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kylekozmikdeluxo · 7 years ago

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The Beach Boys’ SUNFLOWER.

No anniversary or anything, just some continued discussion on one of The Beach Boys’ greatest studio albums. Often agreed to be, technically, the best of the post-PET SOUNDS Beach Boys long-players, SUNFLOWER is a record abundant in rich production, ace songwriting, and the quirky charm that only the Brothers’ Wilson and accomplices could bring...

SUNFLOWER sounds like a lot of work went into it, each song is produced so sumptuously, with arrangements and enough layers to put layer cake to shame. A record mostly free of the cynicism and aura of 1970, standing the test of time and sounding fresh long after its initial bow. That said, it did arrive with some little flaws, which was a byproduct of The Beach Boys machine post-WILD HONEY.

Recently, I came across album engineer Stephen Desper’s study videos on The Beach Boys, SUNFLOWER, and the various songs that didn’t make the cut. SUNFLOWER was mainly recorded from fall 1969 to the weeks before its August release date, but a handful of recordings on here actually date back to the first quarter of 1969, when The Beach Boys were about to enter a legal scuffle with their former record label, Capitol Records. Over time, some songs from these sessions were ported over to the finished album to enhance it.

It is well-known that in February 1970, The Beach Boys already had something of a finished album on hand, despite signing with Warner Bros./Reprise Records in mid-November of the previous year. An acetate was sent to WB executives and their top dog, Mo Ostin. Ostin believed in The Beach Boys and knew they were more than what the public had perceived them to be. After a chain of mishaps during the Summer of Love (1967, for anyone who may not know), The Beach Boys lost all of their popularity and respect on American soil. Americans, from buyers to critics, mostly turned their backs on Brian, Dennis, Carl, Mike, Al, and Bruce...

Despite great quality singles and albums, just about everything released from fall 1967 to the end of 1970 was a sales flop, even SUNFLOWER, which flopped the hardest of any album of theirs to date. Europe was far more enthusiastic and loving of the new-phase Beach Boys. SUNFLOWER fared far better in Europe, as did just about all their singles, and their albums SMILEY SMILE, WILD HONEY, FRIENDS, and 20/20.

Ostin knew these guys weren’t the “outdated surfing Doris Days” that the American public thought they were. Ostin was not pleased with the first acetate that was submitted, saying it lacked a potential hit single and that the men could do much better than that...

The first acetate, which Desper provided via his videos, actually wasn’t too bad. You can recreate it yourself with existing SUNFLOWER tracks and bootlegs of the others, as they would be remixed or revised for future albums... We’ll be looking at those.

SUNFLOWER’s February 1970 configuration had the following track listing.

SIDE ONE - ‘Susie Cincinnati,’ ‘Good Time,’ ‘Our Sweet Love,’ ‘Tears in the Morning,’ ‘When Girls Get Together,’ and ‘Slip On Through.’

SIDE TWO - ‘Add Some Music to Your Day,’ ‘Take a Load Off Your Feet,’ ‘This Whole World,’ ‘I Just Got My Pay,’ ‘At My Window,’ and ‘Lady’

There are plenty of great songs here, and some weaker ones. You can see why Mo would reject this one... What with songs like ‘When Girls Get Together’ present, and some less-than-PET SOUNDS ditties like ‘Take a Load Off Your Feet’ and ‘Got My Pay’...

‘Good Time’ would later be released in 1977 on the album LOVE YOU. On that album, the original recording is reworked. Its vocals are radically different, and the ending note is cut short by a fade-out. Additional vocals were added to certain sections. The original 1970 version sounds much closer to version done by Brian’s wife Marilyn Wilson and sister-in-law Diane Rovell, which uses the Beach Boys recording and backing vocals, with the ladies’ vocals on top. The duo would be known as American Spring, and would get an album out in 1972.

‘Tears in the Morning’ ended up making it to the finished SUNFLOWER, but it was produced a lot differently. ‘Tears in the Morning’ was always criticized for being a corny, lounge-lizard song... I never really got that out of the released version, the production sweetened it up and made it sound more like a traditional pop song. The original mix prepared for the February 1970 acetate is a country kilometer away... Not only is the actual Vegas/lounge aesthetic all over it, but the “teeeeeears” crooning is thankfully drowned out by brass! This is the version that should’ve been released, not what we ended up getting... But who am I to say? The Dutch sent the song - released as a single in various European territories - to the Top 10.

‘When Girls Get Together’ was later released on 1980′s KEEPIN’ THE SUMMER ALIVE, the point - in my opinion - where The Beach Boys as an entity officially checked out. I always felt this song was undone by its awful (and likely sexist) lyrics, but I became fascinated by its sound... It’s driven by a marxophone and brass, giving it a strange, stereotypically Italian-like sound. I had located an instrumental backing track for the song a year ago, which was laid down in March 1969. So much effort went into this track, why were the lyrics so insipid?

