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Post by B.E. on Feb 3, 2024 3:11:52 GMT
While I wasn’t the one to nominate “God Only Knows”, it makes perfect sense to me that someone might think that it should have been released as a A-Side and that it could/should/would have charted very, very high on the charts.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 3, 2024 13:38:26 GMT
This thread continues to be thought-provoking. You would think comparing "God Only Knows" to "Good Timin'" - or comparing "God Only Knows" to any song - would be a no-brainer. But, in the context of the thread - which song should've been a single/better single - it's not that easy to compare. Too many factors to consider.
In the original poll, yes, I nominated "Good Timin'". I've always loved the song, everything about it. I actually bought the 45 back in 1979. I watched it performed (with a Mike Love lead vocal) on the 1979 Easter Seals telethon. And most importantly, I heard it on the radio! It sounded so good. I thought it had a chance to go somewhere, but it stalled at #40. It started out strong and then just disappeared. Could've the song been improved? Yes, maybe an intro, maybe a bridge, maybe whatever could've extended it and made it sound more...fully realized. But, to me, it's still an all-timer.
When I became a BB fan in 1974-75, I wasn't really that familiar with "God Only Knows". Obviously it wasn't on Endless Summer and Spirit Of America, and I didn't buy the Reprise Good Vibrations: Best Of The Beach Boys album. I never heard "God Only Knows" on the radio growing up. I didn't even know it was the B-side to "Wouldn't It Be Nice". I eventually got into it when I purchased Pet Sounds, and consequently, I mostly considered it an album track. It was several years before "God Only Knows" gained worldwide notoriety and became known as more of a classic song than just another song from Pet Sounds. Now, in 2024, I realize it did have a life as a single, and when you consider it's actual greatness - which again for decades wasn't as prominent - it does seem hard to believe it wasn't a bigger hit.
OK, how does one vote? I always believed "Good Timin'" should've gone Top 20 - 20 spots higher than where it actually peaked. Top 10, that's questionable. And "God Only Knows" - arguably the greatest pop/rock song of all-time in many polls - only peaked at #38. How can that be? Well, consider this - "Barbara Ann", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", Sloop John B", "Caroline No", and "Good Vibrations" - all charting/released in 1966. Was there any room for "God Only Knows"? I know that sounds crazy but maybe The Beach Boys were actually saturating the market. I know, post-1966 that sounds crazy. Too many Beach Boys' hit records at one time? Well, maybe.
Can I abstain? I can't vote against either song. That's blasphemy. OK, I'll go with "God Only Knows", even though I nominated "Good Timin'". Maybe the market, the band's (sagging) popularity, and "Good Timin'"'s length/not fully-realized form were just too much to overcome in the crazy year which was 1979.
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Post by carllove on Feb 3, 2024 13:44:08 GMT
I love really like “Good Timin’”, but “God Only Knows” is the greatest pop song ever, so it has my vote.
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 3, 2024 19:38:34 GMT
Now here's a thought: the group could have released a live version of "God Only Knows" somewhere along the way. Oddly enough, it's NOT on "The Beach Boys In Concert" from 1973. Maybe Carl was only allowed one showcase song per show and "Caroline, No" took it's place on TBBIC. The version on "Beach Boys '69" (now there's a title! And yet somehow they left out "All I Want to Do"!) is a bit fast. Hmm....
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 3, 2024 20:27:07 GMT
Now here's a thought: the group could have released a live version of "God Only Knows" somewhere along the way. Oddly enough, it's NOT on "The Beach Boys In Concert" from 1973. Maybe Carl was only allowed one showcase song per show and "Caroline, No" took it's place on TBBIC. The version on "Beach Boys '69" (now there's a title! And yet somehow they left out "All I Want to Do"!) is a bit fast. Hmm.... In a bit of Beach Boys' trivia, "God Only Knows" was the B-side to "The Beach Boys Medley" in 1981, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was some thought along the lines of "Let's get it out there again" or at the very least, "Hey, we got this gem; let's use it."
