July
8, 2002, 8:45 a.m. Still
America’s Band(s)
The Beach Boys
today.
By Kevin M.
Cherry
he
Beach Boys have long been referred to as "America's Band." Unfortunately,
there are three acts currently touring that could lay claim to that title:
Brian Wilson, creative genius of the group, touring on his own; Mike Love's
Beach Boys, which also has longtime member Bruce Johnston; and Al Jardine's
Family and Friends Beach Band, in which Al — an original Beach Boy
— is joined by his sons and the daughters of Brian Wilson. The Family
and Friends band can be dismissed somewhat easily, at least in relation
to the other two. Al's contributions to the group were always on the peripherary
— with the exceptions of his lead vocal on "Help Me Ronda"
and suggesting to Brian Wilson that the band cover "Sloop John B."
So let's look more closely at the Beach Boys as represented by Brian and
Mike: We see two very different — but equally valid — visions
of the Beach Boys.
The Boys' first real
single was a simplistic, surfing-oriented rewrite of Chuck Berry's "Sweet
Little Sixteen." Most of their early songs continued in that vein
— songs about beaches, girls, and cars ("Surfin'," "Surfin'
USA," "Surfin' Safari," "Fun Fun Fun," "All
Summer Long," "I Get Around"). It was a phenomenally successful
formula: catchy and perfectly harmonized vocals, matched to upbeat and
danceable tunes. By the end of 1964 — two years into their career
— the Beach Boys had already had twelve top-40 hits. And the first
week of December saw the Concert album at the top of the charts,
with four other albums scattered among the top-200 sellers.
On December 23, 1964,
Brian Wilson decided to stop touring with the band and focus on studio
productions. The next album, The Beach Boys Today!, was a giant
leap forward — for them and for rock and roll in general. The second
side, especially, represented a progress on both musical and lyrical levels.
Songs like "Kiss Me Baby," "She Knows Me Too Well,"
and "Please Let Me Wonder" married youthful romantic dreams
with stunningly brilliant arrangements.
Yet it is the early,
upbeat hits of the Beach Boys that are most preserved in the current,
Mike Love-led incarnation of the band. And having seen the Boys in concert
on Sunday at Wolf Trap park in Vienna, Virginia (as well as on Good
Morning America Friday), the continuous performances have kept them
pretty sharp. One might quibble that without Brian, the Beach Boys are
not really the Beach Boys, but it must be remembered that Brian has not
been a touring member of the band since that December night in 1964. Of
far greater impact were the deaths of brothers Carl and Dennis Wilson
(in 1998 and 1983, respectively). Yet with Mike Love — the most recognizable
voice of the band, and lyricist of many of the early hits — as well
as Johnston, who has been a member since 1965, the Beach Boys are worthy
of the name.
This Beach Boys incarnation is proud of the early hits, drawing heavily
on the poppier — and more collaborative — works than on the
Brian-led productions. The band played for two full hours, and did 36
songs. Of Beach Boys songs — they covered "California Dreaming,"
"Back in the USSR," and others — all but three came from
the first four years of their career; in other words, about 90 percent
of their material came from the first tenth of their career. So yes, the
Wolf Trap performance was noteworthy for its relative lack of the Boys'
later material, but equally so for the enthusiasm and high spirits abounding
in the crowd. Love continues to be a master at managing a crowd. He made
jokes about apologizing for the suggestive title of "I Get Around":
"It should be I got around!" He and Bruce made cracks about
gangsta-rap, 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, Napster, and the young generation
not knowing what 45s were — "It has nothing to do with the NRA!"
The harmonies remained
tight, although they were aided by substantially younger bandmates who
could hit the higher notes. Standout performances included the rarely
played "Warmth of the Sun," the dedicated to Carl "God
Only Knows," and the Boys' best song, "Good Vibrations,"
which was introduced by a lengthy '60s reminiscence by Mike Love that
included a shot (or two) at a certain Arkansas-produced president. The
crowd was most excited for the danceable numbers, from the opening "Surfin'
Safari" to the show closing "Fun Fun Fun." With the exception
of "All Summer Long," they seemed to play all of their big hits; Mike introduced one
song by saying that it was a patriotic song, dedicated to people in uniform
— especially women in uniforms, cheerleader uniforms: "Be True
to Your School," for which Mike reached successfully to hit the opening
note. One particularly poignant moment came when Mike Love's young daughter
came on stage and requested "Hushabye," which the band played
perfectly. They also played their two best-known "party" songs:
"Kokomo" and "California Girls," and the latter made
the former look like the Cocktail soundtrack filler it was.
"Kokomo"
is, of course, typical of what the Beach Boys had done since 1967. In
the wake of Brian Wilson's creative collapse in that year, the band tried
everything to regain their popularity: They moved to Holland to record
an album; they tried covering several oldies; they went political, as
Carl had declared himself a conscientious objector; they hired two South
Africans and fired Bruce Johnston, who had filled in for Brian on stage
and eventually became a full-fledged Boy. Johnston might have had the
last laugh: While the Boys floundered, he won a Grammy for "I Write
the Songs," sung by Barry Manilow but written about Brian. (Brian's
first replacement was Glen Campbell, who was thanked for his tenure in
the band with Brian's writing and production of "Guess I'm Dumb.")
In any event, Bruce was soon back on the scene, where he remains to this
day.
There was, of course,
another burst of fame for the Beach Boys in the 1980s. The less said about
the era that gave us "Kokomo" and guest appearances on Full
House with John Stamos on the drums, the better. The 1980s also brought
the Boys their first real public controversy: Interior Secretary James
Watt banned them from performing in the nation's capital. Nancy Reagan
had to invite them personally the next time around. In addition to stupid,
Watt's action was curious, since everyone associated with the band has
always defined their music as American; Mike Love — who is the closest
to being a cynic of anyone in the band — has said that performing
at the Fourth of July concert on the National Mall was the greatest moment
of his life. Sunday, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham was in the crowd.
The Beach Boys remain America's band.
—
Kevin M. Cherry is a writer living in Alexandria, Va.
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Beach Boys have long been referred to as "America's Band." Unfortunately,
there are three acts currently touring that could lay claim to that title:
Brian Wilson, creative genius of the group, touring on his own; Mike Love's
Beach Boys, which also has longtime member Bruce Johnston; and Al Jardine's
Family and Friends Beach Band, in which Al — an original Beach Boy
— is joined by his sons and the daughters of Brian Wilson. The Family
and Friends band can be dismissed somewhat easily, at least in relation
to the other two. Al's contributions to the group were always on the peripherary
— with the exceptions of his lead vocal on "Help Me Ronda"
and suggesting to Brian Wilson that the band cover "Sloop John B."
So let's look more closely at the Beach Boys as represented by Brian and
Mike: We see two very different — but equally valid — visions
of the Beach Boys.
