With the proliferation of the iTunes/iPod shuffle, over the past seven years, I am forever reminded just how diverse the Beach Boys catalog truly is. Yes, I have the majority of the LPs, but it’s when those random individual nuggets pop up without warning that the width and breadth of their diversity really hits home. The 10,000 foot view of the group would read something like: California teenage pop group, along with Jan & Dean and others, become the focal point of America’s fascination with the burgeoning SoCal teen, car and surf culture. Group knocks out hit after number one hit. Leader Brian Wilson writes/records one of the most influential records of the 20th century only to creatively/socially drop out for the next three decades. Group continues on with little help from Wilson all the while delving into soul, r&b, and rock & roll while fostering a reputation as an ace live act.
While flying into Austin Friday night for SXSW the live version of the Beach Boys’ “Sail On Sailor” worked itself into the shuffle mix. While I won’t go as far as to say it at all trumps the Holland studio version, this one (and the 1973 live LP The Beach Boys In Concert it’s culled from) captures yet another chameleon aspect of the Beach Boys career.
Coincidently I am also consistently struck by just how pigeonholed this band is in the eyes/ears the majority of pop culture. It’s most likely the **“Kokomo/John Stamos“ effect.
**In case you chose to click on that link and view that abomination, I’m posting my favorite Beach Boys youtube clip below. Consider it a palette cleanse.
Download:
MP3: The Beach Boys :: Sail On Sailor
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Amazon: The Beach Boys In Concert
+ Download digital music via eMusic’s 25 free MP3 no risk trial offer
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aw i wanted to hear what brian had to say at the end of the video!
1 | theMike March 17th, 2009 at 3:46 amCarl’s voice is magnificent in the clip. What a beaut.
2 | alejandro March 17th, 2009 at 8:59 amholland is great. I’ll say the version of The Trader on the live album beats the studio version. now there’s a great Holland era BBoys classic.
I’ve been checking out Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin’s (who sang lead on Sail on Sailor) THE FLAME album. Those guys were great assets for Carl’s beach boys.
3 | brendan March 17th, 2009 at 10:18 amEver hear the 71 Grateful Dead show where the Beach Boys strolled on stage and sang harmonies for a dozen songs? Kinda sloppy since Carl was on LSD, but they did a spot on version of Merle haggard’s “Okie Fom Muskogee”
4 | Cashew March 17th, 2009 at 1:54 pmnever realized how integral Carl’s vocals were to “Good Vibrations.” cool clip.
5 | pangea March 17th, 2009 at 2:32 pm[...] Blogload: Sail On, Sailor [...]
6 | AQD x Beach Boys | Chewing Pine March 17th, 2009 at 3:51 pmMy goodness, this is the swampiest “Good Vibrations” ever, like the Beach Boys run through Dead Meadow.
7 | marty March 17th, 2009 at 5:01 pmThis has to be tmy favorite song the Beach Boys ever recorded – flowing, immensely listenable, and phenomenal in every other unmentioned aspect. Perfection in its highest stratosphere (literally). For anyone who enjoyed Sail On Sailor, I strongly suggest you give the album Holland (which contains Sail On Sailor) a full listen – you will be mesmerized.
8 | Funky Rutabaga March 17th, 2009 at 5:47 pmI’m pretty sure Brian did the lead vocals on “Good Vibrations” in studio, but was too doped up to do lead vocals live in the ’70s, so Carl took over. I love that youtube clip. Gotta love the Beatles mullet.
9 | A.J. March 17th, 2009 at 8:37 pmThanks for the palette cleanser! The other day I saw a blog that wanted people to vote on which version of Dennis Wilson’s song Forever was better–his or that Stamos guy’s. I’m hoping the request was some kind of joke. That B-list celebrity’s involvement with what remained of the Boys was another death blow to their reputation. Thanks to Brian Wilson for reclaiming his artistic legacy!
10 | mark March 19th, 2009 at 2:57 pmCarl sang the lead for the original “Good Vibrations” as well as “God Only Knows.”
11 | brendan March 20th, 2009 at 1:45 pmI did click, and I did need the palette cleanser. I’m not even sure what I just witnessed. Mike Love with a sax? Kokomo? Tom Cruise? I feel ill. But I digress…thanks for this post. I agree the Beach Boys are so pigeonholed…and it often works against them. Most know them as the 1960s surf band-then-fast forward to Kokomo and then the ‘Beach Boys’ aka Mike Love playing Dubya’s 4th of July party. What is missed is all the great stuff in-between (sans the that last song, obviously).
12 | JFK March 20th, 2009 at 4:10 pmI love the Beach Boys. Good Vibrations!
13 | Sharolyn Norris March 20th, 2009 at 4:51 pmI need to know what movie that clip is from so I can rent it immediately. Fucking awesome. Not sure if I enjoyed the version of Good Vibrations or the b-day party footage more.
14 | JV March 24th, 2009 at 5:02 pm