Customer Reviews

Greatest Hits Vol. 3: Best of the Brother Years 1970-1986

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2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This seems to be the rationale for releasing this compilation of the Boys' "lost years", the period in which they made some fascinating music with and without Brian. This collection especially becomes relevant since you can't buy most of the albums in question at the moment (Sunflower, Holland, Surf's Up, Carl and the Passions-So Tough) on CD, and good luck finding them elsewhere or in other formats since nobody much bought them when they came out, and the ones who did held on to them. Although it would have been nice to have included All I Want To Do, Feel Flows and All This Is That, I can't nitpick too much since the only track I would have left off would be the cheesy Disney Girls (am I the only person that dislikes this song?). I especially am happy to see "Honkin Down The Highway" from Love You included here, which (despite the silly title) is a catchy, playful tune which has a kind of forlornness to it, somewhat like the Love You album itself. This CD is an excellent place to investigate a period which has been unjustly overlooked.

The Beach Boys have the unfortunate situation of having their 1962-1966 hits shamelessly recycled on oldies radio,commercials,and period films,thus their post-Pet Sounds/Good Vibrations recordings go unnoticed by the general public,making the group forever pigeonhold as a 60's relic and the music only dealing with beaches,surfing,chicks,& cars.
Once you dig a little deeper(as well as get inside of Pet Sounds)you find that alot of great music was produced in the late 60s,early 70s.GH3 represents the period where the other group members rise to the challenge of creating quality music as Brian Wilson sporadically contributed to sessions.The highlights are the tracks from 1970's criminally underrated Sunflower(Add Some Music To Your Day,Forever) and 1971's classic Surf's Up(Til I Die and the title cut are magical).Sail On,Sailor(from Holland) is an underrated piece of great pop music.Unfortunatly after the freak success of 1974's oldies repackaging Endless Summer,the group descended into a nostalgia act ( although 1977's Loves You was the last album of any great merit).Yet, this collection serves as a reminder that the group was more than the recycled oldies dictate.

The "Brother Is Back" review below is quite true, however, the booklet does not say the 12 albums from the 1970-1985 era will be released as 6 twofers (although my copy did have a card inserted suggesting that twofers will appear)--it simply says that they will be reissued. I've read it would be impossible, considering "The Beach Boys In Concert" is a double album (relased on a single CD in 1990), & that "Holland" is too long to pair with any other album. Also, the Capitol twofers from 1990 are, with almost 100% certainty, not going to be reissued, as they are planning to do as they have done with the recent "Pet Sounds" reissue, & that is to include the albums in both mono & stereo.

As for this compilation, it works better as a supplement for big fans than as a summary for those curious as to what the Beach Boys were up to in this time. It does contain "This Whole World", "Marcella", "Surf's Up", & "Til I Die", however, I agree that out of respect for Dennis Wilson if anything, "Forever" should have been included. As far as using the single mix of "California", it's nice for big fans who already own the album version (the same goes with the other "single" mixes), yet it's in no way preferrable with the group vocals which soar on the album version sounding very muted here. The "Rock & Roll Music" single mix sounds good, but basically the album versions of the songs are totally preferrable. Also entirely noteworthy is that for the 1st time on CD, the drum intro on the brilliant "Honkin' Down the Highway" has been restored. It should be noted as well that "Peggy Sue" was previously in the "wrong mix" on the CD release of the "M.I.U. Album".

Overall, disc 3 & disc 4 of the "Good Vibrations" box give a not quite flawless, but much more enjoyable representation of this era. However, for completists there are some finds here.

THE BEACH BOYS are one of those bands that have provided the soundtrack to my life. Growing up in Southern California, their music really does become a part of one's experiences. For instance, I can't hear 'Help Me, Rhonda' or 'The Girls On The Beach' without recalling my years of bodysurfing the waves near Santa Monica's lifeguard station #26. 'Good Vibrations' automatically transports me back to Santa Monica High School - located conveniently 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. (Sometimes the sound of the surf called more insistently than the school bell did.) Samohi's official school song, 'Hymn Of Praise' written by Ken Darby from the Class of 1927, starts out, "Oh Samohi, dear old Samohi / Queen of the setting sun / For you we toil, for you our banners fly / We win for you when victory's won!" But every pep rally I attended from '74 through '77 ended more "excitationally" with...

