Beach Boys L.A. (Light Album) their last great album?

I think the album should be viewed on its own merits. Yes, Brian is hardly on it. But he's hardly on Holland either. The Beach Boys had a huge pool of talent. Luckily they often displayed it during the 1970s. If you listen to the album and sideline the internal politics clearly going on during this period, it's a very rewarding listen. I really like the album packaging too. You can pick up this album crazy cheap on vinyl. Often less than £5. It's worth that easily. And my original pressing sounds great.

 

It's fine actually. The only issue is that it's far too long to be put on the album. 10 minutes. Should have been 5, tops. It's alright though. Don't know why but it reminds me of Temporary Secretary by Mccartney. Which he released the following year.

 

I like it a lot more than Rod's disco record. It's no embarrassment.

 

I go with not great but good. Until 'That's Why God Made...' "Good Timing" was their last great song - should have been a huge hit imo. Beautiful song

 

The Dennis/Mike Love suite to close side 1 was a good sequencing decision. Good job, Bruce. That leads into the triumphant and fabuloso disco excursion at the beginning of side 2. Hope you're wearing your seatbelt, because this kind of disco is wild and crazy at any speed!

 

I remember the Rolling Stone Record Guide describing 15BO, MIU, LA, and KTSA akin to watching a worm wriggling on a hook.
None of those albums are near that bad.

 

It's basically Carl and Dennis still trying, but coming up short on material. As a result 14 minutes are devoted to the infamous disco version of "Here Comes the Night" and yeah, "Shortnin Bread".

If you ignore those two tracks, it's OK. Definitely not 1/5 stars (Rolling Stone). But, it's not good enough to be 3/5 so maybe 2/5 stars is about right.

 

I think the Boy George song is surprisingly good, and gets a great performance from Carl. The Stevie song may be the slightest one in his catalogue.

 

Pet Sounds was the last “great” album to my ears. Some albums that followed (20/20, Friends, Wild Honey, Sunflower) were very good, but I don’t think they ever reached the level of greatness.

 

I think it was the very Van Dyke Parks-like arrangement that first did it for me.

 

Did Lady Lynda do anything in the US? It was a top 10 hit in the UK.

 

Absolutely! I’m a massive BBs fan. For me it all ends with this album. Nothing after this is worth a damn. It’s not a great album but it is the end of their wonderful long run. End of the line right here.

 

I thought That’s Why God Made The Radio was decent. Especially the title track, which, despite being a sort of rewrite of Sail On Sailor, gives you that fuzzy feeling that none of their output in the 80’s and 90’s had.

 

I have never understood why they put the long version of "Here Comes The Night", that only belongs on a 12" single, on the album when they had so many recent and not so recent outtakes that could have taken its place and made it a better album.

My selfmade version of the album has only the 7" version, which leaves enough space for "It's A Beautiful Day", "Brian's Back", "California Feelin'" and "Lookin' Down The Coast", and this makes a much more satisfying listening experience.

With its track listing as it is, it's a bit as if Paul McCartney had included the 12" long version of "Goodnight Tonight" on Back To The Egg? Well, he didn't even include the 7" single version...

 

Oof. For me, MIU is pretty close. I love the Beach Boys and can be pretty lenient in grading their music (pre-1980), but that record I find almost unlistenable.

 

They had a lot of stuff in the vault at that time. "Soulful Old Man Sunshine' and '4th or July' and/or 'Carry Me Home' all would have worked in that context. Any one of those with '....Night' being cut to half its length would have changed perceptions of the album

 

Your point, that an album should not be disregarded based solely on the absence of Brian, is a good one. The problem is that Holland is bookended by two terrific Brian compositions ("Sail On Sailer" and "Funky Pretty"), and features Carl, Alan, Dennis and Mike coming up with some of the strongest compositions of their careers. Nothing on LA comes close to Carl’s “The Trader”, Mike’s “Big Sur” or Al’s “California”.

 

Was there not some mad idea (of Bruce's?) to have Do You Like Worms open the album? Thought I read that somewhere.

2/3 of this album is really good. Full Sail and Going South are a bit bland but nice enough. Disco HCTN is a waste of time and then there's Shortenin' Bread.... Angel Come Home is an overlooked one.

 

L.A. > Holland

 

I don’t think “Goodnight Tonight” is the right comparison. If you must use McCartney, I think it is closer to “PS Love Me Do” in that it takes a fantastic original and creates a disco version with all the heart and charm of Stars on 45.

Of course, things got even worse with “Wipe Out”. It’s a shame, because after “Shortnin’ Bread” I was actually hoping they’d do “Scrub Me Mama With a Boogie Beat” as their next nod to African American culture.

 

Yes, it could have been better, but the tracklist represented someone’s idea of what would sell at the time. They were pretty desperate after the commercial disaster of MIU.

 

I think it's their last half-good album until the final one. There were other songs around that could've been used to beef it up. I would have been happier if they'd included Constant Companion, Lookin'Down the Coast, Santa Ana Winds and maybe recorded Country Pie (which they were doing live and which Mike had recorded for Celebration) - at the expense of Here Comes the Night (maybe I could have taken a shorter version), Shortenin' Bread and Sumahama. Still, better than MIU and better than KTSA.

Of course, we all have our ideas of what the Beach Boys should've been doing and what a 'good' BB record should be like and for some, any movement beyond fun and sun doesn't work; though there's also the fact that fans (of any band) find it tough to let go and like to find some good in everything, so...

 

It is almost great. Very good. 3.5/5

 

My thoughts too. 4/5.

 

And now you've piqued my curiosity, I will have to check out an album I've avoided for the last however long!

Mind you, all this comparing Here Comes The Night with Do Ya Think I'm Sexy has brought an unpleasant image of Mike Love gyrating in leopard print....