Customer Reviews

Friends / 20/20

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
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You do get value for your money with this one, with two albums plus bonus tracks on one CD. The Beach Boys in the late sixties did some odd and pared-down things, but the magic was still there with "Friends," a benevolent unified effort of smooth vibes and happy thoughts, one of Brian Wilson's favorites. "20/20" is a less satisfying whole, cobbled together and with many of the other Beach Boys doing their own varied things on it. Still, the album contains the hits "Do It Again" and "I Can Hear Music," plus some inspired magic moments from the "Smile" sessions, "Our Prayer" and "Cabinessence." The bonus tracks are worthy, especially "Break Away." The Beach Boys could still make thoughtful music.

Friends is the best Beach Boys album ever made and one of the finest by any band ever. There is not one bad track. A true group effort. Stunning contributions by Dennis. Amazing production by Brian. Busy Doin' Nothin' is incredible.Friends, Anna Lee, Wake The World, the list goes on. Contrast this with Pet Sounds. The stylistic differences and production values are incredible. The most versatile and experimental pop group in history. What Happened?!!!??

These are two albums of incredible music with lots of extras.Firstly,you get 29 tracks of some of the Beach Boys most under-rated music.Such tracks as the two "Smile" tracks "our prayer" and "cabinessence".Also some beautiful sounds such as "busy doin' nothin'","I went to sleep","time to get alone","celebrate the news" as well as the better known "breakaway","bluebirds over the mountain","I can hear Music" and many more. The twofers have 5 bonus tracks,plus an introduction by Brian Wilson,extensive liner notes with track by track history and chart position and charting dates of singles,plus lots of photos,recording dates and cd lists.The cds are digitally remastered by Joe Gastwirt and Mark Linett and sound crystal clear.They are absolute bargains.

By the time "Friends" and "20/20" were released in 1968 and 1969 respectively, the Beach Boys fan base had dwindled considerably and as a result both albums sold poorly, which is to say barely at all. It's a shame because both albums are actually quite good. "Friends" has a very laid back feel to it and in some ways is reminiscent of "Smiley Smile". The title track is a highlight and features a soaring vocal arrangement in the spirit of "Pet Sounds". Dennis Wilson's contribution, "Little Bird" is wonderful and he really began to come into his own on this record. "Passing By" and "Diamond Head" are both charming instrumentals, the latter reminiscent of some of the abandoned "Smile" experiments. "Busy Doin' Nothing" is a catchy Bossa Nova track with amusing lyrics and shows Brian hasn't lost his sense of humor. "20/20" is a bit darker and a tad more experimental but still a good listen. Brian's contribution to this record was minimal but the other Beach Boys pick up the slack in impressive fashion. A great deal with bonus tracks from the late 60's to round out the disc.

Although this 2fer covers a period that was derided by critics and ignored by the public, this is second only to Smiley Smile/Wild Honey as my favorite 2fer among the Capitol re-releases.

Although I used to always hate Friends, I find it now to be a guilty pleasure. To be sure, I think you will find the last four '60's albums to be tough first listens (if you were first weaned on the Endless Summer like I was), but they are worth the effort! Friends opens with a quick "hello, good morning, how are you" before jumping into the title track, which is a fun little waltz. Wake the World will make you chuckle (it's the tuba bassline!). Be Here in the Morning is warm and cuddly (how in the world did Brian sing that high?) When a Man Needs a Woman is alright. The happy joy-joy vibes on this album are contagious. No wonder Brian Wilson claims that this is his personal favorite among the Beach Boys long players. To top it off, you have a couple of great instrumentals from Brian (Passing By and Diamond Head), the first fruits of Dennis Wilson's songwriter talent (Little Bird, Be Still), and directions to Brian's house (listen to Busy Doin' Nothin' closely!). Except for the pedantic load of junk that is Transcendental Meditation, this album's only fault is it's brevity (25min or so).

The real gem in this 2fer, however, is 20/20. This album is comprised mainly of singles (Do It Again, I Can Hear Music, Bluebirds Over the Mountain, Cottonfields), leftover tracks (I Went to Sleep), better Dennis Wilson songs (Be With Me, Never Learn Not to Love) and a couple of Smile tracks (Cabinessence, Our Prayer) for good measure. I Can Hear Music is one of the top five moments in the Beach Boys careers; beautiful!! I will be sure to play this at my wedding if I ever have one. Time to Get Alone is great (check out the "deep and wide" in the second verse!!) Bluebirds rocks (a great version is contained on Live '69)! Cottonfields is fine (although not as good as the single version), and Never Learn Not to Love, courtesy of Charles Manson, is down right creepy. Be With Me shows a fast-maturing Dennis and a gorgeously orchestrated backing track. All I Want to Do is an absolute horror to be ignored. All told, a good album, and arguably the best post-Pet Sounds effort.

