I really enjoy the Party album.

[halblaineisgood]

I don't know about anyone else. But stack o tracks/party is a disc I always have playing....I really like some of the goofy mixes they have on stack o tracks.....and I really enjoy the party album, it really is good fun...I love the beatles covers, I enjoy them as much or more than the orginals, and the cover of "There's no other like my baby" is better than the original, the harmonies are thicker and Brian's lead is great......actually I love all the tracks, except Barbara Ann,  which we have  all of course had beaten into our head by  radio since the day we were born...........btw, is that hal blaine on bongos on that album?

[shelter]

I would've liked Party a whole lot more if it would've been just a straight forward 'unplugged' album (I guess it wouldn't have been a 'party' then, though) with some more originals.

[John]

I believe it is Hal Blaine on bongos, and Andrew G. Doe's book says maybe Bruce on one song?

I love Party! But the one track I could do without is the I Get Around / Little Deuce Coupe medley - if the lyric improv was funnier, maybe...Ruby Baby would've been a better track. I'd like to see an official release for Satisfaction [sung by Carl...and Dennis?] and Al's Blowin' In The Wind.

But mostly, I'd like to it stripped of the Party overdubs. There's one girl on there who's really annoying - I hope it isn't Marilyn! I've heard it like that on the Unsurpassed Masters bootleg, and it's a real nice unplugged album as is.

[aNonbeliever]

I gotta say, Devoted to You, minus the overdubs, is quite gorgeous.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I believe it is Hal Blaine on bongos, and Andrew G. Doe's book says maybe Bruce on one song?

AGD's book is wrong on this point. 

[John]

Aha!

So, I take it if Hal is bongos, s tambourine shared by Brian and Dennis? Badman makes the odd statement in his book that makes it seem Denny missed the sessions - which is pretty interesting considering his voice is all over the place.

Brian plays piano at one point - on "Times", and while I know Billy is harmonica on "Mountain of Love", I remembered hearing something on the bootleg that made me think Denny was harmonica elsewhere. And then there's him allegedly accompanying himself on acoustic on "Hide Your Love Away" - if that's true, why didn't he do it at Michigan? Is there any evidence to suggest Denny plays acoustic guitar on Party!? I'm pretty sure Bruce is bass on some, if not all, he claims to be "The King of bass" at one point, and Carl and Al are obviously guitars... I think this is one of the easiest albums to clarify personnel [my favourite topic!] but has anyone actually done it?

[shelter]

I think this is one of the easiest albums to clarify personnel [my favourite topic!] but has anyone actually done it?

(Off topic:)

There are often discussions about who plays what on which song, is anyone keeping lists of this? I haven't seen any websites yet with good who-played-what lists, are there any?

[John]

I think with guys like c-man, this is the place to do the definitive Revolution of the Head-style personnel line-ups.

E.g.:

I'M SO YOUNG:

Mike Love: Harmony Vocals
Brian Wilson: Lead Vocals, Organ, 6-string Bass
Carl Wilson: Electric Guitars, 6-string Bass, Harmony Vocals
Dennis Wilson: Drums, Harmony Vocals
Alan Jardine; Bass Guitar, Harmony Vocals

Ron Swallow: Tambourine

Not only has this not been done, it's more a valuable resource that it would be for most bands, because it would redress the myth that the Beach Boys never played on their records after 1963. I'd dig it, and I'd buy it as a book too.

[MBE]

I like the original cover and photos a lot. Very eye catching. The music is pretty good but I can't play it over and over. The undubbed version is pretty nice.

[c-man]

I think this is one of the easiest albums to clarify personnel [my favourite topic!] but has anyone actually done it?

(Off topic:)

There are often discussions about who plays what on which song, is anyone keeping lists of this? I haven't seen any websites yet with good who-played-what lists, are there any?

I'll let you decide how good it is...but...www.beachboysarchives.com

is my attempt at this.  So far I've covered "Today!", "Guess I'm Dumb", "Today! outtakes", and "Summer Days" with the outtakes for "Summer Days" just about finished (I should be able to post those sometime this spring).  Next up would be..."Party!", coincidentally.

And Ron Swallow is playing tambourine on at least some of "Party!".  Since there are photos of Dennis playing bongos at these sessions, it's possible he did play some bongos.  I haven't done a real critical listening of those sessions yet, but obviously I'll have to do that soon.  There was a report in some fanzine (quoted in Byron Preiss' book) that described a "Party!" session and mentioned Dennis was out with bronchitis.  Of course, there were a few sessions for that album, and Dennis may have only missed that one session.  But that's where Badman gets that.

To recap though, Carl and Al are on acoustic guitars (looks like they each took a turn at the acoustic 12-string), Bruce on electric bass (although he claims Brian also played a lot of bass on this album), Hal on bongos, Ron on tambourine, Billy on harmonica, and Dennis possibly playing some bongos, tambourine, harmonica, and/or acoustic guitar (can't say for sure yet). 

Oh, and "Al's famous ashtray"...

[John]

Could it be "HAL'S famous ashtray?" - if there's two guitars, and one doesn't go out...also, Hal was a definite smoker, he's more likely to have an ashtray near him - and of course, it's percussion, right?

[c-man]

Could it be "HAL'S famous ashtray?" - if there's two guitars, and one doesn't go out...also, Hal was a definite smoker, he's more likely to have an ashtray near him - and of course, it's percussion, right?

Good point!  I always assumed Al banged the ashtray on the "party" overdub, but you may be right.
I wonder if it's the same ashtray that Dennis picked up and threatened to throw at someone when Brian announced he was retiring from touring?  That would make it "Dennis' famous ashtray"!