Definitive "Worst of the beach Boys Compilation"

[halblaineisgood]

.

[punkinhead]

wipe out
tears in the morning
barbara ann
chapel of love
love is a woman
student demonstration
goin' south
livin with a heartache
passing friend

[shelter]

livin with a heartache

Really? I think that's easily one of the best songs they've done after the 70s...

[shelter]

And I don't see what so horrible about Winds Of Change...

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

And I don't see what so horrible about Winds Of Change...

I hate the production, and Al sounds like Kermit the Frog.

[Jonas]

  This thread shouldnt exist. Just reading half of these responses makes me sick. Some of you are listing some great tunes and its sad to think you'd consider it being part of their 'worst'

 

[endofposts]

This thread shouldnt exist. Just reading half of these responses makes me sick. Some of you are listing some great tunes and its sad to think you'd consider it being part of their 'worst'

 

Exactly.  I can find good things to say about at least 75% of the tunes on this thread.  For instance, I think "When Girls Get Together" is a geniunely creative piece of music and production.  It's almost like a New Orleans funeral song, in spite of the incongruous lyrics. 

"Solar System"?

"If Mars had life on it, I might find my wife on it."  Worth it just for that alone.

YMMV.  I just skip tunes I don't like, or am not in the mood for.  As for converting people, I find that those most resistant to the Beach Boys don't like the most popular, mainstream stuff, since that's what they're most exposed to.  I have a sister that calls them corny, even though I and many of her friends are Beach Boys/Brian Wilson fans.  She doesn't get it based on things like "Don't Worry, Baby."  I don't think there's anything they've done that can make her dislike them more, or get her to like them.  So, it's just a lost cause, anyways. 

[the captain]

Your opinions are wrong, people. You can't dislike songs I like, because the songs I like are great--that's why I like them, after all. This isn't subjective, it was simply a multiple choice question. You all fail. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

 

[punkinhead]

to me, living with a heartache is more of listening with a headache...the song is just way too long, it only reeks of carl solo (imo). it doesnt fit the album too well

[Sheriff John Stone]

I do agree that "Living With A Heartache" is slightly long (there was a single edit made), but I always liked the sound of the record, and I always got the feeling that "Living With A Heartache" and "Keeping The Summer Alive" were important songs to Carl, like he really put his heart and soul into them...

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

He was a wee bit drink during the vocals, though...

[Glenn Greenberg]

Everyone's In Love With You
Student Demonstration Time
Tears in the Morning
Hey Little Tomboy
Endless Harmony
Chapel of Love
Rock and Roll Music

[the captain]

He was a wee bit drink during the vocals, though...

Considering the sh*t the band was doing, I'd have been drunk from 1975 onward (although maybe I'd have sobered up for Love You). How else could a person stand that mockery of what used to be a great band?

[Pretty Funky]

In light of Brian saying the London shows in September will consist of songs his band has never performed on stage before, can I suggest an alternative title for this thread be "Songs we don't want to hear live"? 

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Sounds like a winner!

[adamghost]

I'm going to boldly post my worst (officially released) Beach Boys songs of all time, and see if I can find a consensus list.

I'm curious to see if anyone here would give any of the below songs more than a token defense:

Summer of Love
Hey Little Tomboy
Sunshine
Passing Friend
Remember (Walkin' In the Sand)
Slow Summer Dancin' (One Summer Night)
In The Still of the Night
H.E.L.P. Is On The Way/Santa's Got An Airplane
Surf Jam
(I Saw Santa) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

For those who would defend "H.E.L.P." I refer you to the line "doughy lumps/stomach pumps/enemas too."

If I was going to go out on a personal limb, and throw out songs that for which I suspect there is a constituency, I'd vote for "Here She Comes" (generic early '70s jam band rock), "Gettin' Hungry" (which I would call "Givin' Headache"), "Steamboat" (a long, plodding, incoherent mess), and "Crack At Your Love" (long, plodding, and not nearly messy enough).

[John]

Surf Jam is cool. Just the enthusiastic count-in and intro makes it worthwhile for me. I like all the surf instrumental, no matter how iffy some of them are.