Also, check out the bonus tracks!!! Walk on By is so beautiful it is scary. Brian's falsetto is aching. Old Man River is neat (love that trombone part! never saw the show the tune is from). We're Together Again should have probably stayed in the can (my opinion; the song Friends conveys the sentiment better), but Celebrate the News is a forgotten classic.

Buy this CD! You will be glad to have it in your collection, and it will force you to re-evaluate your opinion of the largely Brian-less late '60's lineup if you still think their post Pet Sounds stuff... It isn't. That would come later. Buy this and enjoy!!

FRIENDS... what can you say? It's a remarkable LP in so many different ways. So simple and direct that its hard for many people to accept it. FRIENDS didn't sound "like the Beach Boys", it didn't have any big hit singles, it stiffed commercially. Furthermore, nobody (critics, mainly) seems to take it into consideration when the "all time classic albums" lists come around. I haven't seen the recent VH-1 special, but I imagine that PET SOUNDS will get another mention and that'll be it for the Beach Boys. What a shame. The sad fact it that most of the world will probably never find out about this charming little LP and the pleasures it holds.

Take the title track for instance, with its measured waltz-time tempo and astounding instrumentation and vocals. Are there any artists today who can write songs like this? If so, please fill me in. How about the Jobim-influenced "Busy Doin' Nothin'"? A masterpiece of understatement! The chord changes are simply amazing. I aquired the chord charts to FRIENDS, and the sequences are nearly as difficult as PET SOUNDS, yet this record seems as remarkably simple as PET SOUNDS is complex! I love to listen to both records back-to-back, always amazed that one band had so much talent that they could pull off both these magnificient albums and still have so much more left to say after that. FRIENDS holds a special place in my heart.

20/20, on the other hand, maybe the worst Beach Boys album of the post-Surf, pre-15 BIG ONES era. Granted that it has some stiff competition, but the record simply sounds patched together compared to unified statements like SMILEY SMILE or SUNFLOWER. (Actually it was patched together-- three singles, two songs from the unreleased SMiLE album and some various studio stuff.) It does, however, contain an absolutely magnificient composition by Dennis Wilson titled "Be With Me" that has to rank amongst the best symphonic pop of all time. It's a simply heartbreaking performance, and is reason enough alone to give 20/20 a spin.

The five bonus tracks are all superb. Brian's "Breakaway" is a great single, and Dennis's "Celebrate the News" is its even better b-side. (The song rocks!) The three Brian Wilson studio outtakes show that his command of the recording studio did not desert him after the SMiLE debacle, as is so often claimed. All together, this package is a remarkable value, even at import prices.

After the "double commercial debacle" of the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey LP's, the Beach Boys rebounded (artistically, not commercially) with the incredibly pleasant "Friends" LP.

The vocals are lush and soaring, the instrumentation continues along the quirky lines that Brian started using around the time of "Pet Sounds", though on this LP it is really quite understated, with some quiet instrumentals, and many vocal passages accompanied by only one or two instruments. The melodies throughout this LP are unusually compelling. There's also a couple of tracks that venture from the standard 4/4 beat featuring waltz and bossa nova time signatures. This LP marks the emergence of Dennis Wilson as a songwriter and vocalist, with two credits in each department. Overall, this is a real sleeper!

"20/20" was cobbled together from singles, unreleased "Smile"-session tracks and a few new tracks. The liner-note writer seems to think it's one of their stronger LPs. Perhaps the music is just more challenging than "Friends", but as an LP "20/20" just isn't as immediately appealing. There are some great tracks (including the singles "Do it Again" "I Can Hear Music" and "Bluebirds Over the Mountains"), but there is a lack of cohesiveness that makes the programming less than inspiring. "I Can Hear Music" shows how good a study Carl Wilson had been of Brian's production and singing. "Smile" era tracks such as "Our Prayer" and "Cabinessence" further one's wonder about what "Smile" would've sounded like.

Besides the two full length LP's there are five bonus tracks, including the single "Break Away" (written by Brian Wilson and his dad, Murry), as well as Dennis Wilson's "Celebrate the News", an outtake from the "Friends" LP called "We're Together Again", a fascinating fragment of Brian Wilson singing the Burt Bacharach song "Walk on By", and an unfinished versions of Old Folks at Home and Old Man River.

Overall this isn't the strongest of the Capitol Beach Boys reissues, but it has its moments.