A Cork on the Ocean: Beach Boys and Wilson Brothers song-by-song

Syncopate it, Al.

 

Since she put me down!!!!!

 

I love Gary Usher’s work (with the Superstocks notably). I used to long distance run with them in the EarPods. Music with great energy.
(Then punk music and now Charli Xcx and Hyperpop material, the new punk music.)
Well I’m a bit late to the party so I didn’t rate (I suppose it’s not easy to manage The Cure, Paul Simon threads and this one, Lance !, it is hard to post and follow them for me too but I suppose less than you). thank you for this huge work.
I didn’t know these four tracks though I’m a complete Beach Boys fan.
My only alibi is the strongest for now.
But it is a demo so 3/5.

 

I've never owned this CD and am hearing this stuff for the first time. So far, I don't feel like I've missed anything important. I would merely describe this song as "three chords and no attitude." It has Roy Orbison aspirations, but lacks the key ingredient to make that sort of thing work...an exceptionally good lead vocalist.

 

Well, some great songs are made up of three chords.

Of course, this is not one of them.

 

"My Only Alibi" - Backing vox are better this time, but it's another bad song and the same bad singer. 2/5

 

Alibi 2/5

This recording has a certain charm to it and I love the ghostly backing vocals. Stylistically, the song is a not really in the usual wheelhouse that I associate with Usher and The Beach Boys in this stage, which is welcome. I love how you can hear the giddy excitement from “the boys” at the very end of the take. Fun times I am sure. Another fascinating track.

 

My Only Alibi - if I heard this on an oldies radio station it would certainly fit in but it is not especially memorable. 2/5

 

I'll have to tally up ratings at some later date -- I am abroad at the moment.

Today's song is "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring", written by Bobby Troupe; produced by Murry Wilson; engineered by Chuck Britz.

The Beach Boys – Their Hearts Were Full of Spring Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

The video above won't play in Canada, but most of the rest of you should be able to see it unless you are in Africa or the Far East.

Background:
"Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" were one of four songs recorded by The Beach Boys on April 18th, 1962 at Western Studios, paid for by Murry Wilson and Hite Morgan. There were probably several producers at this session: Brian himself, first and foremost, but also Hite Morgan and Chuck Britz, as well as Murry Wilson, who is generally given the production credit.

The other three songs recorded this day ("Surfin' Safari", "409", and "The Lonely Sea" were released in late 1962 or early 1963. This one, a cover of a jazz pop standard written by Bobby Troupe had been done by numerous artist, but Brian Wilson, who arranged this version, based his arrangement on that of The Four Freshmen.
At the end of this tape Murry Wilson says “That was the sound of The Beach Boys Nik….Venet.” Nik Venet was a Capitol Records A&R man/producer whom Murry and Hite was targeting in an attempt to get The Beach Boys signed to another label.

Line Up:*
Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson, Mike Love: group vocals

The Beach Boys would later cut the same song with different, Mike Love-written lyrics in 1963 called “A Young Man Is Gone.” I’m going to hold that song up separately when the time comes.

This version was included on:

• Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys (1993)
• Made In California (2013)
  
  Another studio version of this song , with an intro added, was recorded in Wally Heider’s studio in 1967 for the unreleased pseudo-live album Lei’d In Hawaii. I’ll link to that one, which was actually released first, below.

Live versions:

• Live In London (1968, released 1970)
• The Beach Boys On Tour: 1968 (three versions) (released 2018)

 

This version of "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" was recorded in Wally Heider’s studio in September 1967 for inclusion in the pseudo-live album Lei’d In Hawaii, which was never released.

Line Up:
Brian Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Mike Love: vocals
This version, which was actually the first studio version released, was included on:

• Smiley Smile/ Wild Honey twofer (1990)
• Hawthorne, CA (2001)
• 1967: Sunshine Tomorrow (2017)

Live versions:

• Live In London (1968, released 1970)
• The Beach Boys On Tour: 1968 (three versions) (released 2018)

Rate either the 1962 or 1967 version or vote for both — let me know which one you’re voting for!

