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Post by Kapitan on Oct 20, 2023 16:19:53 GMT
We've almost all told our "origin stories," with some of us having been Beach Boys fans since the very beginning, others only quite recently hopping on board, and the bulk of us somewhere in between.
For me and those fans who came aboard after me, the internet has always been a part of it: we had more resources than those fans in earlier eras, meaning we could access officially released and unofficially released music much more easily, not to mention find more articles and interviews. And that's to say nothing of our ability to discuss in real time (or nearly real time) with other fans around the world first via chat rooms, message boards, and eventually social media.
The thread topic, then, is this:
If you could go back to any single calendar year and be a Beach Boys fan of the sort that exists now--meaning there would be an internet--what year do you think would be the most interesting or enjoyable? The caveat to complicate things, we're starting with 1968. You can't pick the prime hit years or the granddaddy of what-if chatter fodder, 1967's Smile.
Your choice would not be limited to just the potential for online experiences, though. (Though if you already really were a fan in those days, that experience might reinforce or change your existing ideas of the best year of your fandom.) It would also include (of course) hearing that year's new music contemporaneously, seeing the group live that year, and so on. When do you think would have been the most enjoyable for you, and why?
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 20, 2023 17:47:42 GMT
When I started the thread, I didn't have a good answer. And I'm still not sure I have a good answer. But I do have what I think might be an interesting answer. I'm going with... 1972.It's a strange choice, in that the band released just one album and two singles that year. The album is one that I like, but I don't even rate it among their top 10. (I checked my ratings fr0m the thread we did on this board about that, and it was 12th, which is just a little better than halfway down the list.) But I'm just thinking how much fun being a fan might have been. Consider... I really love Surf's Up and I really like Sunflower, so we're coming off a solid couple of years. Then, while I'm not totally sure of the exact timing*, sometime early in 1972 I'm guessing fans are hearing that there are personnel changes in the group. I'm not the biggest Bruce Johnston fan, so his departure wouldn't have broken my heart. Meanwhile you're adding two relatively unknown guys from a band whose album Carl produced? How cool must that have been to hear about and discuss with fellow fans? Carl & the Passions: So Tough was released in May 1972, and the first single, "You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone" b/w "Cuddle Up," was released concurrently. A month later, "Marcella" b/w "Hold On, Dear Brother" was released. Discussion about the album must have been a lot of fun considering how different it sounded from their previous work--even their recent, progressive work! During the summer, we'd have heard rumors that the band decamped to Holland to record their next album. What!? Imagine the discussion about that (not to mention on-location fans posting... "So, I saw Brian Wilson walking around Laren in just his bathrobe at 3 a.m. ..."). And then later that year, the Beach Boys played Minneapolis: Nov. 8 at the Armory, just a few weeks before the famous Carnegie Hall shows. We know how good that band was live, and I could have seen it. No, 1972 wasn't the best year in the Beach Boys' history by a long shot, and it wasn't even the best in terms of new music of the "eligible" years for this thread. But I'll bet it was an absolutely fascinating time to be a fan. *Peter Doggett's "Hold On Dear Brother: The Beach Boys Without Brian Wilson" says Bruce Johnston quit "early in 1972, and [Jack] Rieley had replacements already lined up." Bill Tobler, at least as quoted in Ricky Fataar's wiki page, wrote in NME Rock 'n' Roll Years that they joined in March 1972. That seems pretty late considering CATP came out two months later and they contributed two songs--unless those songs were already more or less done as Flame songs. Regardless, it seems safe to say early 1972 (if not very late 1971?). I'd actually like to see real details and a good timeline on this. AGD's site has Bruce deciding to leave in April (just a month before album release!?) but doesn't mention when Blondie and Ricky joined.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Oct 20, 2023 17:53:22 GMT
My answer might be a cop out, because the internet already existed during this era, but I think 2012 would have been a good time to be a fan. The big reunion, the big new album, the big tour. I missed it by a few years, and when I did become a fan, in 2016, I found that I just missed a very exciting time with a lot of news and things going on. 2016 was a good period too, because of the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds, and luckily a lot of the buzz from 2012 was still... buzzing in 2016. It was fun to catch up on the 2012 events, but there was definitely a feeling of regret that went along with it, like why couldn't I have tripped into this rabbit hole at that time.
If I have to pick a year post 1967 that pre-dates the internet... that's a lot harder. 1970 I suppose, since Sunflower is probably my favourite BB album. I'm not sure specifically about the buzz they were getting at that time, from what I understand it was more of a simmer under the surface. But I think to have heard Sunflower in 1970 would have been really exciting for me, especially as a fan of Dennis' work. To be a fan from the beginning of the 70s would mean a few really good solid years of music before things went wonky.
