I was listening to Sounds Of Summer (Beach Boys Greatest Hits)

[Doggystylin]

yeah so i was checkin this out, and its amazing how many of these songs ive heard over the years and never realized it was the beach boys, i swear ive heard 95% of the songs on this album.

The Beach Boys got good stuff though but I think because this is a greatest hits album they gathered all the singles and many of the songs can really sound very similar and got the same vibe and almost the same beat to them. Now I don't know much at all about The Beach Boys so I have no clue who is who and how many of them there were. Im just getting into them. I just downloaded Pet Sounds and I'm about to check that out. Maybe Mr.Ronnie can come in here and shed some light and share his views and knowledge.

Anyways, what do you all think of The Beach Boys?

Btw, Good Vibrations is really dope, it starts out and its almost got that beatles vibe to it and it kinda takes a U Turn and turns into a beach boys song

[Javier]

you wont be dissapointed in Pet Sounds

[white Boy]

you wont be dissapointed in Pet Sounds

cosign.. very dope album..

[Don Jacob]

pet sounds>srgt. peppers

[Suga Foot]

I've never really enjoyed beach boys music, it's a little too fruity for me.  No doubt they got talent tho.

[Rampant]

Im not a huge fan of the beach boys, but i do enjoy their music. I got 2 of their cds, pet sounds and endless summer.

[_That_Cracka_J]

I know...my sister had a CD of theirs and I was surprised at how many songs I recognized, but I never knew was them.  Tight songs.

[Trauma-san]

Hey...., you asked.



^^ The Beach Boys.  Brian Wilson (Bassist, Keyboardist) is holding the mirror, which is reflecting the faces of

Left: Mike Love, lead singer, and cousin of the Wilson's

Al Jardine: Guitarist, Short guy, sang lead on "Help Me Rhonda"

Carl Wilson: Guitarist, Sings lead on God Only Knows, Good Vibrations

Bruce Johnson: Keyboardist, Brought into the band in 1966 to replace Brian Wilson, who had retired from touring and only worked in the studio

Dennis Wilson: Drummer, sang backup on tons of songs but only a few lead

Honestly, I think they're one of the greatest bands of all times.  Not on level with the Beatles, but in the beginning, they were.  By the time Brian 'retired' after SMiLE, the Beatles had surpassed them, but had Brian not suffered his mental problems, they could have been easily the band the Beatles were.  The main thing about the Beach Boys always revolved around Brian Wilson, who was incredible at arranging vocals, harmonies, and became one of the greatest Pop Producers to ever live.  

Sounds of Summer is a great CD, but like most greatest hits, doesn't touch ALL the good stuff they did.  


"Surfin Safari" the first released Beach Boys single.  They started a band, and Dennis was a surfer... they were looking for an idea to write a song, Dennis said "Nobody writes about surfing", so Mike and Brian wrote a song called "Surfin", they were signed by Capitol records, rewrote "Surfin" into "Surfin Safari", and made a career in music out of it.  

"Surfin USA" follow up to Surfin, all the music is just lifted from a Chuck Berry song.  Same music, different lyrics.  This is the first song Brian got the genius idea to sing in Falsetto on... he sings backup, straight, the whole song, and then does that famous "eeevvvEERRRYYY BODY'S GON SURRRRFINNNN...." part in the background.  It's almost like you can see him stepping into history singing that line that way.  Really pretty creative, nobody was singing like that then.  

"Fun Fun Fun" started a formula of sorts for the Beach Boys, have Mike Love sing the song lead, and in the chorus, have Brian sing the Chorus in Falsetto, while Mike sings bass, and Al, Carl, and Dennis sing the middle harmonies.  Another beat lifted from a Chuck Berry Song.

"Surfer Girl" Brian Wilson's first ever lead vocal.  HUGE hit, and totally produced and written by him.  After this, Capitol started giving Brian the freedom to produce his own songs, which he took full advantage of, trying to imitate his hero, Phil Spector.  For a while, the Beach Boys would release a Mike Love sang car song on Side A of the single, and a Brian Wilson sang Ballad on side B of the single.  

