Friends

[I. Spaceman]

I said WORTH A DAMN!

[theeponymuseudonym]

uhh, you givin me a compliment my friend? Thanks.

[Matinee Idyll]

Sorry pony, just alittle disgusted that you could contend that Carl and Denny were 'hit' by a higher power because they got into meditation...

[theeponymuseudonym]

Plesae let me wander...nah, just from my Bble kjv1611 teaching
where thou shalt have NO gods but me..meaning Christ.

thats considering the boys were blessed up til PS when, even though they said they prayed to Jesus for blessings upon the sessions, one can spiritually discern that Brian, in The most supreme effort to compete & be humanly catch the musically perfect...unknowingly suffered the fall of Lucifer, himself, by which, not considering ALL the hits and acolaydes of previous years...brian strove to Be higher, make music w/ MORE musical Merit...and if everything before then was just soley for the record companies.
Brian pored his heart & soul into all he did...just his jealousy and/or envy of THE BEATLES threw him for a loop,
 i think, thus Brian's ambition to ditch the almighty Ego!!!
to somewhat of his detrement. whatever the prayer was...dear Jesus, God let us make an album which will kill the beatles forever!!! huh?

the bible says let every man take heed, lest he fall!

Dennis and Mike, always the hedonists of the band helped further by accepting and partaking of both the Maharishi And Manson, polytheistic, paganism, orgies, mediums,witchcrafts, astrologies........all from '67 on
let it be written here that Brian admitted to seeking advice from Genevylen, a "psychic" medium therearound to tell him when a good time for releasing their "H&V" single...its in the Todd gold book, and i think the Gains book.

i'll say no more now thank you for the indulgence feel free to crucify me, now.

[I. Spaceman]

And this has what to do with Friends?

[theeponymuseudonym]

Friends is the first BB product exuding the current new hippie philosophies in blatant song form....Anna Lee,Wake te World, Transcendental Med..... i digress...however, upon closer analysis, there is a spooky "angel of light" aura that permeates thru the beach boys total image as opposed to their private experiences which seeped thru into their tunes....Astrology, pedophillia, light S&M & mind control....their image completely masked their true lives...i think this is what the flesh loves to do. its also what draws us to loving them as individuals also.

how about Brian seduced by the female sex goddess using his main senses of sight, smell and taste in
 "good vibrations"  aren't all men taken by the prospect of the unblemished innocent come-on
in a naieve young girl?
Seduction is how the lucifer serpent beguiled Eve in the garden of Eden.

Men, tell me how women can have any other pull on the whole history of Man, in general?

Seduction and eroticism are basic foundations that our flesh responds to whenever all women want something bad enough from Men...admit it...whats the true allure of modern day Valentine's? to pamper women and they use lust of their men to get treats!! we're all the same but there became a difference when The Fall of Man happened...God specifically made changes forever within the woman & the Man that we all still debating and denying they exist today...even though most of these same traits of seduction, lust, desire, etc.
all are understood by secular psychiatrists and teachers in universities!!!

the book of Genesis can be believed by faith and reasonable sense, because if we only consider the reasons why we treat each other like we do...it was all an effect from what happened long ago concerning God's permissive/providential will and judgement towards Lucifer Eve Adam, then Cain and Lot....

whew, i'm hungry now...

[Chris D.]

Friends is the first BB product exuding the current new hippie philosophies in blatant song form

Doesn't Smiley Smile do that?  Not to mention Smile?  Or "Country Air" on Wild Honey?

how about Brian seduced by the female sex goddess using his main senses of sight, smell and taste in "good vibrations"  aren't all men taken by the prospect of the unblemished innocent come-on in a naieve young girl?  Seduction is how the lucifer serpent beguiled Eve in the garden of Eden.

Men, tell me how women can have any other pull on the whole history of Man, in general?

Uh...nature?  Reproduction and attraction are natural.  Women are not some evil force out to subvert men.  Think about which sex has f***ed more with the other throughout history.  Also, how can you be naive and know how to seduce an entire sex?

Seduction and eroticism are basic foundations that our flesh responds to whenever all women want something bad enough from Men...admit it...whats the true allure of modern day Valentine's? to pamper women and they use lust of their men to get treats!!

