Search - Beach Boys :: 20/20

Great Beach Boys record here, folks!

Annie Van Auken | 04/10/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's a damn shame that most of the Beach Boys original recordings are out of print. 20/20, like so many of their records, is quirky, often brilliant and endlessly listenable. The Beach Boys are the greatest American band ever -- hands down.For my money, every song on this record is a classic."

20/20 hindsight

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 04/20/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Original pressings of the Beach Boys 2/10/69 release of 20/20 (SKAO-133) are on CAPITOL's black with rainbow edge label. The title references the band's 20th release for that label (counting rehashes and the karoakeish STACK-O-TRACKS).



The LP is stored in a UNIPAK cover, a sort of gatefold affair that uses ¼ less paper. To access the disc, one opens this in normal fashion but then you must slide the record out from the spine to the left. A poor design in hindsight, for UNIPAKs either didn't have enough glue to hold the pocket together or an inattentive listener might separate the top piece when putting the LP away.



Inside we see on the left Brian hiding behind the first two lines of an eye chart. Tracks 1 and 2 are listed here; they just happen to be the only commercially successful songs in the set. Highest chart position for "Do It Again" (6/68), a hit from the previous summer, was #20 while Carl's cover of the Ronettes' "I Can Hear Music" (10/1/68) failed to reach that position.



Psychedelic guitar is prominent on Bruce's reworking of "Bluebirds Over The Mountain" (9/29/67 and 11/14/68). "Be With Me" (11/11/69) is a string-laced Dennis ballad. His "All I Want To Do" (11/21/68) is a cacophonous Mike track that includes an unusual fade. "The Nearest Faraway Place" (6/20/68) is a dreamy keyboards and strings Bruce instrumental.



Side Two begins with Al's "Cotton Fields" (11/18/68), a song he reworked in August of the following year and released as a single. The mellow "I Went To Sleep" (6/68) was a "new" Brian song. "Time To Get Alone" (autumn '68), a re-recorded SMILE session work, caused a family rift when Brian tried to produce it for a band later known as 3 Dog Night.



Dennis cribbed "Never Learn Not To Love" (9/11/68) from recent acquaintance Charles Manson, who threatened to murder him after instructions to use Charlie's original lyrics were ignored. Manson appeared soon after the LP's release intending to do just that, but Dennis thrashed him.



Brian's hymnlike "Our Prayer" (10/4/66 and autumn '68) and "Cabinessence" (late '66 and 11/20/68) were intended for the abortive SMILE project. It's said that Brian wrote the latter with Van Dyke Parks in his living room sandbox. It's a lovely track and closes out 20/20 quite nicely.



PROGRAM



SIDE ONE

[2:25] Do It Again

[2:36] I Can Hear Music

[2:53] Bluebirds Over The Mountain

[3:16] Be With Me

[2:02] All I Want To Do

[2:36] The Nearest Faraway Place



SIDE TWO

[2:18] Cotton Fields

[1:32] I Went To Sleep

[2:40] Time To Get Alone

[2:34] Never Learn Not To Love

[1:05] Our Prayer

[3:33] Cabinessence



TOTAL TIME: 29:30"