"Don't Worry Baby" written and produced by Brian, one of the most incredible lead vocals I've ever heard (in my opinion, of course).  Crazy.  It's very ingeniously written, because the song is about A. Cars, and B. Girls, getting around Mike Love's desire for more car songs, and C., while it sounds like a love song, it's actually, A love song, TO Brian! The girl's singing to him, and he's singing in Falsetto, like a girl.  Very clever twist on a traditional idea.  Written as a response to Brian's favorite song, the Rhonettes "Be My Baby" (produced by Phil Spector). Later, in the 70's, Brian would retire to his bedroom and sometimes play 'Be My Baby' for hours without end, considering it the perfect song.

"Little Deuce Coupe" - another car song, written and produced by Brian, I love in the hook how Mike Love sings so low "llllittttttle deuuuuuce couuuuppppe" while Brian is singing high.  

"Shut Down" another car song, written and produced by Brian.  He got to the point where he could write an endless variety of Car songs to satisfy Mike, while working on more creative songs for the B sides.  This is still true today, on his last album "Gettin In Over My Head", he wrote a "car song" for his band to sing with him (the rest of the album he sings himself).. the song on GIOMH is "Desert Drive" sounds just like the stuff he wrote in the 60's.

"Help Me, Rhonda" very creative song.  Listen to Mike Love's lowwwww bassline all through the chorus of the song "bawww bawww bawww bawww help me rhooooonnnndaaaa....."  LOL  By this time, Brian's team of Studio Musicians was really churning out great music, listen to the drummer go crazy at the end.  He called them the Wrecking Crew.  He also recorded a different album version later on, called "Help Me, Ronda" that I like better.

"Be True To Your School" everybody thinks it's so cheezy that Brian had cheerleaders come in and sing on the backing track, but I think it's hilarious because Brian's singing with them... you can hear him over and over go "RAH... RAH RAH RAHHHHH!!!!" LOL in the background.  

"When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" this is when Brian really started to mature musically and lyrically.  The song's about a man growing up and thinking about how his life is going to be, and ultimately who he'll end up with.  It's the first ever pop song to feature a Harpsicord (which the Beatles almost instantly re-did by adding a harpsichord solo to "in my life"), and has a strange backing vocal through the verses that just counts the years going by in the song.  "14,..... 15..... 16..... 17..... 18..... 19..... 20..... 21..... 22..... 23...." it gets all the way up into his 30's before it fades out.  

"In My Room" solely written by Brian, and produced by Brian, and sang lead by Brian.  The song's beautifully composed and the harmonies are perfect... the song also forshadows Brian's mounting depression, which eventually led to him staying 'in his room' for months at a time all through the 70's, 80's, and 90's.  Musicians have famously said the day they heard "In My Room" on the radio was the day they started paying attention to Brian, and considering him a musical genius.  This was around the time the Beatles were singing "I want to hold your hand".  

California Girls - Brian took an acid trip, and the second time he did it, he was at a friend's house... he claims he started seeing musical notes written in the air, and went over to a piano and banged out the rhythm section of "California Girls" claiming he saw the music in the air, lol.  He gathered together a small symphony of musicians, retired to a studio, and took 3 days recording only the INTRO to the song, with it's retarding tempo and nearly-orchestrated guitar melody, it was like nothing anybody had done before.  At first glance, just a stupid little song about a girl, but in technical terms, a masterpiece.

"God Only Knows" one of the songs from the masterpiece, "Pet Sounds" album.  Brian retired from touring after suffering a mental collapse, and went into the studio, attempting to make an album better than the Beatles "Rubber Soul" which he had just heard.  He felt music was becoming spiritual, and this was his step in that direction.  The first song to have the word "God" in the title.  Brian refrained from singing on the entire song, until the very end, where he joins the harmony at the top of the key and sings above Carl, Dennis, and Bruce.   Beautiful song, features muted French Horns.  The bassline is really thick and punchy, just beautiful... I saw an interview with Tom Petty, and he said when that song came out, he was trying so hard to figure out how to make his bass sound like that, and couldn't get it, so he considered Brian just a genius at music... later, Brian told him he played a stand-up acoustic bass, an electric bass, and the bassline on the piano, all perfectly mixed together to sound like 1 bass instrument.  That may sound simple... but NOBODY was doing that then.  It sounds simple because he thought of it, and made it common practice.

