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The Beach Boys

Beach Boys, The

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The Beach Boys: I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 13 August 1977

"SOME KAHLUA, we need a coupla pitchers of milk..." "Send up a bottle of milk. O.K., cartons. Four cartons. And some honey. And a coffee. ...

Audio interviews

The Beach Boys' Mike Love (1976)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, Fall 1976

Mr. Love talks about his love of oriental girls; on David Marks and Al Jardine; Murry Wilson's harshness; the "indentured servitude" of their Capitol Records contract, and Capitol's hit compilations Endless Summer and Spirit of America; the reception of 'Good Vibrations'; Brother Records... and Brian producing Three Dog Night.

File format: mp3; file size: 16.5mb, interview length: 17' 10" sound quality: ****

The Beach Boys' Bruce Johnston (1980)

Interview by John Tobler, Rock's Backpages audio, June 1980

The part-time Beach Boy talks about producing their latest album, Keepin' the Summer Alive; the band's recording process, and using studio players; on being in and out of the band, and being Brian's "replacement"; his work outside the band, including producing David Cassidy; the relationships within the band; being happy playing the hits; the current state of Brian Wilson, and his hopes for the future.

File format: mp3; file size: 29mb, interview length: 30' 14" sound quality: *****

Dr. Eugene Landy on Brian Wilson (1988)

Interview by Andy Gill, Rock's Backpages audio, 25 September 1988

The notorious Dr. Landy talks about his long association with Brian Wilson, going back to helping produce 15 Big Ones in 1976: his own background in the music business with Frankie Avalon and George Benson; becoming a psychologist; what was wrong with Wilson, and how he fixed him; the Capitol reissues of the Beach Boys' catalogue; his break with Wilson, and being called back by the band; dealing with Wilson's health issues; the complexities surrounding the production of Wilson's first solo record; the involvement of his wife Alexandra (who appears here), and his on-off relationship with the Beach Boys.

File format: mp3; file size: 83mb, interview length: 1h 26' 30" sound quality: ****

Nik Venet (1993)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, Summer 1993

From his youth in '50s Baltimore to involvement with Linda Ronstadt and the Canyon Cowboys in '70s L.A., via Kim Fowley, his time at World Pacific and Capitol including producing the Beach Boys and much more: the music biz veteran tells the whole story.

File format: mp3; file size: 108.6mb, interview length: 1h 53' 09" sound quality: ***

Brian Wilson (1995)

Interview by Steve Roeser, Rock's Backpages audio, 1 December 1995

The Great American songwriter/producer on his relationship with the Beach Boys; Orange Crate Art with Van Dyke Parks; L.A. pop radio in the early '60s and his love of Chuck Berry; the impact of the Beatles, and his relationship with his father.

File format: mp3; file size: 27.9mb, interview length: 30' 30" sound quality: ***

The Beach Boys (2012)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 14 February 2012

Messrs Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks look back at the old days, from the Surf era through Pet Sounds and into the '70s: the songs, the sounds, the good times and bad.

File format: mp3; file size: 64.8mb, interview length: 1h 10' 48" sound quality: ****

List of articles in the library

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Let's Go Surfin'...

Report by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 20 July 1963

Peter Jones takes a close look at the latest U.S. craze to hit the scene ...

Mr. Wilson hated rock — but he loved the Beach Boys

Profile and Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 22 August 1964

THE NOISE the Beach Boys make is a wail with a touch of adenoid; the songs, they sing are about surfing and cars. What with ...

The Beach Boys: In The Space Age Will It Be Surf?

Report and Interview by Vicki Wickham, Fabulous, 15 January 1965

Will it be Surf in the Space Age? Well, The Beach Boys are pioneers of this new sound. They combine the satin-smooth feeling of the ...

Nobody bugs the Gutsy Greek — the sten guns see to that

Interview by Maureen Cleave, The Evening Standard, 1 May 1965

NICK VENET went into the American record industry when he was 18 years old for this reason: "I wanted," he said, "to do something devastating; ...

Head Beach Boy: Brian Wilson Turns Serious

Interview by Jamie McCluskey III, KRLA Beat, 6 November 1965

A FUNNY THING happened to me as I was sidewalk surfin' the other day. At the crucial moment, just when I was about to hang ...

Beach Boys' Fame Just Grew and Grew!

Interview by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 18 February 1966

THE FIVE Californian Beach Boys – Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine – began their music career with little intention of ...

Beach Boy Brian Solo — Has Stand-In With Group!

Report and Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 11 March 1966

IMAGINE THE Stones planning their next British tour, knowing that Mick was going to stay in London and write songs! Or what if Spencer Davis ...

The Beach Boys Visit The Animals

Report by Eden, KRLA Beat, 2 April 1966

ACTUALLY, I don't usually go flying around in airplanes with five Beach Boys — I mean, not usually, but this was sort of an exception. ...

One Day On The Beat

Report by Carol Deck, KRLA Beat, 9 April 1966

SO YOU'D like to be a BEAT reporter, huh? So you think we lead an interesting exciting life full of nothing but fun and games ...

Some Producers' Hints From Beach Boy Brian

Interview by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 30 April 1966

FOR THE LAST few weeks, we have been speaking with various record producers exclusively in The BEAT in an effort to take The BEAT'S readers ...

The Beach Boys: Complex and Intricate

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 20 May 1966

"THE BEACH Boys' ambassador in tennis shoes," as their publicist Derek Taylor so aptly describes new group member Bruce Johnston, surfed into the Waldorf Hotel ...

Beach Boy In Town... Cool, So Cool

Interview by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 28 May 1966

BRUCE JOHNSTON is 23 and has sandy hair and wears bright custard shirts. He used to be a record producer for CBS in America and ...

How Far Out Can The Poppers Go?

Report by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 28 May 1966

NOW YOU'RE NEVER ALONE — WITH A SITAR ...

Brian Wilson: "Toys Are Gonna Happen!"

Report and Interview by Jamie McCluskey III, KRLA Beat, 11 June 1966

WELL, BRIAN Wilson has discovered the wonderful world of toys. Yep — he has discovered a whole new world of things to get into and ...

Ray Charles, Little Stevie Wonder, The Beach Boys, the Byrds, the Marvelettes, the McCoys: Yankee Stadium, the Bronx NY

Live Review by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 16 June 1966

Pop Eye: Soundblast '66 ...

The Beach Boys, Lovin' Spoonful, Percy Sledge, The Byrds, Chad & Jeremy: Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 1 July 1966

SOUND MARS SPECTACULAR ...

The Beach Boys: Pet Sounds (Capitol)

Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 July 1966

AN IN-DEPTH REVIEW OF THE BEACH BOYS' WIDELY-PRAISED NEW ALBUM PET SOUNDS ...

Secrets of Spoonful Hit Sound: 'Music is on its way UP!'

Profile by Derek Taylor, Disc and Music Echo, 23 July 1966

DEREK TAYLOR reporting: Hollywood, Tuesday ...