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 4, 2024 20:31:34 GMT
Now here's a thought: the group could have released a live version of "God Only Knows" somewhere along the way. Oddly enough, it's NOT on "The Beach Boys In Concert" from 1973. Maybe Carl was only allowed one showcase song per show and "Caroline, No" took it's place on TBBIC. The version on "Beach Boys '69" (now there's a title! And yet somehow they left out "All I Want to Do"!) is a bit fast. Hmm.... In a bit of Beach Boys' trivia, "God Only Knows" was the B-side to "The Beach Boys Medley" in 1981, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was some thought along the lines of "Let's get it out there again" or at the very least, "Hey, we got this gem; let's use it." I had forgotten that! It was one of my first BB's singles. I lost it in a flood. I was happy for the guys to have another hit, but I can barely stand to listen to the medley now. And that goes double for "The Beatles' Movie Medley".
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 5, 2024 12:17:19 GMT
"God Only Knows" easily beat "Good Timin'," 7-1, for the final spot in the tournament proper. We now have all 16 songs on which to vote. Thanks for participating.
I'll post the first competition later today.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 5, 2024 15:23:12 GMT
First-Round Matchup: “River Song” v. “It’s OK”
Our “play-in” matchups are done, so we move on to the first matchup of the 16-song tournament proper.
8) “River Song” was written by Dennis and Carl Wilson, and a Beach Boys version was begun in 1974 (making it a contemporary of the recently discussed “Good Timin’,” another song that had its beginnings in 1974, but wasn’t released for years) but never completed. Instead Dennis completed a version for use on his 1977 solo debut—and solo swansong—Pacific Ocean Blue.
The song included performances by several Beach Boys and associates, including Carl Wilson, Ricky Fataar, Billy Hinsche, Ed Carter, Ed Tuleja, and Gregg Jakobson. It did not chart. Two people nominated “River Song,” one placing it third and the other nominating it without accompanying rankings.
9) “It’s OK,” a Brian Wilson and Mike Love composition released on 15 Big Ones in July 1976 and as a single in August 1976, could scarcely be more different. If “River Song” was a progressive rock song, “It’s OK” was a breezy, good-times throwback, albeit with a quirky, modern use of synthesizers.
Unlike “River Song,” “It’s OK” not only charted, but nearly charted high enough to be ineligible for this poll: it peaked at #29. Two people nominated “It’s OK,” one placing it third and another placing it fifth.
This poll will be up through Wednesday, Feb. 7, closing at midnight Thursday. Please let us know which song you think more warranted Top 25 hit status upon its release.
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Post by kds on Feb 5, 2024 15:30:54 GMT
To be honest, I'm not sure which of these songs I like better. It depends on the day.
But, I think It's OK had more hit potential, so it gets my vote.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 5, 2024 17:22:31 GMT
I'm right on the fence even though I'm the one who rated "River Song" third on my list of 10. I think "River Song" warrants more attention from the general public than it gets--in that, from the general public, it gets approximately no attention whatsoever. But does it sound like a hit? Or does it sound like a classic classic-rock song? (The two aren't necessarily the same thing.)
Meanwhile, we have an actual hit in "It's OK," which (at #29 on the Hot 100) was only four spots away from being ineligible for this entire exercise. (Should that disqualify it? I don't think so. Whatever cutoff we could have used, we'd have had similar issues. Set it at Top 40 and you've got "Sail On Sailor," "Here Comes the Night" and "Friends" as debatable fringe choices. Set it at Top 10 and you've got "Heroes and Villains" and "Do You Wanna Dance." And so on. Yes, it's a somewhat arbitrary cutoff, but life is full of those: speed limits, ages of majority, and so on.)
I plan to take more time before I decide. I'll keep an eye on other people's reasoning or arguments in case they sway me one way or the other.
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 5, 2024 19:49:40 GMT
"It's OK", as the followup to "Rock and Roll Music", got a chance. It failed. (same scenario would repeat itself in 1988/89) I like it, it's one of the best tracks on 15BO, but hearing "River Song" just blew my mind. It was kind of odd to have a solo track included on Ten Years of Harmony, but it fits right in with the other "progressive" tracks on that comp - "Feel Flows","Surf's Up", "Till I Die", "Long Promised Road", "Trader" - the stuff that made me want to get those early 70's BB's albums. 1 vote for Dennis.
