[Contractually, we didn't have any right to reject albums."]

I was scanning the Wiki entry for Sunflower and this quote struck me as interesting, originally taken from the Steven Gaines book:

"Shortly before signing with Reprise, the group accumulated enough material for a new album, now titled Sun Flower, and assembled a provisional 14-song acetate for the label. This collection was rejected. Warner Bros. executive Dave Berson remembered: 'It seemed like an amazing thing to do, to say to the Beach Boys, 'This is not the kind of an album we want to pay for.' Contractually, we didn't have any right to reject albums."


Given the considerable trouble they had submitting an acceptable tracklisting to Reprise for what eventually became Sunflower, it's odd to me what they had to do to get it out given that Warner/Reprise apparently had no contractual right to reject what they submitted. Does anybody have any info/insight into this?

Sorry if this has been covered.

What’s the deal with the ending of surfs up live in 73? The performance is beautiful, especially Carl's lead, and then there’s this really weird series of hits at the end. It sounds random to me, does anyone else feel the same way? Or am I missing some reference in the music?

I sort of thought the same thing myself when hearing it the first time. Scanning another live version of the period, it seems this was the typical ending. The ending I've heard on a couple of '74 versions is more abrupt with fewer "hits" at the end.