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The Beach Boys


Mike

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Is there anyone else that just really loves this bands music?

It captures an entire generation and culture, like no other band ever has, or will, probably.

It never ceases to amaze me what a great mood this music puts me in.

Today, this morning, I was listening to one particular CD, titled The Beach Boys - Made In USA, 25 of some of their best, most endouring classics. I won't go into detailing them, if you love them as much as I do, you know them all, if you don't love them as I do, you probably don't care.

The release was dedicated to the memory or Dennis Wilson, the liner notes are incredible, detailing the bands changes and evolution over the years.

I'm so excited everytime I listen to them, makes me feel like a kid again.

The Beach Boys - Made in the USA -- INDEED!!!

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good band.....'Pet sounds' is such a fabulous album, shame they never quite followed it up with anything nearly as good, theyve got a whole load of songs that are 'classics' and if anyone who loves the beach boys hasnt got it....go buy brian wilsons 'smile' absolutely brilliant album....

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Never quite got them, I'm afraid. Few nice toons sure...but I couldn't quite get the 'Brian Wilson, a genius' bit....lunatic, maybe, reasonable singer, fine, not bad songwriter...yeah, ok.....Good Vibrations is a top tune, Caroline No (done better by Colin Blundstone)...yeah ok, but knicked sooo much stuff from Chuck Berry and their best musician was Glen Campbell (and he had a better voice)...

JMHO :puppyeyes:

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Never quite got them, I'm afraid. Few nice toons sure...but I couldn't quite get the 'Brian Wilson, a genius' bit....lunatic, maybe, reasonable singer, fine, not bad songwriter...yeah, ok.....Good Vibrations is a top tune, Caroline No (done better by Colin Blundstone)...yeah ok, but knicked sooo much stuff from Chuck Berry and their best musician was Glen Campbell (and he had a better voice)...

JMHO :puppyeyes:

Ditto....i feel the same way johnny :)

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I like the Beach Boys... They made different kind of music, from the californian sun & beach easy (wonderfull) tunes and choirs to the "avant-garde" sound of "Pet Sounds". The Beatles saw their main rivals in them. Their melodies are beautiful, I always had some Beach Boys songs in my walkman. "Wouldn´t it be nice" is my fave.

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I was never a big fan of The Beach Boys until I married a Californian 10 years ago. With the exception of some of their later material, there was nothing particularly deep or meaningful in their lyrics. But there is something so uplifting about their music. Whenever I'm down in the dumps, all I have to do is listen to Fun, Fun, Fun, Wouldn't It Be Nice or Dance, Dance, Dance and I immediately feel better. A few years ago, my family and I were driving up the Pacific coast highway near San Simeon in a rented Mustang convertible. We had a Beach Boys greatest hits CD playing and all of us were singing along to the music. It was magical. Great harmonies, crisp guitar playing and catchy tunes. What more could you ask for?

They were unique, and their music will always hold an honoured position in my CD and LP collections.

:drummer:

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There are not many bands that attempt 4 part harmonies on a regular basis like the Beach Boys. This helps them to establish that wistful moodiness they achieve in many of their songs. It's very effective when that 4 part harmony, in perfect unison, cuts off dramatically during "Good Vibrations." I especially like "Surfer Girl" and the portrait it paints of a wind blown girl silhouetted against the ocean.

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My oldest friend, Mary Dorr has never seen the ocean. She's never been more than 25 miles away from the tiny midwestern town she was born in. Her music collection gives her a vicarious odyssey to places she knows better than any tourist. The Beach Boys is the vehicle that drives her to Malibu.

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Genius can be defined many ways and in music it gets thrown around a great deal. Much like the Beatles, The Beach Boys grew into their roles. They were kids trying to figure out how to make music and make a buck. Turns out Brian Wilson could craft what appeared to be very simple tunes into a monster. Those harmonies didn't just happen, Brian was one of those people who could hear it all in his head, just how it had to be. if any part was off, he made sure it worked.

Yes, they owe a debt of gratitude to Chuck Berry, who doesn't. The instrumentation was not over the top, but it was perfect for the overall tone of the songs.

But Brian Wilson's real genius was in the lyrics. He captured not only an entire genre (surf music, beach music California sound) with songs about girls,surfing, the beach and cars...but he captioned an entire season. Unarguably Brian Wilson made The Beach Boys the band for summertime. Millions of people associate summer and The Beach Boys and they have for over 40 years....there is genius in that. Does that make him a musical genius or a marketing genius, probably both.

Remember "Every now and then we hear our song...we've been having fun all summer long" Thanks Brian.

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Pet sounds' is such a fabulous album, shame they never quite followed it up with anything nearly as good, theyve got a whole load of songs that are 'classics' and if anyone who loves the beach boys hasnt got it....go buy brian wilsons 'smile' absolutely brilliant album....

i really do need to get 'smile,' but 'pet sounds' i agree is an amazing piece of musicianship. honestly, one of my favorite sounds ever is the theremin on 'good vibrations.' brian wilson did an amazing job of song arrangement and production there ... the beautiful vocal harmonies, the strings/ horns ... all of it ... lovely.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Great ! I drive a truck and every time the Beach Boys are on the radio it feels like summer time. I was stationed in Malaya during the sixties and I was in a demonstration team at the Jungle Warfare School and during one of our demos on how not to live in the jungle, we used to play a very loud Beach Boys number and whenever I hear it now it brings back such fantastic memories !!!

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  • 3 months later...
  • 10 months later...

I thought this was a strong statement:

In 1966, The Beach Boys' one-two punch of the Pet Sounds album and the "Good Vibrations" single, earned the group international acclaim, and established group leader Brian Wilson as the influential genius of modern pop music. As Paul McCartney recently remarked, "Pet Sounds was my inspiration for making Sgt. Pepper's...the big influence. That was the big thing for me (in 1966). I just thought, 'Oh, dear me. This is the album of all-time. What are we going to do?'" At the end of 1966, a year-end poll in one of England's music papers found The Beach Boys topping The Beatles as the #1 vocal group in the world

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