THE BEACH BOYS CHRISTMAS ALBUM

Between 1962 and 1964 The Beach Boys released six albums, Surfin' Safari, Surfin' U.S.A., Surfer Girl, Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Volume 2 and All Summer Long and, like many other artists before and since, in 1964 they turned their attention to the Christmas market with an album of classics and original songs.

In this article we look back at the album, it's influence, production, release, reception and success.

In November 1963 Phil Spector released the classic A Christmas Gift For You album featuring The Ronettes, The Crystals, Darlene Love and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans on a selection of Christmas classics with that 'Wall of Sound' production.

The album made a big impact on Brian Wilson and was the inspiration for the Beach Boys to record their own Christmas offering. It is mentioned that Brian played piano on one track, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, but Spector dismissed him due to his substandard piano playing!. Maybe that was another reason that Brian wanted to respond by producing his own collection.

However, before this The Beach Boys did release a single. Little Saint Nick, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love.

Although it was partly inspired by Phil Spector's plans for a Christmas album, Wilson recalls writing the song, "I wrote the lyrics to it while I was out on a date and then I rushed home to finish the music." Originally credited only to Wilson, years later Love's name was added as co-writer.

Part of it's structure and rhythm can be compared to the groups earlier single, Little Deuce Coupe.

Recorded on two days in October 1963 at Western Studio in Hollywood with a tracking session on the 18th and vocals added on the 20th.

Besides guitar (Carl Wilson), bass (Al Jardine), piano (Brian Wilson), drums (Dennis Wilson) and lead vocals (Mike Love), the song featured celeste (Brian), sleigh bells (Carl), glockenspiel (Al) along with additional sleigh-bells by Murry Wilson and backing vocals by Bob Norberg.

Released on 9 December 1963, Little Saint Nick (Capitol 5096) reached #3 on Billboard Magazines seasonal Christmas Singles Chart. An a cappella version of The Lord's Prayer appeared on the B-side.

In the years that followed it did make chart appearances in several countries including Australia, Canada, Sweden, France, Ireland, United Kingdom and America. In the UK it was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) for sales of more than 400,000.

Sessions for the album ran from 18th June through to the 30th June 1964 at the Capitol Studios and Western Recorders in Hollywood. Along with the five band members a 41-piece orchestra was also present during the sessions.

Brian only arranged four of the songs handing the task to Dick Reynolds, arranger with The Four Freshman, who worked on the remaining tracks.

Brian produced the sessions with Chuck Britz, who had worked on all their previous albums, engineering the sessions.

At the first session at Capitol Studios on the 18th, between 2:30 - 5:30 pm, orchestral tracking sessions were held for We Three Kings Of Orient Are, Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, White Christmas and Blue Christmas. At this session Brian also stripped the sleigh bells and glockenspiels off the earlier version of Little Saint Nick and added new vocals. This was done to match the sound of the current recordings being made.

On the 23rd sessions moved to Western Recorders where an attempt was made to add a vocal for Little Saint Nick onto the October 1963 instrumental track of the song Drive-In. An odd recording that failed and would not be used on the Christmas album remaining unreleased for more than thirty years. It is more than likely that the original lyrics for Little Saint Nick were meant to go with the melody from Drive-In but when it didn't work Brian was forced to write a new melody for Little Saint Nick.

Instrumental tracks for Frosty The Snowman, I'll Be Home For Christmas and orchestral tracks for Jingle Bells and Christmas Eve were laid down during a three-hour session at Western Recorders on the 24th. The latter two tracks would not be used.

A fourth session, once again held at Western Recorders, on the 25th resulted in tracking recordings for The Man With All The Toys, Merry Christmas Baby and Santa's Beard. Brian, Carl and Al were present for the session. Also tracked was Christmas Day and the session ended with the group recording an a cappella version of Auld Lang Syne. With all the tracking and instrumental work completed the remaining sessions would be for vocal overdubs.

Four more sessions held at Western Recorders would result in vocals added to The Man With All The Toys, Santa's Beard and Christmas Day (on the 27th), Blue Christmas, White Christmas and Santa Claus Is Coming To Town (on the 28th) and Frosty The Snowman and We Three Kings Of Orient Are (on the 29th).

