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Post by Kapitan on Dec 27, 2021 13:04:20 GMT
(Procedural note: the wiki Beach Boys discography shows a third and final single from Keepin the Summer Alive, "Oh Darlin" backed with another release of "Endless Harmony." I think based on AGD's site that this was a UK-only single, or at least that it excluded the US. It did not chart, and one of its two songs was already released as a B-side recently, so I am choosing to proceed to the next US+worldwide single.)
The early '80s were by most accounts not great for the Beach Boys. However "back" Brian had been a few years earlier, he was more or less gone again by this point. Dennis was generally absent and unwell. Keepin the Summer Alive was not particularly successful, peaking at #75 in the US. And by 1981, unsatisfied with the band, Carl took a leave of absence to work on a solo career.
In this context in July 1981, a medley of Beach Boys hits edited together by John Palladino, a famed engineer known in part for cutting radio edits to longer songs. It was a version of this skill he used to combine eight Beach Boys hits--"Good Vibrations," "Help Me, Rhonda," "I Get Around," "Shut Down," "Surfin Safari," "Barbara Ann," "Surfin USA" and "Fun Fun Fun" into this 4:05 single.
The concept apparently drew on a then-popular studio group Stars on 45, who initially edited together other artists' music without permission but later re-recorded the music into dance mix medleys. (Stars on 45 was organized by Jaap Eggermont, formerly of Golden Earring.)
Despite no apparent involvement from the band, the "Beach Boys Medley" was a hit in several English speaking countries, including #12 in the US and peaking at #4 in New Zealand. It was their biggest hit in five years ("Rock and Roll Music, #5).
The B-side was "God Only Knows."
Please discuss and rate "Beach Boys Medley."
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 27, 2021 13:40:01 GMT
Back in 1981, this single caught me totally off-guard. I was sulking and depressed at how the Beach Boys' popularity had consistently sank (sunk?) since 1976. The albums didn't sell and the singles, while actually not that bad, couldn't break on through either. Keepin' The Summer Alive came and went with barely a whimper. Carl was on hiatus from the band, Brian was ballooning physically again, and Dennis was on a downward spiral. The group was arguably at an all-time low and guess what? They had a hit single! Go figure.
I remember the summer of 1981 and this song was everywhere. Obviously I was happy about that, but there was always something about the medley that I found lacking. I can't quite pinpoint it. I think the song selections were fine, but I do think it could've been edited better. Regardless, although the songs were pushing 15-20 years old, they still sounded fresh on the radio. People will never get tired of these songs. They're that good.
Actually, "God Only Knows" wasn't a bad choice as the B-side. It was the best of both worlds. Maybe - maybe - "Surfer Girl" would've worked, too, as the B-side, but I have no problem with "God Only Knows". At that time (1981), I don't think "God Only Knows" (or Pet Sounds) was as familiar as it would become.
As usual, The Beach Boys' record company was a month (or more) late in releasing a particular single. "The Beach Boys Medley" would've been even bigger had it been released on Memorial Day. This is a tough one to rate. Most of the medley's songs are 9-10, and "God Only Knows" is obviously a 10. But the single was a gimmick. It's almost like a re-release of previous songs. How about a conservative 7?
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 27, 2021 13:53:04 GMT
I'm curious how involved any of the Beach Boys were in this single, and in what respect. Obviously none of them did the actual editing, but there's nothing unusual about that. Even on an edit suggestion in the studio, an artist (or producer) would typically suggest it ... an engineer would do it.
But was the single someone in the band's idea, capitalizing on the apparent medley craze? Did they suggest the songs? Or was it more a corporate sign-off kind of thing? I could imagine Bruce or Mike having been involved, but that's purely based on what I know of them generally, not specific information. And I assume none of the Wilsons had anything to do with it beyond whatever required approval was necessary for its release--again on general knowledge, not specific information.
Has there ever been a candid interview about this? Not like a contemporaneous 15-second chat on Dick Clark where Mike says some nonsense about he and Brian coming up with the idea or whatever, or a Landy-penned Brian statement about having decided he'd head to the studio to do an edit for the Boys, but an actual, seemingly true interview? (To be clear, those two "examples" were fictional of the sort of thing I want to avoid. As far as I know, neither is real.)
It doesn't matter as far as the quality of the single itself who thought of it or who sliced the tape. Just curious, in terms of the context of where the band was at the time. Which was kind of nowhere at all...
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 27, 2021 14:05:39 GMT
I have absolutely no knowledge regarding your question(s), but if I had to guess, I don't think The Beach Boys had anything to do with the single. I figured it was simply Capitol Records jumping on the "medley bandwagon" and, again, milking the back catalogue.
