocal ever!!!  And that's really saying something.

Yeah, that is saying something, I mean, out of all those early angel-like vocals, you chose a later vocal of his...WIB might be a contender for a post Holland vocal for me.

What would yours be? This might make for a good new discussion topic as it appears my recent David Marks thread seems to have died on it's ass.

Whoever said no to Cabinessence...YOU AND ME OUTSIDE...RIGHT NOW!  :lol

;D

To Mike's Beard:

there are too many to choose from: I can Hear Music, GOK, Girl Dont Tell Me, Time to Get Alone, Long Promised Road, All This is That, Good Timin', Tallahassee Lassie, Our Sweet Love, Darlin' (live at Knebworth), Soul Searchin', it could go on all day!   ;)

So is this the official list? No more disagreeing? AWESOME...because I thought my suggestion for Male Ego would be taken off asap!   ;D

Can you please remove Why Do Fools Fall In Love?

Ha ha - you spoke too soon. It's off!

danget

Do you really not like Male Ego?

I am pretty biased against any BB songs other than solo Brian post about 1980, and with this in mind I've tried to leave it up to others to scratch this stuff out, but in honesty, no - not even my fondness for 'so bad it's good' kitsch BB songs will save this one!! Be thankful it lasted so long!

So now what we gonna do? Present this to Capitol as the ultimate greatest hits package? No, wait, we need something new so that the hardcore fans will buy it as well... I know, a mono fold-down of "Our Favorite Recording Sessions"!  :3d

Someone please point me to where I can hear "You're Still A Mystery".......

i'm sure it's on youtube

I haven't looked at this list in awhile, and there are certainly some surprises.  

First off, I love the Smile stuff, and I can appreciate having all that stuff on the list, but to have something as beautiful as Cabinessence stricken while something like an unfinished Child Is Father Of The Man remains is boggling.  We don't even know which 'version' of Child we're voting on.  We don't know the words, or the melody, or the 'running order' of the sections.  Same goes for Worms, actually, although we do know the words for that one, and perhaps the melody.  That is, if Worms as presented on the box set is indeed Worms (thanks, Al).  

The same goes for Trombone Dixie.  How can this rejected instrumental ditty be on the list while the sublime I Just Wasn't Made For These Times is gone.  Hmm.

That said, I do have all of these songs on my mp3 player, so I can't really tell you to strike them.

Actually, the biggest surprise, to me, is the number of songs that are left.  I thought we'd end up with God Only Knows, and that's it.  

It's a good list.

We're a much smarter and aesthetically-minded set of people than I thought.

We're 'totally, like, hip to the times'.

Hooray for ourselves!

I agree with all you're saying - it makes for a curious list, but you have to appreciate that at the point that somebody requested IJWMFTT to be scratched, Trombone Dixie probably wasn't on there and so we get quite a skewed line up. We probably should have just started out with the entire recorded works, but I didn't want to be the one to type it up!

Also, where people are allowed to submit their faves, you get all kinds of guilty pleasures on there and so we were suddenly in a position where half of Still Cruisin was represented but no Smile tracks which seemed kind of perverse, so there's been a constant see-sawing going on.

Buddhahat spouted forth the following words of wisdom:


We're found out at last. We don't agree with the 'canon' at all. I suspect all our 'famous friends' (Stebbins, Doe, Carlin, the lot) will present their own 'reasons' for having to leave the board next week.

Blueboard - SmileySmileNet: 10 - 0

Let's face them music then.

There must be quite a kudos factor going on too -  it's far cooler to vote for something that's unreleased, that the next guy hasn't heard. So the released SMiLE stuff gets voted out but the "now shave your legs for the very first time" version of Tomboy gets past the bouncer because it's in the cool position of not having been released. Cabinessence gets the boot but unreleased Child stays because the man in the street ain't cool enough to have it in his collection, while we is.

By the way, my fave BBs track of all time isn't on the list yet: Days On The Surf Frontier.

Vote it off guys, by all means, but please give good reasons.

Here goes: DOTSF is total sh*t. It s*cks bigtime. Now, I'll make an exception for the version recorded at Wally Heider's, in 1971. That is redeemed by the backing vocals, obviously Dave Edmunds and Roy Wood are in there. And it has a rather interesting dub version, with King Tubby at the controls. (I have one of the 2 extant copies, or rather: I don't, if you know what I mean and I think you do.)

But the more common version that you have, or have not but have heard, or have not and haven't heard, is a stinker.

Thread Founder: tear that sucker off!

There are still plenty of BBs song I havn't heard but I thought I'd heard of all of them. Any info on this song other than it's shite?

I am so glad that no one has mentioned That Same Song. I certainly won't.

I'd like That Same Song in the list. For its nice educational lyrics.

Finally getting around to posting on this thread.

I can't freakin' STAND "Don't Hurt My little sister", as it is one of the the reasons I feel Today is highly overrated, same with In The Back Of My Mind (I like the instrumental track, but the vocals don't fit  and sound hurried). Those two songs and Don't Back Down just so happen to be my 3 least favorite BB tracks.

Really? You have heard BB85 I take it?

Yeah, and I actually don't dislike it, minus California Calling, I'm So Lonely, and It's Just a Matter of Time. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the pre-Pet Sounds material as compared to what came later (as my favorite songs generally range from 1966-1972), but the songs listed in the post you quoted are the only ones I can honestly say I do not care for.

My thoughts on ITBOMM have been posted numerous times on this site. Don't Back Down...I actually find Brian's vocals to be cringe-worthy, esp the "who's got GUTS" part. Now as far as DNMLS...to me, it sounds muddy and entirely too busy and over produced. To be honest, it's not a well-written song either.

I'm not all giddy over Girls on the Beach either. I could either take it or leave it. There...I said it.  I'm prepared to get shat on now.

