Beach Boys

The Beach Boys | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl
• Original Release Date: 1965
• Label: EMI
• ASIN: B000LOSNVS
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars feels kind of incomplete, January 4, 2011

By 

S.W. (Hickory, NC) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Beach Boys (Audio CD)

Originally released in 1985, this was the Beach Boys' first album after the tragic death of Dennis Wilson. The album was produced by hit Culture Club producer Steve Levine, and, in keeping with '80s stylings, was heavily programmed. However, Levine was not as lucky with the Beach Boys as he was with Culture Club, as the album was not a success. This may have been because the album is not particularly strong overall. There are several songs that make it seem like the group wasn't really concentrating that much on songwriting. One song is a Culture Club "cover," one was written by Stevie Wonder (who plays most of the music on the song), and the songs that Brian wrote, or co-wrote, sound closer to rough drafts than finished songs. Likewise, in many places the music sounds kind of unfinished, at least compared to the productions on most other Beach Boys recordings (actually, if you think less music is better than more, this might be a positive thing). Brian's lead vocals on "Male Ego" sound like he's trying to "belt" them out (and not doing it all that well), his lead vocal on the first couple verses of "I'm So Lonely" sound sort of "flat," and Bruce Johnston's voice on his ballad "She Believes In Love Again" is a bit scratchy. (The song isn't one of Bruce's best, either.) However, the rest of the vocals are more impressive; I'd say they're great in certain places. Unsurprisingly, Carl turns in most of the best vocal performances on the album. Carl takes or shares the lead vocal on most of the songs, and his voice is magnificent, as usual. It's also nice to hear Brian back on falsetto again on "Getcha Back" (which was the hit single from the album). "California Calling," which harkens back to the "older" Beach Boys (or should that be the "younger" Beach Boys?), and on which none other than ex-Beatle Ringo Starr plays the drums, is one of the few "fun-in-the-sun" songs that the group released after the '60s. There aren't many other Beach Boys albums that this one can be favorably compared to; because of the (partly) Brian-written songs, the album feels kind of "incomplete" (even more so, if you prefer more instrumentation over less), and the other lyrical contributions aren't that great. The album is worth listening to (mostly because of [most of] the vocals), but the Beach Boys could have done (and have done) better. The vocals, or most of them, are just about all that keep this album from being dismissable. (R.I.P., Denny and Carl)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beach Boys 1985, January 20, 2006

By 

Russell W. Reed (Chester, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beach Boys (Audio CD)

Unlike the other review, I think the album was awesome. It was great to have Brian back on falsetto on Getcha Back, California Calling was their return to good surf music, plus there are some great Brian cuts such as Crack At Your Love, Male Ego, It's Just A Matter Of Time, I'm So Lonely, and others. It is filled out the rest of the way with some Carl Wilson solos much like his 2 previous albums. I've worn my copy out because I've listened to it so many times.

5.0 out of 5 stars Brings back the memories, December 31, 2011

By 

G. L Vince "glv725" (Lansdale, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beach Boys (Audio CD)

As a kid who was raised on the music of The Beach Boys it was awesome to hear the track "Getcha Back" when it first came out as the "new" Beach Boys track. I was young and this new thing called a compact disc was making a splash. As we hear of another reunion in the works, I was paging through the Beach Boys discography and found this one to be missing from my collection and was fortunate to find a copy in the marketplace.

Musical critics will probably get ill listening to The Beach Boys mixed in with the production of eighties drum machines and synthesizers. In a way, it sounds odd and dated but it also bring back the memories of my youth and the album means a lot more to me than it would many. Me and this album clicked at the right time and as I sit here 25 years later, I enjoy it quite a bit.