The Beach Boys (album)

Last updated
The Beach Boys
BeachBoys85Cover.jpg
Studio album by
the Beach Boys
ReleasedJune 10, 1985
RecordedJune 1984 [1] –March 23, 1985 [2]
Studio
  • Red Bus Recording Studios
  • CBS Studios (London)
  • Westlake Audio (Los Angeles)
Length37:52 (LP)
40:31 (CD)
Label Brother/Caribou/CBS
Producer Steve Levine
The Beach Boys chronology
Rarities
(1983)		The Beach Boys
(1985)		 Made in U.S.A.
(1986)
Singles from The Beach Boys
  1. "Getcha Back"/"Male Ego"
    Released: May 8, 1985
  2. "It's Gettin' Late"
    Released: July 17, 1985
  3. "She Believes in Love Again"/"It's Just a Matter of Time"
    Released: September 1985

The Beach Boys is the 25th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 10, 1985. Produced by Steve Levine, the album is the band's first after the drowning of founding member Dennis Wilson. [3] It was also the band's first album to be recorded digitally and the last released by James William Guercio's Caribou Records. [4] The record sold poorly, charting at number 52 in the U.S. and number 60 in the UK.

Contents

Production


Brian Wilson's psychologist Eugene Landy, who was originally awarded co-writing credits on Wilson's songs, stated in a contemporary interview, "I'm practically a member of the band [...] Brian's got the talent to make the music. [...] He's the creator. The other band members are just performers. So I'm the one who's making the album." [5]

Among the guest musicians, Ringo Starr played drums on "California Calling", while Stevie Wonder played most of the instruments on "I Do Love You". [6]

Outtakes from the album's sessions that remained unfinished and/or unreleased include "Oh Lord" (written by Brian), "Water Builds Up", "Down by the Pier" (with Carl Wilson on lead vocals), Al Jardine's "And I Always Will", and a cover of Danny and the Juniors' "At the Hop". [1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Blender Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Christgau's Record Guide C [9]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]

Critical reaction was mixed. [12] Writing in Rolling Stone , Parke Puterbaugh called the album 'pretty entertaining', adding 'though not a world-beating act of artistic reassertion, the LP does serve to showcase those amazing voices, and to remind the world that nobody does it better—still.' [13]

Legacy

Levine reflected that he had remained "immensely proud" of the album and lamented its poor sales. [12]

Track listing

Eugene Landy originally received co-writer's credit for all Brian Wilson compositions. This credit was omitted starting with the album's 2000 CD reissue. [14]

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."Getcha Back"
 Mike Love and Brian Wilson 3:02
2."It's Gettin' Late"
 Carl Wilson 3:27
3."Crack at Your Love"
 Al Jardine and B. Wilson3:40
4."Maybe I Don't Know"
C. Wilson3:54
5."She Believes in Love Again" Bruce Johnston Bruce Johnston and C. Wilson3:29
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."California Calling"
  • Jardine
  • B. Wilson
Love and Jardine2:50
2."Passing Friend"
C. Wilson5:00
3."I'm So Lonely"B. WilsonB. Wilson and C. Wilson2:52
4."Where I Belong"
  • C. Wilson
  • Johnson
C. Wilson and Jardine2:58
5."I Do Love You" Stevie Wonder C. Wilson and Jardine4:20
6."It's Just a Matter of Time"B. WilsonB. Wilson and Love2:23
CD bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
12."Male Ego"B. Wilson, LoveB. Wilson and Love2:32

Personnel

Credits sourced from Craig Slowinski, John Brode, Will Crerar and Joshilyn Hoisington. [15] Track numbers refer to the CD release.

The Beach Boys

Additional players

Charts

Chart (1985)Peak
Position
U.S. Billboard 200 [12] 52
UK Top 40 Albums [16] 60

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References

  1. 1 2 Doe, Andrew G.; et al. "Gigs & Sessions: 1984". Bellagio10452.com. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  2. ↑ Doe, Andrew G.; et al. "Gigs & Sessions: 1985". Bellagio10452.com. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  3. ↑ Dillon 2012, p. 249.
  4. ↑ Dillon 2012, pp. 249, 254.
  5. ↑ White 1996, p. 339.
  6. ↑ Doe & Tobler 2004, p. 108.
  7. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. The Beach Boys at AllMusic
  8. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys Keepin the Summer Alive/The Beach Boys". Blender . Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s . Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-679-73015-X . Retrieved August 16, 2020– via robertchristgau.com.
  10. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN   978-0-19-531373-4.
  11. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p.  46. ISBN   978-0-7432-0169-8.
  12. 1 2 3 Dillon 2012, p. 254.
  13. ↑ "The Beach Boys". Rolling Stone . 15 August 1985. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Doe & Tobler 2004, p. 107.
  15. ↑ Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2023). Beard, David (ed.). "The Beach Boys 1985". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 36, no. 142. Charlotte, North Carolina.
  16. ↑ The Beach Boys The Beach Boys

Bibliography

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