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Post by Kapitan on Feb 5, 2024 20:10:31 GMT
"It's OK", as the followup to "Rock and Roll Music", got a chance. It failed. Failed? I dunno. Yes, it failed to reach the Top 25 (which is what the poll is about), but #29 ain't chopped liver--and it's a hell of a lot better than what "River Song" did on the charts (which is literally nothing). But I do think you're right that "River Song" fits well alongside some of those slightly earlier 70s tunes the band did. It really is too bad something didn't come out of the '74/Caribou Ranch sessions. Maybe a Beach Boys "River Song" in 1974 could have been a hit, even if a Dennis Wilson version in 1977 wasn't.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 5, 2024 20:43:49 GMT
"It's OK", as the followup to "Rock and Roll Music", got a chance. It failed. (same scenario would repeat itself in 1988/89) I like it, it's one of the best tracks on 15BO, but hearing "River Song" just blew my mind. It was kind of odd to have a solo track included on Ten Years of Harmony, but it fits right in with the other "progressive" tracks on that comp - "Feel Flows","Surf's Up", "Till I Die", "Long Promised Road", "Trader" - the stuff that made me want to get those early 70's BB's albums.1 vote for Dennis. You're absolutely right, "River Song" does fit right in with those songs, but none of them really did much/anything as singles ("Feel Flows" and "The Trader" weren't singles), and I think "River Song" would've suffered the same fate. I just can't hear it on AM radio - a little long, a little scattered, maybe Dennis's voice was working against it. Now, I do think it would've made a cool FM track, but like I mentioned in an above post, FM radio was not targeting The Beach Boys in the 1970s, or ever actually. One quick thing on "River Song"...I know I'm in the minority, but I would've gladly traded the Double Rock Baptist Church Choir for the Beach Boys' voices. I never thought the choir's vocals fit or sounded right; I find them a bit overpowering and distracting. I would've preferred a harmony of Dennis, Brian, Mike, Carl, Al, and whoever was hanging around at that time.
On the other hand, "It's OK" had single written all over it. It was exactly - EXACTLY - what the people wanted in the summer of 1976. Endless Summer>Spirit Of America>"It's OK". It's irresistible - Brian Wilson's melody/arrangement/production, Mike's familiar voice, Beach Boys' harmonies, sum-sum-summertime lyrics, and a great tag. But, either the band or Reprise or both played it safe. They went with Chuck Berry and a proven great song and it worked, with "Rock And Roll Music" going to #5. However, I always thought "Rock And Roll Music" was successful, not so much because of The Beach Boys' recording, but because of the timing. The music world was dying for new Beach Boys' product, and "Rock And Roll Music", as flawed as it was/is, fit the bill.
For the purpose of this thread, I'm voting for "It's OK", and it's not really close. If I was calling the shots back in 1976, I would've released "It's OK" on Memorial Day and I'm confident it would've been one of the great summer songs of the year. Hearing "It's OK" on the radio in June and July...well, it still frustrates me. It got buried in August and the fall. I honestly think it would've/should've/could've gone Top 10, maybe even equaling "Rock And Roll Music"'s #5.
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Post by jk on Feb 5, 2024 21:45:04 GMT
First-Round Matchup: “River Song” v. “It’s OK” "It's O.K." wasn't a hit in the UK. Odd, really. Maybe disc jockeys were loath to play it because of Dennis's "Find a ride"! So I've voted for it (without even considering "River Song"), as deserving of a place in the British charts.
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Post by lonelysummer on Feb 6, 2024 4:11:07 GMT
OK 102 and a half Great Music Weekend, 1975, Seattle. There are a couple Beach Boys songs on this list. So there was a time when progressive FM stations played the Boys - although not nearly as many BB tunes here as Zeppelin, Stones, Elton and Beatles. Attachments:
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