What move helped the Beach Boy's career/legacy the most?

[The Cincinnati Kid]

We talk so much about how the Beach Boys made dumbs decisions that hurt their career to varying degrees, but I was just thinking, what if we talked about what career moves helped them the most? I don't think it has to be a purposeful decision either. Just as they had no way to know some of their poor decisions would hurt them as much as they did, some of their positive decisions wouldn't be known until after the fact, either.

For my choice, I'll go with Kokomo. This choice is a bit of a double edged sword. There's definitely a group out there who hate it and negatively judge the band for it, but how many in that group never really liked the Beach Boys anyway? On the other hand, it brought the band back into mainstream relevancy that lasted well into the 90s. They were exposed to a whole new generation and some of those people later went back into the catalogue to discover the classic songs.

[kds]

I don't think Kokomo, along with the initial appearance on Full House, really gets the credit it deserves for introducing people my age to The Beach Boys. It's a pity The Beach Boys couldn't strike while the iron was hot though.

While Kokomo gave the Boys a much needed shot in the arm, I think the release of two box sets in the 1990s helped their legacy also. The Good Vibrations box in 1993, which saw the first official release of several Smile outtakes, and the Pet Sounds Sessions box in 1996 somewhat changed perceptions of The Beach Boys. These boxsets proved to new audiences of the CD era that there was more to The Beach Boys than sun splashed hits.

[Kapitan]

I have a few thoughts. I'm not claiming to fully believe either, but I want to toss them out for discussion.

1) Brian leaving the road in the mid-60s to focus on the studio while the band toured. While it also no doubt introduced complications that hurt the group (e.g. resentment that Brian wasn't working as hard in the grueling tour schedule, Brian getting in with social circles Mike didn't like, and what must have been a new distance between them socially), it allowed Brian to come up with much of the music we and so many people absolutely love and respect. Had he not left the road, it's hard to imagine music like that coming as quickly as it did in those peak years.

2) The band hiring Jack Rieley. He was a liar, probably a bit of a scammer. But he did succeed to some degree in making the band seem cool, dropping the cornball images, balancing the oldies with new music. They didn't have great commercial success during his era, but they did return to being a massive live success, and they were critically acclaimed.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Gee, that's a tough one, Cincinnati Kid, especially for some of us...(cough) um, me.

While I'm not the biggest fan of Surf's Up or Holland - granted they have their moments - I think that listening to SOME of what Jack Rieley was preaching was a good move for the group, not so much commercially but critically. It started to get them back into the music world's consciousness again. I mean, they were at an all-time low with Sunflower in 1970; that album and singles absolutely bombed. But in a few short years, not just through recording but by touring with a great band/setlist/performance, they were primed to be relevant again. It would've been interesting to see where the group would've gone without the releases of Endless Summer and Spirit Of America.

From some of the things I read that Jack Rieley was selling, he did seem to have a pretty good grasp on the band's problems. I didn't agree with all of them, but a lot of them made sense. And say what you want about the guy's deception or dishonesty as a pseudo-manager, the bottom line was that he got some cool songs out of Carl and Brian. I just wish he could've persuaded Dennis to contribute to Surf's Up.

EDIT: Well, Kapitan beat me to it again. Obviously I have to type faster.

[Kapitan]

Mar 23, 2020 19:41:28 GMT Sheriff John Stone said:

VICTORY IS MINE!

Edit: or would be, if I could quote properly. I'm leaving in my blunder as a reminder that I probably should hold off on the sass!

[Sheriff John Stone]

I just thought of another one and I'll use a sports analogy to preface it. In pro sports, "tanking" is frowned upon by some, but embraced by others. However, "tanking" is a two-fold proposition. It's one thing to lose enough games to obtain a high(er) draft pick. That's the easy part. The hard part, the essential part, is ultimately what are you going to do with the draft picks when you finally get them. You have to follow through with the process. Where in the world am I going with this?

I actually think the "Brian Is Back" campaign in 1976 was a good idea. The problem wasn't the idea but the execution. They couldn't agree on how to "use" Brian effectively when he did...come back. I could go on and on discussing this subject; there's so many woulda/coulda/shouldas. For me, the bottom line is this. A much better album could've been assembled than 15 Big Ones. Better material was available. Somebody like Carl Wilson or James Gurcio could've (should've?) smoothed out the rough edges on the recordings that Brian either didn't hear or didn't want to. Ultimately, a much better product should've been delivered in 1976 and going forward. It's like the old cliche', "Be careful what what you ask for." They wanted Brian back, and, well, they got him. Too bad they didn't know what to do with him.

[Kapitan]

On Brian's Back, do you think in the end it did help the career/legacy? Not in theory, but in reality?

