Brian Wilson

@bdp24 i always appreciate your comments, especially when they agree with mine...

in my missive i was referring to "swing" in the sense of having rhythmic drive and movement. from that perspective, the bb's big influences like chuck berry or the four seasons had swing, while "pet sounds" (with the exception of sloop john b and that short instrumental whose name i can't remember) sorta just lies there, albeit in a pretty manner. delving deeper into google, it seems an accepted definition of swing is "music characterized by a specific type of syncopation that emphasizes the off-beat, giving the music a bouncy, lively feel." from that perspective, "pet sounds" is just the opposite.

again, none of this is intended to suggest that the record is unworthy, though i think their  best (and best-sounding) songs were "surf's up" and "feel flows", the latter a carl song.

@loomisjohnson:

I see what you meant by swing. Yes, the early Beach Boys show an obvious debt to Chuck Berry. I hear it in all their albums through All Summer Long. You don’t hear it in the band’s next two albums, Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!). Those two albums barely qualify as Rock ’n’ Roll, being more Adult Contemporary. And at the same time bands like The Kinks, The Yardbirds, The Who, The Animals, Them, The Stones, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Byrds, The Lovin’ Spoonful, etc. were grabbing our attention with much "tougher" sounding music. The Beach Boys---still in their matching stage outfits---were looking very anachronistic. They were, simply put, not cool.  

@loomisjohnson: To your titles I would add "’Til I Die" (found on the Surf’s Up album), I believe the only song on a Beach Boys album for which Brian wrote both the music and lyrics.

By the way, your mention of Moby Grape inspires me to say that I consider their debut a perfect album, and one of the greatest debuts of all time. They made a bunch of other good ones too (I’m real fond of Moby Grape ’69). Guitarist Jerry Miller was booked at a tavern in Portland last year, and I went to see him. His playing was still excellent (he was still playing his Gibson L-5), but he unfortunately had a terrible backing band. I couldn’t make it through his whole set, leaving early. He died a coupla weeks later.

it's vanishingly rare for a band to have three good songwriters--moby grape had five--and their debut will still sound great in 50 years. the artsy second album, "wow", isn't as bad as its critics claim ("motorcycle irene" is a great song) but it downplays their strength as a band (driving beat, searing layered guitars) and sounds like another misguided stab at imitating sgt. pepper. "'69" is much less ambitious, but i like it--it's one of the formative americana records. check out wilco's cover of "i am not willing".

@unclewilbur 

Girls, cars, sailboats, surfing!
Falling in love with California Girls!
Classic storys of young life!
California sunshine lifestyle!
Heartwarming harmony!
Feel good music!
Musical ingenuity!

What’s not to like?!?
If you don’t get it, you might be dead already.

 

Your phrase "songs about young life" says it all.  Sure, I "got it" when I was in my early teens. My California girl and I moved on a long time ago and we are doing just fine.  

@stuartk 

Obviously, not all California Girls are great!

I married one, and that turned into a divorce with an evil twist!

Oh well... leaving her was a huge relief, and that’s good!