I like the music of the Beach Boys. Brian Wilson's unabashed Pop compositions are more than mere formula songs by enlarge (even the early stuff). The music invokes a simplicity that betrays its technical and emotional complexity. Done well, the songs hold up through a variety of interpretations - from ukulele to the orchestral - without losing their charm. The lyrics are suitably utilitarian and better than a daffy image would suggest. There is a satisfying clarity in the narrative color of the Beach Boy’s best songs. Like their contemporaries and chief rivals, the Beatles, the Beach Boys sang like birds. Any weight within the written word is a bonus.
The Beach Boys had their own unique sound and it was large. It's unmistakable when emulated. Brian Wilson's songwriting process was personal, poetic and legitimately musical (I am of the camp who consider him to be a savant of sorts), - very original, and as history would have it, influential. Beach Boy-styled vocalizations can still be heard all over the place today – in and outside of popular music. The final element of the Beach Boys: from the beginning, the machine that produced them made a smart move to give their sound a high degree of musicianship. It's kept them relevant. The bed of music beneath the bulk of their best stuff (most of it from the 1960s) hasn't become dated by lesser trends of the era thanks to the taste and ready capabilities of the LA studio hot shots known as the Wrecking Crew.
The overall story of the Beach Boys is a sad, and somewhat exhausting trope in the annals of music business: drugs, infighting, and mental illness... But, you can't analyze their success without finding out how the music industry makes some of that gnarly sausage. It can be a little unnerving to watch You Tube clips of Brian Wilson post heyday and in throws of mysterious despair. But if you get a chance to watch good musicians and good singers perform Beach Boy hits, I recommend you do so. The experience can be surprisingly fulfilling. If you make music, you might even be tempted to incorporate some of the Beach Boys into your own sound. It has happened to the best of them. It's OK. The Beach Boys were great.
The Beach Boys had their own unique sound and it was large. It's unmistakable when emulated. Brian Wilson's songwriting process was personal, poetic and legitimately musical (I am of the camp who consider him to be a savant of sorts), - very original, and as history would have it, influential. Beach Boy-styled vocalizations can still be heard all over the place today – in and outside of popular music. The final element of the Beach Boys: from the beginning, the machine that produced them made a smart move to give their sound a high degree of musicianship. It's kept them relevant. The bed of music beneath the bulk of their best stuff (most of it from the 1960s) hasn't become dated by lesser trends of the era thanks to the taste and ready capabilities of the LA studio hot shots known as the Wrecking Crew.
The overall story of the Beach Boys is a sad, and somewhat exhausting trope in the annals of music business: drugs, infighting, and mental illness... But, you can't analyze their success without finding out how the music industry makes some of that gnarly sausage. It can be a little unnerving to watch You Tube clips of Brian Wilson post heyday and in throws of mysterious despair. But if you get a chance to watch good musicians and good singers perform Beach Boy hits, I recommend you do so. The experience can be surprisingly fulfilling. If you make music, you might even be tempted to incorporate some of the Beach Boys into your own sound. It has happened to the best of them. It's OK. The Beach Boys were great.