The final session, on the 30th, saw the band adding vocals to the final two tracks, Merry Christmas Baby and I'll Be Home For Christmas. With this session recording for the Christmas album was finished.

Multiple attempts at vocal overdubs and backing vocals were attempted during the sessions, many of which would find an unofficial release years later. No vocals were ever added to Jingle Bells and Christmas Eve and the basic instrumental tracks till remain officially unreleased.

The Beach Boys' Christmas Album was released in both mono and stereo formats (Capitol ST-2164 and T-2164) on 9th November 1964. It was their third album to be released in 1964 following Shut Down Volume 2 and All Summer Long.

The cover photo showed the boys, wearing woolly jumpers, decorating a Christmas tree and was taken by Capitol Records staff photographer George Jerman. A change from the Pendleton Shirt and surfin' images. Several photos were taken including the image at the start of this article.

The back sleeve featured a black and white signed image of the group with the heading 'We'd Like To Wish You A Very Merry Christmas.' A track listing and brief liner notes are also included. The notes read in part, 'Because Christmas is a very special occasion, the Beach Boys decided that this should be a very special album... and it is. Here for the first time you'll hear the Beach Boys accompanied by a sonorous forty-piece orchestra, with special arrangements written just for this album by Dick Reynolds.' It goes on, 'The songs the Boys have chosen for their holiday greetings to you range all the way from their own light-hearted seasonal hit "Little Saint Nick" to beautiful traditional favourites done with the orchestra.'

A second single was also issued the same day pairing two of the album tracks, The Man With All Toys and Blue Christmas (Capitol 5312) which would peak at #6 on Billboard Magazines seasonal Christmas Singles Chart. In the years that followed sales would build and it was listed in the Billboard Top 100 Selling Christmas songs, although it was well below Little Saint Nick.

The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard Christmas Album Chart during 1964 and in the years that followed would reach, #66 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart, #35 on the Billboard Top Catalog Albums and #23 on Billboards Top Holiday Albums Chart.

The Beach Boys Christmas Album opens with Little Saint Nick, the first of five tracks on the album written by band members, four by Brian and Mike and one by just Brian. The best known track on the album it was a re-recorded version that was used, not the original single. With lead vocals by Mike and great harmonies from the remaining band members it is very reminiscent of some of their earlier material.

The Man With All The Toys follows and has a catchy melody, albeit only running for just 92 seconds. The lyrics are simple...A guy in the North Pole peeks into a window and sees a fat man all dressed up in red surrounded by 'little tiny men everywhere' who are making toys. Tempted to go in he decides to stay out in the cold and leaves and tell everybody what he saw. The song features a lead vocal by Brian and Mike.

The child-like tale of a boy who isn't convinced that the Santa he meets at the department store is real is told in the jaunty Santa's Beard. Pulling the pillow out from under his suit and the beard off his face, the child is upset but is consoled when he is told that he is helping the real Santa Claus. Mike sings the lead vocal  

Merry Christmas Baby, with another excellent lead vocal from Mike, has dreamy romanticism as its theme. However, it is not a typical Christmas, cheery song. Having lost his girl the only thing he wants at Christmas is to have her back in his arms.

Up until now Al Jardine hadn't had a lead vocal on any Beach Boys song but this changed with Christmas Day, his first solo vocal. A beautiful song and my favourite on side one of the album. The song includes a fantastic Hammond organ instrumental break.

Recorded by The Ronettes on the Phil Spector produced A Christmas Gift For You album, Frosty The Snowman features a full orchestra on one of the best versions of this fun Christmas song I've ever heard. The song closes the first side of the album in style. 

Side two opens with We Three Kings Of Orient Are, the longest track on the album, running to just over four minutes.  With its beautiful arrangement and harmonies it is by far the best track on the album.

Brian turns in an impeccable lead vocal performance of Blue Christmas with great backing from the orchestra. Recorded by many artists over the years, most notably by Elvis Presley in 1957, this was a great choice for the album. Probably the best Brian Wilson solo vocal on the album.

Santa Claus Is Back In Town. Starting off slow it soon turns into a catchy/jazzy/big band version with both Brian and Mike sharing the vocals, in style. 

Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas back in the 1940s for the film Holiday Inn and the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Recorded by Bing Crosby it has become the biggest selling song of all time with sales of his version exceeding 50 million physical copies. There have been more than 500 recorded versions, many in foreign languages and artist that have recorded the song include Frank Sinatra, The Drifters, Elvis Presley and Darlene Love. Brian's vocals shine, yet again, on this Christmas classic. 

I'll Be Home For Christmas is another song recorded by many artists and, as with Blue Christmas, highlights how exquisite Brian's voice was when used on songs such as this. The remaining band members add some stunning vocal support.

The album is bought to a close with the beautiful harmonies on the a cappella version of the traditional Auld Lang Syne. Dennis Wilson adds a Christmas message during which he messes up the word, "Happen" . Strange, considering how Brian was so particular about perfection on the groups records, that he allowed the mistake to remain. Despite this it is a great way to end an enjoyable album.

Brian called the first half of the album as the 'teen side', hence describing Father Christmas, in Little Saint Nick,  as " a real famous cat all dressed up in red."

Over the years many magazines and on-line sites have reviewed the album. Music historian James Perone wrote, "It is regarded as one of the finest holiday albums of the rock era."

All Music's Jason Ankeny said, "Brian Wilson's pop genius is well suited to classic Yuletide fare, and the group delivers lush performances of standards ranging from Frosty The Snowman to White Christmas as well as more contemporary material like The Man With All The Toys and Blue Christmas."

Meanwhile Jason Birchmeier stated, "Beach Boy's Christmas Album features the Beach Boys performing a variety of holiday favourites. Most of the featured songs are well known, some of the more popular being Frosty The Snowman, White Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town and I'll Be Home For Christmas, among others. Furthermore, there are four songs composed by the Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick, The Man With All The Toys, Santa's Beard and Merry Christmas Baby - which begin the album. This mix of favourites and originals makes this a balanced holiday album that should please both Beach Boy admirers and those unfamiliar with the group."

Finally, in 1971 Billboard wrote, "At some time or another, most major artists have recorded either albums or singles devoted to the holiday season, and from there, it's only logical that a few would create classics in this manner. But if we were to chose just one out of the wealth of pop Christmas albums, it would have to be The Beach Boys endearing efforts of a few seasons back." They went on to say, "While the thrust of the album is directed at Christmas as a fun-time event, there are elements of (well...) social commentary (Santa's Beard) and straight emotionalism (Auld Lang Syne), all covered over those uniquely transcendent Beach Boy harmonies and a 'sonorous' (yep, that's what is says in the liner notes) 40-piece orchestra."

Talking about the album, Brian Wilson said, "For our Christmas album we more or less made one side in our own style and the other side in a more traditional style. My memory of recording that album was that it was a real happy time for us, It took about a month to record at Western. I liked that studio because they had a good sounding bass and good-sounding highs."

In 1991 the album was re-issued on CD with bonus material. Along with the twelve original tracks the CD included the single version of Little Saint Nick,an a-cappella The Lord's Prayer, which had been the B-side of The Man With All The Toys single, and alternate takes of Little Saint Nick and Auld Lang Syne without the Dennis Wilson message.

These sessions have been well covered on the unofficial market. The bootleg label Sea Of Tunes have released many CDs under the title Unsurpassed Masters covering The Beach Boys career up to the end of the 1960s. many of these are multi-CD sets covering individual albums.

Among these is the 3-CD set Christmas Sessions - The Alternate Beach Boys Christmas Album.

Over the three CDs are multiple takes of all the tracks on the album with instrumental takes, instrumental overdubs, try-out takes, vocal overdubs, alternate vocals, mono takes, stereo mixes and much more. Also included is the instrumental Jingle Bells but unfortunately no takes of Christmas Eve. An interesting listen for completists only.

The best summary of The Beach Boys Christmas Album is to be found on the original notes on the back sleeve which end with... 'Here, certainly, is an outstanding Christmas album - one that you'll enjoy for many seasons to come.'

How true, as sixty-one years since it's original release many tracks can still be heard on the radio today and the CD will be spinning this festive season in my office.

