The Beach Boys


I'm a huge fan of classic rock, and music in general, listening to almost all genres from classical to jazz to rock to contemporary pop (very selectively). Don't care much for country and reggae. I've been reading in the latest issue of Stereophile about Acoustic Sounds reissuing The Beach Boys catalog, and the article compelled me to express my opinion on this forum. I'm simply completely, utterly, and overwhelmingly at a loss to understand the acclaim for this band. The fact that "Pet Sounds" is considered one of the greatest albums of all time leaves me speechless. I always considered their music a bit of a joke, good for background when you're in a beach bar in Southern California, in the same vein reggae or mariachi music are tolerable in Jamaica or Mexico, respectively, when one's on vacation. I then heard about them being compared to The Beatles and have been confused ever since. Perhaps a comparison to The Beatles early songs as they were evolving as musicians and songwriters would make sense, but comparing the genius of The Beatles to the "genius" of Brian Wilson is just preposterous, in my opinion.

I would like to hear from those who like or love The Beach Boys what it is about their music that they think warrants the acclaim and their presence in the upper echelon of music. I realize my post may generate quite a bit of controversy and angry responses, but I don't mean to offend or put down anyone's musical tastes. I'm posting as a music lover who is truly perplexed. 

    
actusreus

Showing 1 response by almarg

As someone who has never particularly been a Beach Boys fan (although I’ve certainly never disliked them), I nevertheless want to extend kudos for the excellent responses above. I would have to say that I’m now more of a fan than I was a few hours ago :-)

A tangential point that I found striking in reading Rich’s outstanding post was the discrepancy between Cashbox’s listing of 1963’s top recordings and the corresponding Billboard list, as well as with respect to how I recall the hits of 1963. The Billboard list, btw, had "Surfin’ U.S.A." as no. 2 for the year. A couple of possible explanations for that discrepancy can be inferred from the Wikipedia writeup on Cashbox. But none of that affects Rich’s underlying points, of course.

One unrelated bit of trivia I recently became aware of, that was of interest to me as a basketball fan, is that Mike Love of the Beach Boys is the uncle of Kevin Love, the star power forward who currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers, alongside LeBron James. Kevin’s father/Mike’s brother, Stan Love, was also an NBA player.

Thanks again. Regards,
-- Al