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Post by B.E. on May 21, 2023 14:03:05 GMT
Every studio track released in the 1980s credited to the Beach Boys. I think I got them all.
Voting is open!
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Post by B.E. on May 21, 2023 14:09:45 GMT
Yes, the total output of the 1980s (37 tracks) is nearly identical to that of 1965 (36 tracks). In terms of quantity, of course, not quality.
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Post by Kapitan on May 21, 2023 15:02:21 GMT
Ooh, interesting topic to vote on. But not one I'm enthused about. Interested, not enthused. (I don't know whether I'll find 10 I even like. This was not the decade for me.)
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 21, 2023 15:59:29 GMT
This was tough. 1 through 8 was easy, 9 and 10 was not. It was a lot like my voting on the previous thread, but for entirely different reasons. This is how I rank them, but feel free to take exception. I already do:
1. Where I Belong 2. California Dreamin' 3. Getcha Back 4. Sunshine 5. Livin' With A Heartache 6. Santa Ana Winds 7. Somewhere Near Japan 8. Goin' On 9. Keepin' The Summer Alive 10. California Calling
Almost made the cut: - Some Of Your Love - She Believes In Love Again - Oh Darlin' - Actually, that wouldn't make a bad The Beach Boys - Best Of The 80s comp, but there's a significant drop-off after those 10 or 13.
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Post by B.E. on May 21, 2023 20:09:09 GMT
Actually, that wouldn't make a bad The Beach Boys - Best Of The 80s comp, but there's a significant drop-off after those 10 or 13.
That's not a bad idea. I think I could really use a Best of the 80s compilation. After making my picks, I might try to sequence one for myself.
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Post by kds on May 22, 2023 12:54:31 GMT
Goin On Santa Ana Winds
Getcha Back It's Getting Late Maybe I Don't Know California Callin'
California Dreamin'
Somewhere Near Japan Island Girl Kokomo
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Post by Kapitan on May 24, 2023 17:41:13 GMT
Obviously the '80s aren't generally regarded as a high point for the Beach Boys either commercially or artistically (shhh, don't tell Mike Love that for most people, "Kokomo" alone can't define the decade as a high point!), but even so I am a little surprised at how little action this week's poll is getting. After all, as lonelysummer said recently, we debate things like MIU all the time, and that's not exactly Pet Sounds, either. Maybe the voting is going along normal lines, but just in terms of posts, there are very few so far. Halfway through the week, this thread has 1/6 as many replies as the songs of 1965; 1/8 as many as album openers; 1/10 as many as album closers; and 1/14 as many as album covers! Yet here I am without a lot to say, either, so I get it. I did end up picking 10 songs, because I could vote on the 10 I like best, even if I am not entirely sure I'd say I like all 10 of these much at all. My first thought was, I don't really like most of these! I went back to check my Top 100 Beach Boys songs from that great thread Sheriff John Stone started, and unless I'm missing something, only one of them made my Top 100: "Livin' With a Heartache," at #57. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I should give my choices. In order of appearance on the list, they are: "Keepin the Summer Alive" "Oh Darlin" "Some Of Your Love" "Livin With a Heartache" "She Believes in Love Again" "Where I Belong" "California Dreamin" "Somewhere Near Japan" "Kokomo" "Wipeout" How many of these do I love? Zero. How many do I really like? "Livin..." and ... that might be it. I mean, I kinda like something about all of them, but I'm not sure I REALLY, fully, unabashedly like any of the rest. It's more this melody, that vocal, those harmonies. The '80s just were not a good decade for the Beach Boys' studio output when it comes to my taste. (But better than the '90s.)
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Post by kds on May 24, 2023 18:24:38 GMT
Were the 1980s a great decade for The Beach Boys, from an artistic standpoint? No, and I think it would be hard to argue any other way.
At their best, we got a taste of some of those classic harmonies and some feel good 80s sounding pop songs. But, and I admittedly owe some of thing to a nostalgia for childhood, I've really warmed up to those 80s pop sounds in the last decade or so (not limited to The Beach Boys). So, especially this time of year as we enter Summertime, I really enjoy hearing songs like Getcha Back, Kokomo, It's Gettin' Late, and California Dreamin.
I think it's partly because most of my vivid childhood memories of the 80s seem to center around Summertime, that I associate this era of Beach Boys music with summer maybe even more so than their classic era. Their 1985 album in particular makes me feel those warm breezes, so I really enjoy it for that reason, even with all the synths and drum machines.