In 1976, ‘When Girls Get Together’ was dusted off and was being considered for a new album release. It is assumed that around this time, it received the mix that we hear on KEEPIN’ THE SUMMER ALIVE. The mix on KEEPIN’ completely buries what’s so neat about this song, adding a thumping drum track that drowns out all the little nuances... When hearing the instrumental backing track for the first time, I was so impressed - and puzzled. Finally, I was able to hear the original 1970 via this acetate... The lyrics still suck, but the vocals nicely match the song’s structure, so it’s a pleasant listen in this form. Why couldn’t they have simply released this version on KEEPIN’? The modifications here ruin it, which I think is something that plagues a couple other leftovers from this era.

‘Take a Load Off Your Feet’ was ported over to SUNFLOWER’s follow-up, SURF’S UP, in 1971. Al Jardine’s jokey ditty about foot care and the health craze of the era received some modifications in ‘71. An echoey effect is added to the end of the first two choruses. Not a bad addition, but was it necessary? Now, for some reason, an unrelated recording is attached to the song. Perhaps taking cues from The Beatles, who hid ‘Can You Take Me Back?’ on the final side of the self-titled album, the band attached a merry-go-round snippet called ‘Carnival.’ Beautifully recreating the experience of being on a carousel (perhaps a little too much, if were to believe the account of a WB executive concerned about the recording possibly making people feel dizzy!), it ultimately didn’t make it to the album and remains unreleased. Shame.

‘Lady’ is the closing track of this acetate, a very minimalist Dennis Wilson ballad that was essentially the prelude to his soulful, mellow work. ‘Lady’ was, for some reason, released as a solo single B-side in late 1970 in Europe only. (The A-side was another SUNFLOWER leftover, ‘Sound of Free.’) It’s credited to Dennis Wilson and Daryl Dragon (later Captain of Captain and Tennille), who goes under the pseudonym Rumbo. In the vault for years and years because of a legal issue, it low-key saw release on a Super Furry Animals collection of songs that inspired them. The Beach Boys enterprise officially released the song in 2009, a mix apparently finalized in 2005 utilizing vocals and overdubs the band added to the recording in presumably the mid-to-late 1970s.

While I did like the song a great deal, it was the original 1970 production that pleasantly surprised me. I feel the remixed version makes something a little too produced out of what’s supposed to be a more raw recording. That version of the song would’ve fit in nicely on SURF’S UP, had it not been released as the B-side of a solo single. Think of it as a sort of ‘Long and Winding Road’ situation, where it started out as something simple and to-the-point, but got a little lost in overproduction. Fun fact, the song also carried the title ‘Fallin’ in Love.’

Ostin firmly rejects the acetate. The band goes back to the drawing board and whips up several new recordings. The next acetate is compiled in June 1970, a disc that negates nearly half of the previous disc! Strangely enough, the band lightly dips their finger into the early 1969 bowl of recordings, and selects two tracks for inclusion.

SIDE ONE - ‘Loop De Loop,’ ‘Susie Cincinnati,’ ‘San Miguel,’ ‘H.E.L.P. is on the Way,’ ‘Take a Load Off Your Feet’/’Carnival,’ ‘I Just Got My Pay’

SIDE TWO - ‘Good Time,’ ‘Big Sur,’ ‘Lady,’ ‘When Girls Get Together,’ ‘Lookin’ at Tomorrow,’ and ‘’Til I Die.’

‘Loop De Loop’ was Al Jardine’s redo of a Brian song from mid-1968 called ‘Sail Plane Song,’ turning an ominous psychedelic piece into a vaudevillian carnival romp about barnstorming. ‘Loop De Loop’ wouldn’t see a release in any form until 1998, when it was included on the soundtrack to the VH1 documentary ENDLESS HARMONY. Vocals were changed up here and there, more carnival effects and a barker voice were added to strengthen the atmosphere. The modifications work, Al was happy with the completed product... But this original mix from 1969 works as well. Why they chose this out of the 1969 recordings is beyond me, though. Why they included this, and kept the jokey ‘Take a Load Off Your Feet,’ ‘H.E.L.P. is on the Way,’ ‘and ‘I Just Got My Pay.’

The acetate is a weird mix of the silly, the serene, and the devastating. (’’Til I Die,’ anyone?) Were they that upset by Ostin’s rejection? Why are the wonderful ‘Our Sweet Love,’ ‘This Whole World,’ and ‘Slip On Through’ absent? Most of the late 1969 stuff isn’t here at all.

Another early 1969 recording is here, and fits well, Dennis’ rousing ‘San Miguel.’ Unfortunately not released until 1981, this song should’ve definitely made it to the final line-up!

The disc also houses the fan favorite ‘Big Sur,’ the original, quiet, mesmerizing version of what would later become a waltz that appeared on 1973′s HOLLAND. Also on here is Brian’s dopey but oh-so-sincere health foods paean, ‘H.E.L.P. is on the Way.’

