Album of the Week #14: 15 Big Ones

[Deleted]

This week's album is 15 Big Ones:

[Sheriff John Stone]

Wata you say?

[Kapitan]

I'll give it this much: 15 Big Ones is far more interesting to discuss than the past few. Not necessarily far better, mind you. But maybe more interesting.

SJS, wasn't this your first new/contemporary BBs album?

[Sheriff John Stone]

Oct 25, 2019 12:29:52 GMT Kapitan said:

I'll give it this much: 15 Big Ones is far more interesting to discuss than the past few. Not necessarily far better, mind you. But maybe more interesting.

SJS, wasn't this your first new/contemporary BBs album?

Yep, a sentimental favorite which probably influences my opinion(s).

[bellbottoms]

It’s been said a lot, and will be continue to be said, that the title of the second track on 15BO is an apt descriptor of the entire album. That song itself is, in fact, OK, in the context of the BB’s entire catalogue. And yet, ironically, it’s among the top 4 tracks on the album, along with Had to Phone Ya, That Same Song, and Susie Cincinnati.

The other originals:

Everyone’s in Love With You - I can’t stand it.

TM Song - see above

Back Home - I like it. I know there were a number of attempts at this song. This one turned out OK. I kind of prefer the Live at the Roxy version though.

As for the covers, I think the BB’s generally do covers well, but I find the selection of covers on 15BO to be uninspiring, except for a few. I think A Casual Look, Talk To Me/Tallahassee Lassie, and Palisades Park are all very good, and interesting to listen to. I couldn’t care less about Rock ‘n’ Roll Music and as much as I give Brian an E for effort on Chapel of Love, I can’t stand it either.

I cannot for the life of me make up my mind about Just Once In My Life. There is something deeply likeable about it, and yet also something kind of disturbing about it.

Dennis’ vocals on this album are hard to take. Brian’s are… present, and I guess I’m not taking any marks away for the quality of his vocals because I appreciate his “back in the saddle” presence. I like that he was getting synthy, because to me that shows that he was still trying to push forward using then-current technology, even if he wasn’t in a particularly inventive mode in terms of songwriting. That inventiveness was hemmed in, in my opinion, by the band’s reaction to Mount Vernon and Fairway a few years before.

Anyway… 6/10

[Kapitan]

I was excited to buy this twofer around 2000, having only just learned of the existence of a late-70s Brian Wilson resurgence within the group and Love You in particular. (I assume it was the Endless Harmony doc, though I'm not sure, where I heard of Brian is Back and heard something from Love You.)

And of course, to get to that, I had to go through this. Brian Wilson or not, it wasn't pleasant for a Smile-chaser like I was then. There was a kind of wicked delight in Love You, with its roller skating and Phil Spector and finding one's wife on Mars. This was just ... unfortunate.

Over time I came to appreciate some of the arrangements much more. I generally still don't like a lot of the covers. Or the originals. But I like some of each. There was a solid 5-to-7-song EP here, which probably would have been a more appropriate warmup for a returning Wilson. For me, "Rock and Roll Music," "It's OK," "Had to Phone Ya," "Back Home," "Susie Cincinnati," "Just Once in My Life," and maybe "That Same Song" (as dumb as it is) would have been plenty.

I do have to say, wouldn't it have been nice for the most famous vocal rock group in history to spend a little more time trying to sing in tune? Keep the croak on "Back Home," though. It's probably my favorite moment on the album.

5, I guess.

[Deleted]

Oct 25, 2019 12:09:41 GMT Sheriff John Stone said:

Wata you say?

In short, it's an album I like a lot - it might not have met fans' and critics' expectations to what to come after Holland and In Concert, but the sound here is Brian's very own. This is the music he could only make.

That being said, they could've certainly gone with different track list - to leave off songs like Sea Cruise, On Broadway, Shake Rattle and Roll and Mony Mony was a mistake. The same goes for Rock and Roll Music, which is presented in its worst version here.


My favorites are Everyone's in Love with You, That Same Song, A Casual Look, Susie Cincinnati and Just Once in My Life.


