Two Great albums on one CD (Sunflower - Beach Boys)

Member Name: Scottyboy_Peanut

Product:	Sunflower - Beach Boys
Date:	08/05/09 (21 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: So many greats songs to hear

Disadvantages: No Bonus tracks

Seeing as the Sunflower album is now only available on a twofer with Surf's Up I will review both albums here. .
First up is Sunflower and what a splendid album it is. At the time this was recorded Brian Wilson was withdrawing more and more into his own world and the other band member took it upon themselves to create an album using their own talents along with whatever input Brian was willing and able to offer. That may not sound like a recipe for making one of the best post Pet Sounds albums but it actually works.
Brian Wilson's contributions on Sunflower totals 7 of the 12 songs, mostly co-writing but the one written solely by him is the two minute wonder This Whole World. What a song this is! If you can read music the chord changes make no sense,. There are far too many changes and no sign of a regular chord progression at all but Brian Wilson makes this song rock. The lead vocal from little brother Carl Wilson is the icing on the cake and is a real highlight of Sunflower.
Dennis Wilson was the Beach Boy to really stand up and be counted on this album. The man we all thought was just a great live drummer (but mediocre in the studio) writes four songs, one of which is Dennis' most well known song a ballad that tugs at the heart strings called Forever.

Dennis has a style that is far removed from big brother Brian's but the contrast works here on Sunflower unlike some of the later albums by the boys.
Sunflower ends with the Smile outtake Cool Cool Water, and Surf's Up begins with the aquatically themed Don't go Near the Water.

So onto Surf's up we go and of the two albums here, this is my favourite. Maybe it is because I was given Surf's up for Christmas when I was 8 years old that it holds a dear place in my heart where only Pet Sounds keeps it company.
With the exception of Student Demonstration Time I enjoy every track here immensely, even take a Load off Your feet. Bruce Johnson's best song Disney Girls and Carl Wilson's best Beach Boy songs Long promised Road and Feel Flows are very enjoyable but once again Brian Wilson steals the album with three songs that blew my mind when I first heard them and not a lot has changed in the 28 years since.
First comes A Day in the Life of a Tree. It can be interpreted as a song about the environment but anybody that knows the life and struggles of Brian Wilson will come to the same conclusion I did and believe he wrote it about himself. The lead vocal is by the then Beach Boys manager Jack Reiley who was tricked by Brian (He though he was doing a sound test) into singing his one and only lead vocal. The haunting organ that opens the track gives way to some chirping birds and concludes with some of the finest harmonies ever recorded. Much like the tag to God Only Knows, the tag is a round with Jack Reiley joined by Smile lyric writer Van Dyke Parks and the underrated quiet man of the Beach Boys Al Jardine. It is mesmerising.
Next comes Till I Die. Once again this song sounds to me like Brian is writing about himself and his own mental problems though these days Brian says it is about how he feels small. This song also finishes with more incredible harmonies that surpass even those on A Day in the Life of a Tree.
Finally the album closes with a song that was intended for the abandoned Smile project, Surf's Up. For me this is the best song on this twofer and indeed one of the greatest songs ever written. For this 1971 version of the song Brian was coaxed out of his bed to sing on the new backing track because Brian original vocal didn't quite fit the timing of the new version. Unfortunately Brian couldn't sing it anymore so Carl sings the first section and gives a stellar performance. Brian's original vocal from the Smile sessions does feature in the second section however and is gorgeous. Again the tag is a wave of harmonies and quite stunning

Overall this twofer is great value and deserves a place in the collection of anybody that has even a passing interest in the music of the Beach Boys. It could very well be the start of a lifelong adoration of those Hawthorne boys as it was for me.

The only complaint I can muster with this twofer is that, unlike the other twofers in the series, there are no bonus tracks. If there is ever a reissue of this twofer I would hope that at least Dennis Wilson's Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again would feature because it is one of the very best Beach Boy songs but only a handful of people have ever heard it.

Summary: Even during some hard times the BB's made great music