Check out my other Christmas articles here:

Christmas With Elvis

A Christmas Gift For You

Do They Know It's Christmas @40

All that leaves is for me to wish you all,,,

...A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year

COLLECTING MUSIC & FILM MEMORABILIA

My love of music dates back to the early-seventies and over the fifty years that followed my music collection has gone from vinyl and cassettes to Compact Discs and, despite not being a great fan of the medium, digital downloads.

Anyone that knows me will know that I have a wide taste in music and listen to everything from rock 'n' roll to blues, country, Americana, country rock, pop and even jazz and orchestral. To be honest the only styles I am not interested in are rap and opera.

Just a few of my favourite artists are Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles and The Beach Boys, although this is only a small section of my music tastes.

I also enjoy films although my tastes are the films from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s rather than the big blockbusters from the past few decades. However, there are still some favourites from the later years with Die Hard being top of my list. My favourite male and female movie stars all date back to the great days of Hollywood... James Stewart and Gene Tierney. You can read more about Gene Tierney here on my blog in the article Gene Tierney - Hollywood Beauty.

Although not an avid collector who has to have everything, I do collect items of music and film memorabilia including promo CDs, press photos, sheet music, lobby cards and press books. A few items from my collection are pictured below.

This brings me to books on collecting music and film memorabilia of which I have several in my library including The Lyle Price Guide - Film & Rock 'n' Roll Collectables by Tony Curtis,  The Elvis Collector - An Introductory Guide To Collecting UK Film Memorabilia 1956-1977 and The Elvis Collector - An Introductory Guide To Collecting UK Memorabilia 1956-1977 the latter two compiled and written by Harry Carrigan.

I recently received three books from Schiffer Publishing which cover Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Sheet Music from the 1960s, all three of which are reviewed below.

Elvis Presley Memorabilia - An Unauthorized Collectors Guide (Sean O'Neil) (Schiffer Publishing 2001 - ISBN 0-7643-1382-7) 

Following a brief introduction which covers prices and counterfeit items the 160-page book is split into seven chapters which cover Elvis' career - Elvis In Concert, Elvis Presley Enterprises and Novelty Items, Sun Records and RCA Victor Records, Magazines, The Movies, One-of-a-Kind and Autographs, Photos and Other Paper. Each chapter opens with a short introduction.

The Concert section features early press ads, photo albums that were sold at the concerts, ticket stubs and much more. Moving into the seventies there are more ads and souvenir photo albums, a few which I still have in my own collection.

The items produced by Elvis Enterprises ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous with record cases, photo cards and record players to jewellery and even  'I Like Elvis' and 'I Hate Elvis' badges, the Colonel certainly catered for both camps.

The Records section was of special interest to me as I love the old RCA ads and various sheet music featured.

Of the remaining sections there are various magazines from the 1950s through to the 1970s, movie posters, lobby cards and advertising, rare items that don't fit in any other part of the book, so are given their own chapter and finally some festive items. Christmas was a special time for Elvis and every year the Colonel produced a postcard, some classy and others less so... Elvis in a jumpsuit by a Christmas tree!

The book is beautifully produced, with mostly colour illustrations and includes a brief description of each item along with the then current values.

The Beatles Yesterday & Tomorrow - A Collector's Guide To Beatles Memorabilia (Courtney McWilliams) (Schiffer Publishing 1999 - ISBN 0-7643-0852-1) 

A preface explaining condition of memorabilia and an introduction that covers the early days of the group in Liverpool and Hamburg is followed by nine chapters covering various areas of collecting. Over 210-pages  the book covers - Vintage Beatles, All Movie Memorabilia, Fan Club Memorabilia, Jewellery, The Beatles As Art, Music Mediums, Ephemera, Solo Efforts and Something New.

Following the same format as the Elvis book this is a treasure trove of Beatles memorabilia, beautifully illustrated with an introduction to each chapter and every item has a brief description and guide to value.

I really enjoyed the sections on the movies with all the posters, lobby cards, press ads and stills. The records section includes the well known UK releases but also the albums released on Capitol in America, Beatles '65, The Early Beatles and Beatles VI. The infamous 'Butcher Cover' which was originally planned to be the cover of the Capitol album The Beatles Yesterday and Today is also included. One of the rarest Beatles items that nowadays is almost impossible to find and is worth at least the $6,000 - $12,000 value quoted for a copy in mint condition.