 

The Four Freshmen version:

 

1962: I get why this didn’t go on their first album — it was probably considered too square, plus the execution is a little sloppy. And there were three other covers and you don't want, like, 45 percent of your album to be covers.

But it’s highly impressive performance and arrangement (and although it’s obviously based on the Four Freshmen version of the tune, it’s got a bit of Beach Boys magic in it, in my opinion. I think it should have gone on Surfin’ Safari!

Maybe another take would have been better to clean up some of the rhythmic irregularities, though. I’ll give it a 3.5/5 The greatest of their 4-part harmony performances (“The Lord’s Prayer”) is still to come, but this one is really good.

1967: the intro on this, missing on the earlier version, elevates it, and unlike the ’62 version, this shows how incredibly competent they had become on this type of thing in the studio by 1967. There is tempo variation, and very controlled dynamics but they all do it together; when the key changes on the “then one day they died” it gives me chills, and the way the tempo gets progressively slower, which normally would mean that the energy was going out of the song, here just serves to deliver the sad ending of the song all the better.

This old-fashioned pre-rock jazz harmony thing going on there is not everyone’s cup of tea, certainly not for adorers of sweaty men with geetars, but I love it and I think it takes a lot of skill to pull off, learn and sing it this well.

4.3/5

 

Hearts
3/5

Maybe a little “pitchy” but pretty great for a bunch of kids from Hawthorne. Kind of an iconic cover in the BB canon which they would return to at various stages in their career. An important song and performance.

 

this is pretty much the Four Freshmen to me, but better than some stuff on Beach Boys debut LP for sure, and beyond debut even. I guess 3.38/5

The later 1967 version has always struck me as considerably better, without me ever thinking about it much, and I'm gonna say Lance's explanation must cover the why of it.

 

Tomorrow I’m going to start holding up songs from Surfin’ Safari.



After the Beach Boys’ second single, “Surfin' Safari” took off (more on that tomorrow) Capitol signed the band to a three year contract.

Capitol was keen for them to record their debut right away, but the band told them they weren’t ready. (Gary Usher has said that the songs he and Brian had written were not finished but were mere sketches and ideas.)

Nevertheless they entered the studio (Capitol Studios in Hollywood: a stipulation of their contract) in August 1962 and in three sessions (one in August and three in September) they recorded 11 new songs, nine of which were included on the album (which already had three songs —“Surfin’ Safari”, “409" and “Surfin'" and an outtake --"Their Hearts WEre Full of Spring" —in the can.)

Nik Venet was the producer in name although in fact, Brian was almost in complete charge of the music and arrangements and Murry Wilson was effectively co-producing and coaching the band as well. Gary Usher, who was present if Murry would allow him) was present as well for some of the sessions.

Venet’s main job seems to have to keep the sessions moving quickly and keeping an eye on the clock so as not to spend too much money on studio time, a process which almost immediately begin to chafe Brian, who felt that the rushed recordings resulted in lesser work.

In addition to the album sessions, Brian was producing and writing a few side projects at the same time, which was allowed by their contract with Capitol.

At the same time they played shows as often as they could, and with “Surfin' Safari” climbing the national charts, demand was high. They often played two or even three shows in one day and the relentless rehearsal and gigging was beginning to pay off as the band actually was starting to come together, with David Marks (who was at least as good as Carl) really adding to the onstage instrumental sound.

Meanwhile Brian, chafing under Murry's controlling arm and now twenty years old, moved out of his parent's house and into an apartment with Bob Norberg, with whom he'd write a raft of songs over the next few months.

Dennis, too had been kicked out of the house after a confrontation with Murry (over what, I'm not sure) and was living in an apartment with Gary Usher.

David and Carl continued in school, while Mike's first marriage broke up and he began living alone as well.