And aren't the men giving treats to get laid?  Have you ever interacted with a woman?

we're all the same but there became a difference when The Fall of Man happened...God specifically made changes forever within the woman & the Man that we all still debating and denying they exist today...even though most of these same traits of seduction, lust, desire, etc.
all are understood by secular psychiatrists and teachers in universities!!!

What "psychiatrists" and "universities" are teaching that?  How old are you?

Thanks matt and mike.   TTYL!

[theeponymuseudonym]

Freudian Psych, Jung, and the rest....

Ask any modern sexologist about the repressed nature of the average American man & woman and
chances are they'll tell u to go back to the womb, figuratively speaking, of course.

The beach Men and dennis too were all repressed sexually ,which figures into some of their seemingly homoerotic or overtly lustful overtones. over and undercompensating.

I get a gay feel out of the landy years am i the only one???
   

[Chris D.]

Ask any modern sexologist about the repressed nature of the average American man & woman and chances are they'll tell u to go back to the womb, figuratively speaking, of course.

And what does that have to do with Genesis, specifically?

Freud may have talked about that stuff, but Jung wasn't that interested in it.

The beach Men and dennis too were all repressed sexually

So is everyone.

Keep chuggin', prof.

[theeponymuseudonym]

Genesis Is Everyone, GOD's point exactly!!!

any one else wanna touch the "close" Landy years theory??

[Chris D.]

Genesis Is Everyone, GOD's point exactly!!!

Sure.  I think that's all I can agree with.

[theeponymuseudonym]

theres really nothing new under the sun

[Chris D.]

theres really nothing new under the sun

Your posts have certainly convinced me of that.

[I. Spaceman]

Chris, that post was gold.

[Lorenschwartz]

I'm so sorry. I post nonsense because I have no life. I understand that I am not allowed to create anymore accounts just to post nonsense. I also understand that this post edit serves as a warning, and that next time my account will be suspended for two days!

And yes,  I am theeponymuseudonym

[Daniel S.]

?


 

[Lorenschwartz]

 :ohaha yes i am theeponymouspseudonym!!!!

i do however have a few posts i'df like to have replied to before i leave this humble forum
for fear of challenging anyones peconceived notions on Life, Love, or Beach boys.
Yes, I am between jobs right now...i happen to be in a very competitive town, where its not too kind to newcomers who are disabled. Alot of Beach Boys fans Are the disabled. Brian Wilson is Disabled.

i am intelligent though, and i find message boards to be an extention of the controlled Anarchy which is the World wide Web. i do not tink its right to censure anyones post, unless clear and present threats have been made, of course, i see all edits to posts by moderators towards myself, have been solely for what i've written., has been hard to digest.
Heroes & Villians replyed to my post once and basically said it was irreverent, off topic, but a breath of fresh air...i repect that.  and i didn't go out & geek up on it, i just kept on. we need to be more tolerant of all posters, not just ones whos opinions we like, or whos egos we want to stroke. orwho stays on topic the most...

Yeah, maybe the religious posts were a bit much, but its whati honestly believe, i'm not forcing others to accept that, just allow me the forum, like everyone else. yes, i wil try to stay on topic--who else should try that also?
i like this site, but if i breeched some command on the terms & conditions of the site, then Adios, its been real.

Who is Lorenschwartz anyway...my trivia question for the day. Who is theeponymouspseudonym? haha

I AM THE EGGHEAD

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

Religion, eh?

I'm still looking for the "Brian Wilson Code". It's there, somewhere, and when I find it, I'll move the gate and dry through on the left side, come right in and find God himself in the house somewhere, keeping busy while he waits....

[Jason Penick]

Popular Misconception of  Friends:  Insignificant collection of pleasant but overly-simplistic, underproduced throwaways.   

The Truth:  Maybe the best of the post- Pet Sounds Beach Boys albums.  Perhaps the best ever?  Twelve songs.  Under twenty-six minutes.  Indescribably great.

