Unpopular Beach Boys opinions

[Paulos]

I don't get why people who didn't know Dennis Wilson insist on calling him Denny.

I don't get why people who don't know Michael Love insist on calling him Mike

I don't get why people who don't know Alan Jardine insist on calling him Al

I don't get why people who don't know Bruce Johnston insist on calling him Historical

[1-1-wonderful]

Whatevs, Pauly

[Wirestone]

I prefer Brian's solo output to many Beach Boys records. BW88, OCA, IJWMFTT, Imagination, Roxy, TLOS, Gershwin and Disney work for me anytime.

[Jason]

Brian Wilson Presents Smile is akin to a K-Tel repackaging of the Smile material sold on local television.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

On the contrary, Brian's solo career is a pale shadow of his work with the Beach Boys, and is frequently embarrassing and often outright appalling.

The only time he ever really re-captured the old magic is when he returned to Pet Sounds and Smile.

Otherwise it's almost all entirely lame. His debut album has a handful of decent songs, but even those are spoilt by the atrocious production.

Gershwin and Disney were both lazy covers albums. The Christmas album was breathtakingly dreadful. Gettin' In Over My Head was almost as bad. Orange Crate Art is boring.

That Lucky Old Sun is a rare bright spot, but even that is wildly over-rated by fans, their sympathy and goodwill towards Brian causing them to over-value what is basically a solid album, but nothing like a classic.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I don't get why people who didn't know Dennis Wilson insist on calling him Denny.

I don't get why people who don't know Michael Love insist on calling him Mike

I don't get why people who don't know Alan Jardine insist on calling him Al

I don't get why people who don't know Bruce Johnston insist on calling him Historical

That's nothing. I was on a Beatles forum recently and everyone kept referring to Richard Starkey as Ringo! As if they bloody knew him or something...

[Wirestone]

Touched a nerve there, huh, guys?

To me, the sound of Brian Wilson untethered to the atrocious production and marketing gimmicks of the post Endless Summer group is nothing less than hearing a modern American musical titan finally free. Free to express music that his band would never countenance. And free to attract an audience that enjoys his music for what it is -- modern American masterpieces -- rather than the lifestyle marketing ploy his cousin and assorted hangers-on want it to signify.

And of course his voice is reduced, and of course he turns to others for support. But that makes his accomplishments even greater and more precious. Here's the truth. I would trade the entire Beach Boys discography for Brian Wilson's four solo albums of original compositions. Brian Wilson (88), Imagination (98), Gettin' In Over My Head (04) and That Lucky Old Sun (08) are, to me, the truly canonical and irreplaceable creations of this timeless musical force. They have everything I like about Brian Wilson's music with precious little of the dross that so often accompanies it.

And that sounds like a joke, but it's actually not.

...

...

...

Well, actually it's a little bit of joke. I'd have to add the covers records, OCA, and the Wilsons albums too. And the Paley sessions.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Touched a nerve there, huh, guys?

To me, the sound of Brian Wilson untethered to the atrocious production and marketing gimmicks of the post Endless Summer group is nothing less than hearing a modern American musical titan finally free. Free to express music that his band would never countenance. And free to attract an audience that enjoys his music for what it is -- modern American masterpieces -- rather than the lifestyle marketing ploy his cousin and assorted hangers-on want it to signify.

And of course his voice is reduced, and of course he turns to others for support. But that makes his accomplishments even greater and more precious. Here's the truth. I would trade the entire Beach Boys discography for Brian Wilson's four solo albums of original compositions. Brian Wilson (88), Imagination (98), Gettin' In Over My Head (04) and That Lucky Old Sun (08) are, to me, the truly canonical and irreplaceable creations of this timeless musical force. They have everything I like about Brian Wilson's music with precious little of the dross that so often accompanies it.

And that sounds like a joke, but it's actually not.

Personally I couldn't care less if you do or don't love Brian's solo work. I just disagree - I think most of it's crap. No nerves touched.

[Jason]

Touched a nerve there, huh, guys?

To me, the sound of Brian Wilson untethered to the atrocious production and marketing gimmicks of the post Endless Summer group is nothing less than hearing a modern American musical titan finally free. Free to express music that his band would never countenance. And free to attract an audience that enjoys his music for what it is -- modern American masterpieces -- rather than the lifestyle marketing ploy his cousin and assorted hangers-on want it to signify.

And of course his voice is reduced, and of course he turns to others for support. But that makes his accomplishments even greater and more precious. Here's the truth. I would trade the entire Beach Boys discography for Brian Wilson's four solo albums of original compositions. Brian Wilson (88), Imagination (98), Gettin' In Over My Head (04) and That Lucky Old Sun (08) are, to me, the truly canonical and irreplaceable creations of this timeless musical force. They have everything I like about Brian Wilson's music with precious little of the dross that so often accompanies it.

And that sounds like a joke, but it's actually not.

Personally I couldn't care less if you do or don't love Brian's solo work. I just disagree - I think most of it's crap. No nerves touched.

+1

[Don Malcolm]

Wow, guys. I have never seen so many people so COMPLETELY WRONG about anything and everything to do with the BBs!!!