"Sloop John B" perfect production, listen how it sounds like you're on a ship, sailing over the waves.  I dunno how it sounds like that, but somehow it does.  Just technically perfect.  I love how the drumme rocks out at the end.  

"Wouldn't It Be Nice" incredible song, my favorite song ever, by anybody.  Again, perfectly produced, and strange, because it's sung by a HAPPY Brian Wilson, which was rare.  Brian wrote this song for Accordions.  Yes, that's right, Accordions.  If you listen in the verses, you'll hear the Accordions in the background basically laying the groove down.  How in the HELL he came up with the idea to write it on Accordion is beyond me, but it sounds so perfect I can't imagine it any other way.  Also, at the end of the song, you hear Timpani drums come in.  Why a regular bass drum wouldn't work, I don't know, but again it fits perfectly.  By this time, Brian had mastered production techniques, and could easily replicate the sounds he claimed he was hearing in his head, with his incredible Wrecking Crew laying these tracks down under his perfectly harmonized group vocals.

"Getcha Back" is pretty out of place where they put it on Sounds of Summer, this is a song from about 1985, sang by Mike Love in a crazy nasal voice.  This is what music sounded like in the 80's, lol.  Brian's again singing the falsetto lines in the background, even after completely losing his voice and vocal range in the 70's, he was back to good form in the studio by the time that album was recorded.

"Rock & Roll Music" was recorded onto the "15 Big Ones Album"... at the time, Brian could hardly sing, and Mike Love sounds horrible singing this.  Brian's the really rough guy singing the "Rock... Roll... Rockin and a Rollin" in the background.  He had totally lost it.

"Dance Dance Dance" recorded before Pet Sounds, just RAW energy.  Love it.

"Barbara Ann" recorded for the Beach Boy's "Party" album.  Brian (genius) was working on Pet Sounds, and taking too long... so, the record company wanted the album.  Brian held a series of studio "Parties", recorded them, and released it as the "Party" album... then went back to work on "pet sounds"  That's why the song's so rough... him and Jan (from Jan and Dean) sang a doubled lead, with everybody else backing them up, then released it as a single.  Sold a fucking TON of records.

"Do You Wanna Dance" included because it's sang by Dennis Wilson, which was rare.  So-So cover.

"Heroes And Villians" the follow up to "Good Vibrations", and the first single from the forthcoming "SMiLE" album.  Really is the height of production marvel, this guy was now capable of anything in the studio.  There's a part near the middle where all the music drops out, and the 6 Beach Boys just sing acapella with so many melodies and harmonies going on, you can't even tell there's no drums or guitar playing.  Just running with no breaks... the song took him 6 months to record, he recorded hours of material, then tried to splice them together.... he would go to the studio, splice the song one way, then come back the next day, decide he didn't like it, and re-edit the song a different way.  He did this on and on, eventually had a breakdown, and the record company just released the last mix he had made, which is this one.  The song apparently is about his father and wife finding out he was taking drugs, and confronting them with it... Brian's friends were the heroes, his family the villians.  Another take has the song being about Brian's children, which he called "the heroes and villians".  Who Knows?

"Good Timin" after Brian's mental issues, he would help the Beach Boys out by recording a song or two for each record they released.  This is one of those, written, and sang by Brian.  Beautiful song, perfectly produced, but kind of sad, when you hear his voice sound so melancholy.  

"Kokomo" written in the 80's WITHOUT Brian, it's the only hit the Beach Boys ever had that he didn't write or produce.  John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas wrote half the song with Mike Love... Mike sings the verses, and the incredible bassline on the chorus, while Carl Wilson sings the high lead in the chorus.  Hilariously, even though Brian had 'quit' the band to promote a solo album, when "Full House" wanted the Beach Boys to appear on the television show, Brian showed up for the tapings.  In one scene, they asked the Beach Boys what they were going to sing at the show, and Brian (not Carl!) sang the "THAAAATS where we wanna go... Way Down to Kokomo!!!" melody from the chorus.  Kinda shitty of him to fuck Carl out of T.V. time like that, but hey, what can you do.  The last #1 hit for the Beach Boys, 20 years after their 'last' #1, Good Vibrations.