Consider yourself shat on.  "Girls On The Beach" alone is arguably better than anything made after Holland.

I'm not saying that preferring everything post-1966 is horrible, but it seems like hating on all of the early stuff is the hip thing to do these days...and consequently later albums like Sunflower and Surf's Up are overrated in fan circles.  I'm a fan of pretty much all of their eras and can find good (and bad) stuff on all of their albums.

Except Summer In Paradise.  That one's just awful.

I too can find good and bad stuff on all their albums (well, I can't find anything bad on Pet Sounds, but yeah...). Hell, even SIP has "Strange things happen".  See, the thing is, for the longest time,growing up,  I actually hated the Beach Boys. Later on, when I did become a fan, it still took a long time for me to give the earlier material a shot. And for the most part I like it, minus the LDC album and the songs mentioned earlier. Actually, listening to "Party" without the party overdubs is revelatory.  Still, PS thru   Holland are my  favorites. Not because it's the "hip" thing to do, but because that time period happens to be my favorite.  And to be fair, Smiley Smile was the album that turned me on to the Beach Boys.

I seem to be one of the few fans left who thinks that 1964-1967 is the best period of the Beach Boys, along with I'd say 1969-1970. The rest, of course, has a lot of offer but I tend to think of the best BB songs along the lines of all the stuff on "Pet Sounds," "California Girls" everything on All Summer Long and Today and the SMiLE material.

What about Anna Lee The Healer? Busy Doin' Nothing? Getcha Back? Roller Skating Child? The Night Was So Young? Can we include "bootleg songs", like My Solution, or Over The Waves(aka: Carnival)? Sorry guys, but I hate Sound Of Free.  :lol But since there is the embryonic River Song riff in the song, I would include it based on historical reasons only.

Sorry Wee Helper, I do not know this song, and google is turning up zilch. If you can tell me what year it's from, I'll put it on there.


Many of the ones you mention are already scratched unfortunately, but Busy Doin Nothin is already on there and fortunately nobody's touched it (yet)! Added Anna Lee too.

I've added Carnival and My Solution, but they've been instantly scrubbed I'm afraid as I was never particularly keen on either.

Actually, I always thought most fans feel that way.

I love every song you mentioned.

And yes Billy I suppose most fans feel that way, but of late it seems that some of have been putting down the earlier stuff in favor of the more experimental work. I still think "California Girls" is perhaps the most magical record they ever made.

You have my permission to remove Anna Lee The Healer.  Never much liked it.

For me their "Golden Era" was from "Today!" through to "Holland".  Granted their was still a misstep here and there within this period but overall I think during this 8 year reign they made some of the most beloved, exciting and most of all original music of ALL time.

I'd split these albums into 3 distinct sections

a) "Today!"/ "Smile"is Brian's development and overall (consistant) peak as producer/songwriter/innovator/genius.

b) "Smiley Smile"/"20/20" finds Brian still the dominate musical force but by this point he no longer holds a masterplan for the bands future. As a result partly through desire and partly though necessity the other members are getting their oats at songcrafting.

c) "Sunflower"/ "Holland" ~ the group truly blossom and all make great music under the overall supervision of Carl.

Many of the ones you mention are already scratched unfortunately, but Busy Doin Nothin is already on there and fortunately nobody's touched it (yet)! Added Anna Lee too.

I've added Carnival and My Solution, but they've been instantly scrubbed I'm afraid as I was never particularly keen on either.

[/quote]Sorry, I didn't look at the list to carefully. How about Slip On Through? That song kicks about ten kinds of ass.  ;D

Good call! I can't believe it's not on there already.

I've added Our Sweet Love too as that is a particular favourite of mine.

I would say the regular studio albums from 1964-73 (not counting things like Party or Xmas) are all peak Beach Boys. I would throw in the Surfin USA LP too.

Whatcha mean by this?

Most of the melody of Sound Of Free is the basic structure that became River Song.

ah, i see, i need to give it a re-listen....wouldn't that song be more amazing remastered?

It starts at about 49 seconds into the song, and goes through to the end, I think. It might be best if you compare this to the River Song outtake that The Beach Boys did, rather than Dennis' version. You may be able to pick it out more easily.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3klpbjKu-1w&feature=related

I've always been distinctly underwhelmed (i.e. dislike) by I Know There's An Answer and I'm Waiting For The Day and I often tend to skip over them when I listen to PS. Those two and That's Not Me are the weakest on the album by a LONG way IMHO, and the only blemishes on an otherwise other-worldly piece of work.

Thanks for the input Brother John - A brave man who opts to scratch 3 from Pet Sounds!

The one song from PS I really don't care for is "Let's Go Away For Awhile". I think it's the one tune off the record where Brian did lead the group too far off the beaten track musically.  "Brian's ego music" ho-hum!

I actually dig it as the B-side to GV more than as a PS track. It makes for one of the best (but, I suppose, one of the most "egoistical" too) 45s ever.

It's scratched.

Personally I think it's absolutely incredible. It has all the ingredients to make it muzak, yet it's something so much greater. Definitely a beguiling and wonderful track.

Only 5 left on Pet Sounds now ...

I like it more than the original Pet Sounds version of Pet Sounds, which to me only hit it's stride with Brian's band. The version on the Live DVD is my personal favorite one that I've heard.

Sorry I'm confused - what other version of Let's Go Away are we talking about? Was it in a different form on the b-side to Good Vibrations? Or are you just comparing the version he performed live with the original?

The latter.

i can't believe that somebody doesn't like "Warmth Of The Sun". I thought that Beach Boys 101 taught us that it was an instant classic.

Thanks!

I know Sail on Sailor is already marked off, but can I put the live version on the list from the Concert album?   :angel:

yes, added!