Seriously--great work, even though I'm convinced that at least half of you don't actually hold the opinions you are expressing...

What we need NOW is a way to determine what the most popular "unpopular" opinons are...

[Iron Horse-Apples]

I'm convinced that at least half of you don't actually hold the opinions you are expressing...

So when I say I hate everything they did after Surfin' Safari, you don't believe me? Outrageous!

[Wirestone]

I'm convinced that at least half of you don't actually hold the opinions you are expressing...

So when I say I hate everything they did after Surfin' Safari, you don't believe me? Outrageous!

Can I also say that I believe Gettin' In Over My Head is Brian's best and most characteristic solo album?

[rab2591]

Touched a nerve there, huh, guys?

To me, the sound of Brian Wilson untethered to the atrocious production and marketing gimmicks of the post Endless Summer group is nothing less than hearing a modern American musical titan finally free. Free to express music that his band would never countenance. And free to attract an audience that enjoys his music for what it is -- modern American masterpieces -- rather than the lifestyle marketing ploy his cousin and assorted hangers-on want it to signify.

And of course his voice is reduced, and of course he turns to others for support. But that makes his accomplishments even greater and more precious. Here's the truth. I would trade the entire Beach Boys discography for Brian Wilson's four solo albums of original compositions. Brian Wilson (88), Imagination (98), Gettin' In Over My Head (04) and That Lucky Old Sun (08) are, to me, the truly canonical and irreplaceable creations of this timeless musical force. They have everything I like about Brian Wilson's music with precious little of the dross that so often accompanies it.

And that sounds like a joke, but it's actually not.

...

...

...

Well, actually it's a little bit of joke. I'd have to add the covers records, OCA, and the Wilsons albums too. And the Paley sessions.

Amen.

Honestly, what are Mike and Bruce bringing to the table that is so friggin profound? I mean, I know people here are obsessed with having the Beach Boys name tethered to Brian's new project, but will that do?....Add another shitty song about Beaches? Or another Daybreak (a song I love but that's completely out of place on TWGMTR)? I'll miss their voices as much as the next person, but I know I won't be missing any thunderous artistic statement from Mike and Co.

I like Brian when he's completely free of the endless summer. He's more honest and open with his songwriting. There are many people out there who care about hearing good music (rather than seeing a silly name attached to a record) that will buy this album in a heartbeat....me included.

*Edit: If Mike has more songs like 'Daybreak', I hope he releases a solo album. That song, though mostly unappreciated here, has good production, good lyrics, and great vocals. It just doesn't fit with Brian's songwriting. Brian and Mike are no longer compatible with each other - so why force them to write together?

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[rab2591]

Haha, I'm not anti Mike by any means. I just don't see Brian and Mike as being great collaborators anymore. I'd love for them to prove me wrong, but until then, I won't be complaining about a new Brian Wilson solo album.

[Jeff]

On the contrary, Brian's solo career is a pale shadow of his work with the Beach Boys, and is frequently embarrassing and often outright appalling.

The only time he ever really re-captured the old magic is when he returned to Pet Sounds and Smile.

Otherwise it's almost all entirely lame. His debut album has a handful of decent songs, but even those are spoilt by the atrocious production.

Gershwin and Disney were both lazy covers albums. The Christmas album was breathtakingly dreadful. Gettin' In Over My Head was almost as bad. Orange Crate Art is boring.

That Lucky Old Sun is a rare bright spot, but even that is wildly over-rated by fans, their sympathy and goodwill towards Brian causing them to over-value what is basically a solid album, but nothing like a classic.

Touched a nerve there, huh, guys?

To me, the sound of Brian Wilson untethered to the atrocious production and marketing gimmicks of the post Endless Summer group is nothing less than hearing a modern American musical titan finally free. Free to express music that his band would never countenance. And free to attract an audience that enjoys his music for what it is -- modern American masterpieces -- rather than the lifestyle marketing ploy his cousin and assorted hangers-on want it to signify.

And of course his voice is reduced, and of course he turns to others for support. But that makes his accomplishments even greater and more precious. Here's the truth. I would trade the entire Beach Boys discography for Brian Wilson's four solo albums of original compositions. Brian Wilson (88), Imagination (98), Gettin' In Over My Head (04) and That Lucky Old Sun (08) are, to me, the truly canonical and irreplaceable creations of this timeless musical force. They have everything I like about Brian Wilson's music with precious little of the dross that so often accompanies it.

And that sounds like a joke, but it's actually not.

...

...

...

Well, actually it's a little bit of joke. I'd have to add the covers records, OCA, and the Wilsons albums too. And the Paley sessions.

Wow.  Talk about opposite ends of the spectrum.  I would bet that 95% or more on this board are somewhere between those two extremes.  But I think there’s good points on both sides.

On the one hand, you could certainly say that BW was “tethered” to unfortunate choices, especially lyrically, up to ’65 and again from ’78 to ’85.  It’s nice to see him lose some of those constraints.