I'd rate it high 7/10.

[kds]

I'd written a response, but my server crashed.

5

For all the renewed interest in the band from Endless Summer and the hype of "Brian's Back," the best The Beach Boys could offer was a collection of half covers which vary from pretty good to dreadful and half originals which also range from pretty good to dreadful. This steep drop in quality from Holland three years previously pretty much sealed The Beach Boys fate as a nostalgia act, far earlier than many of their peers.

[lonelysummer]

My first instinct upon hearing this sometime in the 00's was to dislike it. If I go from Holland and The Beach Boys in Concert to 15 Big Ones, it sounds pretty bad. Here they were, moving forward with mature sounding material, then Endless Summer comes out, and suddenly everybody wants them to be the Beach Boys of 1964-65. Except they aren't. Dennis now has this rough, Joe Cocker type voice, and Brian? Man, Brian really wrecked his voice - on purpose? Even Carl sounds pretty weak on this album. But if I approach it understanding the circumstances it was recorded under, it's actually not bad. Far from their best, though. I just can't help believing that if they had come out with a Beach Boys Today/Summer Days type album in terms of quality, their chart comeback could have lasted a little longer.

[Sheriff John Stone]

Woulda/shoulda/coulda...Woulda/shouda/coulda...Woulda/coulda/shoulda...

Reprise was so involved in the final configurations of previous Beach Boys' albums like Sunflower, Surf's Up, Holland, and In Concert. Why were they silent when it came to 15 Big Ones? We could spend several pages just discussing the concept that eventually became the 15 Big Ones album, but forget that. If none of The Beach Boys were going to step forward and take a stand, or management wasn't going to step forward (no surprise there), why didn't somebody from Reprise listen to the final album that was submitted and say "No". Just "No".

I was a newbie in 1976, and 15 Big Ones was my first NEW Beach Boys' album. But listening to the album the first time, midway through Side 2, I knew this album was gonna be a problem. The fans were not going to like this. Post-Pet Sounds, this group just could not give the fans what they wanted. And when they kind of tried, they could no longer pull it off. There was always something in the way. A flaw or flaws. A lack of judgement. Some stubbornness. And that's the story of 15 Big Ones.

15 Big Ones has two major problems, emphasis on major - the tracklist and the lead vocals. The fifteen songs that were eventually, finally decided on were, like most Beach Boys' albums, not the best ones available. And, like most Beach Boys' albums, just substituting a song or two or three would've made a world of difference. In reading the posts above, there's obviously a difference of opinion. That's a little surprising. In my opinion, there are too many ballads and not enough rock & roll. Take out the boring "Talk To Me" and "A Casual Look", and add rockers like "Sea Cruise", "Peggy Sue", or "Come Go With Me", and the album immediately has more energy, more spirit, and better songs! Take out one original, either "Everyone's In Love With You" or "TM Song", and add "Good Timin" and instantly it's a more Beach Boyish album - and a better album.

The second problem, the lead vocals, was a more difficult problem to address. They could've done fifty takes and you would've still been confronted with the cocaine-scorched, cigarette-ravaged voices of Brian and Dennis Wilson. You weren't going to change that (although it has been written that Brian has laryngitis during some of his vocal takes). So what do you do? Eliminate Brian and Dennis from the album? No, but I would've featured Carl and Al more, and Dennis sounds more suited to "Sea Cruise" than "In The Still Of The Night". Just by listening to his lead vocals, you can hear that Brian was really trying. However, he was just obliterating some of the tracks. His tag on "Had To Phone Ya" had to be so off-putting to long-time BW fans. It was/is to me. Even more frustrating was "Just Once In My Life". Brian produced this magnificent backing track, and Carl sings his heart out, then Brian jumps in with his wince-inducing, off-key vocal. Very frustrating.

