We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago……..
I don’t get it. The critics loved this album. To me its a mess. By 1971 the Beach Boys were yesterday’s news. The band that had had hit after hit in the 60’s, and had released one of the greatest LPs of the decade in Pet Sounds and the ground breaking single in Good Vibrations, had grown passe. Even the albums that followed had moments but no coherent core. Brian Wilson was in the midst of an existential crisis…Dennis Wilson had been caught up in the Charlie Manson garbage and the band seemed to be finished.
Not so fast said journalist Jack Rieley who believed he could make the band hip again. He became their manager and told them to write songs with socially conscience lyrics. He had them play with the Grateful Dead. They recorded a Central Park concert that aired on ABC in August…where you can see the clothes, beards and hair have moved them away from the sun and surfboard days of 1964. Also Dennis Wilson was there…he had been out of commission after breaking his hand and couldn’t play drums.
and then they released the LP….”Surfs Up”
Once again, an album of some good songs and some horrible misses…and no real hits. The band tries to show it’s hipness quotient with songs about the environment ( Don’t Go Near The Water” and ‘ A Day In The Life Of A Tree”)…a near folk song called “Lookin at Tomorrow (a Welfare Song)” and the anti-war effort, “Student Demonstration Time”…a song so bad it actually makes me cringe every time I hear it….although Carl’s guitar rocks a bit.
It has a song called “Take A Load Off Your Feet”…and yes it’s an ode to your feet. Yeeech.
The best moments for me are the Bruce Johnston’s ode to the 50″s, “Disney Girls”…A Carl Wilson song called “Feel Flows”, and the final two cuts on the LP which were written by Brian. “Til I Die” layers lyrics about Wilson’s wish for death in those patented Beach Boys harmonies…the dichotomy is clear.
And then the long, awaited release of the title track, a song that had been written years earlier and was supposed to be on the LP “Smile” that was much hyped but not released until much later. It was re-recorded for this LP and sung by Brian, Carl and Al Jardine. It’s an interesting song with hard to dissect lyrics but easy on the ears harmonies. It’s a dense mixture.
The only time anyone had heard it was on a TV special hosted by Leonard Bernstein…back in 1966…with Brian alone at the piano…consider it a demo of the song.
Bruce Johnston later said that Brian did not have much to do with this record but the critics didn’t seem to care. Most wrote glowing reviews and the LP was included in many Top Album of all-time lists. I really don’t get it…maybe your view will differ. I’m pretty sure you ignored this back in the day…give it a spin.
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