First Post: The Beach Boys

So, here's the very first post on my new blog! Since this is the first, I wanted to start with a band from the early days of rock: The Beach Boys.

If you grew up in the United States you probably have a low opinion of this band. After all, they're really just famous for silly songs about surfin' and girls on the beach right? While that is true, there's another side to this band that I think deserves a great deal of respect and attention due in large part to the music genius behind the band: Brian Wilson.

The surfing and girls stuff is what I might call their "light" side. They had a "dark" side too. A side that dealt with loneliness, isolation, and the struggle for understanding. In either case, there's never been another group of singers who could blend their voices in such complex and truly beautiful ways. Look around - you just can't find vocal harmony done better anywhere in rock history.

Here's my short list of must-listen music that should change your perception of these guys:

• In My Room - A truly gorgeous song and one that kills me every time I hear it. It's only two minutes long, but feels much longer when you listen to it. There's lyrics I think many of us can relate to as well. David Crosby once commented that this song almost made him want to quit music because he never thought it could be topped! Released in 1963.


• Pet Sounds - This is the album that really put "the boys" on the map musically speaking. It was released in early 1966 but sounds like it could have been made 20 years later than that. This is the album that inspired Paul McCartney to push the Beatles sound further with Sgt. Pepper. The lyrics are a bit sappy at times, but the instrumentation and arrangements are divine. Remember that it took all four Beatles plus George Martin to make Sgt Pepper but the entirety of Pet Sounds can be attributed to Brian Wilson. He wrote all the songs, produced them in the studio, and arranged the instruments and vocal sections almost entirely on his own. If that's not enough to convince you to listen to this album, consider that the Library of Congress recently entered Pet Sounds into the National Recording Registry as one of the essential American recordings of all time. Released in 1966.


• Surf's Up - Despite its title, this is not a song about surfing. Instead this is a song that Leonard Bernstein payed special homage to in a CBS television special aired in 1967 calling it "Poetic, beautiful, even in its obscurity". To me this song has meaning on several levels but generally seems to discuss a corrupt and decadent society about to consume itself. Salvation is offered up at the end of the song by proposing a return to child-like innocence and love for one another. Released in 1971.
  

A Little History
Those of you who are familiar with the history of the Beach Boys might be asking why I haven't mentioned anything about Smile - clearly the most amazing album the group was ever a part of. I'm saving discussion about Smile for it's own post because I think it deserves special attention. Moreover, The Beach Boys didn't finish Smile in 1967 as originally intended. Although substantial work was completed on this album, recording sessions stalled out for a variety of reasons and the music was never finished. It took Brian Wilson until 2004 to release the album on his own. As such it's hard to call Smile a true Beach Boys album in it's own right. This point is debatable but I wanted to focus mainly on what the group had done as a whole here.