Okay, so if your not already a fan, you've never heard of this record.  There's no reason you should have.  Nobody ever mentions  Friends when talking about the great albums of the 1960's.  And it wasn't commercially successful, either-- in fact it flopped outright, peaking at #126 on the Billboard charts in 1968.   

But listen to Brian Wilson in his own words:   "(Friends) seems to fit the way I live better.  It's simple, and I can hear it anytime without having to get into a mood.  Pet Sounds carries a lot more emotion, at least for me...  Pet Sounds is by far my very best album.  Still, though, my favorite is Friends."

Friends is sunny and comforting, and the music is upbeat and optimistic.  Certainly these songs are not the pocket symphonies we've come to expect from the man behind  Pet Sounds and  SMiLE.  But in fairness, Friends didn't follow up on the lo-fi trip of Smiley Smile or Wild Honey either.  For the most part, these songs are well orchestrated, but in a far more halcyon manner than before.  The chord progressions and instrumental textures are undeniably the work of a master composer.   

Take, for example, the breezy bossa-nova influenced "Busy Doin' Nothin", or the waltz-time title track.   In their own way, these songs are every bit as innovative and rewarding as anything Brian had produced before.  And though Friends sported a democratic "Produced by the Beach Boys" credit on its jacket, this record has Brian's fingerprints all over it.  In truth, it's the last time he'd dominate a Beach Boys album until 1977's The Beach Boys Love You.   

The instruments utilized on the recording are as diverse as you would come to expect from Brian.  "Wake the World" features a tuba underscoring the chorus.  The instrumental "Diamond Head" utilizes ukulele and Hawaiian steel guitar, interspersed with guitar amp-derived "thunder crashes" to create a tropical ambiance similar to that of the beautiful "Let's Get Away for Awhile" from Pet Sounds.   

Other tracks, like the lovely thirty-second opener "Meant for You", Dennis Wilson's "Be Still" and the superb "Anna Lee the Healer", are backed by barely any instruments at all. But astonishingly, this lack of accompaniment only emphasizes the inherent beauty of the simple melodies and words to these hymns.  Taken together with such contemporaneous Beatles songs as "Dear Prudence" and "Mother Nature's Son", you get an idea of the kind of vibes these groups were picking up from Maharishi while first studying TM in India.   

Lyrically speaking, Friends deals equal measures of love, friendship, children, nature, tranquility and inner peace.  The words are understated and the singing is absolutely sublime.  "Be Here in the Morning" is a great example of the group's absolute mastery, featuring an emotional falsetto lead by Brian and lovely ensemble harmonies on the choruses.  When the Beach Boys' voices coincide at the end of the refrain "be here and make my life full" (or at other critical spots throughout the album... "Anna Lee, Anna Lee the hea-ler", or "let's be friends, let's be frie-ie-ie-ie-iends" or "little bird up in a tree look down and sing a song to me") a sort of blissful haze encompasses the mind, as the soul is drenched with those everlovin' Good Vibrations.

The final track on Friends,"Transcendental Meditation", deserves special mention, because it completely changes the feel of the entire album-- at its climax!  Yet while it does deliver an abrupt change, it remains a brilliant one.  This driving jazz-bop pounder is completely unlike anything else in the Wilson canon, and it remains a dense masterpiece of tonal domination... the last thing you'd ever expect from a "Beach Boys Record".

Overall, this is the perfect album to enhance a psychedelic mushrooms trip, or, alternately, to provide background ambiance as you gather together with your family of friends in your backyard on a warm July day.  The uplifting melodies flowing from this brief slab of vinyl are unbelievable!  So if you are ready to have your soul saturated with a positive dose of love vibes, why not give Friends a try?

[Lorenschwartz]

Popular Misconception of  Friends:  Insignificant collection of pleasant but overly-simplistic, underproduced throwaways.   

The Truth:  Maybe the best of the post- Pet Sounds Beach Boys albums.  Perhaps the best ever?  Twelve songs.  Under twenty-six minutes.  Indescribably great.

Okay, so if your not already a fan, you've never heard of this record.  There's no reason you should have.  Nobody ever mentions  Friends when talking about the great albums of the 1960's.  And it wasn't commercially successful, either-- in fact it flopped outright, peaking at #126 on the Billboard charts in 1968.   

