Customer Reviews

Beach Boys' Party! [Vinyl]

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It's easy now to sit back with thirty plus years hindsight and dish-up raves reviews of Beach Boy classics like California Girls, Wouldn't It Be Nice and Good Vibrations. Truth is, the Beach Boys were pretty much a singles act all through the sixties. And no one, with the possible exception of the Beatles did it better. Pet Sounds changed all that, eleavating the BB's to superstar status. The pressures of record company executives to crank out more hits and the inner turmoil Brian Wison experienced, as he fought the demons of his manic depression have been exhustively documented. As they entered into the post-Pet Sounds, psycedellic era the BB's became increassingly challenged to keep pace with both their former success as well as new arrivals onto the music scene. Compitition, not only from the Beatles and the Stones, was fierce. They also squared-off against the likes of the Byrds, the Mamas & Papas, Simon & Garfunkle, etc.

It's at this junction of their recording career that Brian made the unpopular decision to record an unrehearsed, acoustic set of Beatles cover songs, Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changing" and a smathering of oldies, (Alley Oop, Devoted To You, Hully Gully and Mountain of Love). This was a daring approach for a band known for it's air tight harmonies and impecable studio production. The Beach Boy's Party album, which preceeded the MTV "Unplugged" format by some thirty years, yielded one top 40 single, "Barbra Ann" and faired modestly well on the album charts.

Clearly this is not representative of the early output of classic BB albums. However, more than just an oddity or curio, "Party" represents an interesting transition in the astonishing career of a legendary rock n' roll band and should not be overlooked or dismissed as contractual "filler" for the greedy execs at Capital Records.

Love the Beach Boys or not, this album has to be heard to be believed. I first heard this ablum when it was released and still remember it after all these years. It changed me. What I remember is that this was a low point in the up remarkable career of the Beach Boys. This album reeks of off key singing, and sloppy guitar work. In fact, it sounds more wose than the local garage band goofing around than the work slick professionals, who had sold millions of records. Although I didn't know at the time the Beach Boys rushed this album out in order to buy Brian Wilson enough time to make his highly praised "Pet Sounds". Whatever the reason, it was not a fun album to listening to it, even if the Boys were having fun fooling around singing Bob Dylan songs and Beatle Ballads offkey. For me, it ended my listening association with the Beach Boys so I never listen to Pet Sounds and still haven't. Yes, I confess when they sang out of key, I got up and walked out on them. I traded the many albums I had of theirs, I believe 12, for a bunch of Bob Dylans. That was a decision I regretted years later, but I still remember this stinker because so soured me on the Beach Boys and was the instigator of my later regret.