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AGD
Denny's Drums
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Post by AGD on Oct 21, 2023 5:48:51 GMT
*Peter Doggett's "Hold On Dear Brother: The Beach Boys Without Brian Wilson" says Bruce Johnston quit "early in 1972, and [Jack] Rieley had replacements already lined up." Bill Tobler, at least as quoted in Ricky Fataar's wiki page, wrote in NME Rock 'n' Roll Years that they joined in March 1972. That seems pretty late considering CATP came out two months later and they contributed two songs--unless those songs were already more or less done as Flame songs. Regardless, it seems safe to say early 1972 (if not very late 1971?). I'd actually like to see real details and a good timeline on this. AGD's site has Bruce deciding to leave in April (just a month before album release!?) but doesn't mention when Blondie and Ricky joined. Shows & sessions 1971, footnote 10.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 21, 2023 11:07:14 GMT
*Peter Doggett's "Hold On Dear Brother: The Beach Boys Without Brian Wilson" says Bruce Johnston quit "early in 1972, and [Jack] Rieley had replacements already lined up." Bill Tobler, at least as quoted in Ricky Fataar's wiki page, wrote in NME Rock 'n' Roll Years that they joined in March 1972. That seems pretty late considering CATP came out two months later and they contributed two songs--unless those songs were already more or less done as Flame songs. Regardless, it seems safe to say early 1972 (if not very late 1971?). I'd actually like to see real details and a good timeline on this. AGD's site has Bruce deciding to leave in April (just a month before album release!?) but doesn't mention when Blondie and Ricky joined. Shows & sessions 1971, footnote 10. Thanks: as you saw (if you checked my link), I was looking at timeline, not gigs. So Ricky joined the live band in September 1971 and Blondie joined it around February 1972. But that was when they first performed with the group. My question as to when they were made full members of the band is still outstanding, I think. Because the two aren't the same thing. However, this (and some of what I was reading yesterday) begs a bigger related question. It will be going in the Questions, Questions, Questions thread. (It'll be a bit, though, as I want to check some resources first.)
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Post by kds on Oct 23, 2023 17:09:03 GMT
My answer might be a cop out, because the internet already existed during this era, but I think 2012 would have been a good time to be a fan. The big reunion, the big new album, the big tour. I missed it by a few years, and when I did become a fan, in 2016, I found that I just missed a very exciting time with a lot of news and things going on. 2016 was a good period too, because of the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds, and luckily a lot of the buzz from 2012 was still... buzzing in 2016. It was fun to catch up on the 2012 events, but there was definitely a feeling of regret that went along with it, like why couldn't I have tripped into this rabbit hole at that time. If I have to pick a year post 1967 that pre-dates the internet... that's a lot harder. 1970 I suppose, since Sunflower is probably my favourite BB album. I'm not sure specifically about the buzz they were getting at that time, from what I understand it was more of a simmer under the surface. But I think to have heard Sunflower in 1970 would have been really exciting for me, especially as a fan of Dennis' work. To be a fan from the beginning of the 70s would mean a few really good solid years of music before things went wonky. I became a huge fan thanks to the show I saw in 2012. But, I wish I'd have gotten into them at least a few years sooner. If so, seeing Mike, Brian, Al, Bruce, and David together would've felt even more significant. Following similar logic, Im picking 1968 as my year. That gives me ample time to explore their past albums, and by the time they went on their great early 70s run, I'd be a dyed in the wool fan.
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Post by jk on Oct 23, 2023 20:53:21 GMT
I'm going for 1971, the year of Surf’s Up. It was also the year I first heard it (a friend of my brother lent it to us) and it resonated with the bleak period I was going through, particularly side two.
Actually, it's a fascinating year in many music genres, with an exceedingly broad spectrum of pop on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 23, 2023 21:01:23 GMT
I'm going for 1971, the year of Surf’s Up. It was also the year I first heard it (a friend of my brother lent it to us) and it resonated with the bleak period I was going through, particularly side two. Do you recall whether you heard much around the album, meaning specifically that the title track came from the aborted Smile album? Or were you just hearing it as a new album?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 24, 2023 20:15:20 GMT
I've been contemplating this question for a few days now. Since I've been a fan since 1974, that only leaves a small window of 1968-1973. I guess I'll go with 1969. I was a big fan of AM radio in 1969 and it would've been fun to scour the transistor radio for "I Can Hear Music" and "Break Away", and maybe "Do It Again" was still hanging around. 20/20 - one of the most diverse and underrated Beach Boys' albums - would've been a fulfilling listen. I think the band made a couple of TV appearances. I know of one - The Mike Douglas Show - which was broadcast from the Philadelphia area; I used to watch that show. I don't think the band at that time was in many of the rock/pop publications, but who knows, maybe news of the group leaving Capitol to go with Reprise would've leaked out. That would've been interesting. And the 1969 photos? The white suits were gone and the...new...clothes were in!
