Carl And The Passions- So Tough

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

Just listened to it again last night. Love the album...sort of a 70s Wild Honey. For me "Make It Good" is the only song that sticks out like a sore thumb. My wife likes it more than I do...she said it reminds her of "When The Tigers Break Free" (by Roger Waters). I can see that.

[BananaLouie]

This album is very good imho, it is unfairly slaughtered by fans and critics.  Sure it seems shaky and Blondie and Ricky's songs seem out of place but the songs themselves are great and unique for a beach boys album.  Brian of course contributed the standouts and Dennis gives us some lush but lovely ballads from his aborted solo album.  To me The Beach Boys can do no wrong during the early seventies and this record is as enjoyable as their others from this era, a 4.

[Jonas]

Listened to this today. I have to disagree with Jason B's comments about Blondie and Ricky's songs. To me, they fit perfectly into the tracklist, however Dennis' songs seemed a bit out of place for me. Still rocks!

Well, I'm diggin Cuddle Up...Make It Good could've been something else, maybe funky ala Here She Comes.

[busy doin nothin]

To me The Beach Boys can do no wrong during the early seventies . . . .

I could not agree more, brother.  Very well put.

[Jason Penick]

Looking at the concerts the band was performing around this time, how great would this record have been with the inclusion of "I've Got a Friend" and a re-worked version of "Don't Worry Bill"?!?!  A Beach Boy version of "Sweet Mountain" would have been icing on the cake.

It's too bad that touring commitments forced the Boys to rush release this one.  Another couple of months of studio work could have turned this brief yet strong record into a masterpiece.


   <-- Blondie Chaplin smiley!

   <-- Darryl Dragon smiley!

[pianoman]

I'm a big fan of CATP, it's unfortunate that it had been underrated so long.
A great, rocking, with no bad song, this is my second favourite 70's BB album (after Sunflower).

4 and half for me.

[Jonas]

If it has no bad songs, why does it get a 4?

[Magic Transistor Radio]

I really like every song on this album except for He Comes Down. However, I only gave it a 3 because, as an album the songs don't fit together very well like as they do on Holland.

[melissalynn]

I like everything about this album...guess I'm just a sucker for the Boys during that time period and I just love everything...I especially love Dennis' contributions, even MIG, which some people seem to dislike...but to me, it's heavenly. I can't help it. Guess I have strange taste.

[John]

A fraction as good as the albums that bookend it. "All This Is That" is the best song by a long way.

[Jonas]

Theres nothing less than stellar on this album. Great piece of work, Marcella was a least fav but now I cant get over the coda.

All This is That is a gorgeous song, no doubt. My favorite goes to 'Here She Comes'...how bout that bassline!

[Magic Transistor Radio]

It is kind of strange how Dennis stuck out during Sunflower because his songs were funkier then the others (Slip On Through and Got to Know the Woman). Then the rest of the band get's funkier and he reverts to pretty songs. Wasn't there something Dennis did in 72 that would've been a better fit?

[shelter]

All This Is That is heavenly. Excellent song. He Come Down is fun, always makes me smile. Cuddle Up isn't going anywhere, but it's very pretty. Would be perfect for the soundtrack of some romantic drama movie. Make It Good is one of my least favorite songs by Dennis. And I don't really care for Brian's and the Flame's songs on this one.

[Mahalo]

This album is very un-Beach Boys. It is refreshing to me when I want to hear different sounding stuff from the band. I really like the two Blondie/Ricky tunes. Make It Good and Cuddle Up sound stellar.  Mess of Help is incredible, it is definetly one of those songs you can play for someone and say, "guess this band..", and they would never get it! Marcella Rocks!

I switched my vote from a 3 to a 4. All This Is That....just about says it all. He Come Down is pretty good considering I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Love. If I could go to any concert at any time it would've been to see the Beach Boys in the C&TPST period....Great Album!!

[elnombre]

Dennis' songs on this record are in my mind absolutely gorgeous and reflect his talent in a major way.

Couldn't agree more. Make It Good is so beautiful. Those who call it pretentious would have a point, if Dennis' lead wasn't obviously so heartfelt. Cuddle Up straddles the thin line between sweetness and schmaltz, but is a great song. Hold On Dear Brother is another little gem, and Marcella, while not the definitive version, is still a great, great song.

After Pet Sounds and Sunflower, this is tied with Wild Honey as my next fave.

[thomasogg]

I find the best way to rate an album is to rate each song track by track which is why i'd give CATP a decent 3 out of 5, even though it is so far from perfect, and nowhere near as good as Surf's Up and Holland (the other two Reilly albums).
Mess Of Help: 3/5. Badly produced, but some nice changes in styles, and a great fade.
Here She Comes: 2/5. A nice enough song, just utterly out of place on a BB record. By the time of Holland, Blondie and Ricky would be fitting in, and contributing to, the groups style well, but here it is rather jarring..
He Come Down: 2/5. A nice gospel chorus, but the lyrics are atrocious and the song just endlessly meanders in the middle, and badly. More poor production.
Marcella: 3/5. A good, not great, Brian track. The live version is much more powerful.
Hold On Dear Brother: 3/5.  Much better than their other offering, this song features some great singing from Blondie and the group.
Make It Good: 5/5. Stunning!
All This Is That: 4/5. Despite the usual dumb Mike Love TM-inspired lyrics, this song is a real album highlight, featuring a tremendous melody and a gorgeous vocal from Carl. They messed up the production on the fade though..
Cuddle Up: 5/5. I'm a self-confessed Dennis freak, but when people complain about tracks such as this being over-produced or schmaltzy and so on, I wonder if they are hearing the same music? To me it is heart-felt, beautiful, restrained, and inventive. Sure, his 2 songs don't fit in with the rest of the album, but surely that's a good thing...? Should he have deliberately badly produced his contributions to fit with the rest of the record?