Good, good, good, good vibrations
(oom bop bop)
I'm pickin' up good vibrations
She's giving me excitations
(oom bop bop)

'In My Room' humorously reminds me of the time in 1986 when I found it on a jukebox in a Reno lounge and drove every other patron out of the place with it. I was in the bartender's doghouse, but what are ya gonna do with a liquidated cowboy who wants to hear 'In My Room'.....18 times? And while the richly melancholic 'The Warmth Of The Sun' is my all-time favorite Beach Boys song, there is a lot to be said for many of the tracks found on this compilation.

This is the final part of Capitol's Beach Boys Greatest Hits trilogy series. This one - which features 20 of The Boys' late period minor hits and nonhits - will be ignored by the casual Beach Boys fan, and that is an unfortunate mistake. True, these "leftovers" were recorded and released after the height of the band's popularity and creative success according to the music critics, but the Beach Boys, though they had largely moved away from their gorgeous and complex trademark vocal harmony arrangements, were still making some magic music. And some of it as sensitive and more intense than anything that preceded it.

For every lightweight and silly 'SUSIE CINCINNATI' and 'PEGGY SUE' on this collection, you'll also find a brooding 'TIL I DIE', or nostalgic 'DISNEY GIRLS (1957)', or yearning 'SURF'S UP.' No, we didn't need another version of 'ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC' or 'COME GO WITH ME' and yet, I'd hate to have missed out on the world-weary, but defiant 'LONG PROMISED ROAD', or the intricate protest song, 'THE TRADER', with its catchy movements that force my toes to tap or my feet to stomp.

Some of these songs, being more melodically subtle and lacking that instantly recognizable sound of The Boys' early hits, will require a bit more patience from the listener, but with time, that open-minded patience will certainly be rewarded. Of course, 'SAIL ON, SAILOR' you probably already know (I invented my pen name while it was playing through the sound system in a Coco's Restaurant); the lovely 'GOOD TIMIN'' is reminiscent of that lush harmonizing adopted from The Four Freshmen during The Beach Boys' infancy. And the well-chosen closer, 'CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'', with its urgent tenor sax solo actually eclipses the classic Mamas And Papas version. (Yeah, I couldn't believe it either!)

If all you desire is a balanced career retrospective of some of The Beach Boys' best music on a single disc, then go with 'Classics: Selected By Brian Wilson'. But the REAL fan will want the 3-part Capitol compilation series: 'The Greatest Hits, Vol 1: 20 Good Vibrations'; 'The Greatest Hits, Vol. 2: 20 More Good Vibrations'; and this disc, 'THE GREATEST HITS, VOL. 3: BEST OF THE BROTHER YEARS, 1970 - 1986.'

[*This review is dedicated to my new friend, the surf-riding, beach bike path-riding, and book-writing, MYSTICAL MARY. Evidently she was too shy to approach me on the beach bike path in 1989 to ask, "Riding my way?" She waited seventeen years and until I was living in Airheadzona, and she in Joisey, before saying anything to me. However, Mystical Mary is one of my favorite living writers, and I think you're going to be hearing about her before too long.]

The Beach Boys have the unfortunate situation of having their 1962-1966 hits shamelessly recycled on oldies radio,commercials,and period films,thus their post-Pet Sounds/Good Vibrations recordings go unnoticed by the general public.Hence the group is forever pigeonhold as a 60's relic and their music only deals with beaches,surfing,chicks,& cars.Once you dig a little deeper(as well as get inside of Pet Sounds)you find that alot of great music was produced in the late 60s,early 70s.GH3 represents the period where the other group members rise to the challenge of creating quality music as Brian Wilson sporadically contributed to sessions.The highlights are the tracks from 1970's Sunflower(Add Some Music To Your Day) and 1971's classic Surf's Up(Til I Die and the title cut are magical).Sail On,Sailor(from Holland) is an underrated piece of great pop music.Unfortunatly after the freak success of Endless Summer,the group descended into a nostalgia act (although there were great songs on 15 Big Ones and Loves You).Yet, this collection serves as a reminder that the group was more than the recycled oldies dictate.

