Friends

[CenturyDeprived]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

[Alan Smith]

Friends is probably the last time the band released an album that didn't include tracks from the vault or recorded before the album sessions proper.

How about BB85?

A version of California Calling was recorded in '82, unfinished tho'.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Friends is probably the last time the band released an album that didn't include tracks from the vault or recorded before the album sessions proper.

How about BB85?

A version of California Calling was recorded in '82, unfinished tho'.

If only it had remained so...

[Please delete my account]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

well he has two leads (just about), as opposed to only the one on L.A.

[beatnickle]

I'm not sure the rest of the band loves that album. I know Bruce has criticized the album art more than a few times and in the 2nd "Brian Wilson Songwriter" DVDs, he dismisses the album as a whole.

Aaaaaaaaarg.............. Bruce couldn't carry Brian's jock strap. ( I LOVE the Friends LP )

[rab2591]

Friends, to me, is Pet Sounds part II. The hopeless romantic teenager has grown up, now has a family, he has friends that get him and accept him for all his eccentricities, he has a house which he can give good directions to, a spiritual way of life (TM). The kid finally found his way in the world, he has grown up but still has that wide-eyed wonder about everything.

Aside from the concept, musically it is incredibly beautiful. As someone mentioned before, this is a pretty low-key album in terms of vocals, but the stunning Beach Boys harmonies are still there. The crazy chord changes and Brian's trademark songwriting style are all over this album. Dennis' contributions are so damn good. And it doesn't get much better than hearing a snippet of CIFOTM fit so perfectly in Little Bird.

5/5 one of the best albums the Beach Boys ever made.

[Alan Smith]

Friends is probably the last time the band released an album that didn't include tracks from the vault or recorded before the album sessions proper.

How about BB85?

A version of California Calling was recorded in '82, unfinished tho'.

If only it had remained so...

although I don't quite agree - any song that name checks boogie-boardin' is eternally totally rad, in my book

[KDS]

I know I'm likely in the minority, but I think California Calling is one of the better songs on the Beach Boys 85 album. 

Going back to Friends, I've always thought it was a perfect album for a lazy, hot and hazy, summer day. 

[Jesse Reiswig]

Friends is probably the last time the band released an album that didn't include tracks from the vault or recorded before the album sessions proper.

How about BB85?

I think the Carl songs were recorded several months before the album sessions proper. So under the strict definition Andrew laid out, it may not qualify. Still, I think it's the closest since Friends.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

I know I'm likely in the minority, but I think California Calling is one of the better songs on the Beach Boys 85 album.  

Going back to Friends, I've always thought it was a perfect album for a lazy, hot and hazy, summer day.  

Going off-topic a bit (sorry) but in top 3 worst BB songs officially released for me. The cupboard must have been very bare indeed to go back 3 years and resurrect that one.

Friends is a 4/5 for me, last 2 songs though not bad by any means lose it a bit. Its a bit like the BB's entry into that mid/late 60s soft pop sound with bands like the Free Design, Harper's Bizarre, the Millennium etc

[SBonilla]

 

Going back to Friends, I've always thought it was a perfect album for a lazy, hot and hazy, summer day.  

. Its a bit like the BB's entry into that mid/late 60s soft pop sound with bands like the Free Design, Harper's Bizarre, the Millennium etc

How can that be when the Beach Boys were one of the architects of that sound?

The groups you mention were still doing the baroque thing. Friends went beyond that in a loose-knit, jazzy and minimal way.

[RONDEMON]

Some great stuff and interesting arrangements on this one.

Definitely a jazz/bossa influence on most of the tracks and almost no reverb or tape delay effects.

Fidelity-wise, it sounds better than both Wild Honey and Smiley Smile too.
I wonder if this had more to do with less overdubs degrading the tape itself, which was common in that era.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but were any of the 20/20 songs recorded during whatever is considered the Friends sessions?
I always associate "I Went to Sleep" and "We're Together Again" with Friends because of the gentle laid-back vibe and the instrument/arrangement choices.

[KDS]

I think I Went to Sleep was recorded around the same time. 

Nearest Faraway Place also wouldn't have sounded out of place on the Friends album.

That's why Friends and 20/20 make such a great two-fer. 

[CenturyDeprived]

Friends is probably the last time the band released an album that didn't include tracks from the vault or recorded before the album sessions proper.

How about BB85?

A version of California Calling was recorded in '82, unfinished tho'.

If only it had remained so...

Ah, but then we'd never have had a Beatle being present on a Beach Boys album. Unless that unconfirmed celery munching on Vegatables was actually Paul...

But yeah, California Calling is pretty lame. And it sticks out on BB85 and just doesn't really fit, even on an album as mish-mash as it otherwise is.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

 

Going back to Friends, I've always thought it was a perfect album for a lazy, hot and hazy, summer day.  