The Beach Boys: Verdict On Pet Sounds

Interview by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 30 July 1966

The most progressive pop album ever? Or as sickly as peanut butter? Pop people reply. ...

? Time with Beach Boy Brian Wilson

Interview by Ann Moses, New Musical Express, 5 August 1966

THE Beach Boys — in demand for appearances all over the world — used to be one of the most difficult groups to track down. ...

Brian Tells About His Music, & Why The Beach Boys Stopped Surfing...

Interview by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 13 August 1966

Brian Wilson never appears, nowadays, with the Beach Boys — but he couldn't stamp his individuality more strongly on them if he was up there ...

Hit Parader's Letter From London

Column by Miranda Ward, Hit Parader, October 1966

A FEW WEEKS ago when I met the KINKS for a drink, PETE QUAIFE ruined my stockings! The pub was crowded and in the crush ...

New Singles, including Beach Boys, Spencer Davis Group

Review by Penny Valentine, Disc and Music Echo, 29 October 1966

BEACH BOYS' new single — and it's a work of art 'Good Vibrations': What can you say about a work of art other than stating ...

Beach Boys Sensational Visit

Report and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 11 November 1966

MY FIRST MISTAKE was trying to escape from London airport on Sunday morning, through approximately a thousand fans, with drummer Dennis Wilson, whom I later ...

The Beach Boys, Lulu: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 11 November 1966

SCREAMERS SILENCED! ...

The Beach Boys, Sounds Incorporated, Lulu: Finsbury Park Astoria, London

Live Review by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

Beach Boys get lads going! ...

The Beach Boys: Beach Boys' Crazy Last Night!

Report by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 18 November 1966

AMONG those getting in each others' way in the Beach Boys' dressing room at Hammersmith Odeon on Monday night were publicist Derek Taylor (minus moustache), ...

The Beach Boys: Meanwhile... What's BRIAN Doing Back at Base?

Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 18 November 1966

WHILE THE Beach Boys are rocking Europe, BB-mastermind Brian Wilson, has not been resting on his and their laurels! ...

The Beach Boys: Danger Spice Of Dennis' Life

Interview by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 24 December 1966

A Beach Boy a Day by Tracy Thomas ...

A Hard Day's Surfin' Safari: When Brian Met Macca

Memoir by Derek Taylor, World Countdown News, 1967

When Beatles press officer Derek Taylor swapped Swinging Britain for LA's Sunset Strip in 1965, he played a pivotal part in bringing the worlds of ...

Carl Wilson: 'Weird Sounds Don't Blow My Mind'

Profile and Interview by Eden, KRLA Beat, 14 January 1967

THERE ARE three Wilson brothers, a cousin, and a friend. Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike and Al. Collectively, they are The Beach Boys. There are five ...

Beach Boy a Day: Brian — Loved or Loathed Genius

Profile by Tracy Thomas, New Musical Express, 28 January 1967

IF YOU should ever meet Brian Wilson, you would either take to him or despise him immediately. His continual drive for a new "kick" would ...

Brian Wilson Tells Why He Likes The Beach Boys

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, February 1967

BY NOW the Beach Boys' story is familiar — how three brothers, a cousin and a friend became, with their first record over four years ...

The Beach Boys News Special

Report and Interview by Mike Grant, Rave, February 1967

FOR THE Beach Boys, '67 should be the year of new sounds. ...

How Beach Boys Took England

Interview by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 10 February 1967

I TALKED ON the phone with Mike Love of the Beach Boys last week. Mike was in Los Angeles getting ready for the group's upcoming ...

Los Angeles: The Vanishing Underground

Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 16 February 1967

LOS ANGELES — Sunset Strip is dead. ...

The Beach Boys, Keith, the Electric Prunes, the Left Banke: Masonic Auditorium, Detroit MI

Live Review by Loraine Alterman, Detroit Free Press, 21 February 1967

Played to Packed House — The Beach Boys Concert: It Was a Crowd-Pleaser ...

This Is Where It's At

Column by Mike Grant, Rave, March 1967

RAVE man Mike Grant is here again with more gossip on your favourite stars! ...

Paul drops in at a Beach Boys recording session

Report by Derek Taylor, Disc and Music Echo, 22 April 1967

DEREK TAYLOR reporting from Hollywood on a meeting of the giants ...

Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Them, Beach Boys, Kinks et al: Singles Reviews

Review by Peter Jones, Record Mirror, 6 May 1967

A multitude of newies this week including Presley, Dylan, & Beach Boys ...

This Week's Singles: The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Beach Boys et al

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 6 May 1967

SUBTLE KINKS HEADING FOR CHART SUCCESS ...

The Beach Boys, Helen Shapiro: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 13 May 1967

Happy Beach Boys sing the single they don't like ...

The Beach Boys, Small Faces, Dusty Springfield et al: NME Poll Winners Concert, Empire Pool, Wembley, London

Live Review by Keith Altham, Alan Smith, New Musical Express, 13 May 1967

POLL SHOW THRILLS ALL THE WAY ...

The Beach Boys: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

ONCE AGAIN in their striped shirts the five Beach Boys opened the English part of their tour at London's Hammersmith Odeon last Thursday. ...

Beach Boy Defies Draft, Would Rather Go To Jail

Report by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 20 May 1967

CARL WILSON of the Beach Boys has decided to risk jail rather than report for induction into the Army. ...

Two Things Make Beach Boys Sad

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 27 May 1967

ONE OF the Beach Boys seemed very pleased about their new single when I visited their dressing room before a concert and their eventual departure ...

Dennis Wilson: We Just Want To Be A Good Group

Interview by Jim Delehant, Hit Parader, June 1967

Beach Boy drummer Dennis Wilson is, according to Brian, "The most messed up person I know. He's too nervous. He has to keep moving all ...

Beach Boys 'Heroes' leaps in at No. 16 and Bruce's trip pays off!

Report and Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, August 1967

WELL, THAT was Bruce Johnston, that was! The Beach Boys' all-purpose, all-weather, swing-winged auxiliary and unpaid publicist promoting 'Heroes And Villains' in England last week. ...

No More Beach Boy Gaps — Says Bruce

Interview by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 12 August 1967

'GOOD VIBRATIONS' took light years to complete — 'Heroes And Villains' is the Beach Boys' new single and it took a long time too. But ...

The Week's New Singles: Beach Boys, 5th Dimension, Vanilla Fudge, Moby Grape, Aretha Franklin

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 12 August 1967

Fresh Beach Boys for the summer months ...

Beach Boy Bruce Johnston reviews new singles in Blind Date

Review by uncredited writer, Melody Maker, 19 August 1967

VANILLA FUDGE: 'You Keep Me Hanging On' (Atlantic). Oh! I love it. Oh it's great. I didn't recognise the beginning at first. Yeah, Vanilla Fudge. ...

Albums from the Beach Boys, Bobby Vee, Glen Campbell and the Byrds

Review by uncredited writer, KRLA Beat, 7 October 1967

SMILEY SMILE (Brother Records) The Beach Boys. 'Heroes and Villains', 'Wind Chimes', 'Gettin' Hungry' plus eight other tracks. ...

The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile (Capitol)

Review by Wesley Laine, Record Mirror, 14 October 1967

BEACH BOY fans will be delighted with the new LP Smiley Smile. At least, that is if (a) the record is released in the American ...

The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile (Brother — ST 9001)

Review by Richard Goldstein, The New York Times, 29 October 1967

Recordings: The Beach Boys Sing a Rock Prayer ...

New Singles including The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Buffalo Springfield

Review by Nick Jones, Melody Maker, 18 November 1967

STILL THE BEATLES OLD SOUL AND FEELING ...

Singles from the Beach Boys, the Parliaments, Wilson Pickett et al

Review by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 18 November 1967

AMERICA AWAKES, INCORPORATING 'ROCK-SOUL-BLUES REVIEWS' BY NORMAN JOPLING ...

California!

Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Listener, 22 November 1967

2012 NOTE: In the third (and last) column below written for The Listener in late 1967, I tried to begin to grope towards construction ...

Murry Wilson: 'If The Beach Boys Realize Their Dad Is On The Ball, They'll Work Harder!'

Interview by Norman Jopling, Record Mirror, 2 December 1967

ARRIVING at the Hilton Hotel to talk to Murry Wilson, I phoned his room to enquire as to whether I could go up and start ...

Van Dyke Parks: Pop Music's Pilot Through the Aesthetic Shoals

Profile and Interview by Pete Johnson, Los Angeles Times, 10 December 1967

WHAT FOLLOWS is an exorbitant number of words about and from an insignificant recording artist named Van Dyke Parks. He is insignificant at the moment, ...

1968 Will See Better Things From The Beach Boys

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 30 December 1967

DESPITE THE fact that the Beach Boys new single, 'Wild Honey' is having a sticky time in the charts, the group is still able to ...

The Beach Boys: Wild Honey (Capitol)

Review by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 30 December 1967

THE BEACH Boys new album, Wild Honey (Capitol), to be released in late January, is the antidote for all those who were confused and a ...

Records of the Year: The Beatles, The Beach Boys

Review by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 6 January 1968

The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band THIS ONE has historical value as a milestone in pop music, and in the art of recording, so ...

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi: The Politics of Salvation

Report by Richard Goldstein, The Village Voice, 25 January 1968

The question of the hour is: can an honest man still be a fraud? ...

Platter Chatter: Albums from the Doors, Sopwith Camel, Beach Boys, Procol Harum and Pink Floyd

Review by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, February 1968

STRANGE DAYS, The Doors' second album, is another cauldron of energy, excitement and improvisation. (That's Review Number 34, Ray.) ...

The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile (Brother)

Review by Paul Nelson, Hullabaloo, February 1968

THE BEACH Boys' Smiley Smile is the long-awaited new Beach Boys album and the sequel to Pet Sounds, the latter being one of the classic ...

How Goes It Underground?

Report and Interview by Tom Nolan, Los Angeles Times, 18 February 1968

IT WAS A big day for me, for I had just met Andrew Oldham, the brains behind the Stones. He was very thin and he ...

The Maharishi, The Beach Boys and the Heathens

Report by Loraine Alterman, New York Magazine, 6 March 1968

"IN BALTIMORE last night in the middle of the Maharishi's talk, a kid got up and yelled 'Maharishi, you're full of it'." Beach Boy Bruce ...

The Beach Boys: Beach Boys Meet Elvis

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 23 March 1968

THE BEACH Boys meet Elvis! Beach Boys tour with London Philharmonic Orchestra? Bruce Johnston sings Lennon and McCartney! Beach Boys to do rock 'n' roll ...

Maharishi links Beatles and Beach Boys

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 6 April 1968

NME helps find World Peace venue ...

The Beach Boys: A Brave New World – Through Pop

Interview by Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 6 April 1968

IT'S GOING to be a Brave New World through pop. That's the hope of men like George Harrison, Donovan and Mike Love, bearded, humourous hell-raiser ...

After The Maharishi What Next For The Beach Boys?

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 1 June 1968

AN UNEXPECTED bonus came out of the collapse of the Beach Boys' abortive tour with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. After the Indian mystic split the trek, ...

Villains and Heroes: In Defense of the Beach Boys

Essay by Gene Sculatti, Jazz & Pop, September 1968

BRIAN WILSON AND COMPANY are currently at the center of an intense contemporary rock controversy, involving the academic "rock as art" critic-intellectuals, the AM-tuned teenies, ...

20 Revolutionary Singles, as requested

Letter by Geoffrey Cannon, unpublished, 28 October 1968

25 FLORENCE TERRACE, FALMOUTH, CORNWALL TELEPHONE: FALMOUTH 1840 23rd October 1968 ...

Beach Boys Report

Interview by Mike Grant, Rave, November 1968

Progress: Full of magical mysteries Potential: Could still yet confound their critics Talent: Try hard but don't always succeed Image: Attempting desperately ...

Beach Boys Pulled Out Of Doldrums

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express Annual, December 1968

WITHER The Beach Boys in 1969? The group that produced 'Good Vibrations' and 'God Only Knows' have never quite recaptured the magic of those halcyon ...

The Beach Boys, Barry Ryan: Palladium, London

Live Review by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 7 December 1968

Beach Boys' magic ...

Dennis Wilson: 'I Live With 17 Girls'

Interview by David Griffiths, Record Mirror, 21 December 1968

SAID DENNIS WILSON, a bemused frown on his face: "I don't know why I'm telling you all this..." Well, whatever Dennis's reasons (if any), the ...

The Beach Boys: Funny, they don't look on their uppers

Interview by Alan Walsh, Melody Maker, 7 June 1969

ALAN WALSH meets the optimistic Beach Boy ...

Love, Respect Binds The Beach Boys

Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 28 June 1969

By RICHARD GREEN — the sixth Beach Boy ...

The Continuing Story Of Beach Boy Dennis Wilson

Interview by Lon Goddard, Record Mirror, 5 July 1969

...and his house of seventeen women. RM'S Lon Goddard reports from the loo!!! ...

Beach Boy Mike Would Love To Convert You

Interview by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 26 July 1969

Richard Green Tries A Spot Of Meditation ...

Albums from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Howlin' Wolf et al

Review by uncredited writer, Hit Parader, August 1969

BAYOU COUNTRY is the second album by Creedence Clearwater Revival and they are undoubtedly the most joyful, exciting rock and roll band since Little Richard. ...

Dennis Wilson

Interview by Keith Altham, Rave, September 1969

DENNIS WILSON is the walking contradiction in the Beach Boys, who provides the motor for the group with his powerhouse percussion and unlimited energy. Dennis ...

