should they have experimented with a harder sound?

[dwtherealbb]

like around the time of Sunflower or Surf's Up? I think that they might have been more popular had they done that. I think they should have covered some songs like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4CzqrPZtXk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auDv6cf2PBM

It would be interesting to see if Carl or Al would be capable of playing the guitar in such a fashion. If they had, they could have tried writing a few songs in that genre, in my opinion.

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

Nah, that would have been sh*t.

[hypehat]

They did, it's called In Concert.

[The Shift]

Thing is, if you want to hear a band handle material like that, listen to the Beatles or Led Zep – nobody does it better.

If you want to hear material like that on Sunflower or Surf's Up, listen to the Beach Boys.  Ever heard cover versions that improve on what the BBs did with their own material? Me neither.

[The Heartical Don]

Nah, that would have been sh*t.

Agree. For me, the BBs are antithetical to the pyrotechnics of Hendrix, Zeppelin, Sabbath et al. They achieve(d) that rare thing: pretty wary of hunting effects for their own sake, long-winded and very boring solos, distortion and chaos, our band produced very refined, musically adventurous, harmony-laden stuff, year after year after year... yet they really did very little MOR/AOR (as percentage of their total body of work).

[Exapno Mapcase]

God, no. By now, they'd have sold their souls playing endless blues shows/albums.  I like the BB because of what they are not what someone else wants so they could be more popular amongst the macho dick-centric crowd. I would have been quite happy if they had explored certain musical routes open to them, sure - but they were routes that they created in the first place (the SMiLE and Holland era or the potential for more DW songs as opposed to 'summer is fun.'

[AndrewHickey]

Of course not. Whenever the post-67 Beach Boys have chased commercial success, the results have been horrific. Whenever they've tried to create something artistically worthwhile, they've been magnificent.
Chasing a heavy blues-rock sound in 1969 would have been precisely as bad an idea as going disco was a decade later. You might as well ask if Led Zeppelin should have gone in the direction of six-part harmony vocals over a backing of Moog and banjo. They're bands with nothing really in common, except that both were very good at what they did.

[Cabinessenceking]

I wish Dennis and Carl woulda made a couple of harder sounding tracks in the POB-LA Light period. Those albums lack a certain hard edge.
As a whole, I'm glad they didn't, but on CATP they showed some capability in doing so.

[EgoHanger1966]

I don't think so. "Wild Honey" (the song) is in a hard R&B (to coin a style!) kind of groove and I don't think it works as well as the other songs on the album. "All I Want To Do" is a rocker and again, I don't think it stands up to most of the other stuff on 20/20.

[meltedwhiskeyinmyhand]

WHo knows? it might have been cool.

[dwtherealbb]

well the examples I picked were probably extremes. But in the song below, it is sort of a ballad like the kind Brian always did but even there, it incorporates a good guitar solo at the 2:57 mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-2lMstw6qs

[Phoenix]

like around the time of Sunflower or Surf's Up?

Yes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvZDBKbUAVs-

I personally would have liked to have seen at least a little more studio work in the same vein.  And as hypehat mentions, In Concert is another good example of the Boys in a "heavier", more guitar oriented atmosphere.

[Aegir]

doesn't everyone think Bluebirds Over the Mountain is ridiculous with that screaming electric guitar?

I mean, I think it's pretty amusing, but that's what the Beach Boys with hard rock guitar would sound like.

[The Heartical Don]

doesn't everyone think Bluebirds Over the Mountain is ridiculous with that screaming electric guitar?

I mean, I think it's pretty amusing, but that's what the Beach Boys with hard rock guitar would sound like.

Totally agree, Aegir. It has such an internal contradiction, and that contradiction is not nice.

The best they did in that general direction is 'It's About Time', IMHO, and that's not among my BBs favourites.

[Phoenix]

doesn't everyone think Bluebirds Over the Mountain is ridiculous with that screaming electric guitar?

I mean, I think it's pretty amusing, but that's what the Beach Boys with hard rock guitar would sound like.

The question is whether or not they should have experimented with a "harder" sound.  "Bluebirds..." isn't that.  It may include electric guitar leads in it but it's hardly a Rock song.  It's certainly not nearly as "heavy" as some of their earlier material like, "409", etc.  By comparison it's closer to Bluegrass, with Ed's parts serving as an out of place novelty. 

Their reluctance to embrace that sound (and lack of a "guitar hero") was mentioned in a recent book (one of Jon S's, maybe, I can't remember off hand) as one of the band's many missed opportunities and to some degree, I agree.  Again, getting back to the question posed: I would have at least like to have seen more experimentation in that direction, as they started out as a guitar based band in the first place.

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

The best they did in that general direction is 'It's About Time', IMHO, and that's not among my BBs favourites.

Yeah...I'm a massive Dennis fanboy and I think that's only an 'okay' track. Lyrics are pretty bad imo.

RE: 'Making The Beach Boys be the Beatles'...no, just no. Absolutely hate the Beatles. It's like a group made up of 3 Mikes and an Al.

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

The best they did in that general direction is 'It's About Time', IMHO, and that's not among my BBs favourites.

