A lot about the Beach Boys is overshadowed by the bubblegum nature of their early surfing and car songs. Once you get past those, you see the beauty and genius in songs like Warmth of the Sun, In My Room, Good Vibrations and of course every song from Pet Sounds. Then once you get past Pet Sounds, you dig around for Smile bootlegs and probably get Smiley Smile/Wild Honey. After that you most likely have no reference until the megahit Kokomo dropped in the mid-80’s. What you missed were some pretty magical moments where the band drifted from becoming a parody of themselves (which they are again today) to experimenting with different musical influences like funk and world music.
But the best thing you would’ve missed was the first solo record from a Beach Boy. Pacific Ocean Blue was released by Dennis Wilson in the mid-70’s and showcased his talent as a writer and singer. Genius ran in the Wilson blood and Pacific Ocean Blue is proof.
Earlier this year, I believe, the BBC aired a one-hour documentary about Dennis that is well worth a watch for any Beach Boy fan. Done in the typical rock bio format, it doesn’t detail a ton of information I hadn’t heard before, but it’s interesting and nice to see some focus on someone other than Brian.
Sidenote: Give Kokomo another chance. Imagine it not over produced and dated. It really IS a wonderful song.
WHAT in the H-E- double hockey sticks!
You have always HATED Kokomo!
I always said I liked that song and you always discounted me!
How wude!