In August The Beach Boys managed to get a residency at Pandora’s Box club, where they would play three shows a day, three times a week to a packed floor up until the December, with long lines of excited teens waiting outside for the next show, and their live act began to come togethr.

Some quotes from The Beach Boys about Surfin' Safari:

Mike:

Carl:

David:

Surfin’ Safari was released on October 1st, 1962. It charted at #32 on Billboard’s Hot 200 chart and its sales, along with the sales of it's lead single, were largely responsible for a 31% uptick in Capitol Records' sales figures (the year before they had posted a financial loss; this year they would not.)

The tracklist was:

1. Surfin’ Safari (Brian Wilson, Mike Love)
2. County Fair (Wilson, Gary Usher)
3. Ten Little Indians (Wilson, Usher)
4. Chug-A-Lug (Wilson, Usher, Love)
5. Little Girl (Herb Alpert, Vincent Catalano)
6. 409 (Wilson, Usher, Love)
7. Surfin’ (Wilson, Love)*
8. Heads You Win - Tails I Lose (Wilson, Usher)
9. Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochrane, Jerry Capeheart)
10. Cuckoo Clock (Wilson, Usher)
11. Moon Dawg (Derry Weaver)
12. The Shift (Wilson, Love)

In addition to the above I will hold up the following extra albums tracks:

• Revolution (Wilson, Usher) - Rachel & The Revolvers {A-side, 1962}
• Number One (Wilson, Usher) - Rachel & The Revolvers {B-side, 1962}
• Humpty Dumpty (Wilson, Norberg) - Bob & Sherri {B-side, 1962}
• Cindy, Oh, Cindy (Robert Barron, Burt Long} {outtake, released 1990}
• Land Ahoy (Wilson) {outtake, originally released on Rarities, 1983}
• The Big Beat (Wilson) - Bob & Sheri {outtake, released on 1963: The Big Beat, 2013}
• Punchline (Wilson) - {outtake, released in 1993 on Good Vibrations: 30 Years of The Beach Boys}

So, then, if everything goes according to plan, on the 16th of August, I’ll begin holding up songs from Surfin’ USA.

*we've already discussed this song, so I won't be going over it again. The album version is the same as the single version, only compressed and sped up a bit.

 

"It’s hard to believe anyone could be that naive and honest, but he was."

 

David was only 14 when he recorded this album and was probably more worldly than Brian.

 

'Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring' - this is by its nature 'square' and probably schmaltzy but it's back in BB territory, in terms of vocal arrangement and that wall of voices. Not a favourite of mine but the execution is decent - 3/5.

 

Beautiful harmonies, especially on the 1967 version, but I’m not keen on the actual song: 2.5/5.

 

Beautiful vocals and arrangement - a kind of party piece. Just not a great song. 3

 

Hearts
Nice cover song, first very touching vocal harmonies.
3.2/5

 

Their Hearts Were Full of Spring is a beautiful song in any version, though I concede that the 1962 recording is imperfect in places.

Here is a performance on The Andy Williams Show in October 1965:



A great arrangement from Brian and it shows the importance of the different voices in the band. That early recording really highlights how crucial the difference in Brian's and Mike's voices was, and that's true of many songs from that era.

I can understand that it would've been considered an uncool choice for the debut album, but it is streets ahead of most of the songs that they did include.

4/5.

 

Their Hearts Were Full of Spring

These harmonies are absolutely gorgeous, and are one of the things I love most about the Beach Boys. But I don’t love the song itself and it seems to go on a bit too long. (Yes, I know it’s only two and a half minutes long. )

3.5/5 (both versions)

 

What @brownie61 said and scored.

 

Their Hearts Were Full of Spring

Finally a song good enough that the harmonies can stand out as interesting and a little new-sounding, rather than lipstick on a pig, as it were. Not a favorite of mine but it's telling that Wilson returned to this one live even in later years; a useful paradigm for many later covers (including of less "old-timey" material).

3/5