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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 27, 2020 3:34:17 GMT
It's definitely my most disappointing album - no Brian after three albums of a lot of Brian.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 27, 2020 3:38:22 GMT
Most overrated song: Baby Blue After "Good Timin", it's my favorite song on the album. What don't you like about it?
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Post by jk on Mar 27, 2020 11:04:42 GMT
Most underrated song: "The Shift". I wrote this 15 years ago but my opinion hasn't changed a jot since then:
"I have often wondered why no-one (to my knowledge) has ever mentioned 'The Shift' (first album, final track) as a pointer to the future. Most reviews quickly dismiss it as 'a fashion statement by Brian and Mike' or words to that effect. On the face of it, the main tune is a 12-bar blues (I I I I IV IV I I V IV I V). However, Brian 'shifts' the key up a whole tone in bar 3 and back down again in bar 12 (in Carl's solo too). As far as I know this is unique--no-one else has ever done this. Still, we're talking about Brian Wilson so perhaps it's not so surprising after all."
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Post by kds on Mar 27, 2020 13:35:59 GMT
Favorite album: Pet Sounds, Today! Least Favorite album: LA, Smiley Smile Most overrated album: Surf's Up, CATP Most Underrated Album: All Summer Long, BB85 Favorite song: California Girls, From There to Back Again Least Favorite song: Mona, Goin' South Most overrated song: A Day in the Life of a Tree, Baby Blue Most underrated song: It's Gettin' Late, Spring Vacation From There to Back Again Nice
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Mar 27, 2020 15:57:29 GMT
I'm actually a little surprised to see All Summer Long mentioned a few times now as being underrated. Don't most Beach Boys fans rank it pretty highly among the pre-1966 albums?
My pre-1966 Beach Boys ranking list, in order from favourite to least favourite:
1. All Summer Long 2. Summer Days and Summer Nights 3. Today! 4. Surfer Girl 5. Christmas Album 6. Little Deuce Coupe 7. Shut Down V2 8. Party! 9. Surfin' USA 10. Surfin Safari
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 27, 2020 16:14:32 GMT
I'm actually a little surprised to see All Summer Long mentioned a few times now as being underrated. Don't most Beach Boys fans rank it pretty highly among the pre-1966 albums? Probably, but I think in terms of overall albums, it (in my opinion) gets the short shrift. Several of the songs are beloved--even with the general public--but the album seems to slip.
Plus I don't think making that designation of pre-66 helps if we're doing this. I'd say that overall, the albums I've most often seen on message boards as most beloved are along the lines of:
Pet Sounds Today Smile
Sunflower SDSN Friends
Love You
And then there's a lot of swapping things in and out from whatever period. Obviously every individual's list is pretty unique, but this seems ROUGHLY to be consensus. At least to my observation, ASL doesn't seem to get put among the top 10 as often as it ought to.
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Post by kds on Mar 27, 2020 16:18:55 GMT
I tend to agree with KAP. From what I've seen on various BB fan forums over the years, I feel like the 1962-1964 era of The Beach Boys is more acknowledged for great singles than the albums themselves.
To me, the overall quality of songs on ASL, SDV2, and Surfer Girl is right there, if not better than, Friends, Sunflower, and Holland, yet the latter three tend to get more love.
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bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
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Post by bellbottoms on Mar 27, 2020 16:22:10 GMT
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 27, 2020 16:25:29 GMT
I think generally speaking, the pre-1966 albums aren't discussed as much, ranked as highly, and it some cases, taken as seriously as the post-1965 albums, and for good reasons. In a lot of cases it's warranted. We've discussed this subject on other threads, but those 1962-65 albums are short, contain several instrumentals, contain filler, and, especially among Beach Boys' fans, are viewed with "what if" feelings based on some of the tracks that were left off. A couple of hit singles can only go so far in "making" good albums.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 27, 2020 16:39:21 GMT
Maybe we're just an odd group... That's a given!
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 27, 2020 16:40:00 GMT
I think generally speaking, the pre-1966 albums aren't discussed as much, ranked as highly, and it some cases, taken as seriously as the post-1965 albums, and for good reasons. In a lot of cases it's warranted. We've discussed this subject on other threads, but those 1962-65 albums are short, contain several instrumentals, contain filler, and, especially among Beach Boys' fans, are viewed with "what if" feelings based on some of the tracks that were left off. A couple of hit singles can only go so far in "making" good albums. I totally agree with this, which is why I don't necessarily agree with KDS's last post. But I do think that ASL is a really, really good album, maybe their first great one. Imperfect but damn good.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 27, 2020 16:52:55 GMT
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Post by kds on Mar 27, 2020 22:12:21 GMT
I never would have predicted this eight years ago, but that damn Spring Vacation is really grown on me.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 27, 2020 22:24:03 GMT
I never would have predicted this eight years ago, but that damn Spring Vacation is really grown on me. Me, too ... but only to a degree. I still hate what I hated about it. But I think I have found more good in it than I used to. (Oddly, some of the terrible lyrics are something I like more now, almost for their terribleness.) I could still do without it sounding in a spot so much like the Peter Hollens NPP song though.
EDIT: I still think those of you who think it is great or among the best are batshit crazy!
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 27, 2020 23:03:20 GMT
I never would have predicted this eight years ago, but that damn Spring Vacation is really grown on me.
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