Staying Home: Brian Wilson

Report and Interview by Derek Grant, Melody Maker, 21 November 1970

"IT WAS A MISTAKE but I had to try it. After about half an hour I realised I couldn't go on. My ears hurt, I ...

Brian Wilson/The Beach Boys - A Celebration Of Wild Honey: a discussion with David Anderle

Book Excerpt by Paul Williams, Outlaw Blues, 1971

WHEN DAVID ANDERLE AND I BEGAN our discussion of Brian Wilson, we had just finished listening to Wild Honey (the Beach Boys, Capitol Records, November ...

Beach Boys: A Reappraisal

Retrospective by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 22 May 1971

IT'S PROBABLY pouring with rain by now, but the sunny days we were vouchsafed by the Almighty last week prompted me – and almost certainly ...

Jam: Grateful Dead & Beach Boys: Fillmore East, New York NY

Live Review by Toby Mamis, Action World, June 1971

Perhaps The two greatest bands in rock history jammed at The Fillmore Apr. 27, 1971. The result was incredible ...

The Beach Boys: A Group For All Seasons

Profile by Ben Edmonds, Circus, June 1971

FROM THEIR inception back in the early part of the last decade, the Beach Boys were at the pinnacle of the rock establishment, with an ...

The Beach Boys: Vancouver 1969

Interview by Mike Quigley, The Georgia Straight, 30 July 1971

This interview with Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Bruce Johnson was recorded in January 1969. ...

Beach Boys Hang Ten in Hotel Lobby

Interview by Toby Mamis, Creem, October 1971

IT'S BEEN nine and a half years since the Beach Boys started out, singing 'Surfin' Safari' in Southern California, on New Year's Eve, 1961. At ...

The Beach Boys: A California Saga

Special Feature by Tom Nolan, Rolling Stone, 28 October 1971

Part One: Mr. Everything ...

Van Morrison: Tupelo Honey; The Band: Cahoots; The Beach Boys: Surf's Up

Review by Geoffrey Cannon, The Guardian, 29 October 1971

Out of the city ...

The Beach Boys: Surf's Up (Stateside SSL 10313, £2.15.)

Review by Richard Williams, The Times, 2 November 1971

Old heroes are best ...

The Beach Boys: Surf's Up

Review by Richard Green, New Musical Express, 6 November 1971

COULD THE BEACH BOYS actually be doing a Moody Blues? The whole theme of this is: the world might be in a pretty dismal state ...

The Beach Boys: Surf's Up (Brother/Reprise 6653)

Review by Metal Mike Saunders, The Rag, 8 November 1971

ENOUGH'S BEEN written about the Beach Boys' comeback to choke a horse, and 99% of it has been rubbish. The Beach Boys have been putting ...

The Beach Boys: A California Saga — Part Two: Tales of Hawthorne

Special Feature by Tom Nolan, Rolling Stone, 11 November 1971

There is the tale, told by an anonymous Beach Boy, about an outrageous instance of Brian Wilson's creative humor. Brian was about 18. The family ...

The Beach Boys: Surf's Up

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1972

HERE'S ONE that won't disappoint anybody at all. Suddenly the Beach Boys are back in fashionable favour, and they've produced an album which fully backs ...

The Beach Boys: Surf's Up (Brother/Reprise)

Review by Dave Marsh, Creem, January 1972

I HAVE, AT one time or another, been a Beach Boys fan. I was even more a punk then than I am now, though, and ...

The Beach Boys: Carl And The Passions – So Tough (Reprise)

Review by Ken Barnes, Phonograph Record, May 1972

It's become increasingly evident that the Beach Boys are dead serious about shedding their hedonistic California surf-cars-and-fun stand for a more "contemporary" image. Surf's Up ...

The Beach Boys: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 3 June 1972

I AM, it should be emphasised, a Beach Boys freak from way back, to 'Wendy' and 'Surfin' U.S.A.', through Pet Sounds to Surfs Up, and ...

Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, Richie Havens, Melanie, Sha Na Na: Crystal Palace Bowl, London

Live Review by Tony Stewart, New Musical Express, 10 June 1972

Soakin' At The Palace: TONY STEWART reviews the Garden Party that should have been a lot better ...

The Beach Boys: With Love And Good Vibes part 1

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 10 June 1972

THE BEACH BOYS are the most successful and oldest working rock and roll band on the road today and this is a crucial year in ...

The Beach Boys: With Love And Good Vibes part 2

Interview by Keith Altham, New Musical Express, 17 June 1972

THE FINAL part of Keith Altham's interview with Beach Boy Mike Love. Last week Love talked about the group's involvement with transcendental meditation. Now he ...

Pub Fights, Gales, Oldies: The Gt. Western Festival Saga

Report by Andrew Bailey, Rolling Stone, 6 July 1972

LONDON — "Somebody leaped out at her from behind some bushes in our driveway," explained a seething Lieut-Col. Michael Underwood, "and gave her a black ...

The Beach Boys: Holland (Brother/Reprise)

Review by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 1973

YOU HAVE JUST a fortnight to save up before this record hits the stores – and buy it you should, for it contains more fun ...

The Beach Boys: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles

Live Review by Steven Rosen, Sounds, 1973

THE HOLLYWOOD Palladium had its chandeliers rattled Friday evening when the legendary Beach Boys performed before a sold-out audience of full-fledged, out-and-out surfers. A long ...

The Beach Boys: Holland (Warner)

Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 27 January 1973

DESPITE MY better judgment, I temporarily dropped my rock n' roll-cynic persona, used when confronting 90 per cent of what is going down in music ...

The Beach Boys #1: The Perfect Wave

Discography by Jonh Ingham, New Musical Express, 24 March 1973

"I love to make records that my friends like to hear." – BRIAN WILSON ...

The Beach Boys #2: The Exiles Return

Discography by Jonh Ingham, New Musical Express, 31 March 1973

THE SECOND and concluding part of Jonh Ingham's retrospective look at the Beach Boys covers the '66 to '73 period. ...

The Beach Boys: A California Saga

Essay by Gene Sculatti, Greg Shaw, Ken Barnes, Phonograph Record, May 1973

The Revival of Coastal Consciousness featuring The Beach Boys, Dean Torrance, California, American Spring ...

The Beach Boys: California Dreamin'

Report by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 12 May 1973

IT WAS ALL a California Vision come to life. Pure and simple. Speeding down from the Hollywood Hills, leaving behind all the emaciated refugees on ...

Surfin' USA

Retrospective by Gene Sculatti, Let It Rock, August 1973

THOUGH it’s hard to believe, there actually was a time when youth simply signified non-adult status. Adults and youth each held to their own preferences, ...

The Beach Boys: Good Vibrations In The Rain

Live Review by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 8 December 1973

The Beach Boys: Convention Centre, Anaheim, California ...

