Is The Beach Boys '85 Underrated?

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I was sitting in study hall today (I know, I'm young guys.) and I had filled my iPod with all the Beach Boys music I own (basically, all of it haha)

So I was listening to Getcha Back, and I let the album play, I'd never really listened to it before, I know the story with The production and all that jazz (thanks 50 sides!)
and I was very surprised with the quality of the songs! I mean, with the exception of California Calling, Just A Matter of Time, and maybe Crack at Your Love, the songs are very well written.
Sure, the production is, well, cheese nowadays, but I kinda like it in some cases (Maybe I Don't Know is a great example!)
Carl's voice was, IMO, at one of it's best stages here. The voice is smooth as wine, and very heartfelt, I love it!

So, for the most part I really enjoyed it! Much more then some of the earlier albums from the period! If this had had Dennis on it, maybe 2-3 tracks, it'd be a favorite!

[gfac22]

Absolutely underrated.  I used to hate all things 80s, so I never gave this album a fair shake.  A year or two ago, for whatever reason, it clicked for me.  There is some fantastic material on there, and I love all the synths and drum machines.  Where I Belong has become one of my favorite Beach Boys songs of all time, and the album itself is in my BB top 10...maybe even top 5.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Agreed! Synths used to be a real killer for me, but after I began to like Brian Wilson (the album) synths really started to work for me, after that a lot of great songs
started to "click", like this album.

I'd say it's slowly becoming a favorite, certainly my 2nd favorite of the post Holland Era (after Love You!)

[gfac22]

I used to resist cheesy 80s synths, but being born in the 80s, resistance was futile.  It's like it's in my blood or something.  Beach Boys + 80s production = awesomeness for me.  I know I'm in the minority.

[EgoHanger1966]

It's not underrated, but I love the hell out of it. I like the songs and the production, but it's no hidden masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. A guilty pleasure record. One of my top five BB albums, I think - it has a cohesiveness about it that LA and KTSA are missing.

[wantsomecorn]

The synths pretty much kill it for me. I can't stand listening to "It's Getting Late" or "Male Ego" for example. That said, there's still some decent songs in there, "Getcha Back" isn't bad live, and I actually enjoy "I Do Love You".

[Banana]

YES!  It does sound like it is from the mid 1980s because  IT IS from the mid 1980s.  I think the songwriting is strong.  The vocals are great.  Carl especially sings his butt off.  Plus, it is the last LP to feature active contributions from more than one Wilson Brother!  I used to never listen to it, but I find myself enjoying it these days!

[I. Spaceman]

Overrated. Even those who admit it is crap are overrating it.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Overrated. Even those who admit it is crap are overrating it.

Any specific reason why?

[Shady]

I absolutely love that album...well most if it.

Same thoughts on KTSA, Both underrated IMO

[Quzi]

I don't mind about half of it, I'm undecided on a few tracks and a couple here well and truly sound like a band who've reached their nadir.

I'd say It's Gettin' Late is one of the best songs the band ever did. Carl's lead is absolutely phenomenal, the harmonies are solid and it's genuinely catchy. Not high art, but a great piece of eighties pop.

Getcha Back is a nice enough throwback though Mike could've certainly given a better lead than this, a bit of a missed opportunity.

She Believes in Love Again teeters on the edge of "okay" and "bad" for me, it's very cheesy, but in the context of the album, it kinda works. The melody is very nursery-rhyme esque like some of the bands most memorable melodies, but dialled to a self-parodying 11 which can either be grating or endearing depending on my mood.

Where I Belong is in all a pretty okay song marred a little from the "don't need to search no more exotic islands" lyric. I'm not one to have lyrics ruin my listening experience too often (if you haven't noticed, I'm a Beach Boys fan  ) but I really think it's one of the worst lyrics in the band's catalogue which definitely says a lot about how I feel about it.

[I. Spaceman]

Overrated. Even those who admit it is crap are overrating it.

Any specific reason why?

Every single thing about it, besides Getcha Back. The songs are terrible and badly chosen, the production and instrumentation are disgusting, the vocals are Fairlighted to death, the cover is an awful budget-album looking eyesore.

[MBE]

Overrated. Even those who admit it is crap are overrating it.

Any specific reason why?

Every single thing about it, besides Getcha Back. The songs are terrible and badly chosen, the production and instrumentation are disgusting, the vocals are Fairlighted to death, the cover is an awful budget-album looking eyesore.