By the 1970s', The Beach Boys' career had gone downhill. Once a surefire toop 10 hit machine, their singles barely made the top 30 and their albums fared even worse. So a hits collection from this time period may seem like an odd product. But it's a good way to explore this underrated period in their career since it includes several underrated gems and besides, one song here did manage to it the top five.

The first half (tracks 1 - 11) covers1970 - 1973. This is when they recorded much of their best material. Songs like "Add Some Music To Your Day", "This Whole World", Bruce Johnston's lush "Disney Girls", Brian Wilson's chilling "'Til I Die", Carl's magnum opus "The Trader" and the robust "Sail On Sailor" all could've been bigger hits than they were. "Surf's Up", the title track from their 1971 masterpiece, is the best song here. Starting off with an urgent vocal by Carl, it soon drifts into Brian's 1967 demo of the song, with its eerie piano and Brian's somber vocal.

The second half (tracks 12 - 20) covers 1976 - 86. It starts off with their huge comeback hit, a cover of Chuck Berry's "Rock And Roll Music". It was good but the Chuck Berry material should have ended with "Surfin' USA" and "Fun, Fun, Fun". The next song, "It's OK", was the single released after "Rock And Roll Music". While it wasn't as big a hit (Billboard # 29), I like it better. It's fun and orginal. "Honkin' Down The Highway" is a great Al Jardine number with a cool drum intro and a nice, spacey intro. The 1978 cover of "Peggy Sue" is surprisingly good. Unlike other covers, they stay in vein with the original recording and they succeed. Had this song been released during their heyday, it could have been a bigger hit. But you can't judge a song solely on its chart performance. 1979's top 40 hit "Good Timin'" is, in my opinion, their last masterpiece. With their harmonies evoking earlier songs like "Surfer Girl" and Carl's impassioned vocal, it truly is a marvelous studio creation. By jumping ahead to 1981, they leave out the number 12 hit "Beach Boys" medley, but that would be unnecessary since all of those songs made it onto "Greatest Hits, Volume 1". Instead, we get their cover of the Del - Vikings' 1957 hit "Come Go With Me". The song, a top 20 hit, is better than the original because of the harmonies and its beat. "Goin' On" is an odd number vaguely sounding a bit like Queen's "Somebody To Love" with its rising/fading/rising again/ading again and so on and so forth harmonies. "Getcha Back", a top 30 hit from 1985, is a great combination of old Beach Boys with modern sounds, its drum intro eminiscent of Dennis Wilson's. Finally, there's another pgood cover. "California Dreamin'" (with a haunting 12 - string guitatr provided by Byrd Roger McGuinn) is in vein of the Mamas and Papas hits.

Overall, a good collection that I recommend to all music fans. You will find yourself listening to it more than once. Also get their studio albums, inclduing "Pet Sounds" and "Friends"/"20/20", as well as both their boxed sets.

Nothing wrong with Capitol taking an interest in re-releasing the Beach Boys' overlooked Brother Records catalog, but whoever compiled this disc needs to be hung out to dry...

During the so called Brother Years (1970-85) no Beach Boy, not even Brian himself, matched the creative output of Dennis Wilson. Though defamed by the history books (and non-sympathetic bandmembers to boot) Dennis cleary WAS the writing talent of the band during this era. It is offensive that Capitol didn't think enough of this misunderstood artist to even include his signature song "Forever", much less classic songs such as "Cuddle Up", "Love Surrounds Me" or "Slip On Through"...

Instead we are forced to sit through a bunch of tired oldies like "Rock'n'Roll Music", "Come Go with Me" and "California Dreaming", not to mention fluff like "Disney Girls" and "Suzie Cincinatti".