The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile and Friends

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Reprise Records, 1974

Oddly enough, while thumbing through my record collection for these two albums, so that I might fashion a more perfect set of introductory notes, I ...

The Beach Boys: Wild Honey and 20/20

Sleeve notes by Gene Sculatti, Reprise Records, 1974

Somewhere right now someone is listening to the Beach Boys for the very first time. And somewhere else, someone is playing a Beach Boys record ...

The Beach Boys: At The Anaheim Convention Center, California

Live Review by Gene Sculatti, Phonograph Record, January 1974

WHERE ELSE could the Beach Boys preface a performance of 'Surfer Girl' with, "on our way down here tonight, we passed within two blocks of ...

The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys On Tour (Warner Bros. Import)

Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 19 January 1974

WELL NOW, there are live albums and there are live albums. ...

The Beach Boys: Endless Summer (Capitol)

Review by Greg Shaw, Phonograph Record, 1 September 1974

NO SUMMER WOULD BE complete without a Beach Boys reissue. These last couple of years, with Warner Bros. working on the post-Pet Sounds material and ...

The Beach Boys: Helping People Find That Perfect Wave

Report and Interview by Michael Gross, Zoo World, 24 October 1974

MIKE LOVE, a Beach Boy, sits under a tent backstage at Roosevelt Stadium in New Jersey. The tent breeds flies like Northern Jersey breeds bad ...

The Beach Boys: Wild Honey, 20/20 and Endless Summer

Review by Paul Williams, Crawdaddy!, November 1974

CAPITOL HAS BEEN repackaging the Beach Boys for a long time, but they haven't done a good job of it since Best Of Volumes I, ...

The Beach Boys: Hello Bruce, this is Bruce, Bruce

Interview by Jonh Ingham, New Musical Express, 7 December 1974

GIVE BRUCE Johnston credit; he isn't put off his chosen path easily. ...

The Beach Boys: Stepping Out Of The Surf

Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Melody Maker, 21 December 1974

LOS ANGELES; "Last week in Vancouver we sold out the Canadian National Exhibition Hall twice. We had 17,500 for each show and over 5,000 additional ...

The Beach Boys, Jesse Colin Young: Santa Barbara University, CA

Live Review by Steven Rosen, Sounds, 19 April 1975

"I WISH they all could be California girllls," the Beach Boys sang on a sunny and high spirited Sunday afternoon. It was the perfect setting ...

The Beach Boys: Spirit Of America

Review by Greg Shaw, Phonograph Record, May 1975

ANOTHER SUMMER, another Beach Boys anthology. It never ends, does it? All you kids who bought Endless Summer last year can now buy Spirit of ...

The Beach Boys: Wild Honey and Friends

Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 7 June 1975

IN THE GRAND old tradition of milking every last drop from The Beach Boys' catalogue comes this double coupling of the '67-'68 albums Wild Honey ...

Beachago: The Beach Boys meet Chicago

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 21 June 1975

PERHAPS THE MOST the most interesting side-effect of the depression in the United States has been the decision of two potential headliners to go out ...

Brian Wilson: The Last Beach Movie part 1

Retrospective and Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 21 June 1975

THE INCIDENT MUST HAVE occured a little over a year ago. Paul McCartney, complete with the inevitable Linda, had just flown into Los Angeles – ...

Brian Wilson: The Last Beach Movie part 2

Retrospective and Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 28 June 1975

PET SOUNDS was about to be released when Derek Taylor was taken on The Beach Boys' pay-roll. 750 dollars for dealing with the group's publicity. ...

The Beach Boys and The Eagles at Wembley Stadium

Live Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 28 June 1975

"HI, WE'RE THE Eagles from Los Angeles." Well that was a fact as predictable as the set those five gentleman dished up, a kind of ...

The Beach Boys

Comment by Mitchell Cohen, Phonograph Record, July 1975

"THIS IS A SERIOUS surfing song," Mike Love announces from the stage of Madison Square Garden and the Beach Boys launch into a lively rendition ...

Brian Wilson: The Last Beach Movie part 3

Retrospective and Interview by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 12 July 1975

EARLY MARCH 1975: The clapper-board reads "The Last Beach Movie – The Brian Wilson Story" Take 96, and our camera zooms in on the exterior ...

Spirit Of America: A Beach Boys Retrospective

Retrospective by Michael Gross, Circus, August 1975

Never have two monster groups been so united as the Beach Boys/Chicago tandem which is touring America like blood brothers. ...

Wilson Returns!

Interview by Chris Charlesworth, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

A NEW studio album is in the works, Brian Wilson is back in business and the Beach Boys are planning to visit England in late ...

Bruce Johnston : This is it, Brucie baby - you and the Beach Boys suck...

Interview by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 22 May 1976

Bruce Johnston is a most unusual interviewee. Never before have I met a musician who’s immediately aware and co-operative in terms of the journalist’s side ...

The Beach Boys: America Celebrates

Report by Ken Barnes, Phonograph Record, June 1976

"This is gonna be the most outrageous summer story of all"– Mike Love ...

The Surf's Up and Brian Wilson's Ready

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 1976

There's a world where I can go And tell my secrets to In my room... Now it's dark and I'm alone But I won't be ...

The Beach Boys: 15 Big Ones

Review by Jonh Ingham, Sounds, 3 July 1976

THE FIRST new Beach Boys studio album in three years. Fifteen big ones celebrating 15 years of Beach Boys on their 23rd album (not counting ...

The Beach Boys: 15 Big Ones (Reprise)

Review by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 3 July 1976

WHAT THE little deuce coupe is goin' on round here? ...

Brian Wilson, part 1

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Sounds, 31 July 1976

The Beach Boys' main man climbs out of the sandbox and explains how he got off the Endless Bummer. ...

Brian Wilson, part 2

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Sounds, 7 August 1976

Pet Sounds & The California Consciousness ...

14 Minutes With Beach Boy Mike Love

Interview by John Tobler, ZigZag, October 1976

ONE OF THE great omissions of Zigzag's entire life thus far has been a piece on the Beach Boys, who I consider to be the ...

Brian Wilson: Surf's Up!

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Creem, October 1976

Brian Wilson Comes Back From Lunch ...

A Conversation With Brian Wilson

Interview by David Rensin, Oui, December 1976

The poet laureate of surf and sand talks about the tribulations of being a genius, his ongoing struggle with things chemical and his monumental plans ...

Brian Wilson: After The Sand Box

Report by Chris Salewicz, New Musical Express, 25 December 1976

The zany, madcap world of Brian Wilson, episode 98 ...

The Beach Boys

Book Excerpt by David Dalton, Lenny Kaye, Rock 100, 1977

IN THE BEGINNING... WERE THE BEACH BOYS. Under the avalanche of the English Invasion, the Psychedelic Apocalypse, supersonic guitars and flash, it is almost forgotten ...