"Do It Again"... After SMiLE collapsed, Mike Love had some weight to his "don't fuck with the formula, lets sing about cars and beaches" idea... so, to appease him, Brian wrote "Do It Again".  This is in 1968, awesome fucking song, in my opinion.  Mike sings the lead, Brian sings the bridge, he's the one that sounds like he's about to slit his wrists "witttth a girllll the lonely sea looks gooood in the mooooonlight"  Apparently Brian never lost the ability to write huge hit "car, beach, girl" songs like this, but just chose not to.  Anytime he wanted to, through his career, he would write one, and it would be damn good.  

"Wild Honey" Carl wanted to be more hard edge, so Brian wrote this song for him, a Beach Boys ROCK song.  I don't really like it, Carl sings lead.

"Darlin"... Brian wrote this, again for Carl during 'the bedroom years' as a tribute to Motown.  It's very motownish, and has a real r&b vibe.  I like it, and Carl sings the hell out of it.

"I Can Hear Music"... cover song, by Carl, one of the greatest Beach Boys songs, just because of how great he sounds on it.  You can hear the part Brian wrote and arranged, the acapella part near the end is classic Wilson.

"Good Vibrations" was recorded during Pet Sounds.  Brian didn't think it was finished, so he left it off the album.  Brian's mother had told him as a child that a dog, which was barking at him, and licking his mom, probably just picked up her good vibrations, and picked up bad vibrations from him.  So, years later, Brian wrote "Good Vibrations".  The song originally was about a girl, and how Brian was picking up good vibrations from her, but it was kind of creepy.

"I, I love the colorful clothes she wears..
and she's already working on my Brain.
I, I only looked in her eyes,
and I've picked up something I just can't explain.
I'm picking up Good Good Good Good Vibrations.

"I, I'll bet I know What She's Like...
And I Can feel how Right she'd be for me.
It's Weird, how she comes in so strong,
and I wonder what she's picking up from me.  
I hope it's, Good Good Good Good Vibrations.

So Brian plays it for Mike, who says "It's too weird"... you have to make it more common so people can relate to it, and nobody can sing that crazy ass high chorus, with you saying good good good good vibrations.  So, Mike writes the "I'm pickin' up, good vibrations... she's givin' me excitations..." part, They re-write the verses a little bit, and they're done.  So, Brian starts re-recording it, but he likes the first versions first line better... so he gets the genius idea to just take some scissors, cut the tape, and then tape it to the new version, LOL.  Ghetto as fuck.  It worked brilliantly.

Brian flies around the world, recording in 5 different studios, to get 5 different sounds, cuts all the pieces out of the songs bit by bit, and tapes them together to form 1 masterpiece, with all the sections having different room sounds, echoes, hiss, etc.  Brian had just invented pro tools, lol.

Release the single, biggest hit they ever had. A year later, Brian was insane.

[white Boy]

pet sounds>srgt. peppers

cosign
but thats like my 4th or maybe 5th fav beatles album, ill take white album over pet sounds.. maybe..

[Trauma-san]

Yall REALLY gotta check out some of their stuff they did in the 70's, Brian's genius continued to grow after Pet Sounds & SMiLE, it was just limited by his voice, and his laziness. 

Here's a few more.

Brian hears a coca-cola jingle one day, and being the health nut that he was (at 300 pounds) thought it would be good of him to promote WATER with a jingle.  So, he writes a song, called "Cool Cool Water".  Unbelievable song, his production skills were un-rivaled on things like this.  Download Cool Cool Water, and just listen to the dozens of things he has going on, it's so mellow, when it's over, all you want to do is go get a drink.  His lyrics in the 70's were so simple and childish, too, that it's easy to like.  "When I'm hot, and I'm tryna keep cool, I keep on dreamin' bout a... Swimming Poooooooool"  LOL  Also, this song was never FINISHED by Brian, so Carl finished it without him.  The middle was incomplete, so Carl took shelved SMiLE recordings, and spliced them into the center of the song, where Brian had finished recording.  Brian about had a fucking FIT when he heard it, for one he didn't like it, and 2, he didn't want any of the SMiLE stuff released.  The weird-ass chants in the middle of the song are the famous vocals Brian recorded in the bottom of a swimming pool for the SMiLE elemental suite.  The way the harmonies come together at the end with them all singing "Cool, Cool, Cool, Cool Water" is just incredible.