Steamboat? So evocative, and that weird industrial sounding plod is cool.

Still of the Night? Ummm, that falsetto intro is really easy to sing along with, and sounds good when you're drunk.

Gettin Hungry doesn't thrill me. It's just that horrible peircing intro at top volume because I turned it way up to hear Wind Chimes' outro. Anyone heard the Faces' version?

I'll agree with the rest, add Leavin' This Town [it's just boring], Bells of Paris [mais oui], Goin' South, Deirdre [a little too schmaltz], The TM titled songs, County Fair, South Bay Surfer and possibly worst of all, Long Tall Texan.

[Sheriff John Stone]

I'm going to boldly post my worst (officially released) Beach Boys songs of all time, and see if I can find a consensus list.

I'm curious to see if anyone here would give any of the below songs more than a token defense:

Summer of Love
Hey Little Tomboy
Sunshine
Passing Friend
Remember (Walkin' In the Sand)
Slow Summer Dancin' (One Summer Night)
In The Still of the Night
H.E.L.P. Is On The Way/Santa's Got An Airplane
Surf Jam
(I Saw Santa) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

That's not a bad (or good?) list. You know what I mean. I only take exception to 1.5 songs. I think "Sunshine" is a well produced and well performed song, my favorite song from KTSA. The guys actually sound like they're havin' fun with it. The other exception (a little) is "In The Still Of The Night". Yes, Dennis' vocal dooms it, but there's something about the arrangement and the backing vocals that I like. While the performance does lack, "In The Still Of The Night" is a good, classic doo-wop song.

[Jason Penick]

I'm going to boldly post my worst (officially released) Beach Boys songs of all time, and see if I can find a consensus list.

I'm curious to see if anyone here would give any of the below songs more than a token defense:

Summer of Love
Hey Little Tomboy
Sunshine
Passing Friend
Remember (Walkin' In the Sand)
Slow Summer Dancin' (One Summer Night)
In The Still of the Night
H.E.L.P. Is On The Way/Santa's Got An Airplane
Surf Jam
(I Saw Santa) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

For those who would defend "H.E.L.P." I refer you to the line "doughy lumps/stomach pumps/enemas too."

If I was going to go out on a personal limb, and throw out songs that for which I suspect there is a constituency, I'd vote for "Here She Comes" (generic early '70s jam band rock), "Gettin' Hungry" (which I would call "Givin' Headache"), "Steamboat" (a long, plodding, incoherent mess), and "Crack At Your Love" (long, plodding, and not nearly messy enough).

Out of your main list, I'd say "Tomboy" is great and "Sunshine" and "HELP" are passable. 

I'm also a fan of "Here She Comes", "Gettin' Hungry" and "Steamboat".


Suprised that I haven't seen "Happy Endings" or "Problem Child" on many lists yet.

[punkinhead]

i love sunshine and tomboy

[melissalynn]

I really like their version of In the Still of the Night. I also like Surf Jam. The other songs...I'm not going to fight you on.

[adamghost]

"Surf Jam" is just so damned incompetent and uninspired at the same time.  It's just the bare minimum of a surf instrumental.  It pales in comparison even to any other instrumental they did.

Man, I wish I'd thought of "Happy Endings"...what a dog that song is; the only time in Beach Boys history I can think of where Carl's vocal actually makes a bad song worse.  I can't hate "Problem Child" just because I enjoy the video -- which consists mostly of things being thrown at Bruce Johnston's head -- too much.

Oh!  Oh!  "Crocodile Rock"!  That's pretty godawful too.

[Jason Penick]

Are there any objections to these nominations for the title of Worst Ever Beach Boys Songs of All-Time?



Passing Friend

Happy Endings

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I actually like Passing Friend, although it goes on far too long...

[Smilin Ed H]

I'll defend Gettin' Hungry, though it might've made more sense on Wild Honey.  I like In the Still... too.  Love thge arrangement and the backing vocals and don't mind Denny's vocals either.  I don't mind HELP either, if you take it for what iot is.  I don't like the Christmas version at all.