The Beach Boys Are Back in Town

Report and Interview by Michael Gross, Swank, 1977

BRIAN WILSON SAT behind a grand piano, nervously eyeing the camera pointed at his face. "When I was a little boy," he said, "my mother ...

The Beach Boys: Not All Fun, Fun, Fun

Report and Interview by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times, 1977

WHEREVER BRIAN Wilson goes, his cousin Steve is never far away. ...

Brian Gets Some Satisfaction

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 27 February 1977

AMID CONTINUING speculation in rock circles over Brian Wilson's future productivity, the new The Beach Boys Love You album arrives with solid evidence that his ...

The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys Love You (Warner-Reprise)

Review by Nick Kent, New Musical Express, 9 April 1977

A Psychology Today Special in which NICK KENT diagnoses a steady recovery for the Wilson muse. ...

Beach Boys: The Beach Boys Love You (Reprise)

Review by Lester Bangs, Circus, 9 June 1977

THE BEACH BOYS present the most convincing argument in our entire culture for never growing up. ...

The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys Love You

Review by Mitchell Cohen, Creem, July 1977

There is no TM song, no music-is-swell song, or "unfolding enveloping missiles of soul," or political/ecological commentary. Instead, what we have here is a collection ...

Brian Is Back… Again!

Report and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Phonograph Record, August 1977

"We're still happening. New people are picking up on us all the time. I don't really analyze why we're successful, but the main reason for ...

The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys Love You (Brother/Reprise KMS-2258)

Review by Gary Pig Gold, The Pig Paper, August 1977

WHY DOES EVERY CANADIAN POP PUBLICATION IGNORE THE BEACH BOYS? WHY IS THEIR NEW SINGLE, 'ROLLER SKATING CHILD', DYING ON THE RACKS? WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ...

CBS Convention: Beach Boys Party

Report by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 6 August 1977

BEACH BOYS PARTY FOR CHOSEN 1,600 ...

The Beach Boys: The Brothers

Report and Interview by Max Bell, New Musical Express, 6 August 1977

A long-running family saga continues: California fnurgs dump on U.K. public... ...

Dennis Wilson: Beached Boy – A True Story

Report and Interview by Gary Pig Gold, The Pig Paper, October 1977

IT WAS Monday, August 29, 1977, it was hot, and it was about to pour rain. But as always, it was a sunny Saturday afternoon ...

Beach Boys: no more fun, fun, fun

Report and Interview by John Swenson, Rolling Stone, 20 October 1977

NEW YORK — After sixteen years together and the triumphant comeback of leader Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys recently came perilously close to disbanding completely. ...

The Beach Boys: Forum, Inglewood

Live Review by Bill Wasserzieher, Southland Magazine, 30 December 1977

BRIAN WILSON back on stage with the Beach Boys – it should have been a wonderful Christmas gift for loyal fans. It wasn't. ...

David Leaf: The Beach Boys and the California Myth (Grosset and Dunlap)

Review by John Tobler, Blank Space, 1978

I SHOULD FIRST of all put into perspective my particular connection with the Beach Boys, which is not quite as simple as merely being a ...

The Beach Boys: Four Girls For Every Boy

Report and Interview by Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, 17 June 1978

IMPORTANT DATES in the history of surfing music: ...

The Beach Boys: Summer Days (And Summer Nights)

Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 2 September 1978

LATER SHE realised she'd really been attracted to him because he looked sad. All the other boys on the beach were so cheerful, and the ...

The Beach Boys: MIU

Review by Vivien Goldman, Sounds, 23 September 1978

How can grown men sing stuff like this and mean it? ...

David Leaf: The Beach Boys and the California Myth (Grossett & Dunlap, 192 pp., illus, $7.95 paper)

Book Review by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 October 1978

Beach Boys' Brian — A Classic American Tragedy ...

Dennis Wilson Loves Christine McVie

Report and Interview by Richard Williams, Melody Maker, 24 March 1979

The Beach Boys love good karma ...

The Beach Boys: Universal Amphitheatre, Los Angeles

Live Review by Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, 7 July 1979

POTTED PALM trees, fishing nets, dry ice aka sea mist, the Captain (sans Tenille) and a backing band in a boat. Degenerate drummer in Brian-sized ...

The Beach Boys: The Life of Brian

Report and Interview by Sandy Robertson, Sounds, 19 April 1980

'Strange Gods arrive in fast enemy poses' – Jim Morrison ...

The Beach Boys: The Capitol Years (World Records)

Review by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 7 March 1981

LET'S NOT kick around the sand-dunes: this boxed set is, quite simply, the finest Beach Boys offering ever released. ...

The Beach Boys' Schizophrenia

Essay by Geoffrey Himes, Musician, April 1981

ON JULY 4, 1980, the Beach Boys sat at the base of the Washington Monument and played to a vast sea of half a million ...

Carl Wilson: Testing The Waters Without The Other Beach Boys

Interview by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 23 April 1981

CARL WILSON has performed in Los Angeles countless times, but tonight at the Roxy things will be a little different. Instead of sharing the stage ...

Carl Wilson to Beach Boys: Let's play '80s music

Interview by Geoffrey Himes, Baltimore Sun, 17 July 1981

THE FIRST thing to remember about the Beach Boys is they're a family. When Brian Wilson formed the band in 1961, he recruited his two ...

Surfin' Death Valley USA

Essay by David Toop, Collusion, February 1982

"WE'LL GET THE ROUGHEST AND THE TOUGHEST INITIATION WE CAN FIND."from Our Car Club (Brian Wilson/Mile Love) Beach Boys, 1963 What were the connections between Beach ...

Ironic Loss In Saga Of Beach Boys

Report by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 30 December 1983

THE IRONY IS heavy and inescapable: Dennis Wilson, who introduced the Beach Boys to surfing, died in the Pacific Ocean, the ultimate source of the ...

Dennis Wilson

Obituary by Fred Dellar, New Musical Express, 7 January 1984

THE OFTEN tempestuous career of Dennis Wilson ended last Wednesday, when the Beach Boys drummer drowned in the waters of LA's Marina del Rey. ...

Manson and Drugs — A Beach Boy's Troubled Life

Retrospective by Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle, 8 January 1984

DENNIS WILSON, the Beach Boy who drowned a week ago last Wednesday, never got that many headlines in life. He may have been the most ...

Dennis Wilson, 1944-1983

Obituary by Bill Bentley, Danny (Shredder) Weizmann, L.A. Weekly, 12 January 1984

Give The Drummer Some by Bill Bentley ...

Steve Levine's Cross-Cultural New Age

Interview by Rob Tannenbaum, Musician, November 1984

It's a Clean Machine, Very Clean: The Digital Powerhouse Behind Queen George's Platinum Throne ...

The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys (Caribou)

Review by Sean O'Hagan, New Musical Express, 12 June 1985

ON THE back cover Brian Wilson looks genuinely happy, his eyes are clear, his smile is contented one. To some degree the music echoes this ...