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Post by lonelysummer on Dec 27, 2021 21:36:09 GMT
The Stars on 45 medley of (mostly) Beatles songs was all over radio in early 1981. I have to say, whoever those guys were, they did a superb job of replicating the sounds of those Beatles songs. So it was only natural that it would become a mini-fad. There was also a Creedence Clearwater Revival "Medley USA", but I don't recall it getting any airplay. Near the end of 1982 (typically late), RCA released "The Elvis Medley", that got a lot of airplay on our local AC. First time I heard "The Beach Boys Medley", I was impressed at the skillful editing. I enjoyed it at the time; these days, I prefer to hear the original recordings. Still, it got the group a much needed hit, so in that respect, I'm glad it came out. A couple side notes: I remember seeing a Dick Clark Bandstand anniversary show where the Beach Boys performed/lip-synched the medley; Brian, looking extremely obese, mimed Carl's lead vocal on "Good Vibrations". Ouch! I felt very sad for the guys at that point. I remember one Sunday in the summer of 81, waking up to some countdown show on a Seattle station, and they were playing Carl's "Heaven". I'd been hearing it regularly on one of our AOR stations, but I had no idea it was charting as a single. The same countdown also featured "The Beach Boys Medley". I believe it was also this summer that Capitol reissued Pet Sounds as "A Capitol Value" - that was when I got my copy. Tower Records, $3.99. Hard to believe there was ever a time when PS was out of print. What can I say about the b-side? Perfection. I'm thinking like the Sheriff; this might not be a single I would choose to play now, but I'll give it a 7 for the editing, for getting the guys a hit, and for the b-side.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 28, 2021 0:45:53 GMT
A couple side notes: I remember seeing a Dick Clark Bandstand anniversary show where the Beach Boys performed/lip-synched the medley; Brian, looking extremely obese, mimed Carl's lead vocal on "Good Vibrations". Ouch! I felt very sad for the guys at that point.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 28, 2021 13:39:54 GMT
Such a strange thing to lip sync a medley of old songs. Wow, you guys suddenly sound like you're 25 years old again, it's magical...
(I have never really understood the lip syncing policies of old music shows. I know in some cases--BBC?--it was at least partially related to union rules. I wonder whether most artists preferred or disliked it. Obviously it helped some keep their incompetence covered, but for others it must have been such a drag.)
While I'm glad the medley did well (I guess? Actually maybe not really...), and obviously I love most of those songs, I can't pretend to like it. I just don't like it.
It is funny hearing this, though. My understanding is these sorts of medley mixes were basically intended for dance mixes. In modern versions, you'd alter speeds and lay everything over a cohesive drum (machine) track to give it a consistent beat and more a dance feel. I don't necessarily think of these as dance-floor favorites, and they aren't turned into them for these purposes. It would have been more interesting to me--though almost certainly still not something I'd want to hear--if the group had this idea and actually recorded new medley, whether in the old format or a dance version a la latter-day "HCTN."
I'm tempted to give it a 3 or 4, but I'm holding off in case my outlook improves.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 28, 2021 14:50:41 GMT
It must've been frustrating for the group, kind of a "go figure" feeling, when singles like "The Beach Boys Medley" became a hit. The group's singles from Love You and M.I.U. Album tanked. Then, the Beach Boys signed with CBS/Caribou and, in my opinion, released a string of pretty good singles from L.A. (Light Album) and Keepin' The Summer Alive - and, yes, I'm including "Here Comes The Night". "Good Timin'" reached a respectable #40 on the Billboard charts, but they couldn't sniff a Top Ten hit. Then, "The Beach Boys Medley" comes out of nowhere and reaches #12 (#8 on cash Box). And - and - that led to releasing "Come Go With Me" which reached #18.
As a BB nut/diehard in 1981, on one hand you were happy that the band was on the radio again and having some singles' success, but it wasn't really the TYPE of success you - and I guess the band - were expecting or, frankly, wanting. And, after a flurry of albums (five in five years), it would be another five years (and significant changes) before we got another one.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 28, 2021 15:16:26 GMT
As a BB nut/diehard in 1981, on one hand you were happy that the band was on the radio again and having some singles' success, but it wasn't really the TYPE of success you - and I guess the band - were expecting or, frankly, wanting.
Exactly. I mean, not that I was one of those die-hards in 1981. (My taste at the time leaned toward the Muppets, Bugs Bunny, etc., since I was 5 years old. Though I did like Endless Summer by then!) But even in hindsight, there's a part of me that's happy for them. But another part is sad for them. It's like a twisted irony. You want a hit? Great, here is a hit that someone else made out of your old hits: now go promote what you did 15-20 years ago as if it's what really excites you right now.