A person could probably argue that yes, even with the imperfect (to say the lease) execution, it did. It got them a lot of press, they had some minor hits, etc. Obviously a more competent Brian being back would have helped MORE, as would have better dynamics within the band generally at the time. And less heroin in the period shortly thereafter.

So actually it might have helped their career at the time, but I'd say probably hurt their legacy. 

[B.E.]

I think they (the group, Murry, Venet/Capitol) did a lot right early on. One example is the double A-side approach pairing a top-notch surf and car song together ("Surfin' Safari" / "409"; "Surfin' USA" / "Shut Down"; "Surfer Girl" / "Little Deuce Coupe"). They were also smart to branch out from there. The main thing they did right, though, was letting Brian run wild the moment he was ready to. The Beach Boys career/legacy was built by Brian in those few years and he seemed to have everyone and everything at his disposal. Kapitan's point about Brian deciding to quit touring is but one example (though, a very important one!)

Moving ahead a bit, stoking the myth of Smile was beneficial to the group and eventually Brian's solo career, but in real time may have done more harm than good as it seemed to haunt the person who the group depended on most.

I agree with Kapitan and SJS that the Rieley era deserves a mention for stabilizing the group, giving them some new themes/styles to latch onto, and earning some critical acclaim, but outside of diehards of that era I'm not sure how much Jack, Blondie, and Ricky were missed moving forward. Concert goers probably preferred seeing Brian onstage and Dennis behind the kit...and hearing their 60s catalog.

Endless Summer was obviously massively important. It's easy to say, now, that the music is timeless and inevitably would have become popular again (and again..), but how much of that is due to the timely release of Endless Summer? Inevitable or not, this release is probably responsible for more fans than any other Beach Boys album (with the possible exception of the almighty Pet Sounds).

[kds]

It does seem like there's an interesting duality in things that helped their careers and their legacies. It seems most things mentioned did one, but not the other.

[B.E.]

I view the Brian's Back campaign and "Kokomo" similarly. They both helped their immediate careers, but exposed them in equal measure.

[B.E.]

Mar 23, 2020 19:41:28 GMT Sheriff John Stone said:

EDIT: Well, Kapitan beat me to it again. Obviously I have to type faster.  

Both of you beat me. Then while adjusting my post, you guys beat me again. I'm the slowest! 

[Kapitan]

Mar 23, 2020 20:22:45 GMT kds said:

It does seem like there's an interesting duality in things that helped their careers and their legacies. It seems most things mentioned did one, but not the other.

There's probably a life lesson in there that the things giving immediate satisfaction aren't necessarily those that last or age well.

[B.E.]

Mar 23, 2020 20:17:48 GMT Kapitan said:

On Brian's Back, do you think in the end it did help the career/legacy? Not in theory, but in reality?

A person could probably argue that yes, even with the imperfect (to say the lease) execution, it did. It got them a lot of press, they had some minor hits, etc. Obviously a more competent Brian being back would have helped MORE, as would have better dynamics within the band generally at the time. And less heroin in the period shortly thereafter.

So actually it might have helped their career at the time, but I'd say probably hurt their legacy. 

Then again, if we're including Love You as being part of Brian's Back, that sort of had the opposite effect.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Mar 23, 2020 20:17:48 GMT Kapitan said:

On Brian's Back, do you think in the end it did help the career/legacy? Not in theory, but in reality?

Good question. In reality it hurt their career severely, which in turn, affected or hurt their legacy, too. In 1975 and the beginning of 1976, The Beach Boys were one of the most popular bands in the rock/pop world. They were maybe as popular as they were in 1964-66. And they blew it. They literally threw it all away. You could start at the peak of their popularity, again in 1975/early 1976, and after the release of 15 Big Ones, it took a big nosedive, declined further with Love You, and by the time M.I.U. came out they were irrelevant again.

The "Brian Is Back" campaign only served to get attention, that's all. If you want to consider that a positive, yeah, it succeeded in that one aspect. It failed in all other areas. Again, what they did when they got the attention is ultimately what mattered. They attracted the people, then disappointed them. In the end, some stayed but most left. That is significant. That IS part of their legacy. History will show that Brian came "out of "retirement" or inactivity, only to NOT live up to expectations. The only other disappointment or "move" that comes close was the failure to release Smile and go from Pet Sounds to Smiley Smile. The band - and Brian - never fully recovered from that.

[B.E.]

I think it's worth noting that 15 Big Ones spent 26 weeks on the charts - 10 of which were top 25. Wanna guess how many total weeks Beach Boys' studio albums spent up there since Pet Sounds? Only 2 (Wild Honey; #24 in consecutive weeks).