New Wave of Popularity for The Beach Boys

Report and Interview by Charles Bermant, The Globe and Mail, 25 July 1985

JONES BEACH, NY. The Beach Boys are taking advantage of this seaside theatre, an idyllic setting for one of their concerts, by beating the audience ...

The Beach Boys: The Beach Boys

Review by Mitchell Cohen, Creem, October 1985

SAY YOU'RE AT your high school reunion – a far-fetched thought, but bear with me for a moment – and some creep corners you by ...

The Beach Boys: Capitol reissues

Review by Andy Gill, New Musical Express, 12 July 1986

NOW IS this poetry, or what? ...

Brian Wilson: Strange Bedfellow

Interview by Andy Gill, New Musical Express, 2 August 1986

The Beach Boys are 25 years old and, to mark the occasion, that great white whale BRIAN WILSON has finally got up, cleaned up and ...

Brian Wilson: Good and Bad Vibrations

Interview by Jeremy Gluck, The Guardian, 1988

Beach Boy Brian Wilson owes his survival to his doctor and a regime of psychotherapy, diet and exercise, he told Jeremy Gluck. ...

What Was And What Might Have Been: A Lost Interview with Brian Wilson

Interview by Jeremy Gluck, unpublished, 1988

NOTE: It's 1988, Brian Wilson had just launched his solo career with the release of the eponymous Brian Wilson album, and Jeremy Gluck gets to ...

The Endless Echo of Pet Sounds

Essay by Geoffrey Himes, The Washington Post, 19 June 1990

COMIC STRIP characters rarely die, but Andy, the wisecracking AIDS patient in Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury strip, endured a long death watch this spring. When he ...

The Beach Boys: Re-issues

Review by Andy Gill, Q, August 1990

AFTER LEAVING THE Beach Boys mid-tour in 1964 thanks to a nervous breakdown, Brian Wilson passed most of his time in the studio, one of ...

The Beach Boys: Smiley Smile/Wild Honey; Beach Boys Concert/Live In London

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Record Hunter, December 1990

WHEN I FIRST BOUGHT Smiley Smile (1967) as a spotty 15-year-old in the mid-'70s, I was pretty astounded by how radically wacko it was. I'd ...

The Beach Boys: Re-issues

Review by Andy Gill, Q, August 1991

SUNFLOWER (1970), THE FIRST ALBUM of a new contract with Warner Bros following their disaffection with Capitol, was on a par with later '60s albums. ...

Brian Wilson: Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story

Book Review by Tom Hibbert, Q, August 1992

IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE Brian Wilson, inspired composer of surfing symphonies and divine pop, writing anything as tabloidesque as: "I was a zonked-out zombie, ...

The Beach Boys: Candy Striped Avenger

Interview by Andy Gill, Q, September 1993

Once, turban-topped, he trod the path to inner contentment; but now, baseball-hatted and belligerent, Beach Boy Mike Love is fighting mad, especially at his cousin ...

Ryuichi Sakamoto: invisible jukebox

Interview by Mark Sinker, The Wire, October 1994

Every month we play a musician a series of records which they're asked to identify and comment on — with no prior knowledge of what ...

'Brian Wilson is a Genius': The Birth of a Cult

Essay by Barney Hoskyns, The Independent, 1 September 1995

ONE OF THE key moments in I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, record producer Don Was’s black-and-white film about Brian Wilson of the Beach ...

Brian Wilson and the Legend of Smile

Book Excerpt by Barney Hoskyns, 'Waiting For The Sun', 1996

BY THE TIME ‘Good Vibrations’ had hit No.1 at the end of 1966, Brian was firmly committed to extending pop's boundaries as far as he ...

How to Buy The Beach Boys

Discography by Fred Dellar, MOJO, September 1997

THE GOOD NEWS is that the racks are full of Beach Boys CDs. The bad news is that many of them are not the ...

Beach Boys: The Pet Sounds Sessions

Review by Max Bell, Uncut, November 1997

The Beach Boys: tampering with the impact of time ...

The Beach Boys: The Pet Sounds Sessions

Review by Chris Ingham, MOJO, November 1997

The stereo mix, outtakes, session excerpts, stack o' tracks, stack o'vocals: more Pet Sounds you couldn't hope for, on 4 CDs. ...

The Disciples of Brian: The Beach Boys' legacy in Decade #4

Essay by Geoffrey Himes, Crawdaddy!, 1998

What were the best Beach Boys records of the 1990s? Geoffrey Himes takes issue with his friend Paul Williams. ...

Pet Sounds and High Llamas

Review by Mac Randall, The Boston Phoenix, 6 April 1998

THERE CAN'T BE MANY classic rock albums that rock less than the Beach Boys' 1966 opus Pet Sounds. The fruity orchestral arrangements are about as ...

Brain Wilson: Endless Bummer

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, Uncut, June 1998

"HI, I'M BRIAN WILSON." You do not expect this. You do not expect the head of America's most important ever rock band to have to ...

Brian Wilson: The Last Brother

Interview by Erik Himmelsbach, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 1998

ALL OF ST. CHARLES is racing to eat before the sunsets and the kids melt down. At 5:30 p.m. on a Saturday, a time when ...

Brian Wilson: Imagination (Giant)

Review by Barney Hoskyns, Spin, August 1998

IT IS HARD NOT TO harbour mixed feelings about Brian Wilson in the late '90s. While it’s great that he’s up and about (and not ...

Beach Boys Change, But the Sound Stays the Same

Interview by Charles Bermant, USA Today, 20 August 1998

THE BEACH BOYS, or at least a reasonable facsimile thereof, are on the road again. ...

Record Producer Nik Venet: 1936-1998

Obituary by Steve Roeser, Goldmine, Spring 1998

NIK VENET, an East Coast friend and mid-Fifties music scene contemporary of Bobby Darin who came to Los Angeles to become one of the key ...

The Beach Boys

Book Excerpt by David Dalton, Lenny Kaye, Cooper Square Books (reissue), 1999

IN THE BEGINNING... WERE THE BEACH BOYS. Under the avalanche of the English Invasion, the Psychedelic Apocalypse, supersonic guitars and flash, it is almost forgotten ...

Beach Boy vs. Beach Boy

Comment by Charles Bermant, Rolling Stone Online, 8 December 1999

WHILE THE BEACH BOYS were once musically illustrious, in the Nineties they've spent more time in the courtroom than the recording studio. ...

Phil Spector and Brian Wilson: The Nutty Producers

Retrospective by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 16 December 1999

Without Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, the 60s would have sounded very different, says Sean O'Hagan. ...

Brian Wilson: "Help Me, Rhonda," Indeed!

Essay by David Dalton, Gadfly, 2000

HEY, ALL you surfin’ dudes and hardbody wahinis, check out this thing on TNT. It’s a tribute to the surf god, Brian Wilson! ...