But listen to Brian Wilson in his own words:   "(Friends) seems to fit the way I live better.  It's simple, and I can hear it anytime without having to get into a mood.  Pet Sounds carries a lot more emotion, at least for me...  Pet Sounds is by far my very best album.  Still, though, my favorite is Friends."

Friends is sunny and comforting, and the music is upbeat and optimistic.  Certainly these songs are not the pocket symphonies we've come to expect from the man behind  Pet Sounds and  SMiLE.  But in fairness, Friends didn't follow up on the lo-fi trip of Smiley Smile or Wild Honey either.  For the most part, these songs are well orchestrated, but in a far more halcyon manner than before.  The chord progressions and instrumental textures are undeniably the work of a master composer.   

Take, for example, the breezy bossa-nova influenced "Busy Doin' Nothin", or the waltz-time title track.   In their own way, these songs are every bit as innovative and rewarding as anything Brian had produced before.  And though Friends sported a democratic "Produced by the Beach Boys" credit on its jacket, this record has Brian's fingerprints all over it.  In truth, it's the last time he'd dominate a Beach Boys album until 1977's The Beach Boys Love You.   

The instruments utilized on the recording are as diverse as you would come to expect from Brian.  "Wake the World" features a tuba underscoring the chorus.  The instrumental "Diamond Head" utilizes ukulele and Hawaiian steel guitar, interspersed with guitar amp-derived "thunder crashes" to create a tropical ambiance similar to that of the beautiful "Let's Get Away for Awhile" from Pet Sounds.   

Other tracks, like the lovely thirty-second opener "Meant for You", Dennis Wilson's "Be Still" and the superb "Anna Lee the Healer", are backed by barely any instruments at all. But astonishingly, this lack of accompaniment only emphasizes the inherent beauty of the simple melodies and words to these hymns.  Taken together with such contemporaneous Beatles songs as "Dear Prudence" and "Mother Nature's Son", you get an idea of the kind of vibes these groups were picking up from Maharishi while first studying TM in India.   

Lyrically speaking, Friends deals equal measures of love, friendship, children, nature, tranquility and inner peace.  The words are understated and the singing is absolutely sublime.  "Be Here in the Morning" is a great example of the group's absolute mastery, featuring an emotional falsetto lead by Brian and lovely ensemble harmonies on the choruses.  When the Beach Boys' voices coincide at the end of the refrain "be here and make my life full" (or at other critical spots throughout the album... "Anna Lee, Anna Lee the hea-ler", or "let's be friends, let's be frie-ie-ie-ie-iends" or "little bird up in a tree look down and sing a song to me") a sort of blissful haze encompasses the mind, as the soul is drenched with those everlovin' Good Vibrations.

The final track on Friends,"Transcendental Meditation", deserves special mention, because it completely changes the feel of the entire album-- at its climax!  Yet while it does deliver an abrupt change, it remains a brilliant one.  This driving jazz-bop pounder is completely unlike anything else in the Wilson canon, and it remains a dense masterpiece of tonal domination... the last thing you'd ever expect from a "Beach Boys Record".

Overall, this is the perfect album to enhance a psychedelic mushrooms trip, or, alternately, to provide background ambiance as you gather together with your family of friends in your backyard on a warm July day.  The uplifting melodies flowing from this brief slab of vinyl are unbelievable!  So if you are ready to have your soul saturated with a positive dose of love vibes, why not give Friends a try?

yeah, i think so also. Friends i like a breath of fresh air

[Compost]

Jason - beautiful review.  Friends is top-notch quality and chockful of goodness.  You nailed this sucker shut.

[Aegir]

Oh, that's why I like Friends.

[Mitchell]

Nice review! The lead on Be Here in the Morning is Al, but aside from that, it's all good.

[punkinhead]

knowing that Murry is singing the bass line to be here in the morning makes the song all the much better

[Jonas]

knowing that Murry is singing the bass line to be here in the morning makes the song all the much better

really? where does it say that?

and someone needs to clear this up, that one falsetto part in 'be here in the mornin' is it brian or al? the 'haaa-ah ha'