It isn't hard to understand why someone like Carl; or a few years earlier, a healthier Dennis; or a few years earlier than that, a healthier Brian; might get frustrated in that situation. You want to be popular, but you want what you're doing NOW to be popular. You aren't exactly hoping you'll forever be remembered for having peaked at age 23 or whatever.
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Post by kds on Dec 28, 2021 21:36:51 GMT
On the material alone, this borders on a nine or ten.
But, given the cut and paste approach from someone outside the band, I can't rate it that highly.
I'll go...seven.
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Post by lonelysummer on Dec 29, 2021 2:30:32 GMT
Such a strange thing to lip sync a medley of old songs. Wow, you guys suddenly sound like you're 25 years old again, it's magical...
(I have never really understood the lip syncing policies of old music shows. I know in some cases--BBC?--it was at least partially related to union rules. I wonder whether most artists preferred or disliked it. Obviously it helped some keep their incompetence covered, but for others it must have been such a drag.)
While I'm glad the medley did well (I guess? Actually maybe not really...), and obviously I love most of those songs, I can't pretend to like it. I just don't like it.
It is funny hearing this, though. My understanding is these sorts of medley mixes were basically intended for dance mixes. In modern versions, you'd alter speeds and lay everything over a cohesive drum (machine) track to give it a consistent beat and more a dance feel. I don't necessarily think of these as dance-floor favorites, and they aren't turned into them for these purposes. It would have been more interesting to me--though almost certainly still not something I'd want to hear--if the group had this idea and actually recorded new medley, whether in the old format or a dance version a la latter-day "HCTN."
I'm tempted to give it a 3 or 4, but I'm holding off in case my outlook improves.
The first medleys of this type I recall hearing were Motown artists. I would be waiting for a bus after school, and some bar in the area would be blasting out medleys of Supremes hits, Four Tops. I liked them and was surprised how well they worked. IIRC, some of them turned up on a series of Motown "Superstars" albums.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 29, 2021 13:25:03 GMT
Were those Motown mixes prior to the Stars on 45 tracks? That's interesting.
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Post by jk on Dec 29, 2021 13:46:20 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 29, 2021 20:47:02 GMT
Sorry for fans of it, but I've gone with a 3. My reasoning:
The A-side is my focus, I tend not to equally rate both sides. The reason for that is, the A-side is the featured track. And in this case, it's the only "new" track (using that term loosely). And I have no interest whatsoever in this single. I just don't enjoy it. It was a skillful edit, I suppose, for the time, but it doesn't seem particularly impressive in light of how technology has advanced--and that's if I wanted there to be a good a version of this, which I don't. I don't like the genre itself. I don't see the point of it. It is akin to if you gave me the greatest EDM track of all time: I just am very unlikely to enjoy it. I don't see this as enjoyable despite liking the majority of the raw material quite a bit.
The B-side is obviously an all-timer, but it seems to me wasted on the A-side. And, oh yeah, it's 15 years old and re-released for no real reason as far as I can see. If nothing else, couldn't they have used something unreleased, like "Goin to the Beach"? So even though I love the song/recording itself, I don't like its inclusion here.
So, yeah. 3. There's a better-than-average chance I'll never intentionally listen to this again unless there is some dry reason to do so. It won't be for pleasure.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 29, 2021 22:39:26 GMT
Sorry for fans of it, but I've gone with a 3. My reasoning:
The A-side is my focus, I tend not to equally rate both sides. The reason for that is, the A-side is the featured track. And in this case, it's the only "new" track (using that term loosely). And I have no interest whatsoever in this single. I just don't enjoy it. It was a skillful edit, I suppose, for the time, but it doesn't seem particularly impressive in light of how technology has advanced--and that's if I wanted there to be a good a version of this, which I don't. I don't like the genre itself. I don't see the point of it. It is akin to if you gave me the greatest EDM track of all time: I just am very unlikely to enjoy it. I don't see this as enjoyable despite liking the majority of the raw material quite a bit.
The B-side is obviously an all-timer, but it seems to me wasted on the A-side. And, oh yeah, it's 15 years old and re-released for no real reason as far as I can see. If nothing else, couldn't they have used something unreleased, like "Goin to the Beach"? So even though I love the song/recording itself, I don't like its inclusion here.
So, yeah. 3. There's a better-than-average chance I'll never intentionally listen to this again unless there is some dry reason to do so. It won't be for pleasure.
I see your points, but I'm still a little surprised you went that low. I thought it at least got a point for being...successful...in getting the guys back on the radio. Or, maybe you did include a point for that...
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