What if the Beach Boys had played Monterey?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by RayistaGeoff, Aug 14, 2005.

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  1. I can't get the video of this up, but I'm sure somebody here can , check it out!



    00:00
    44:31
    [​IMG]
    The Beach Boys (Fantasy Concert): Live At Monterey Pop Festival - 1967
    from Ryan Towle 2 years ago NOT YET RATED
    Intro - 00:00
    The Letter - 00:10
    Surfer Girl - 02:06
    You're So Good To Me - 05:43
    Gettin' Hungry - 08:33
    You Still Believe In Me - 11:54
    Vege-tables - 14:49
    Surf's Up - 17:45
    Caroline, No - 23:02
    Sloop John B - 26:53
    Wouldn't It Be Nice - 30:10
    Heroes And Villains - 32:20
    God Only Knows - 36:13
    Good Vibrations - 39:35

    Good Vibrations - 39:35

    Read More…
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  2. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    Thanks for posting. :righton:
     
  3. Holy Diver

    Holy Diver Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    It would have been even better. :righton:
     
  4. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paradise
  5. varispeed

    varispeed what if?

    Location:
    Los Angeles Ca
    I agree. I saw them later in 72 (maybe it was 71) and 74 and liked where they were going by then. If they could've translated that mindset back five years, it would've been cool at Monterey. But otherwise, I'm glad they didn't do the gig. Just think... if they had gone, we might have two cringeworthy films of BB playing "Rock and Roll Woman" in 1967.
     
    Paperback Writer likes this.
  6. jwb1231970

    jwb1231970 Ordinary Guy

    Location:
    USA
    Yeah, they just haven't learned yet, even in 68
     
  7. PhilBorder

    PhilBorder Senior Member

    Location:
    Sheboygan, WI
    Now, if it was the 71-73 touring unit.... that would have been a revelation
     
  8. DEAN OF ROCK

    DEAN OF ROCK Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hoover, AL
    Is that you Mike Love?
     
  9. Pete Sorbi

    Pete Sorbi Well-Known Member

    well - here is the BBs performance at Unicef - a few months later - this is what you would have got basically (also.. there were more songs broadcast in other areas - Darlin and Good Vibrations.....which I have never seen) - its fun tossing out Smile and Smiley titles - but - in mid 67 - they could BARELY play a few songs from Pet Sounds (though God Only Knows sounds good here) - unless Brian trotted out The Wrecking Crew or something - it would have just sounded bare-bones and sloppy - maybe if they brought up a bunch of guests and did crazy "Party" type singalongs - or Brian orchestrated one of his "tons of people sitting around tapping on glasses/clapping/etc" sessions - that sort of stuff could have been interesting - but the rest of the band would have just wanted to do the straight set (Brian was in no condition to put together some elaborate/weird concoction by then) - it would have been like the Leid in Hawaii stuff - and probably forgotten (unless they really got booed) - maybe if Mike went nuts with the woo-woo machine - I still don't see it - I love the BBs but I can't listen to any of their live stuff until at least 68/69 (by which time they were augmented by other musicians) - its just too boring (aside from being a historical artifact) - that being said - I don't think the Beatles would have done much better either - playing basically their Budokan set (there was no way they could have pulled off most of the songs from Pepper...maybe the title track...or With a Little Help From My Friends) - they were both studio acts by then (even if they Beach Boys were out touring ) -
     
    PhilBorder likes this.
  10. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    There were many significant differences between the two groups at that time.

    1) The Beatles never were scheduled to appear at Monterey. The Beach Boys were supposed to be the closing act and then they chickened out at the last minute
    2) The Beatles released their "big" album (Sgt. Pepper) to universal acclaim. The Beach boys (again) chickened out and shelved SMiLE and put out the POS Smiley Smile instead, which tanked.
    3) The budding rock press found out about 1 and 2 above, and told their readers, essentially, that the Beach Boys were passe.
    4) The Beach Boys continue wearing the stage outfits that they ripped off from the Kingston Trio, and continue singing "Barbara Ann" in concert while the Beatles and other 'hip' groups became more stylish, and stopped playing their early, 'naive' material.
    5) The fact that media gave up on the BBs at that critical time in history led to their being written off as lightweight, totally unhip, and their sales plummeted.
    6) The unhip factor and lack of media support relegated the BBs to oldies radio while the Beatles were still being played on rock and classic rock radio.
    7) Younger fans heard the Beatles and not the BBs on rock radio. The BBs had to play catch up for decades to overcome the perception of them. The Beatles never had to do that.