Yeah...I'm a massive Dennis fanboy and I think that's only an 'okay' track. Lyrics are pretty bad imo.

RE: 'Making The Beach Boys be the Beatles'...no, just no. Absolutely hate the Beatles. It's like a group made up of 3 Mikes and an Al.


Wow. Just wow.  I will never understand someone hating the Beatles.  Not liking them? Ok. But hating them makes no sense to me at all.  You're entitled to your opinion of course. I just think your opinion sucks 

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

The best they did in that general direction is 'It's About Time', IMHO, and that's not among my BBs favourites.

Yeah...I'm a massive Dennis fanboy and I think that's only an 'okay' track. Lyrics are pretty bad imo.

RE: 'Making The Beach Boys be the Beatles'...no, just no. Absolutely hate the Beatles. It's like a group made up of 3 Mikes and an Al.


Wow. Just wow.  I will never understand someone hating the Beatles.  Not liking them? Ok. But hating them makes no sense to me at all.  You're entitled to your opinion of course. I just think your opinion sucks 

Well, hate is a strong word. More accurately, I hate the fact something as utterly sh*t as Abbey Road was released in the same year as Scott 4, the second Left Banke lp, Five Leaves Left by Nick Drake, Blue Afternoon by Tim Buckley, Farewell Aldebaran, and even in the context of all that great music there are thousands of people who've never heard any of the above who'd happily tell you it's one of the greatest lps ever made

[guitarfool2002]

The reason why the Beach Boys are still around and why new fans are joining in every year is because of the uniqueness heard in the music. And the reasons why the Beach Boys songs that were, are, and always will be the most widely popular and will always attract new listeners is because the Beach Boys at their best were uniquely different and sounded like themselves without copying themselves. When they did attempt to either change that sound too much, or try to recapture a previous image of themselves, they fell short.

The Beach Boys were not a hard rock band, they were not a blues band...and it's interesting to note how many blues-based rock bands and musicians from about 1968 to 1974 who were loved by critics, who were the basis of early 70's free-form FM rock radio in many cases, and which defined that era of rock and roll are mostly forgotten today. As the Beach Boys reunion sold tickets in arenas around the world, some of those formerly best-selling blues/rock bands' members who were the trend setters of the music business in 1970 are currently playing acoustic gigs in coffee houses and local theaters.

It is amazing, actually, to read through old Rolling Stone and other late 60's/early 70's record reviews and see just how much certain critics were fawning over and lionizing certain blues-heavy bands which have simply fallen into near-total obscurity today.

[dwtherealbb]

It is amazing, actually, to read through old Rolling Stone and other late 60's/early 70's record reviews and see just how much certain critics were fawning over and lionizing certain blues-heavy bands which have simply fallen into near-total obscurity today.

along the lines of this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nal82O3hMdM

[ontor pertawst]

They should've squeezed in a brief Christian Reggae phase. Boffo BO!

PS. I love the Electric Prunes!

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

It is amazing, actually, to read through old Rolling Stone and other late 60's/early 70's record reviews and see just how much certain critics were fawning over and lionizing certain blues-heavy bands which have simply fallen into near-total obscurity today.

along the lines of this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nal82O3hMdM

Fantastic track by an awesome and much loved group.

Mainstream media might have reduced sixties music to 'Beatles, Stones, Beach Boys', but there are legions of believers who'll never forget. Apart from The Beach Boys, 95% of records I buy are by groups who barely made it out of their home town, and this has no bearing on whether they did, or didn't kick ass.

[guitarfool2002]

It is amazing, actually, to read through old Rolling Stone and other late 60's/early 70's record reviews and see just how much certain critics were fawning over and lionizing certain blues-heavy bands which have simply fallen into near-total obscurity today.

along the lines of this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nal82O3hMdM

Almost but not quite - For one, every time I hear something from that album I think of Easy Rider, and every time I can picture a scene from Easy Rider in my mind it's a good thing.

There are some more blues-heavy artists and bands I'm thinking of who were given heaps of attention and praise who could get away with playing a tedious 12-bar blues form or a variant of that form for more than 10 minutes and have it be considered legit. A lot of them happened to come from either England or San Francisco, which at one time seemed to be a prerequisite for critical praise.

Disclaimer: The Allman Bros. are exempt from this because Duane was simply incredible, head and shoulders above the rest.

Disclaimer 2: Canned Heat could do some pretty boring repetitive blues-jam stuff, but some of the great "Blind Owl" Wilson's contributions on harp, guitar, and voice can lift them out of the doldrums. Same with Larry Taylor on bass.

[Myk Luhv]

I think "Student Demonstration Time" is a clunker for its lyrics more than the music, which is a fine display of Carl's ability to actually rock out. And yet I can't bring myself to quite say it's a good track...

[drbeachboy]

I think "Student Demonstration Time" is a clunker for its lyrics more than the music, which is a fine display of Carl's ability to actually rock out. And yet I can't bring myself to quite say it's a good track...

The track sounds very cluttered. I would have loved to hear the horns a bit more prominent in the mix.