+!
I loath it and doubt I will ever play it again.  There's too much other good music by The Beach Boys and 100 other artists to waste my time with it.

[DonnyL]

noooooooooooo ...

it's a bad record. the voices sound like angel hair.

[the captain]

There's a danger for the obsessive fan in BB85--not especially different from the danger of the solo or peripheral material. There is greater capacity to hear than to create, and the listener's expectations don't change proportionate to the creators' inspirations. The resulting vacuum fills up one way or the other. One wants more great Beach Boys music, one finds it. Alternate takes, live shows, unreleased tracks, or the inevitable "underrated gems."

"This part of that song sounds like it might actually be Brian!" "Carl's voice sounds amazing [on that terrible song]." "Ringo!"

I've had my moments flirting with the likes of BB85. Bad news. Spend precious time on great Beach Boys music or on great non-Beach Boys music.

[seltaeb1012002]

LOVE 80's production + I love BB's '85. Such a positive uplifting sounding record. Contains some of Carl's best work for sure.

[Doo Dah]

I had such great hopes for the album after reading the Beach Boys interview in Musician Magazine. (any scans of that available btw?)

After picking it up back in the day, sure - Carl was a powerhouse on his tunes, but I got the feeling of a band still unsure of its studio bearings. You get that smooth Beckley, Lamm & Wilson sound juxtaposed with the obvious retro stuff like California Calling. Overall, it's a meh to me, although it has its moments. Can't say I reach for it very often, although I do like Getcha Back.

Funny how TWGMTR managed to walk that tight rope successfully without tipping over - Yacht Rock and Art Rock. Nothin' wrong with dat.

[lance]

I think it's a bit underrated. Mostly, I look at it as a learning experience for Brian, a chance to learn how to record with this new technology; especially, an experiment whose outcome wasn't great but it taught him the ropes and allowed him to make his first solo album.

[over and over]

LOVE IT!!!!
Especially "I'm So Lonely"

[D409]

Like It's Getting Late, Maybe I Don't Know, She Believes In Love Again and why California Calling wasn't released as a single is beyond me...the presence of Ringo and the obvious vintage-style verging on pastiche Beach Boys sound would surely have had Mr Love foaming at the mouth to make it a hit !

Don't understand the love for Getcha Back, though, and the rest of the album sounds like filler...

[Lonely Summer]

I lived through the 80's, listened to CHR at the time, so I had no problem with the synths and all. Songs are not quite as good as what turned up on BW88 three years later, but it feels like an album, not just a random collection of tracks, and It's Gettin' Late, Getcha Back and Where I Belong are outstanding. Carl was at his best here; Brian was on his way back. The worst thing about this album is that it turned out to be the last real BB's album - Still Cruisin' being a comp, and SIP being a Mike Love solo album with the BB's name on it. Edit: okay, TWGMTR is a real BB's album, and it appears will be the last. At least they ended strong.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Half of the album is crap. Half of the album is FANTASTIC! Therefore, yes under-rated indeed.

[Eric Aniversario]

Most of it has not aged well.  Getcha Back is a latter-day classic, though.  And I do enjoy some songs, like I Do Love You (great Carl vocal), It's Just A Matter Of Time, I'm So Lonely (vintage Brian), and Male Ego...other than that, the rest I don't really care to listen to more than once or twice a year...

[Loaf]

For me, if I approach it as a Beach Boys album, i.e. a follow-up album by the band who made Pet Sounds, Friends, Sunflower, Holland, then it suffers.

But if I listen in the context of Prince, Phil Collins, Heart, Cyndi Lauper, it makes sense and sounds pretty good. The Beach Boys did 80s music pretty well, considering that McCartney and Dylan and many others suuuucked for most of it.

[Micha]

Overrated. Even those who admit it is crap are overrating it.

Any specific reason why?

Every single thing about it, besides Getcha Back. The songs are terrible and badly chosen, the production and instrumentation are disgusting, the vocals are Fairlighted to death, the cover is an awful budget-album looking eyesore.

Whoah, that sounds bitter!

I used to like the album more when the 80s weren't as far away yet as they are now and the sound had a bit more current feel to it. To judge it fairly, one really would have to listen to a Cyndi Lauper and a Joan Armatrading album first. I still like Getcha Back even though some of the lyrics are pretty bad and Mike's vocal could use some ProTools denasalator on it.