On the other hand, from ’66 to ’77 he had artistic freedom like very very few musicians have ever had.  He was able to spend an extraordinary amount of money on Good Vibrations and the Smile sessions and make idiosyncratic albums like Smiley Smile and Love You.  No way those get released under most artists’ names.  I would also say that the BW of today (and since the 80s) barely resembles the BW of the 60s and early 70s.  He simply does not have anywhere close the same skills in composing, producing or singing.

So it’s kind of hard to understand preferring the latter-day “untethered” BW to the untethered BW of Pet Sounds, Smile, and even Love You.

[Wirestone]

Yes, but that's a logical and rational reply. I'm talking about crazy, unpopular opinions that have no basis in anything other the fact that I really enjoy hearing a 50-plus year old guy multitrack himself. And bass harmonicas.

[Rocky Raccoon]

Brian Wilson Presents Smile is akin to a K-Tel repackaging of the Smile material sold on local television.

I don't really understand that analogy.  A K-Tel recording would be low budget and low profile.  Smile was the opposite of both.  I can see after the release of the Smile Sessions feeling Brian's album was unnecessary but this was seven years before, several of the songs had never been heard, new lyrics had been written, and for a long time this was the most complete version of Smile available (I would argue it's still more complete than the Beach Boys version).  I think that's enough to make it pretty legit.

[SMiLE Brian]

The touring group from 1965 to 1970 was terrible to mediocre live, adding to the BBs downfall since other acts stepped up their game live.

[Jason]

Brian Wilson Presents Smile is akin to a K-Tel repackaging of the Smile material sold on local television.

I don't really understand that analogy.  A K-Tel recording would be low budget and low profile.  Smile was the opposite of both.  I can see after the release of the Smile Sessions feeling Brian's album was unnecessary but this was seven years before, several of the songs had never been heard, new lyrics had been written, and for a long time this was the most complete version of Smile available (I would argue it's still more complete than the Beach Boys version).  I think that's enough to make it pretty legit.

BWPS does sound like a cheap imitation of the original recordings; it sounds phoned in and plastic. No soul. No feeling. And I felt the same before the box set was released, so that won't work for me.

[Michael Edwards Love]

'Daybreak Over the Ocean' has the best sounding vocals on TWGMTR and the entire record would sound better if Christian Love and (gasp) Adrian Baker had been called in for the vocal-blend on the Brian tracks.

[rab2591]

'Daybreak Over the Ocean' has the best sounding vocals on TWGMTR and the entire record would sound better if Christian Love and (gasp) Adrian Baker had been called in for the vocal-blend on the Brian tracks.

Agreed.

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[drbeachboy]

Touched a nerve there, huh, guys?

To me, the sound of Brian Wilson untethered to the atrocious production and marketing gimmicks of the post Endless Summer group is nothing less than hearing a modern American musical titan finally free. Free to express music that his band would never countenance. And free to attract an audience that enjoys his music for what it is -- modern American masterpieces -- rather than the lifestyle marketing ploy his cousin and assorted hangers-on want it to signify.

And of course his voice is reduced, and of course he turns to others for support. But that makes his accomplishments even greater and more precious. Here's the truth. I would trade the entire Beach Boys discography for Brian Wilson's four solo albums of original compositions. Brian Wilson (88), Imagination (98), Gettin' In Over My Head (04) and That Lucky Old Sun (08) are, to me, the truly canonical and irreplaceable creations of this timeless musical force. They have everything I like about Brian Wilson's music with precious little of the dross that so often accompanies it.

And that sounds like a joke, but it's actually not.

...

...

...

Well, actually it's a little bit of joke. I'd have to add the covers records, OCA, and the Wilsons albums too. And the Paley sessions.

Amen.

Honestly, what are Mike and Bruce bringing to the table that is so friggin profound? I mean, I know people here are obsessed with having the Beach Boys name tethered to Brian's new project, but will that do?....Add another shitty song about Beaches? Or another Daybreak (a song I love but that's completely out of place on TWGMTR)? I'll miss their voices as much as the next person, but I know I won't be missing any thunderous artistic statement from Mike and Co.

I like Brian when he's completely free of the endless summer. He's more honest and open with his songwriting. There are many people out there who care about hearing good music (rather than seeing a silly name attached to a record) that will buy this album in a heartbeat....me included.

*Edit: If Mike has more songs like 'Daybreak', I hope he releases a solo album. That song, though mostly unappreciated here, has good production, good lyrics, and great vocals. It just doesn't fit with Brian's songwriting. Brian and Mike are no longer compatible with each other - so why force them to write together?

Short answer is the voices. Too much Brian singing lead is too much Brian singing lead. I could care less whether Brian writes with any of the four, but man, Brian's music is so much better with those voices.

[drbeachboy]

'Daybreak Over the Ocean' has the best sounding vocals on TWGMTR and the entire record would sound better if Christian Love and (gasp) Adrian Baker had been called in for the vocal-blend on the Brian tracks.

I agree, except for Adrian Baker. Christian Love definitely should of been on more of the album.

Christian definitely sounds like Carl in the vocal stack, which is missing on this album. While Jeff is fine on Brian's old parts, he doesn't quite fit with Carl's.