"Add Some Music To Your Day" - Brian's ode to the love of his life, Music.  Incredibly written and sung, just a fucking masterpiece.  Probably the greatest thing he ever wrote. 

"Sail On, Sailor" The Beach Boys were making an album, called "M.I.U.", without Brian (who was at home asleep, as usual) in the late 70's, and the record company wouldn't release it becuase they thought it was shit, and didn't have anything for a single.  The Beach Boys were talking to one of Brian's friends about it, and he told them that Brian had a song he had been working on for years, a little here, a little there, and they found the tape, it was called "Sail on Sailor".  They scrubbed all of Brian's vocals off of the song, and left his instrumental track (which included even Brian playing piano himself, which he had produced, lol) and re-sang the song, released it, and it was a huge hit.  So, it's a Brian Wilson song, because Brian wrote it, produced it, and even fucking PLAYED on it, but they re-sang it without his involvement in the late 70's. 

"Till I Die" unbelievable song.. Brian was going through this immense depression and mental anguish for years, and wrote this song about it.  Brian's voice had started to fail him, through constant drug abuse, etc... and that high falsetto he had was on it's last legs.  He wrote, and sang, this entire fucking song solo... The verses are so sadly written, with all this harmony in the background, and Brian's lead vocal sounding so thin and weak...

"I'm a Cork on the ocean
Floating over the raging sea
How deep is the ocean
How deep is the ocean

I lost my way, hey hey hey

I'm a rock in a landslide
Rolling over the mountainside
How deep is the valley
How deep is the valley

It chills my soul, hey hey hey

I'm a leaf on a windy day
Pretty soon, I'll be blown away
How long will the wind blow?
How long will the wind blow?"

So, you hear these incredibly sad verses from him, then all of a sudden, wayyyyyyyyyy off in the background, you hear that beaaaaautiful falsetto answer the question "how long" by just singing out, in this high, mellow, beauuutiful falsetto voice that he still was holding onto


"Unnnnnnntil I DIEEEEEEEeeeeee" it just sounds like a ghost or something, rising above all the other voices, but it's PERFECT.  Just incredibly sang, but it was the last time, you know? From then on his voice continued to deteriorate.  Amazing song though, he pretty much summed up all the shit he was going through in this incredible song.  This song alone ought to have gotten him into the Rock & Roll hall of fame.

These things haunt me
Until I die
These things I feel
Until I die
These things haunt me
Until I die

[Kill]

lol Trauma i knew you'd reply, i guessed it'd be a rather long post, but this.....

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

Dem Rowdy boys down South neva heard of No Beach Boys...ya heard?  But I guess it ain't where you from it's how ya come.

[BigBDrugStores]

Dem Rowdy boys down South neva heard of No Beach Boys...ya heard?  But I guess it ain't where you from it's how ya come.

what the fuck
no i diddnt hear you

[eS El Duque]

Dem Rowdy boys down South neva heard of No Beach Boys...ya heard?  But I guess it ain't where you from it's how ya come.

lmao

hahahah..i was reading all the posts to the thread and it wa pretty good..then this dude comes and writes this...loll..ahahhaha..shit im tears lol

dude is duckman

[TraceOneInfinite Flat Earther 96']

Dem Rowdy boys down South neva heard of No Beach Boys...ya heard?  But I guess it ain't where you from it's how ya come.

what the fuck
no i diddnt hear you

That's just how we come from down South ya heard, I got gold teethe but don't think that a black man from the ghetto with gold teeth and ghetto slang can make it up out the hood, if you a TRU soldier then you down and Bout It Bout It!

"These 20 inch rims are my ghetto pride! Uhhh!  Grew up reading jailhouse letters, and mama, somethin somethin sweaters! UHHUHHHH!"