Customer Reviews

Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This documentary features interviews from Brian, Alan, Mike, Bruce, and some older footage of the late brothers Carl and Dennis (and Hal Blaine, David Marks, and Glenn Campbell all of whom were involved in the Beach Boys' circle).

You really can't tell the whole story (1961-98) in just 2 hours, but still this is well documented. It includes some interesting insights from Elvis Costello (probably the best outside observances). One thing I wish they had mentioned (which they totally forgot) was the short-time membership of Ricky Fataar (who would later become a Rutle) and Blondie Chaplin (who sang lead on the Beach Boys' "Sail On Sailor"). It touches lightly on dubious characters like Van Dyke Parks (who did manage to contribute the surreal lyrics to "Heroes and Villians") and Eugene Landy (who helped Brian get well again but became codependent on Brian himself). But it's mostly about the music (Pet Sounds, Smile, Sunflower, Till I Die, Good Vibrations, Smile, and the surf and turf classics of 1961-65)! If you're a fan interested in their personal story, you'll like this documentary. I had to dock it 1 star because I think they talked too much about the Wilsons' infamous father Murray and Brian's health (Brian's Back indeed!).

And while you're at it, check out the CD of the same name (full of rarities and gems you won't find on any of the original albums)!

Worth watching for the rich array of audio/video clips and stories from throughout the years. The soundtrack, too, offers some little-known gems such as Dennis Wilson's "Barbara."

However, the group's interpersonal "harmony" was overstated from the beginning. In this video, the ever-grandstanding and odious Mike Love gets entirely too much time to thump himself on the back for his "positivity." Bear in mind that Mike Love was the band's principal mouthpiece for Capitol Records' desire that the Beach Boys not "f**k with the formula" by exploring the new dimensions, beyond summer and cars and girls, that Brian Wilson sought in "Pet Sounds" and the aborted "Smile" album, pressure that helped contribute to Brian's breakdown. Mike Love has been coasting on the Wilson brothers' collective genius for nearly forty years now... retire, Mike! (Wouldn't THAT be nice?)

I would have liked to have seen more about Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar and other sidesmen who played an integral part in BB history.

After years of slipshod hits packages and 2 excellent boxed sets, Tje Beach Boys have finally sat down and talked two interviewers about their career an why they love what they do. It features interviews with all 6 Beach Boys (Brian included), as well as musical historians and their many associates.

This dvd paints an intimate portrait of America's Band. Brian Wilson is espcially good here, never showing his personal problems and giving mini performances of songs at the piano. Each Beach Boy gets equal screen time. You even might shed a tear when you realize that this documentary was the last public tv appearance by Carl Wilson, who died of lung cancer just months later.

The music is really good. The live performances are mostly just snippets, but also includes a heartwrenching montage of Carl performing "God Only Knows" and a Mike Love - driven "California Girls". Also featured are two Dennis Wilson ballads, "All Alone" and "Barbara".

I would highly recommend this dvd. However, I suggest that if you are a casual Beach Boys fan, you should wait until a little later to get this dvd, because while it's comprehensive & insightful, you ought to get the albums first. Happy Holidays.

Anthony Nasti

If, like me, you are new to the mighty Beach Boys, than this is a pretty good introduction to the most (benevolently) influential group in rock history; although, being an official history, it is often more euphemistic than hard-hitting (an exception, the damning evidence of Murry Wilson's abusive managerial style, is already an established part of the myth; he obviously can't give his side of the story).

Full of fantastic footage (live and studio), weird promos (I particularly relished the forest film with Mike Love wandering as a despised tramp) and archival interviews, the documentary traces the band's strange path from clean-cut all-Americans to bloated beardies; from harmonious California mythologisers to barmy psychedelic adventurists ('Good Vibrations' was apparently influenced by Brian's mother's dog); from draft-dodging hippies to friends of the Reagans.

Celebrity cameos are kept to a merciful minimum, and the latterday interviews with surviving Beach Boys are incredibly revealing, especially those with Mike Love who, after all these years, sees the group's major work, 'Pet Sounds', 'Smile', 'Friends' et al, as a bit of an aberration. Dennis emerges as a bit of a silent hero, Carl as the band's sensible soul, and Brian...well, who can top 'the Mozart of rock and roll'? Plus hours and hours of endless harmony, the most exhilerating, most melancholy, most inventive, most yearning, most literally fantastic pop music you'll ever hear. (One complaint: the backroom goon who disses Phil Spector, aka the Shakespeare of pop).

This show really brought back memories. My only complaint was that there wasn't more emphasis on the concerts of the seventies. What a time to see the Beach Boys in person. Brian, Carl, Dennis, Allen, Bruce, and Mike were at a peak of perfection. I saw them on numerous occasions and and to date have never seen a comparable show. However, there was no mention of two temporary members of the band...Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin. If anyone saw the Beach Boys in the seventies, you would remember these two musicians, especially Blondie. His rendition of "Sail on Sailor" and "Funky Pretty" were absolutely unbelievable. What an increddible experience. Other than that omission, the show was exceptional and I applaud the work. In closing I wish to thank the Beach Boys for their music. They keep a smile on your face.(Rich Shears)

The Beach Boys created wonderful music and on a whole, this documentary tells that story quite well. The Brian Wilson story in itself is an integral part of American music history, which now has an inspirational uplifting conclusion thats ongoing with his spirited reinvention of himself. The only parts of this DVD that are hard to stomach are those of Mike Love's inflated, obnoxious ego has he tries to convince the audience of his own self importance. But I guess he's just doing his thing. Sad really. What a contrast to the wonderfully humble, even naive musical genius of Brian. Still, Mike also played a balancing role in the band that made them exactly what they were: A great american band and the creators of a beautiful and totally original music.

