Can anyone identify which Beach Boy is which on the cover of Friends?

the figures in the centre are obvious, but I was wondering if anyone could definitely suggest which Beach Boys is which in the faces in the hedges and clouds?

 

I don't think they are supposed to be the Beach Boys. The green figure on the left seems pretty clearly to be Paul McCartney. Presumably the others are also "friends" of the band.

 

Here's a better image where all ten of the faces in the clouds and greenery can be seen clearly. The fact that there's ten figures also argues against it being the Beach Boys, as it would mean some of them are depicted more than once if it's just them.

 

I like the uk cover.
Bruce, Carl,Mike,Dennis,
Bottom
Brian,Al.

David McMacken cover art.

 

Green guy on right looks like Donovan.

 

Guy upside down on the left is Dennis Wilson.

 

The cloud figure in profile over Mike's head kinda looks like Tiny Tim to me.

 

Upper right looks like Al. Looks like Brian above "Paul McCartney".

 

Is the uk Mono a fold?

 

I've always thought this looked like Brian and Al in the front of a convertible, with the rest somehow sitting on top of the back seats.

 

I've never ever studied this album cover but now that I have.. its a pretty awful excuse for a cover. Come to think of it I don't think they ever had a really great front album cover after "Safari" and that's saying something. I kinda like "Surfs Up" cover but that might be it I think.

 

I think the guy on the far left cloud (under the EMI logo) is supposed to be Brian and the guy with the hat under "Boys" is Al. I thought I also saw George Harrison, John Lennon and Marc Volman but I can't be sure.

 

I was just thinking the opposite and how it is a cool cover. I also like the covers to Smiley Smile and Wild Honey.

 

The bottom looks like a montage of a bunch of Ringos to me.

 

Steve Korthof, Jon Parks, Nick Grillo, and Steve Kalinich might be depicted on this cover.

 

I agree. The Beach Boys original album covers are mostly excellent and the Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, Holland and Summer In Paradise covers are fine art.

 

They had some real stinkers too though, like Sunflower and 15 Big Ones. I'm not that crazy about the Friends or 20/20 either.

 

Surfs up is the best cover IMO

 

McCartney looks like he's either bald with clouds over his head, or else it's a weird pompadour.

 

No. That is clearly a young James Arness (Marshall Matt Dillon to those in the know) of Gunsmoke fame.

 

I thought the green guy on the right was Glen Campbell.

 

Well, now you know it's Marshall Dillon.

 

The dude on the left is obviously Brian. Look at the mouth and go watch one of his interviews. He always moves his mouth to the side when he talks.

 

Could that be Van Dyke Parks above the Donovan hedge?

 

I'll agree Friends is an awful cover, but I think they had some great covers on earlier albums. I've always loved how both The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean record cover art contained such vivid, rich and abundant primary colors.

I think Shut Down Volume 2 is an iconic depiction of early/mid-sixties suburban cool with the group gathered around a Corvette Stingray and a Pontiac Grand Prix, presumably a 421. Sure, the asthetic would change drastically in just a year or so, but the validity of the image as a reflection of its time remains.



The covers to both Surfer Girl and All Summer Long and been referenced by probably dozens of groups over the years. I think All Summer Long is a classic 1964 album cover layout and complements the album's theme perfectly.