The_Beach_Boys_(album)
The Beach Boys (album)
1985 studio album by the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys is the 25th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 10, 1985. Produced by Steve Levine, the album is the band's first after the drowning of founding member Dennis Wilson.[3] It was also the band's first album to be recorded digitally and the last released by James William Guercio's Caribou Records.[4] The record sold poorly, charting at number 52 in the U.S. and number 60 in the UK.
| The Beach Boys | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 10, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | June 1984[1]–March 23, 1985[2] | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Length | 37:52 (LP) 40:31 (CD) | |||
| Label | Brother/Caribou/CBS | |||
| Producer | Steve Levine | |||
| The Beach Boys chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Beach Boys | ||||
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![[icon]](./File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023) |
Brian Wilson's psychologist Eugene Landy, who was originally awarded co-writing credits on Wilson's songs, stated in a contemporary interview, "I'm practically a member of the band [...] Brian's got the talent to make the music. [...] He's the creator. The other band members are just performers. So I'm the one who's making the album."[5]
Among the guest musicians, Ringo Starr played drums on "California Calling", while Stevie Wonder played most of the instruments on "I Do Love You".[6]
Outtakes from the album's sessions that remained unfinished and/or unreleased include "Oh Lord" (written by Brian), "Water Builds Up", "Down by the Pier" (with Carl Wilson on lead vocals), Al Jardine's "And I Always Will", and a cover of Danny and the Juniors' "At the Hop".[1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Blender | [8] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C[9] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [11] |
Critical reaction was mixed.[12] Writing in Rolling Stone, Parke Puterbaugh called the album 'pretty entertaining', adding 'though not a world-beating act of artistic reassertion, the LP does serve to showcase those amazing voices, and to remind the world that nobody does it better—still.'[13]
Levine reflected that he had remained "immensely proud" of the album and lamented its poor sales.[12]
Eugene Landy originally received co-writer's credit for all Brian Wilson compositions. This credit was omitted starting with the album's 2000 CD reissue.[14]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Getcha Back" | Mike Love and Brian Wilson | 3:02 | |
| 2. | "It's Gettin' Late" | Carl Wilson | 3:27 | |
| 3. | "Crack at Your Love" | Al Jardine and B. Wilson | 3:40 | |
| 4. | "Maybe I Don't Know" |
| C. Wilson | 3:54 |
| 5. | "She Believes in Love Again" | Bruce Johnston | Bruce Johnston and C. Wilson | 3:29 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "California Calling" |
| Love and Jardine | 2:50 |
| 2. | "Passing Friend" | C. Wilson | 5:00 | |
| 3. | "I'm So Lonely" | B. Wilson | B. Wilson and C. Wilson | 2:52 |
| 4. | "Where I Belong" |
| C. Wilson and Jardine | 2:58 |
| 5. | "I Do Love You" | Stevie Wonder | C. Wilson and Jardine | 4:20 |
| 6. | "It's Just a Matter of Time" | B. Wilson | B. Wilson and Love | 2:23 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Male Ego" | B. Wilson, Love | B. Wilson and Love | 2:32 |
Credits sourced from Craig Slowinski, John Brode, Will Crerar and Joshilyn Hoisington.[15] Track numbers refer to the CD release.
The Beach Boys
- Al Jardine – lead (3, 6, 9, 10) and backing vocals (all but 4 and 5), electric guitars (6)
- Bruce Johnston – lead (5) and backing vocals (all tracks), Kurzweil K250 (5)
- Mike Love – lead (1, 6, 11, 12) and backing vocals (all but 4)
- Brian Wilson – lead (1, 3, 8, 11, 12) and backing vocals (all but 5), Yamaha DX1 (3, 6, 8, 11, 12), Roland Jupiter-8 (3), Oberheim OB-8 (3), Oberheim Xpander (12), piano (6)
- Carl Wilson – lead (2, 4, 5, 7-10) and backing vocals (all tracks), Yamaha DX1 (2, 4, 9), electric guitar (2)
Additional players
- John Alder – electric (1, 6, 8) and acoustic guitars (1), guitar synthesizer (4), dobros (11)
- Graham Broad – drums (4), drums with brushes (11), jingle stick (1), castanets (1), maracas (1), bongos (1), hi-hat (2, 5), cowbell (4), congas (5), shaker (5), tom-tom (11), tambourine (1, 11)
- Jeffrey Foskett – backing vocals (5)
- Stuart Gordon – violins (5), violas (5), cellos (5)
- Steve Grainger – baritone saxophone (1, 2), tenor saxophone (7)
- Roy Hay – electric guitars (7), Yamaha DX1 (7), PPG Wave 2.3 (7), Oberheim OB-8 (7), Oberheim Xpander (7), Prophet-5 (7)
- Simon Humphrey – bass guitar (6)
- Judd Lander – harmonica (11)
- Steve Levine – Fairlight CMI programming (all tracks), LinnDrum programming (1-4, 7, 8, 12), Simmons hi-hat (3)
- Julian Lindsay – Kurzweil K250 (1, 9, 11), PPG Wave 2.3 (1-3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12), Oberheim OB-8 (2, 4, 6, 9, 11), Yamaha DX1 (1, 2, 4, 5, 9), Oberheim Xpander (5), Prophet-5 (2), Roland Jupiter-8 (4), E-mu Emulator (9), bass guitar (1, 2, 4), organ (6, 11), acoustic piano (10)
- Marcus Miller – bass guitar (3)
- Kenneth McGregor – trombone (2, 5)
- Terry Melcher – Kurzweil K250 and backing vocals (1)
- Gary Moore – electric guitars (4, 5), Synthaxe (5)
- Ian Ritchie – tenor saxophone (2, 8), Lyricon (3), baritone saxophone (12)
- Dave Spence – trumpet (2)
- Ringo Starr – drums and timpani (6)
- Stevie Wonder – Fender Rhodes electric piano (10), harmonica (10), bass guitar (10), Linn 9000 drum machine (10), tambourine (10)
- Doe, Andrew G.; et al. "Gigs & Sessions: 1984". Bellagio10452.com. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- Doe, Andrew G.; et al. "Gigs & Sessions: 1985". Bellagio10452.com. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- Dillon 2012, p. 249.
- Dillon 2012, pp. 249, 254.
- White 1996, p. 339.
- Doe & Tobler 2004, p. 108.
- Ruhlmann, William. The Beach Boys at AllMusic
- Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys Keepin the Summer Alive/The Beach Boys". Blender. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
- Dillon 2012, p. 254.
- "The Beach Boys". Rolling Stone. 15 August 1985. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- Doe & Tobler 2004, p. 107.
- Slowinski, Craig (Summer 2023). Beard, David (ed.). "The Beach Boys 1985". Endless Summer Quarterly Magazine. Vol. 36, no. 142. Charlotte, North Carolina.
- Dillon, Mark (2012). Fifty Sides of the Beach Boys: The Songs That Tell Their Story. ECW Press. ISBN 978-1-77090-198-8.
- Doe, Andrew; Tobler, John (2004). Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to Their Music. ISBN 9781844494262.
- White, Timothy (1996). The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys, and the Southern Californian Experience. Macmillan. ISBN 0333649370.
- The Beach Boys at Discogs (list of releases)