There are plenty of positives to this album. I always considered 15 Big Ones to be Brian's quasi-Phil Spector, quasi-rock & roll album. The hell with George Gershwin and Walt Disney . Phil Spector was the guy in Brian's heart, in his psyche. I'll bet Brian really enjoyed producing these tracks. It is seldom mentioned, but The Wrecking Crew is all over this album in addition to two Phil Spector covers. I love Brian's 1976 Wall Of Sound. He could still produce and arrange. And, even though there are too many ballads, the ballads ARE rock and roll, taken directly from the Doo-wop era. Yes, there are traces of rock & roll/Spector/vintage Brian Wilson - just not enough, and just not consistently.

Again, Brian couldn't get the vocal performances out of the guys like he did in the past, and again, due to physical reasons, he had a legitimate excuse. But I think Brian came up with some quality arrangements, both vocally and instrumentally. That's what salvages 15 Big Ones. There's no doubt that 15 Big Ones is a legitimate Brian Wilson production. It's quirky, summer-y, youthful in places, questionable in others, and there are certain touches that only Brian could come up with. I sometimes fantasize about adding The Beach Boys' 1965-66 vocals to the 15 Big Ones' backing tracks. I wonder if Brian was trying to do the same thing?

Songs that I like? "It's OK" is an all-timer with me. Brian DID pull that one off. Not many BB songs have such a positive, sing-along feeling. The chorus is spectacular! "Palisades Park" is flawless. This is the best version of "Back Home"; the lyrics are perfect for this album. "Susie Cincinnati" is a questionable addition (an old, previously released Al track?), but it works; much needed fast rock & roll. It took me a long time to appreciate "Just Once In My Life". Brian's vocal affected my enjoyment of the song, but the baking track and Carl's vocal won me over.

I already mentioned the songs that I don't care for which are most of the ballads. "TM Song" has potential. It's almost a three-part suite! But how many BB fans really appreciated that song? After Endless Summer and Spirit Of America? And that was the biggest problem - 15 Big Ones had to follow Endless Summer and Spirit Of America. I think that Brian really wanted to please the fans, really wanted to give them a good old Beach Boys' album. Brian didn't have to produce another Pet Sounds or SMiLE - yet. Just give the fans a lot of rock & roll, a lot of fun, a lot of summer, and some heart-breaking ballads. But it just wasn't in him at that time, at least not completely. He was just too quirky, maybe a little stubborn, and probably used some questionable judgement. Did he choose the best version of "Rock And Roll Music"? Was he aware how bad some of the vocals sounded? Did he choose the fifteen best songs? The sequencing is terrible. All of those ballads on Side 2? It was 1965's Beach Boys Today! anymore. A Mike song and an Al song but no Dennis song? So many unanswered questions.

This is a very difficult album to rate. I can remember doing a lot of picking up the needle/tone arm and moving it around. Today I'm able to listen all the way through, most of the time anyway. It's just so uneven, so inconsistent. The best part of 15 Big Ones? So much music. 15 tracks? Loved that. That was a welcomed change for the group. If you don't like one song, the next one might be better. Like one, hate one. One rocks, the next one is boring. Brian sounds so bad but so emotive at the same time. I could go one. This album STILL stirs up a lot of emotions in me. The 15 Big Ones/Love You 2fer is probably my most played BB CD. How about a 6.5? A 6 on a grouchy day, a 7 on a happy day.  

[Sheriff John Stone]

In the summer of 1976, a few high school friends and I drove to the Jersey shore with this blaring in the car:

[Sheriff John Stone]

The summer of 1976 was a very exciting time to be a fan. A new Brian Wilson-produced Beach Boys' album. "Rock And Roll Music" was a Top 5 single. A few high-profile TV appearances from Brian and the group. And this cover story from a very popular magazine:

www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiAyM_Ys7rlAhVmh-AKHQM3DWUQjB16BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpeople.com%2Farchive%2Fcover-story-the-beach-boys-hang-15-vol-6-no-8%2F&psig=AOvVaw2vHJ5GNaUDDjBaXGmfeazP&ust=1572195422312678

[Sheriff John Stone]

An alternate 15 Big Ones album cover :

[Sheriff John Stone]

Brian and Mike:

[Sheriff John Stone]

As 1976 approached, Brian and The Beach Boys were on top of the music world. They were important again: