Beginning their career as a popular surf band, The Beach Boys had emerged by 1966 as America's preeminent pop group, the only act able to challenge the success of The Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community. This book reconstructs their evolution to one of the best-produced groups of the '60s, and also profiles Brian Wilson, one of the most gifted songwriters, producers, and arrangers in popular music. The book's easy-to-browse, day-by-day format details their entire concert history, all known recording sessions, their broadcast history, and all records issued in the U.S. and the U.K.
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"It's great to see the details of the best years of our career collected with such love in one place." -- Brian Wilson
About the Author
Keith Badman is a regular contributor to Record Collector and Mojo magazines, and writer of three groundbreaking works on the Beatles, one of which (‘The Beatles After The Break Up’, was voted in the top ten essential Beatles book by Q magazine). Badman has also co-authored definitive works on The Rolling Stones and The Small Faces and been a film and video archive consultant for the BBC and others.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Work Of Love Not Blinded By Hero Worship,
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This review is from: The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio (Paperback)
The amount of research necessary to compile this book is staggering. This undoubtedly will stand as one of the most comprehensive studies of one of the world's most famous and justifiably enduring bands.
If anything negative can be claimed, it's simply that no detail is too minor for inclusion. The book is ideal for completists, those who thrill in every tiny aspect of The Beach Boys. For my taste, it's a lot to absorb. But that's not to say the book is less than brilliant in presenting the facts, personalities, ups/downs, ins/outs, and evolution of popular music. The Beach Boys deserve such scholarly attention. That Mr. Badman has presented the data in a fun and easy-to-read manner parallels the joy of the music. Never dry, never dull. The other commendation due is that even the many things that failed or missed the mark are presented. Yes, this book is a work of love. But it's also an effort not blinded by hero worship. Essential to all fans of the Beach Boys.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great diary...but why stop short?,
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This review is from: The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio (Paperback)
On one hand, this exhaustive summary of recording sessions, concert dates and important moments in Beach Boys history is a goldmine for hardcore fans. We learn when and where, for instance, Glen Campbell first played in place of Brian Wilson on tour. We're given attendance, box office totals and set lists for tons of concerts. LOTS of great info and trivia on every aspect of the band's career. My only complaint is that this book tells us very little about the Beach Boys or Brian Wilson of the past 28 years; the years 1977 through 2004 get only a couple of paragraphs each.
Granted, this has not exactly been a golden age for the Beach Boys artistically, and it doesn't merit as much ink as their hitmaking years. But isn't this a part of their story? If you're obsessive enough to read this book in the first place, don't you want to know when it was that Brian stopped making even the occasional appearance with his Boys? Don't you want to know why David Marks was thrown out of (or quit) the band for a second time in the 90s? Don't you want to know how many dollars your nearby Indian casino has to pony up to have the current Mike Love/Bruce Johnston Beach Boys show up to play a concert in its bingo hall (invariably dubbed a 'Summertime Bash')? And, if you've seen the band at some point since 1976, wouldn't it be nice (ahem) to see it listed in the book's Concert Location Index? For better or worse, the Beach Boys have soldiered on in some form or other for nearly three decades beyond the period on which this book concentrates, their members dying off, leaving in a huff or hanging in till the bitter end for that steady paycheck. Again, this book is a treasure trove for fans, but just a little more on the group's (very) long goodbye might have been interesting.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Brother years 5 stars, Early Beach Boys 3 stars,
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This review is from: The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio (Paperback)
Its nice to see a book like this devoted to the Beach boys, they definitely needed one. That being said, this one can be topped, but its OK as the first stab anybody has taken into written a day by day story of the boys. Most of the research is taken from studio logs, but apparently not many could be found for the early (and best) Beach boys albums. While the book is some 350 pages, less that 1/4 is devoted to the years prior to 1966, and the rest of the book for the years 1966-1974. If you want a detail analysis of the early beach boys, you may need to look somewhere else. But for the Brother Years, this is very good. The book is not pricey and includes many photos. A revised edition would be great in a few years.
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