Two mediocre albums = marketing genius

[37!ws]

I don't think I've shared my thoughts on this before, but something to think about...

15 Big Ones -- artistically, a disappointment after Holland and In Concert. Half oldies covers, the other half originals, many of which were already old by the time the album came out (and one of which had been released at least twice on a single). One of the ugliest album covers ever. Yep, Brian was back, but his voice was horrid. But it did pretty well on the charts.

Still Cruisin' -- a rip-off on the surface. A handful of hits and a few newish and semi-newish tracks. Ho hum.

Now think about the marketing that either went behind each or could have gone behind each:

15 Big Ones:
First of all, in terms of quantity, more bang for your buck. In a country in which 12 songs per album was standard, they give you 25% more on a single disc. It was 1976 -- the U.S.'s bicentenniel and an Olympic year -- all the more reasons to celebrate things that are considered a big part of Americana: including the Beach Boys. New Beach Boys album!

And you know what? Brian was back! [well...sort of.] There's something for the die-hards: a new Brian Wilson-produced album for the Brianistas.

A good chunk of the album: oldies. What are the Beach Boys known for? Good-time oldies. So what better combination than the Beach Boys and old standards? And of course, a TV special airs on NBC around the time, and Brian appears on SNL. Promotion right there. Album is a hit.

Still Cruisin':
As the success of "Kokomo" was waning, the Beach Boys follow it up with the theme song to VH1's Corvette giveaway. So they got exposure for the song -- especially because VH1 showed the video...a lot. So it's obvious to open the album with "Still Cruisin'." Obviously, you gotta throw in "Kokomo," their latest hit. And new recordings! Well, "Wipe Out" was from a couple years earlier, but still a fairly recent hit that hadn't been on an album yet. Oh...and something for the Brianistas: three new Brian songs, right on the heels of his debut solo album. Add to it a couple of more recent songs from movies, and you got yourself sort of a concept album, as just about every song on the album was in a recent movie. One of the new songs is called "Island Girl," which although a different song, shares its title with a rather popular Elton John song, so your average Joe Beach Boys Hits Consumer will pick up the album, look at the track listing, and think, "Ooh, it might be cool to hear their take on an Elton John song." Ahhh...but what to fill it out with? Well...let's throw in two or three of their biggest oldies. This way, you have an album that has their absolute biggest hits plus their latest smash, for those who haven't yet gotten around to buying a hits compilation. Album goes gold in a relatively short time.

[MBE]

The albums came out at a time when The Beach Boys profile was huge. Just think if they had been really good albums. They could of gone to number one!

[AMDG]

If the Beach Boys released Sunflower in 1976 instead of 1970 it would have sold 10 million copies.

If they had released LA (ex HCTN plus maybe Santa Anna Winds and maybe the alternate version of Big Sur to replace it) it would have sold 3 million copies.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Well, "Wipe Out" was from a couple years earlier, but still a fairly recent hit that hadn't been on an album yet.

Actually, you're partially correct. It had never been on a *Beach Boys* album. It *was* released on the Fat Boys' 1987 album "Crushin'", and was on the soundtrack for their film "Disorderlies".