Like Elvis Presley there are items that fall into the same category... from the sublime to the ridiculous. Beatles wigs, masks, lunch boxes, thermos flasks and, depending who your favourite band members was, badges with 'I Love Paul', 'I Love John', 'I Love George' and 'I Love Ringo'. I couldn't see any 'I Hate The Beatles' badges and maybe none were ever produced.

A chapter on their solo work seems to devote more pages to John Lennon than Paul, George or Ringo which is had to understand when you look at the amount of solo work released by the other three ex-Beatles.

The final chapter, Something New, covers some of the more recent items available and those issued after the break-up in the 1970s.

Collecting Rock 'n' Roll Sheet Music Of The 1960s  (Valerie Carallo) (Schiffer Publishing 2006 - ISBN 0-7643-2373-3) 

Split over 176-pages this book includes an introduction which explains what sheet music is, the differences between USA, UK and Australian sheet music and value and condition. The book then covers seven different genres of music - Twist and Shout (The Beatles), Wipe Out (Surf and Folk), Psychotic Reaction (Garage, Hard Rock and Psychedelia), Lightnin' Strikes (Pop and Rock), Going To A Go-Go (R&B, Soul and Motown), Catch Us If You Can (The British Invasion) and Thank U Very Much (Bubblegum, Girl Groups, Novelty Songs etc).

I particularly enjoyed the chapter on The Beatles with many great cover images and designs including those for Ask Me Why, A Day In The Life, Till There Was You, Girl and Back In The U.S.S.R. A few foreign items are displayed... Tu Mano Cogere (I Want To Hold Your Hand) from Spain, Elle (Il) T'Auime (She Loves You) from France and the German issue of Twist im Blut (Twist And Shout).

Many of my favourite artists are covered in the book with The Beach Boys featured heavily with Sloop John B, Dance Dance Dance, The Man With All The Toys, God Only Knows and my personal favourite sheet music cover from the group, Surfer Girl.

With over 600 illustrations there are too many to cover in this review. However, besides those already mentioned these are just a few of my personal favourites... Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob Dylan), Mrs Robinson (Simon & Garfunkel), I'm A Boy (The Who), These Boots Are Made For Walking (Nancy Sinatra), Alternate Title (The Monkees), A Boy Named Sue (Johnny Cash) and Ode To Billy Joe (Bobbie Gentry). The latter has the title misspelled as the title is actually Ode To Billie Joe.

Being a big fan of Linda Ronstadt I couldn't end this review without mentioning the inclusion of Different Drum by The Stone Poneys which features the lovely Linda on the cover.

Many of those, me included, who collect sheet music are not buying them because they can read music but because of the images featured on the covers many of which were rare and differed from the image featured on the 45rpm single. 

Like the Elvis and Beatles books this one is beautifully produced, illustrated in full colour and printed on high quality, glossy paper. Each chapter has a brief introduction and, like the previous books, includes a description of each item featured along with a guide to the value.

I really enjoyed going through these books and seeing the amount of items that were produced with the names Elvis Presley and The Beatles, some tacky and some very collectable. I wonder how many of the items have survived in their original packaging and in mint condition. Likewise, the sheet music book, was a fascinating insight into what is still a very collectable market.

Although all three books were originally published between 1998 and 2006 they can still be found on various sites on the internet and if you are like me and find this kind of information fascinating then I recommend checking them out.

With thanks to Victoria Hansen at Schiffer Publishing Ltd for providing copies of the books for this article.

THE BEACH BOYS - FEEL FLOWS

By the late 1960s the Beach Boys popularity was at an all-time low due partly to their cultural standing and public image. They were dealing with financial issues caused by two disastrous tours in 1968 and record sales had shown a steady decline since the days of surf, cars and girls. Their current album 20/20, released in February 1969, had sold better than the previous years Friends album but neither matched the success of their earlier albums. Brian Wilson was also suffering from erratic behaviour and had become a recluse, often not leaving his house for months on end. All this affected his reputation within the music business. Of course, there was also Dennis Wilson's friendship with Charles Manson, the Manson Family and the Sharon Tate - LaBianca murders which grabbed unwanted media attention. Their final tour of the year was a dismal affair with crowds often struggling to reach two or three hundred resulting in several cancelled dates. Things needed to change.

