|
Post by B.E. on Feb 25, 2020 1:17:08 GMT
I think their group photos went downhill fast, though, post-1976. It's like you've said, if they put in more effort, maybe things could have been different. It's just that their margin of error was very small as they aged and they failed to establish a consistent image of the group to project (not to mention deliver the goods, musically). They were just too dysfunctional.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 25, 2020 1:22:47 GMT
I think their group photos went downhill fast, though, post-1976. It's like you've said, if they put in more effort, maybe things could have been different. It's just that their margin of error was very small as they aged and they failed to establish a consistent image of the group to project (not to mention bring the goods, musically). They were just too dysfunctional. Think about this. 15 Big Ones was the last album where the group's photo appeared on the front cover, and that was 44 years ago!
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on Feb 25, 2020 1:42:59 GMT
I think their group photos went downhill fast, though, post-1976. It's like you've said, if they put in more effort, maybe things could have been different. It's just that their margin of error was very small as they aged and they failed to establish a consistent image of the group to project (not to mention bring the goods, musically). They were just too dysfunctional. Think about this. 15 Big Ones was the last album where the group's photo appeared on the front cover, and that was 44 years ago! I wonder if the group or their label ever seriously considered a group photo on the front cover during that period. I wouldn't be surprised if the answer was "no", for reasons discussed in this thread. It doesn't seem as though they had all that many photo shoots. There's that nice photo in the inner gatefold of Ten Years Of Harmony (though, it excludes Bruce).
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 26, 2020 22:02:00 GMT
I'm telling ya, the Beach Boys - or Capitol Records - drives me nuts. Yes, the front album cover photo is iconic, even though Dennis' foot is cut off! A great early period shot of the guys in their element; well, at least musically. The ocean waves, sand in their toes, the Pendleton shirts, and most importantly, the smiling faces of these handsome young surfers (if their fans only knew). And yet I wouldn't have used this photo on the front cover.
Now, you're probably labeling me a hypocrite right about now. Like I posted above, I would've used THIS photo on the Surfin' U.S.A. cover, which would've eliminated it for Surfer Girl. But, even if they didn't use this photo on Surfin' U.S.A., I think I might've gone another direction. Since the trend had been set to feature the new single title as the new album title, I think I might've gone with a cover featuring a surfer girl. And then, go with a nice group photo on the back cover, right where they have one.
Three quick things...Do you think they used that Surfin' Safari photo shoot enough - for three friggin' albums! Second, why in the world did they put almost an identical group photo on the front AND back of the album? Seriously, didn't ANYBODY raise the question - "Do you think we should change things up a bit and use a different photo on the back? And third, how about a photo like below.
I guess based on the great front cover I would give this one a higher grade, but that almost duplicate back cover photo (and again more black and white photos) really bothers me.
The Beach Boys - Surfer Girl
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Feb 26, 2020 22:46:07 GMT
I like this photo better than the previous album's, for sure. Yes, still staged, but as I said in earlier posts, it was those poses that seemed ridiculous before. This doesn't stand out as corny.
While putting a surfer girl on the cover would have made sense, I could also see why, as they were still a young and newish band, they wanted to show the guys. Maybe they could have incorporated both ... though Dennis and Mike probably would have required either sedatives or physical restraints to prevent an unruly competition for the lucky (or unlucky) model.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 27, 2020 18:44:37 GMT
As I mentioned above, it was obvious that The Beach Boys (under Capitol's direction?) were titling their early albums after their latest single. While Surfer Girl is an OK title, there were a couple of other ones that, in my opinion, would've been better. How about Catch A Wave, Your Summer Dream, or with a bit of a reach, Surfers Rule.
Also I found a picture of an Australian EP utilizing the surfer girl on the cover. I think they could've picked a better photo.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Feb 29, 2020 15:51:16 GMT
I feel basically the same way about the Little Deuce Coupe album cover as I do about the Surfin' U.S.A. album cover. While it displays a nice, colorful, appropriate photo - in this case an actual deuce coupe - I would've opted for a group photo or the group WITH a deuce coupe. The back cover...meh. Why all these black and white photos? This was 1963, not 1953! And, I'm still trying to figure out what I'm supposed to gather from that "half photo" on the left.
How about something like this, with David instead of Al and a deuce coupe instead of...whatever that car is :
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Feb 29, 2020 15:58:54 GMT
I like the layout design of this one: three columns (with the two vertical 32s sandwiching the three-row title), then the single wide column with the large font size band name and three rows of song titles above the single, same-width image.
What I don't much like is the image itself. And I have to note, it seems washed out yet again. None of the images from album covers yet have been sharp, bright images. Maybe it's the style of the times, I don't really know. But for such a prominent piece of the cover, it doesn't really jump out in a positive way for me.
|
|
bellbottoms
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 727
Likes: 201
|
Post by bellbottoms on Feb 29, 2020 16:56:03 GMT
I've never actually spent a lot of time ogling the LDC album cover, probably because I find it to be visually crowded. Plus I don't think the photo of the car is particularly interesting. The guys posing with a little deuce coupe, now that would have been perfect.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Mar 2, 2020 0:39:32 GMT
The LDC cover repeats the SUSA mistake. Neither are bad covers, but neither are distinct. They look like they could grace the cover of any surf (SUSA) or hot rod (LDC) album or comp.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 5, 2020 13:24:50 GMT
Going back to the Surfin' Safari album cover for a second, I came across some other photos that appear less staged... and with a blue sky!
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 6, 2020 13:29:59 GMT
The Beach Boys titling their first four albums after their current singles worked out in varying degrees from very good (Surfin' Safari) to good (Surfin' U.S.A.) to, in my opinion, only OK (Surfer Girl and Little Deuce Coupe). Now, with their fifth album, this concept was primed to work out the best so far with Fun, Fun, Fun. But nooooooooo, not with The Beach Boys and Capitol Records. No, they had a better idea, naming the album as a follow up to a Capitol Records' compilation album by Various Artists - and then recording a song (an instrumental no less) to match the album title.
And, even if they didn't choose Fun, Fun, Fun as the album title, there were still a couple of other songs on the album which would've been better than Shut Down - Volume 2 including The Warmth Of The Sun and Keep An Eye On Summer.
The album cover and photo is fine - for Little Deuce Coupe. Looking at the album cover and title, one would get the impression that this is another "car" album, but only a few songs actually fit that theme. Also, it looks like Capitol Records was running out of space on the back cover to advertise the previous Beach Boys' albums.
This would be my choice for the album cover and title:
The Beach Boys - Fun, Fun, Fun
or
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Mar 6, 2020 13:58:19 GMT
I don't know how the Beach Boys ever sold the California dream when their album covers all made it look like Seattle, with those grey skies in every photo.
I agree that neither the cover nor the title were very good. And I'd say the cover is 10x better than the title! Fun, Fun, Fun would have been a cool title, and left open plenty of cover photo options (maybe including something like what ended up happening with All Summer Long, a scrapbook of sorts with various pictures of the guys, the scenery, their girlfriends and wives, probably some cars and ocean shots).
|
|
|
Post by kds on Mar 7, 2020 14:34:29 GMT
Good picture for a very of the time cover, especially with the songs listed on the front.
Yeah, the title was a terrible idea, one of many.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Mar 7, 2020 14:45:12 GMT
especially with the songs listed on the front. I like that, too. I'm not sure why, either. I just think it's a cool touch.
|
|