Anyway, 3 out of 5.

[the captain]

Mess Of Help: 3/5. Badly produced, but some nice changes in styles, and a great fade.

What aspect of the production is it that you judge as bad? I ask because I think it's a very well produced track--one of my favorites from that era, at least.

[thomasogg]

Carl's vocal is forced, and the backing vocals are very jarring whereas they should just flow as BB backing vocals usually do. Also, although the track is interesting in that it changes tack a lot, some of the cuts are poorly done i.e. the final splice into the 'she don't know' fade. It's a nice tune, certainly not a great one though. They produced far better in this period methinks

[TimeToGetAlone]

I quite like Carl and the Passions - So Tough, especially in contrast to its mediocre reputation.  You get a lot of different stuff on the album that you won't find elsewhere in the BB catalogue.  Some of the styles don't go well together at all as far as an album concept goes, but nevertheless, it works for me.

You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - 4/5
Here She Comes - 4.5/5
He Come Down - 3.5/5
Marcella - 5/5
Hold On Dear Brother - 4/5
Make It Good - 4/5
All This Is That - 5/5
Cuddle Up - 4.5/5

And that will round to a 4.  All This Is That is the big highlight IMO.

[Alex]

I love this album, Mess of Help shows that the BBs could rock out just as well as a lot of their more popular peers, would've preferred it as the original Beatrice of Baltimore-I wonder if any recording with those lyrics exists. Here She Comes is a good tune to dance to, has an awesome bassline. He Come Down is rescued from its awful lyrics by the enthusiasm the guys give to the choir-like vocals, the prominence of Blondie's voice in the group chorus parts makes the song sound legitimate (to this non-religious white boy, anyway). Marcella is an excellent song but the performance is kinda sluggish and bland sounding-the version on In Concert was a vast improvement. Hold On Dear Brother is a halfway decent country-ish song. Make It Good (I almost said Make It Big) isn't one of Dennis' best, but his voice sounds great, and I kinda like Daryl Dragon's arrangements. All This Is That, much like He Come Down, is rescued by the vocals. Carl's soaring falsetto is absolutely beautiful. Cuddle Up is a great song, I especially love the ending when the whole group (or is it just Carl overdubbing his voice several times?) comes in behind Dennis coupled with the horns/orchestra playing at full force, its pretty awe-inspiring. I think 4th of July should've been place on this album right after All This Is That and then segued into Cuddle Up. To me the end of 4th of July and beginning of Cuddle Up sound pretty similar, maybe someone who knows more music theory would be able to tell a lot better than my untrained ears.

Overall, I'd give it a 4, Marcella could've been spiffed up a little, and it wouldn't have hurt then to throw about 4 more songs onto the record. They certainly had enough quality material in the vaults.

[lance]

Funny, I've heard a lot of criticism about how the album doesn't hang together, but it does for me. I like every song on it. It's true that the Chaplin-Fataar parts don't sound like the beach Boys, but hell, neither does anything else on the album. They are still great songs that I probably would have never owned or heard if it hadn't had the Beach Boys name attached to it. Not as good as Holland over all, and could use a few lighter songs, but I liked it a lot.

[Wrightfan]

Three and only because of a few songs. Don't really care for this album:

Best to worst:
All this is That (One of my top 10 favorite BB songs.)
Marcella
You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
Cuddle Up
Here She Comes
He Come Down
Make It Good
Hold on, Dear Brother

[Don't Back Down]

I've probably commented on this album already, but I'm listening to it now and I love love love love this album! I think this was the 2nd "twofer" I bought after Pet Sounds and Party!/Stack O Tracks, mostly cause I dug the cover. All of the songs are tops. Stand outs for me are Marcella and YNAMOFTSA. I really like "Hold On Dear Brother" after just listening to it again. He Come Down is the "weakest" track, but it's still nice to listen to.

[lance]

I've changed my vote to three. As much as I like the Brian Tracks, the "Flame Tracks" and Cuddle Up and All This Is That, I really can't get into"He Came Down". I don't know if I like the strings on Cuddle Up, either, I don't want to put the Captain down or anything, but his arrangements don't work for me--though I imagine they  sound significantly better on vinyl.

[shadownoze]

I was the first person in my high school to own a portable cassette player (8-tracks were still king, but only in cars) and pre-recorded cassettes were hard to find. I came across CATP/PS at a Woolco store (a defunct discount store, sort of the Walmart of its day). I bought it because I recognized God Only Knows, Sloop John B and Wouldn't It Be Nice; I didn't really know or care that this was an old album with a new album. I just saw I was getting quite a lot of songs for a decent price.
And I liked it all! It was the start of an unending BB jones that I have loved for, what, 37 years or so? I began looking for articles or info about the BBs and there wasn't much at the time. The only pertinent book in my library was Lillian Roxon's "Rock Encyclopedia," and I xeroxed the entry for the BBs, which featured a discography. Before the two-fers of the post-Pet Sounds albums came out, I would look at those song listings in bewilderment, thinking "What would a song called 'Fall Breaks and Back to Winter' SOUND like?"
In retrospect, I like all of CATP except Blondie and Ricky's two tunes, which have always felt clunky and dull to me. The rest is gold...and if you've never gone parking in your '65 Valiant with the lay-down seats while "Cuddle Up" was playing on the 8-track...well, you ain't lived.