Endless Harmony is a 2-hour (almost) everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-Beach-Boys extravaganza. While it occasionally drags and loses direction, the strength of the story was compelling enough for this viewer, who grew up listening to their music.

If Folk Rock and the British Invasion represented a generation's call to be different, hip and cool, The Beach Boys represented a yearning to be popular, secure and loved. Endless Harmony traces the history of the Beach Boys, and in some ways, Brian Wilson's life, as a testament to the struggle between those two sets of yearnings.

Starting with their family's migration to California during the Depression, through the optimism and exuberance of post World War II Southern California, we get a sense of the roots of The Beach Boys. Brian, Dennis and Carl learned harmony from their father, Murry Wilson. An overpowering autocrat, Murry was a frustrated songwriter who was jealous of his sons' success. There are disturbing audio snippets of Murry berating Brian during recording sessions.

In an era when most Rock groups were cannon fodder for record producers, Brian Wilson was given unprecedented autonomy in the production of Beach Boy material. Some of the documentary's best moments are of Brian sitting at the controls of a mixing board, deconstructing original Beach Boy recordings, showing how all the tracks were layered together.

The central weakness of this documentary is its structure, which depends entirely on interviews for its narrative flow and direction. Some of the interviewees, particularly Elvis Costello and Maurice Gibb, have remarkably little to say.

As with many documentaries that are made with the permission of their subjects, it tends to be a little fuzzy on some of the darker periods of their history. None of the Beach Boy's intra-family lawsuits are discussed. Dennis Wilson's relationship with Charles Manson (who with Dennis co-wrote the B-Side of a Beach Boys' single) is not mentioned. Brian and Dennis declined to attend their father's funeral, but the film is mute on that subject, and mother Audry Wilson is virtually absent.

Nevertheless, Endless Harmony presents enough material for the viewer to know not only their music, but their struggle as a band to find direction and purpose during and after the tumultuous social changes of the `60s and `70s. The DVD bonus materials include some marvelous 5:1 Dolby Digital remixes of some classics.

The film drags where the Beach Boys foundered, covering the band's history during Brian's absence during the 70's and 80's. Regardless of what Mike Love says, the Beach Boys' story is at its heart, about the genius of Brian. The band carries on without Brian, but (with a few exceptions) not very well.

It is somehow both ironic and appropriate that Brian is the last living Wilson brother. The word "survivor" is overused today, but as you listen to Brian, who has a stroke victim's slurred speech and slack face, you see a man who has bent but not broken, and has retained some of the childlike innocence that made his music so magical.

In a more cynical age, The Beach Boys tend to be slighted in the assessment of important Rock `n Roll bands, perhaps because they've been around so long they eventually became a parody of themselves. The appeal of the Beach Boys was that they were utterly without guile or pretension, which is why their words and music touch your heart. If Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics of a generation's thoughts, and the Beatles sang the music of their days, then perhaps the Beach Boys sang the harmonies of their dreams.

After watching Endless Harmony, I went to Santa Cruz for the weekend with some friends. Driving down Highway 1, I taught their 6-year-old-daughters the lyrics to "Surfer Girl" It felt wonderful.

The Beach Boys are such a wildly talented group- it's refreshing to see a documentary with so much MUSIC in it.

They're also a messed up group of men still acting like little boys. Mike Love, the world's oldest adolescent, never did get the respect he wanted from the public, so he heaps praises onto himself and becomes unintentionally hilarious. It's apparent the man is in love with himself and likes to rewrite history as well.

Sadly, two of the original Beach Boys are gone, Carl and Dennis, and this tape also showcase their talents as singers and songwriters.

The tape's big surprise is the segment on Dennis- an incredibly good looking man and talented songwriter who died WAY too soon.

Much respect is due Carl Wilson, the man caught in the middle of a feuding family who managed to keep things from getting too dirty with grace and dignity.

But the main focus is exactly where it should be- the music. The wonderful, wonderful music of Brian Wilson and his band!

I CAN REMEMBER AS A YOUNG GUY, WHEN THE BEACH BOYS FIRST CAME OUT, AND THEIR SOUND WAS VERY NEW AND EXCITEING. SURFING SUFARI, IN MY ROOM, 409, ALL THESE SONGS WERE PLAYED AT OUR SCHOOL DANCES, AND DOMINATED THE, THEN, AM RADIO STATIONS. THIS VIDEO BROUGHT BACK MANY MEMORIES OF MY CHILD HOOD AND I WOULD SUGGEST IT TO ANYONE OUT THERE WHO REALLY APPRECIATES THE GENIUS OF BRIAN WILSON.

This DVD is a real "must have" for any Brian Wilson or Beach Boys fan. Endless Harmony charts the group's history from their formation in the early sixties through to their effective end on February 6th 1998 when the late, great Carl Wilson passed away. It was a sad ending to a group that went on to make musical history over several decades and set the standards and success that many other bands strive to achieve today - this was without doubt one of the most influential rock and pop groups of all time. From the Worlds premier surfing band they went on to achieve the ultimate glory in pop music by producing what is probably the finest album ever made, the stunningly beautiful and critically acclaimed Pet Sounds. The eagerly awaited follow up album that never was, "SMiLE", dragged the legendary genius that is Brian Wilson into new depths of despair and the drink and drugs culture also saw the demise of fellow Beach Boy and brother Dennis Wilson. Brian Wilson did eventually come through his darkness to embark upon a solo career that in 2004 would see him perform the highly acclaimed "SMiLE" concerts to packed houses and rapturous reviews. This DVD follows the roller coaster ride that was The Beach Boys career with in-depth interviews from all the band members and other friends/musicians around at the same time such as Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, Bee Gee Maurice Gibb and Eagles member Glen Frey. It also has some excellent "extras" that make this DVD great value for money. Buy it!