Photo (c) Annie Leibovitz

In April 1969 they filed a $2 million lawsuit against Capitol Records for unpaid royalties and production duties and also announced they would revive their Brother Records Label with records to be distributed by Reprise/Warner records.

Sessions for their next album began in January 1969 and would continue, on and off, throughout the year. Over 40 tracks were recorded and early working titles for the new album included Reverberation, Sun Flower, The Fading Rock Group Revival and Add Some Music To Your Day. The sessions were produced by The Beach Boys as a group but also individually by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine and Dennis Wilson individually.

The album would go through many changes of track listings as the record was rejected several times. A short while before signing with Reprise the band compiled a 14-track acetate for the label with the title Sun Flower, it was rejected. Renamed Add Some Music (An Album Offering from The Beach Boys) and submitted again it was also rejected. The label felt the album wasn't strong enough. From February through June the band worked on overdubbing and recording new material. Another batch of songs were offered but rejected once again. However, during this time two tracks were selected as single pairing Add Some Music To Your Day with Susie Cincinnati. In July a final master of what would become Sunflower was finally submitted to Reprise and accepted.

Released in the USA in August 1970 and November in the UK it only reached number 151 on the US charts, their worst selling album up to that point, while in the UK it peaked at number 29. Two more singles were released, Tears In The Morning/It's About Time and Cool, Cool Water/Forever, neither charted.

The album included several Dennis Wilson compositions, Slip On Through, Got To Know The Woman and the beautiful Forever while Bruce Johnston provided Deirdre and Tears In The Morning. Other songs, written by combinations of the band members included, Add Some Music To Your Day, All I Wanna Do, Our Sweet Love and At My Window. The closing track, Cool, Cool Water had evolved from the Smile track I Love To Say DaDa and had been attempted several times during sessions in 1967 for the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey albums.

Close to three dozen tracks were never used on the album and  remained in the vaults although over the years several have found a release as we will discover later.

The album cover featured all six members and was taken by Ricci Martin, Dean Martin's son, at a golf course on Dean Martin's Hidden Valley Ranch in Ventura County, California. The inner gatefold sleeve featured more images, this time by photographer Ed Thrasher on the Warner Bros. studio back-lot.

Despite it's poor showing on the chart the album did receive positive reviews. Writing in Rolling Stone, Jim Miller considered the album, "...without doubt the best Beach Boys album in recent memory, a stylistically coherent tour de force." Although he did end by saying, "It makes one wonder though whether anyone still listens to their music, or could give a shit about it."

Robert Christgau, in The Village Voice, felt that, "...as a coming-of-age record from the Beach Boys, Sunflower is far more satisfying, I suspect, than Smile ever would have been."

Regarded by many as the best Beach Boys album since Pet Sounds this was reflected in other reviews. "The strongest album they released post-Pet Sounds." (Pitchfork), "It stands as the definitive post-Pet Sounds Beach Boys album" (Popdose) and "... in many respects their Abbey Road - a lush production that signaled an end to the 1960s, the decade that gave them creative flight." (Paste).

Sunflower has also done well in various polls, In 1997 it was voted number 66 in the '100 Best Albums Ever' by The Guardian and in 2003, number 380 in Rolling Stone's '500 Greatest Ever Albums of All Time'.

Bruce Johnston, talking in the 1970s, named Sunflower as his favourite Beach Boys album and considered it the last true Beach Boys album as it was the last to feature Brian Wilson's input and involvement. 

Back in July 1969 Brian Wilson, along with Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, held an interview with Jack Rieley, who would become the bands manager. During the interview Brian spoke about the band and his feelings saying, "I'm proud of the group and the name but feel the clean American thing has hurt us. And we're really not getting any kind of airplay today." He also felt they hadn't done enough to change their image. With their new album, and input from Rieley, they would write and record a selection of songs which dealt with environmental, social and health issues. It was a plan to restore the bands image and reputation. It would also see Carl Wilson become 'leader' and marking his first major contributions to a Beach Boys album.