Side two ends with two songs that later ended up on SURF’S UP, and both were modified for that album. ‘Lookin’ at Tomorrow’ was given an echo effect much like ‘Take a Load Off,’ and I feel it takes away from the warm, folksy feel of the original. I know that ‘Lookin’ at Tomorrow’ is viewed as a misfire, especially amongst the SURF’S UP tracks, but I always had a soft spot for it. This more stripped down-sounding version, without the gimmicky echoing, only made me appreciate it more. ‘’Til I Die’ doesn’t have its verses, but sounds pretty much the same here.

I think both acetates capture a certain mood. The Feb 1970 one displays the enthusiasm they had once they were freeing themselves from Capitol, finding a new label, and looking at a possibly bright future. This can be heard in songs like ‘This Whole World’ and ‘Slip On Through.’ At the same time, there’s a jovial, humorous tone throughout, which doesn’t always spell hit potential. Ostin was right to reject it.

Acetate Two sounds a little moodier by contrast, despite porting over most of the fun tracks from the previous disc. An aura emphasized on SURF’S UP. ‘’Til I Die’ perhaps is the reason why, but you also have the mellowness of ‘Big Sur’ and ‘Lady,’ none of the booming productions on Acetate One or the finished product. There’s a real “try, try again” mood here. The inclusion of two older recordings is also kind of telling... As if they gave the first disc their all, got rejected, and couldn’t fill in the gaps.

SUNFLOWER ultimately had to be saved by using different puzzle pieces. Four recordings from early 1969 ended up being taken off of the shelf, and when you hear some of them... You wonder... Why did they sit on it for so long? (Possible legal issues, but that’s a whole other story, let me tell you...) Anyways, the recordings weren’t ‘San Miguel’ or ‘Loop De Loop.’ Instead... Tongue-in-cheek rocker ‘Got To Know the Woman,’ Bruce Johnston’s syrupy-sweet but charming ‘Deirdre,’ Brian and Mike’s ethereal ‘All I Wanna Do,’ and Dennis’ powerful ‘Forever’... Perhaps one of the greatest love songs ever conceived?

None of the new material from Acetate Two made it to the final cut. No ‘Big Sur,’ no ‘Lookin’ at Tomorrow,’ no ‘H.E.L.P.,’ and certainly NO ‘’Til I Die.’ Several songs from Acetate One made it: ‘Slip On Through,’ ‘This Whole World,’ ‘Add Some Music to Your Day,’ ‘Tears in the Morning,’ ‘Our Sweet Love,’ and ‘At My Window.’

For the rest... Dennis conceived a fierce rocker called ‘It’s About Time.’ They went into the archives for the closing track. WB executive Lenny Waronker was moved by a short piece called ‘Cool, Cool Water,’ which had been recorded in late 1967 during the WILD HONEY sessions. ‘Cool, Cool Water’ was a reimagining of the “water” composition of the aborted SMiLE project, and ran about a minute or so. Combining the WILD HONEY-era recording, the SMiLE water chant, and a whole new song... It became a 5-minute ‘Cool, Cool Water.’ The incredible ending to a near-perfect album.

Very rarely have The Beach Boys ever sequenced an album like this afterwards. Though beloved by fans and critics, and certainly a fairly popular album upon its release in August 1971, SURF’S UP is too short and undone by the lack of Dennis Wilson songs, out-of-place ditties and some downright embarrassing tracks, and the rather forced “hip” factor of it. HOLLAND is perhaps unbalanced by the California Saga, and some of its longer tracks. The gleefully weirdo LOVE YOU might be a candidate, though I feel it gets a little flimsy towards the end of side two.

The original mixes of some of the leftovers make me wonder why such layers were added to begin with. As if there was no sort of confidence in those original recordings, as if they felt the need to punch them up. Why that awful drum track on ‘When Girls Get Together’? Why the echoing on ‘Lookin’ at Tomorrow’? Why the sweetening done to ‘Tears in the Morning’? Why the added strings and vocals on ‘Lady’?

You could almost construct a double-album out of all the sessions that spanned a year and a half. The Beach Boys, collectively, made the truly wise decision to pick the best of the best from all the sources to make this their best post-PET SOUNDS album. While I personally think it has a few holes, it truly is a triumph, and it’s too bad that the same lightning couldn’t be harnessed for future records, and it’s too bad that history played out the way it did with this band. Can you imagine a SURF’S UP composed of the best songs from the finished album, some great SUNFLOWER leftovers, and all those Dennis songs? Can you imagine a longer, more focused CARL AND THE PASSIONS? A less murky HOLLAND? 15 BIG ONES without the covers and more originals?

So much to dive into...

#beachboys #thebeachboys #sunflower #1970s #music

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