Someone who was unfamiliar with the later work of the Beach Boys would assume from this collection that Al Jardine and Carl Wilson handled most of the band's writing, with Bruce and Mike also contributing heavily.

The honest truth is that Dennis wrote many more SUPERIOR songs that the others during this time. Obviously someone is doing a little creative myth making here. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Dennis Wilson's fantastic (sadly out-of-print) 1977 debut album PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE instead of this lame excuse for a "greatest hits".

By the 1970s the Beach Boys' commercial success was certainly waning. The group was at something of a crossroads. Would they make an attempt to continue to grow artistically from their landmark albums of the late Sixties (PET SOUNDS, SMILEY SMILE, WILD HONEY), or would they be content to rest on their laurels and resign themselves to the oldies circuit as "America's" Band?
Rather than choosing between the two options, they struck a middle ground and did both--at least for a while.

Their two biggest hits of the period (1970-1986) were remakes of Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" (#5, 1976) and the Dell-Vikings "Come Go With Me" (#18, 1982). Other less successful covers included Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue" (#59, 1978) and the Mamas & the Papas' "California Dreamin'" (#57, 1986).

There's a reason why a majority of the twenty songs on this collection are from their early Seventies catalog--that's when they were still releasing artistically satisfying albums. "Add Some Music to Your Day" has all five Beach Boys trading lead vocals to one of the most gorgeous songs in the Beach Boys' canon. [However, it charted a disappointing #64 in 1970.] "This Whole World" was one of Brian Wilson's finest compositions. Bruce Johnston's "Disney Girls (1957)" is arguably the best song he ever wrote for the band. A song originally destined for the never released SMILE album, "Surf's Up" contains terrific lead vocals from Carl Wilson and Brian and the beauty of this song only leaves listeners wondering about Brian's unfinished masterwork. "Sail on Sailor," though it barely dented the Hot 100 when released in 1973, is vintage Beach Boys.

By the mid-Seventies, with each succeeding album, the Beach Boys seemed to have lost their creative drive and become more content with the nostalgia tag the public had placed on them. Later albums would have a couple of great tracks, but didn't stand up well as a whole. This is what makes Vol. 3 an essential part of the three-volume series. It provides you with the Beach Boys later hits and cherry picks their albums to give you the neccesary highlights from their Brother Records period. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Greatest Hits Volume 3 : The Best Of The Brother Years documents The Beach Boys' 16 years on their own Brother record label, and unlike Greatest Hits volumes 1 and 2, volume 3 showcases the band as maturing musicians less concerned with the fantasy world of girls, cars and surfing and more concerned with every day real life.

The 16 years of classic music contains songs from such wonderful albums as Holland, Surf's Up, Sunflower and Love You. Among the many classics are Bruce Johnston's lovely ballad Disney Girls, Surf's Up, Sail On Sailor, Marcella and Getcha Back, the latter of which is one of my favorite Beach Boys tunes ever.

There is also a nice amount of cover versions. First there's a scorching version of Chuck Berry's Rock And Roll Music that is the only song here to crack the top 10, reaching a very grand number 5. Next is a rollicking cover of the Buddy Holly classic Peggy Sue. The boys from Hawthorne, CA do not try to trump their hero, and their version is somewhat like the original version. Next is a perfect cover of the Del - Vikings hit Come Go With Me, featuring a lovely Al Jardine lead vocal and trademark harmonies. Finally, there is the album's closer, a dark, brooding cover of California Dreamin'. Featuring haunting harmonies and a brilliantly played 12 - string guitar, this versions almost beats the original.

Volume 3 is not for the casual Beach Boys fan. If you are interested in the early days of Surfin' USA and Fun Fun Fun, then this is not for you. But if you want to hear a mature and orginal group, then this is definitely your album.

Surfs Up, Til I Die, Sail on Sailor...songs I really didn't appreciate at the time of release. To have them now on CD with other favorites like California Saga, Marcella, Add Some Music To Your Day, and Long Promised road is fantastic. The late 70's early 80's "Brians Back" stuff is just OK but still good to have in CD form. Still think there is a great "live" album out there somewhere. But this is very good. A must for Bboy fans.