After the release of Sunflower, Stephen Desper, the bands engineer, had assembled a selection of tracks, mainly outtakes, for a follow-up which he called Second Brother Album. Rieley hated the tracks and called them "forgettable" and at a meeting with Mo Ostin, a Warner Brothers executive and massive Brian Wilson fan, took one listen and said, "No way."

With the exception of a handful of tracks the new album was recorded at sessions running from January through to July 1971. However, Brian was less involved in the production.

The original planned title of the new album was Landlocked but this changed and it would take it's name from the closing track Surf's Up.

Released in August 1971 on Brother/Reprise Surf's Up was the Beach Boys 17th studio album and the follow-up to Sunflower. In the UK it was issued two-months later.

The album featured two of Carl Wilson's first important solo efforts, Long Promised Road and Feel Flows and was an indication of what was to come from him in the future. Mike Love took the old Leiber & Stoller classic Riot In Cell Block Number 9 and reworked it as Student Demonstration Time, which apparently disgusted Dennis Wilson and embarrassed Carl. Brian felt the lyrics were too intense. Till I Die was a track that Brian had been working on for a few months while Take A Load Off Your Feet was written with Al Jardine, who also contributes Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song) and co-wrote A Day In The Life Of A Tree with Rieley and Brian. Bruce Johnston's only composition on the album was Disney Girls, a song he wrote  "...because I saw so many kinds in our audiences being wiped out on drugs" and he wanted to recreate a time when people were more naive and healthier. Brian loved the harmonies on the song.

Surf's Up bought the album to a close and originally Brian didn't want it included and on giving in insisted Carl sing the lead vocal. When this didn't work they went back to the original 1966 recording and overdubbed a new vocal from Carl. Brian appeared as the session was ending and added the songs final lyrics.

Dennis Wilson had none of his songs on the album and was keeping them for his own solo album which he planned to release in 1971 but the project, to be provisionally titled Poops/Hubba Bubba, was shelved.

Once again there were many songs recorded and left on the shelf including Wouldn't It be Nice (To Live Again), My Solution, H.E.L.P. Is On The Way and an attempt at Seasons In The Sun, a song written by Jacques Brel and Rod McKuel which would become a hit in 1974 for Terry Jacks. Mike Love was quoted as saying their version of the song was so wimpy they had no choice but to throw it away.

The album cover artwork was based on an early 20th-century sculpture 'End Of The Trail' by James Earle Fraser. Located in Waupun, Wisconsin it depicted a weary Native American hanging limp as his tired horse approaches the edge of the Pacific Ocean. It embodied the suffering and exhaustion of people driven from their native lands. It was an appropriate cover image for the album. However, it wasn't the first choice for an album cover. With it's original working title Landlocked a cover was designed featuring white lettering printed over a photograph of a dark field. Thankfully this was discarded in favour of the cover we now know.

Chartwise it performed better than Sunflower, reaching number 29 on the US charts, their highest placing since 1967, and number 15 in the UK.

Two singles were released in America Long Promised Road b/w Deirdre and Surf's Up b/w Don't Go Near The Water the former becoming the bands sixth consecutive US single that failed to chart.

Rolling Stone wrote, "The Beach Boys stage a remarkable comeback. An LP that weds their choral harmonies to progressive pop and which shows youngest Wilson brother Carl stepping into the fore of the venerable outfit." In Time the reviewer described it as, "One of the most imaginatively produced LPs since last fall's All Things Must Pass by George Harrison and Phil Spector." Other reviews praised the album with comments including, "This is a good album, probably as good as Sunflower, which is terrific...It is certainly the most original in that it has contributed something purely its own." and "It won't disappoint anyone at all. They've produced an album which fully backs up all that's recently been written and said about them."

Of course, not everybody was so positive. The Rag felt that all the press furor over the groups reputed comeback was rubbish and the album suffered from horrendous production and engineering and a lack of focus. Writing in The Guardian, Geoffrey Cannon felt the album was inconsistent while Robert Christgau, in The Village Voice, liked Disney Girls and Take A Load Off Your Feet but found most of the other songs forgettable and the album the bands worst since Friends in 1968. He put a lot of the blame on Van Dyke Park and Jack Rieley commenting that, "Van Dyke Park's wacked-out lyricist meandering is matched by the sophomoric spiritual quest of Jack Rieley, and the music drags hither and yon." Fortunately most people disagreed.