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 24, 2023 20:22:25 GMT
The one thing I'd add is, you could also pick a year in which you were a fan, because you can also reevaluate in the counterfactual context of an internet presence. Imagine Brian Is Back/Love You with the internet!
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Post by jk on Oct 24, 2023 21:28:55 GMT
I'm going for 1971, the year of Surf’s Up. It was also the year I first heard it (a friend of my brother lent it to us) and it resonated with the bleak period I was going through, particularly side two. Do you recall whether you heard much around the album, meaning specifically that the title track came from the aborted Smile album? Or were you just hearing it as a new album? I was just (!) hearing it as a new album. I can't recall any mention of a SMiLE connection at the time. The same holds for "Cabinessence" and "Our Prayer" on 20/20. The two tracks that really stood out for me in '71 were "Feel Flows" and "Surf's Up". I put the ragged accompaniment to the "brother John" part down to a momentary lapse in concentration on the part of the band! I certainly had no idea who was playing what or even who was singing lead, let alone the time span involved. I simply regarded it as a stunning three-movement suite specially written for the album!
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Post by Kapitan on Oct 24, 2023 23:24:03 GMT
Do you recall whether you heard much around the album, meaning specifically that the title track came from the aborted Smile album? Or were you just hearing it as a new album? I was just (!) hearing it as a new album. I can't recall any mention of a SMiLE connection at the time. The same holds for "Cabinessence" and "Our Prayer" on 20/20. The two tracks that really stood out for me in '71 were "Feel Flows" and "Surf's Up". I put the ragged accompaniment to the "brother John" part down to a momentary lapse in concentration on the part of the band! I certainly had no idea who was playing what or even who was singing lead, let alone the time span involved. I simply regarded it as a stunning three-movement suite specially written for the album! By the way, I didn't mean "just" in a negative way. I meant it like specifically, precisely in that way, to the exclusion of the baggage of Smile. I realize "just" can also mean something more like "only; no more than" (in which case it would seem I was belittling the album). I'm not sure how you took it, but your parenthetical exclamation point made me wonder, so I thought I'd clarify.
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Post by lonelysummer on Oct 25, 2023 4:18:15 GMT
The one thing I'd add is, you could also pick a year in which you were a fan, because you can also reevaluate in the counterfactual context of an internet presence. Imagine Brian Is Back/ Love You with the internet! Yeah, I thought that was the point, to think of how it would have been with the internet being around. Brian is Back - I can only imagine how disappointed the hard core fans when, after 3 years, the long awaited BB's album is 15 Big Ones. I can also imagine some warnings going out about The Beach Boys Love You - "if you thought 15 Big Ones was weird, you ain't heard nothin' yet!"
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Oct 25, 2023 13:02:27 GMT
The one thing I'd add is, you could also pick a year in which you were a fan, because you can also reevaluate in the counterfactual context of an internet presence. Imagine Brian Is Back/ Love You with the internet! Yeah, I thought that was the point, to think of how it would have been with the internet being around. Brian is Back - I can only imagine how disappointed the hard core fans when, after 3 years, the long awaited BB's album is 15 Big Ones. I can also imagine some warnings going out about The Beach Boys Love You - "if you thought 15 Big Ones was weird, you ain't heard nothin' yet!" OK, in that light I'll also note 1976. I did enjoy the hell out of it at the time - the group was everywhere - and there were several WTF moments. There was so much to look for, so much to learn, so much to roll with, and so much to question, so much to debate. There has never been a year like it before...or since. I guess 2012 was the closest to 1976, but it did lack the strangeness, the "what will he/whoever do or say next" feeling. The guys were on their best behavior for most of 2012, until it imploded, then it was business as usual.
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Post by carllove on Oct 25, 2023 16:47:42 GMT
1968 Music from Pet Sounds, Friends and Wild Honey were well represented on the setlists and that 1968 European Tour Documentary, is my most watched Beach Boys Doc. Those white suits! I literally watch it at least once a month. AND - Carl doesn't have a beard yet. I almost chose 1969, because "Breakaway' was added to the concert setlists, but they had also started to drop songs like "Wake The World", so nope on '69. Also - Friends was released in 1968. To think I was only six at the time. Boy did I miss out.
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