Band albums - check: anyone up for top 5 solo releases ?

[musicismylife101]

1. Pacific Ocean Blue - in its entirety
2. Brian Wilson - mostly good songs though production isn't at its best
3. Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin - pretty good cover album
4. A Postcard From California - not a big fan of some of the tracks and could do without the guests (other than the BBs)
5. Youngblood - mainly because it has Of the Times which has a great Carl vocal and would've made a good BB song

[Manchini]

1. Brian Wilson - BW
2. Gettin' In Over My Head - BW
3. Pacific Ocean Blue - DW
4. In the Key of Disney - BW
5. What I Really Want for Christmas - BW

Yes, GIOMH is at #2. I think almost all the songs on this album are great from a compositional standpoint. His vocals don't really ruin the experience for me like a lot of people.
Obviously this list takes a pretty big drop after POB. I find all of BW's solo work enjoyable, but I miss having original songs from him. The lyrics on Imagination ruin what could be a decent album. The lyrics on TLOS put me off very much, and when you factor in the spoken interludes and reprises -- fuhgedaboutit. Takes itself way too seriously -- totally unlike BW.

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

1. POB
2. BWPS
3. TLOS
4. BW88
5. Gershwin

[Myk Luhv]

I'd exclude BWPS from my list since it's not exactly new some 30 years later This'll be easy too:

1. POB
2. BW88

There, all done.

[Camus]

TLOS
BW 88
OCA
POB
BWPS

[Andrew G. Doe]

OK, final standings, and as with the band albums, it was always going to be an exercise to see who came second: as you can see, it was a damn close-run thing. 52 lists were counted.

  1   POB - 183 points [26 first place votes]
  2   BW 88 - 116 [5]
  3   TLOS - 116 [3]
  4   BWPS - 114 [12]
  5   BWRG - 51 [1]

  6   Postcard - 45 [3]
  7   Goin' Public - 27 [2]
  8   Youngblood - 27
  9   OCA -17
10   Imagination -12
 =   ITKOD - 12

12   Bambu - 9
13   Surfin' Around TW - 8
14   LBWL - 7
15   WIRWFC - 6
 =   GIOMH - 6
17   Carl Wilson - 5
18   Live/Roxy - 4
 =    IJWMFTT - 4

20   Blondie Chaplin - 3
 =    I Think About You... - 3

[Forrest Gump]

POB
Youngblood
BW88
TLOS
LBWL

[RangeRoverA1]

I hadn't listen to any David Marks' (except for Ultimate Collector's Edition, doubt that it counts), Blondie & Ricky's records yet, as well as Al's Live In Vegas (unfortunately) & Mike's unreleased albums (except for some individual tracks I found on the Inet). So my Top-5 solo ranking goes as next:

1. That Lucky Old Sun (the only song I dislike is Mexican Girl, everything else - great)
2. Brian's self-titled (marvellous! Well, maybe minus Let It Shine)
3. A Postcard From California (this is very close to #2, actually, very joyful & beautiful musical work)
4. GIOMH (there are many cool moments & I dig the duet tracks)
5. Surfin' Round The World (imo Bruce's greatest achievement is this album, not The Grammy for composing I Write The Songs)<<-----------DELETE

I'll exchange Bruce's effort for Al's Live in Vegas, without any 2nd thought. Have been listening to it lately & it's great cheery music. I like Family & Friends' version of Sloop John B. Also, it's amazing how Al manages to sing the Mike-sung songs. Even my least favorite Little Deuce Coupe sounds good, from now it's the definitive version to me. Wendy did nice vocs in DWB as well. Generally, she has quite a pleasant voice, sth. about it is folky imo.

[wantsomecorn]

1. POB
2. That Lucky Old Sun
3. Unleash the Love
4. A Postcard From California
5. Brian Wilson '88

Unleash the Love really, really, deserves an official release.

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[Wirestone]

1. POB. No contest, really. None of the other Boys put out a record at the height of their powers. Dennis did, and it's a corker.
2. TLOS. Everything comes together for Brian on this. He's justifiably proud of the record, and it's still surprising he managed this level of sustained creativity in his 60s.
3. BW88. Songs are great, while the vocals leave a bit to be desired. The 2000 edition is the must-have.
4. Gershwin. Brian's vocals and imaginative approach to arrangements and production really seal the deal here.
5. Postcard. Al's album is not the most original thing ever, but by gum he knows how to produce a genuine sounding BB blend. And the tracks sound great too.

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I find Carl's solo material pretty darn dull. Like a Brother is good, but not really a solo thing. Mike's latest is pretty good, but his limitations as a songwriter hamstring a lot of the material. And Dennis's later material is brilliant, but no one could accuse it of being coherent.

As to BWPS, I just can't bring myself to count it as a true solo release. It's a great record, but I could it as a spiritual and personal triumph. The true artistic achievement is in the original sessions.

[B-Rex]

I don't see much love for Imagination.

1. BW Presents SMiLE
2. Imagination
3. Orange Crate Art
4. Pacific Ocean Blue
5. That Lucky Old Sun

6. A Postcard from California
7. Gettin' in Over My Head
8. Brian Wilson
9. Reimagines Gershwin
10. Youngblood

[punkinhead]

1. POB. No contest, really. None of the other Boys put out a record at the height of their powers. Dennis did, and it's a corker.
2. TLOS. Everything comes together for Brian on this. He's justifiably proud of the record, and it's still surprising he managed this level of sustained creativity in his 60s.
3. BW88. Songs are great, while the vocals leave a bit to be desired. The 2000 edition is the must-have.
4. Gershwin. Brian's vocals and imaginative approach to arrangements and production really seal the deal here.
5. Postcard. Al's album is not the most original thing ever, but by gum he knows how to produce a genuine sounding BB blend. And the tracks sound great too.

-----

I find Carl's solo material pretty darn dull. Like a Brother is good, but not really a solo thing. Mike's latest is pretty good, but his limitations as a songwriter hamstring a lot of the material. And Dennis's later material is brilliant, but no one could accuse it of being coherent.

As to BWPS, I just can't bring myself to count it as a true solo release. It's a great record, but I could it as a spiritual and personal triumph. The true artistic achievement is in the original sessions.

You mention Mike's latest offerings being alright, are you describing his albu that's not released from early 2000's? I believe some of the songs are: anything for you, Brian's back, cool head warm fart, daybreak over the ocean, pieces brother, 100,000 years, etc… or are you mentioning something else?

[drbeachboy]

As to BWPS, I just can't bring myself to count it as a true solo release. It's a great record, but I could it as a spiritual and personal triumph. The true artistic achievement is in the original sessions.

It's true worth is that you probably would not have The Beach Boys Smile Sessions without it. It is what caused Brian to come to terms with Smile. Well, that and the Smile Tour.