Surf's Up has appeared in many polls with New Musical Express ranking it number 96 in their 1974 list of 'Top 100 Albums Of All Time' and in 1993 it had risen to number 46 in their list. In the 2000 book All Time Top 1000 Albums it was ranked at number 230. It was also listed in the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Interestingly Bruce Johnston, who wouldn't work with the group again until the L.A. (Light Album) in 1979, would later criticize Surf's Up saying, "To me, Surf's Up, is and always has been, one hyped-up lie! It was a false reflection of The Beach Boys and one which Jack (Rieley) engineered right from the start. It made it look like Brian Wilson was more than just a visitor at those sessions. Jack made it appear he was there all the time." Although he would also state about Rieley, "All I can say is that at the beginning, I thought that what he was trying to do was absolutely right on the money. He helped the band become aware of what our niche was in pop music."

This all brings us to the latest Beach Boys compilation/release... Feel Flows.

Released in August 2021 this 5-CD set, presented in a 48-page 12" x 10" hard-backed book, is sub-titled, The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969 - 1971, and was compiled/produced by Beach Boys archivists Mark Linett and Alan Boyd. It includes 133 tracks with 108 previously unreleased. A mix of live recordings, outtakes, alternate versions, remixes, backing tracks and vocal only tracks which helps the listener understand the creative process which resulted in both Sunflower and Surf's Up.

Released with the full co-operation of the surviving band members it proves that the Beach Boys were not a spent force at this time and shows them at a critical stage of their careers. Every member appears to be overflowing with ideas and with a new sense of liberation. It also marks the return of Brian Wilson as an active member of the group following his physical and mental deterioration following the Smile sessions.

Disc one features the original Sunflower album along with previously unreleased tracks from the period and live recordings. The second disc covers Surf's Up, with the original album supported by more unreleased live recordings and unreleased tracks from the sessions. Discs three and four cover the Sunflower and Surf's Up sessions respectively and also features a number of A Capella tracks. The final disc contains various tracks from 1969-1971 some of which were recorded but eventually dropped from the albums.

Among the unreleased tracks from both album sessions are Susie Cincinnati, Two Can Play, San Miguel, H.E.L.P. Is On The Way, My Solution, Big Sur and Seasons In The Sun. In 1973 a new recording of Big Sur would find a release as part of California Saga on their Holland album.

We get to hear A Capella versions/backing vocals of many of the tracks including Break Away, Add Some Music To Your Day, Cotton Fields, the beautiful Forever, Surf's Up and Long Promised Road. Work in progress recordings gives the listener the opportunity to hear alternate versions of Don't Go Near The Water, Take A Load Of Your Feet along with session highlights including Loop De Loop, At My Window, Cool, Cool Water, Deirdre and much more.

Of particular interest is the wealth of material written by Dennis Wilson and intended for his first solo album, Poops/Hubba Bubba, but never released. Tracks include I'm Goin' Your Way, Old Movie (Cuddle Up), All Of My Love/Ecology, Barbara, Hawaiian Dream, I've Got A Friend and Behold The Night. Many of these were co-written with Daryl Dragon of Captain and Tenille fame who scored hits with Do That To Me One More Time, Muskrat Love and Love Will Keep Us Together.

The set also shows what a dynamic live act they were and on this set we are treated to eleven live recordings covering the period 1970 to 1993. Highlights include Add Some Music To Your Day (1993), Riot In Cell Block Number 9 (1970), Surf's Up (1973), Disney Girls (1982) and Student Demonstration Time (1971).

The set ends with two tracks which would eventually be recorded for the 1972 album Carl And The Passions - "So Tough", You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone and Marcella.

My only complaint about the set is the book which is mainly a collection of old quotes from band members taken from various interviews supported with some basic text. A set like this deserved a more informative liner note detailing the recordings etc along with studio shots, memorabilia and sleeves. A minor point that doesn't distract from the quality of the music.

Feel Flows is proof, if any was needed, that the Beach Boys never stopped creating great music. Sit back, relax, turn the lights down and Add Some Music To Your Day.