    So, not playing Monterey greatly hurt the Beach Boys over the long haul, not necessarily at that moment in time, although their commercial decline begins there.
     
    saborlord123 and Zeki like this.
  11. cungar

    cungar Forum Resident

    Location:
    Torrance, CA
    [​IMG]
     
    Larry L likes this.
  12. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

    Mike Love did all he could, writing songs with Brian from Wild Honey to Keepin' the Summer Alive. Unfortunately for the band's commerce, Wild Honey has a low fidelity sound and Friends has little to do with their rock singles and ballad singles from 1962-66. This isn't to say that the material is bad or that one can't appreciate the recordings. It is only to say that they are not commercial like the 1962-66 singles are. They released "Do it Again", again with a somewhat low fidelity sound, around the same time as Friends. "Do it Again" made #20 on US pop, but one can wonder how much better it could have done with a cleaner backing track.
     
    DEAN OF ROCK likes this.
  13. Commander Lucius Emery

    Commander Lucius Emery Forum Resident

    I think people over-estimate the hipster nature of festivals like Monterrey, Woodstock and Live Aid. Huge amounts of the Pennebaker film was devoted to Ravi Shankar and pals noodling away. An unknown 50s cover act Sha Na Na wowed them at Woodstock. The Four Tops played at Live Aid in tuxedos, partly because of what Joan Baez called "black superstar politics" over no Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson or Prince playing live (Four Tops brought in the baby boomer/big chill donations).
    If you are sitting in a field or stadium seat waiting for hours, you appreciate any competent music act.


    I think drugs, not Monterrey, brought down the Mamas and Papas
     
  14. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paradise
    Still laughing at Mike's comb over. :laugh:
     
    oldsurferdude likes this.
  15. drbeachboy

    drbeachboy Forum Resident

    I don't think Monterrey would have made the Beach Boys more popular or their albums sell more than they did, but had they shown up and played a decent set, it could have had an affect on how they were or came to be perceived. Perception as it turns out, plays more of a role than good music, especially in the rock music scene.
     
  16. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    Weren't the Beach Boys also pursuing a lawsuit against Capitol around the time of Monterey, adding to the list of factors noted by Jose above? They were just filled with great career moves around that time. Between that and Mike's comb-over, they should have just invoked the Costanza Rule:
    http://www.theminimalistmom.com/2012/04/costanzarule/
     
  17. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Given that John was the primary organizer, that would be "yes." The Association also played (and were better than the Mamas and the Papas, IMO.) Denny was out of the country until right before showtime, and they were too busy with arrangements to properly rehearse. Someone else pointed out that their bass player hit a clam that threw the ladies off key as well.
     
  18. seed_drill

    seed_drill Senior Member

    Location:
    Tryon, NC, USA
    Beefheart was also slated to play, but Ry Cooder left the Magic Band shortly before the concert, and since David Crosby wouldn't fill in ;), they had to cancel. It's a shame, because Safe As Milk had at least some commercial potential, and that could have broken the band to a wider audience.

    Trout Mask was never going to appeal to more than a niche cult, and it's notoriety alienated people from checking out his later, more accessible albums. If Safe had gotten a push, that version of the Magic Band could have recorded another record for Buddah. A better recorded/produced versions of the Strictly Personal record with Cooder on guitar would have been something to hear.
     
  19. cwitt1980

    cwitt1980 Senior Member

    Location:
    Carbondale, IL USA
    I was thinking this extra verse:

    The Beach Boys got me goin' good,
    Vibrations coming this way,
    Burn your draft card Carl,
    Mike Love looked neat on this day

    Down In Monterrey
     
  20. thrivingonariff

    thrivingonariff Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    I'm a longtime fan (of their better music), but the kind of people who might have read the rock press of that era did not need to be told that the Beach Boys were passé.
     
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  21. Bill

    Bill Senior Member

    Location:
    Eastern Shore
    Lifetime fan here. The first album I bought was Little Deuce Coupe, whose cover perfectly transitioned me from car magazines to a lifetime of musical excess.
    Anyhow, when, in the late 60s, you didn't release an album of new material for 16 months and, when you finally did, after months of hype, it was a bitter disappointment accurately characterized by a key group member as a bunt, you were passé.
    (I know, Little Pad is better than any song by the Stones. It's the uke, you know.)
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2015
  22. S. P. Honeybunch

    S. P. Honeybunch Presidente de Kokomo, Endless Mikelovemoney

  23. drbeachboy

    drbeachboy Forum Resident

    Good music is never passé. Their body of work through 1973 has held up well over time. In hindsight they got caught in the middle. Not hard rock, not bubblegum, and not quite commercial enough to sell albums at the pace that their earlier albums did. Again, it came down to perception and it took a lot of hardwork in the early 70's to dispel that unhip, uncool perception.
     
    gd0 likes this.
  24. Sax-son

    Sax-son Forum Resident

    Location:
    Three Rivers, CA
    I agree, by the time Monterey came around, psychedelia was in full bloom. I'm not sure that the Beach Boys would have been a good fit for that particular event. Everyone was hungry for all the different forms of music that was coming out around that time. Sgt Peppers had just been released that month (June 1967) and everyone was busy digesting it. It was not that the Beach Boys were not good, its would have been like having Leslie Gore appear next to Big Brother and the Holding Company. Different music from and earlier era.
     
    Zeki likes this.
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