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Post by lonelysummer on May 24, 2023 19:17:38 GMT
I don't have a problem with the quality of the 80's material; there's just not a lot of it. I tried to do a Ten Years of Harmony for the 80's, but it's really hard to make a double album of it, unless I add in 70's tracks that didn't make the 1981 comp. So what I came up with was something like this: Slip On Through Tears in the Morning (I know, I know...) All I Wanna Do Forever Our Sweet Love Student Demonstration Time (yeah, shoot me) All This is That Cuddle Up Only With You Funky Pretty We Got Love (live version) Honkin' Down the Highway Sweet Sunday Kind of Love Full Sail Angel Come Home Keepin' the Summer Alive Livin' With a Heartache Runaway (mainly because it's a rarity) Chasin' the Sky (ditto) Getcha Back It's Gettin' Late Maybe I Don't Know California Calling Where I Belong Rock 'N' Roll to the Rescue California Dreamin' Wipe Out (I hate it, but it was a hit) Kokomo Still Cruisin Somewhere Near Japan Island Girl
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 24, 2023 20:03:13 GMT
I think there is a distinct dip in the quality of the music because of one reason - Brian Wilson gave us very few outstanding (great?) moments. Keepin' The Summer Alive was OK but ultimately disappointing, The Beach Boys was worse, and Still Cruisin' was a confusing mess. Of course we got nothing from Dennis, so without your two best songwriters, yeah, there's gonna be a distinct drop in quality. That being said, as I alluded to earlier in my above post, if you just took the cream of the crop, maybe the top 13 songs or so, you still could come up with a respectable and enjoyable comp:
The Beach Boys - Goin' On- The Best Of The 80s
Side 1
1. Keepin' The Summer Alive
2. Some Of Your Love 3. Oh Darlin' 4. Sunshine 5. Santa Ana Winds 6. Somewhere Near Japan
Side 2 1. Goin' On 2. Livin' With A Heartache 3. California Dreamin' 4. Getcha Back 5. California Calling 6. Where I Belong 7. She Believes In Love Again
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Post by Kapitan on May 24, 2023 20:10:27 GMT
I think there is a distinct dip in the quality of the music because of one reason - Brian Wilson gave us very few outstanding (great?) moments. Keepin' The Summer Alive was OK but ultimately disappointing, The Beach Boys was worse, and Still Cruisin' was a confusing mess. Of course we got nothing from Dennis, so without your two best songwriters, yeah, there's gonna be a distinct drop in quality. Not to mention, your best songwriter released a solo album that included several of his best songs of that decade, so they're not eligible for this thread! I know you specifically weren't as high on the songs of '88 as much as some, but I have to think at least 4-5 of those songs would have made my list of 10 of the decade.
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Post by kds on May 24, 2023 20:14:31 GMT
I think there is a distinct dip in the quality of the music because of one reason - Brian Wilson gave us very few outstanding (great?) moments. Keepin' The Summer Alive was OK but ultimately disappointing, The Beach Boys was worse, and Still Cruisin' was a confusing mess. Of course we got nothing from Dennis, so without your two best songwriters, yeah, there's gonna be a distinct drop in quality. Not to mention, your best songwriter released a solo album that included several of his best songs of that decade, so they're not eligible for this thread! I know you specifically weren't as high on the songs of '88 as much as some, but I have to think at least 4-5 of those songs would have made my list of 10 of the decade. I'm not quite as high on BW88 as some fans, but I'll at least admit most of the material on that album is better than Brian's Beach Boys contributions of the 80s.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 24, 2023 20:29:52 GMT
Not to mention, your best songwriter released a solo album that included several of his best songs of that decade, so they're not eligible for this thread! I know you specifically weren't as high on the songs of '88 as much as some, but I have to think at least 4-5 of those songs would have made my list of 10 of the decade. I'm not quite as high on BW88 as some fans, but I'll at least admit most of the material on that album is better than Brian's Beach Boys contributions of the 80s. I definitely would include "Love And Mercy" and seriously consider "Let It Shine". And since we're talking solo songs, I would have to include Carl's "Heaven" and maybe one from Youngblood.
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Post by Kapitan on May 24, 2023 20:43:37 GMT
I'd absolutely have to include Melt Away, There's So Many, and Walkin the Line from '88. (And maybe a few others, such as L&M, Let It Shine, and Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight, I'd just have to think about it.) And now that you mentioned Carl, I'd at least include Heaven, too, if we were going that route.
And that's just as they are. Had they been BEACH BOYS versions? Those and more could easily make the list.
I suppose that shows why the actual list is so underwhelming. Many songs at least as good found homes elsewhere.
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Post by lonelysummer on May 25, 2023 1:58:45 GMT
Ten Years of Harmony included "River Song", so there's no reason a similar comp for the 80's couldn't include a few Brian and Carl songs.
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