. Its a bit like the BB's entry into that mid/late 60s soft pop sound with bands like the Free Design, Harper's Bizarre, the Millennium etc

How can that be when the Beach Boys were one of the architects of that sound?

The groups you mention were still doing the baroque thing. Friends went beyond that in a loose-knit, jazzy and minimal way.

Yeah, "entry" was not the right word. I was just thinking they had a similar childlike feel both lyrically and musically.

[SBonilla]

 

Going back to Friends, I've always thought it was a perfect album for a lazy, hot and hazy, summer day.  

. Its a bit like the BB's entry into that mid/late 60s soft pop sound with bands like the Free Design, Harper's Bizarre, the Millennium etc

How can that be when the Beach Boys were one of the architects of that sound?

The groups you mention were still doing the baroque thing. Friends went beyond that in a loose-knit, jazzy and minimal way.

Yeah, "entry" was not the right word. I was just thinking they had a similar childlike feel both lyrically and musically.

Free Design, especially. Both groups had that good ol' DNA vocal blend.  Can't beat that.

Thinking of the difference between the Dedricks and the Wilsons (and Love),  I see the Free Design as having come to pop/rock by way of The Modernaires, The Swingle Singers and The Hi-Lo's, whereas the Beach Boys came to it by way of The Four Freshman and The Belmonts and Little Caeser & The Romans (meaning an LA type of doo wop).
The Beach Boys had some advanced things going on in their harmonies and voicings, but they also had a certain casualness, a looseness, even, in their sound. That was appealing to me.

[Lonely Summer]

Smiley, Honey and Friends - to me - all have a warm, summers night feel to them - of course, with SS, add 'slightly stoned' to the description. All very short length albums, too.

[Ram4]

I love Friends.  Love the vibe, the mellowed out feel, the stripped down production, great songs. 

Ways to make it even better - Would have been nice with proper lyrics for Passing By, maybe include We're Together Again and/or Can't Wait Too Long.

[Ron]

I've mentioned it before on here but I didn't explain it very well and i'm not sure that I can any better now, but albums like "Friends" to me are much more personal, intimate Beach Boys albums.  it gives off this feel that they were all friends (literally), working together, trying to make good music, growing a little older, etc.  So it's one of their albums that almost every moment of it is appreciable, if Bruce is singing in the background my mind notices it and kind of checks off "Hey!  Bruce was there the day they recorded this!" or if I hear a neat lyric I know Dennis wrote, I think "Hey!  They were probably really proud of Dennis pulling that off!" or if I hear a lot of reverb on something, "Hey!  Brian or Stephen (on the later albums) probably worked on that for an hour to get it just right...."

It's hard to explain, but when I listen to a lot of the 70's albums (and late 60's) it's almost like you're there in the room with them while they record it.  I feel like i'm sitting in the control room watching...

[Andrew G. Doe]

The most accurate single word description I've heard is "homespun". Mostly, it sounds like the guys were just sitting around in Brian's lounge dicking around on whatever instrument was to hand, and someone pressed "record". It's a strong favourite of mine and has been since the late seventies.

[Lonely Summer]

I love Friends.  Love the vibe, the mellowed out feel, the stripped down production, great songs. 

Ways to make it even better - Would have been nice with proper lyrics for Passing By, maybe include We're Together Again and/or Can't Wait Too Long.

Passing By is perfect the way it is.

[bossaroo]

The most accurate single word description I've heard is "homespun". Mostly, it sounds like the guys were just sitting around in Brian's lounge dicking around on whatever instrument was to hand, and someone pressed "record". It's a strong favourite of mine and has been since the late seventies.

I would describe Smiley and Wild Honey as homespun, with a more spontaneous feel.

Friends has a homespun vibe, but the instrumentation covers a rather broad spectrum and much of it was played by studio musicians.

the vibes and swinging waltz drumming on Friends, the bass harmonica on Passing By, the lush bossa arrangement of Busy Doin Nothin, the steel guitar and exotic sound effects on Diamond Head, the wall of horns on Transcendental Meditation, etc

[Moon Dawg]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

  Not sure about that, but aural evidence and songwriting credits suggest Bruce was at the nearest faraway place. He's simply nowhere to be found on FRIENDS.

[James Hughes-Clarke]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

  Not sure about that, but aural evidence and songwriting credits suggest Bruce was at the nearest faraway place. He's simply nowhere to be found on FREINDS.

Making wine in his garage...?

[Andrew G. Doe]

How much of Mike is present on this album? Wasn't he absent for most of its creation and recording, despite some exceptions? Is this the BB album with the least Mike involvement?

Mike was in Rishikesh, then stopped off in London on the way back. Pretty sure the only tracks he's on are "Meant For You", "Anna Lee, The Healer" and "Transcendental Meditation", all recorded in early April.

And yes, I know the album is awash with session players. I was illustrating an impression, not stating an historical fact.