The Beach Boys: An American Family: Heroes and Villains

Report and Interview by Bill Holdship, LA New Times, 4 June 2000

Brian Wilson's back, recording a live album at the Roxy this week and preparing for a summer tour with symphony orchestras throughout the U.S. So ...

Keeping the Beach Boys Alive

Live Review by Charles Bermant, Rolling Stone Online, 4 August 2000

THERE ARE SOME really good reasons to loathe Mike Love's Beach Boys. There is the authenticity problem: there is no one named Wilson onstage, and ...

Various Artists: Sing A Song For You (Tribute To Tim Buckley) and Caroline Now! (The Songs Of Brian Wilson And The Beach Boys)

Review by Ian Penman, The Wire, September 2000

IS THERE any point in anyone trying to recast the lassitudinous spacesail of Tim Buckley? As a singer, Buckley belongs to the Eternal(s), so aren't ...

Middle-Aged Symphonies Towards God: The Beach Boys’ Brother Years

Overview by Gary Pig Gold, fufkin.com, October 2000

YES INDEED, it goes without saying that Brian Wilson and his familial band full of brothers, cousins and friends have enjoyed a career quite unlike ...

The Beach Boys: Wave Culture…

Overview by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, December 2000

SunflowerSurf's UpCarl And The Passions – So ToughHollandThe Beach Boys In Concert15 Big OnesThe Beach Boys Love YouM.I.U. AlbumLA (Light Album)Keepin' The Summer AliveThe Beach ...

Brian Wilson: Sounds Unsilenced

Retrospective and Interview by Erik Himmelsbach, Revolver, Fall 2000

BRIAN WILSON made Paul McCartney cry. The cute Beatle readily admits that the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds has, on occasion, made him positively weepy. Sir ...

Paul Williams: Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys – How Deep is the Ocean? Essays and Conversations

Book Review by John L. Walters, The Times Literary Supplement, 2001

"IF YOU'VE NEVER read Paul Williams but love Brian Wilson's music, you're in for a revelation", promises David Leaf in the introduction to this amiable ...

Rockumentaries on the Biography Channel

Film/DVD/TV Review by Mark Pringle, Mat Snow, Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, 3 March 2001

Not long ago, any glimpse on the box of a great musician was like catching sight of the lesser spotted grebe – all the lovelier ...

Beach Boys: Reissues

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, May 2001

Choral unevensong from the waywardly wondrous Wilson clan ...

Brian Wilson: 'Help Me, Rhonda' indeed!

Comment by David Dalton, Gadfly, 9 July 2001

HEY, ALL YOU surfin' dudes and hardbody wahinis, check out this thing on TNT. It's a tribute to the surf god, Brian Wilson! An American ...

The Beach Boys: Endless Winter

Comment by Gary Pig Gold, fufkin.com, December 2001

MAYBE IT'S THE weather, maybe it's CNN overload ...maybe it's just "the time of man," as it were, but I've been stuck to the web ...

Gary Usher

Interview by Gene Sculatti, Scram, 2002

Gary Usher In Conversation With Gene Sculatti January 1971 ...

Wouldn't It Have Been Nice: An Interview with Van Dyke Parks

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, January 2002

VAN DYKE PARKS was the intellectual southerner who penned the baroque, cryptic lyrics for 'Surf's Up', 'Heroes and Villains' and other Brian Wilson masterpieces. He ...

Brian Wilson: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Tim Clifford, Rock's Backpages, February 2002

NOT ONLY did my spine tingle during the third night of Brian Wilson's sell-out four-night stand in London, but I also cried with joy. The ...

Brian Wilson: Unfinished Symphony

Retrospective and Interview by Rob Chapman, MOJO, February 2002

While his bandmates toured the surfin' hits around the world, Brian Wilson was holed up in Hollywood creating an ambitious symphonic paean to God and ...

Brian Wilson: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Sylvie Simmons, MOJO, March 2002

Brian Wilson and 10-piece band perform, from start to finish, the album that topped MOJO's 100 Greatest Albums Of All Time poll, plus career-encompassing opening ...

Epiphany At Zuma Beach Or Brian Wilson Hallucinates Me

Memoir by David Dalton, Gadfly, May 2002

AFTER PET SOUNDS Brian Wilson became the mad genius of the Beach Boys, a prodigy who had miraculously emerged out of the surf and car ...

Dennis Wilson: The Lonely Sea

Retrospective by Ben Edmonds, MOJO, November 2002

WITH TIME TO KILL BEFORE SOUNDCHECK ON A windy New York afternoon in 1971, the drummer of The Beach Boys had decided, on a whim, ...

The Beach Boys: Surf's Up

Review by Adam Sweeting, Uncut, November 2003

AMONG THE NUMEROUS highlights of Brian Wilson's extraordinary comeback concerts last year was his performance of 'Surf's Up' a track once destined for the mysterious ...

Brian Wilson Smiles Again: Live at the Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, March 2004

WE STILL HAVE so much invested in the idea of Brian Wilson’s genius. Three decades since he last wrote a genuinely great song, we continue ...

Brian Wilson: Smile? Don't mind if I do…

Retrospective and Interview by Sylvie Simmons, MOJO, March 2004

It was due in January 1967. But the Beach Boys' Smile LP was shelved when its creator Brian Wilson refused to finish it. Now he ...

Brian Wilson at the Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Jim Irvin, MOJO, April 2004

THE UBERFANS WITH medicated stares, the reverent fans who applaud Van Dyke Parks to his seat, the Smile scholars who have flown in from another ...

Hello Goodbye: Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys

Retrospective and Interview by Sylvie Simmons, MOJO, April 2004

Hello: September 1961 ...

Brian Wilson: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Uncut, May 2004

Heaven-sent innovation from the legendary Beach Boy, plus supporting cast ...

Ocean Way: The studio that shaped the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds

Retrospective by Steve LaBate, Bud Scoppa, Paste, June 2004

This is the first piece included in a longer feature for Paste June/July 2004. ...

SMiLE: How We Created Pop's Lost Legend

Retrospective and Interview by Robert Sandall, Daily Telegraph, 23 September 2004

For decades, Beach Boy Brian Wilson's unreleased album SMiLE has been shrouded in myth. Now, at last, the songs can be heard on a CD ...

SMiLE When Your Heart Is Breaking: Brian Wilson

Interview by Roy Trakin, Hits, October 2004

"Come about hard and joinThe young and often spring you gaveI heard the wordWonderful thingA children's song" ('Surf’s Up') ...

Brian Wilson: Smile

Review by Mark Paytress, MOJO, October 2004

It was expected to surpass Sgt. Pepper as the greatest album of all time. But was the reconstruction of the fable worth the 37-year wait? ...

The TAMI Show Remembered

Retrospective by Steven R Rosen, Los Angeles Times, 29 October 2004

THE ROLLING Stones were there, along with James Brown, the Beach Boys, the Supremes, Chuck Berry, Marvin Gaye and more, filmed live before their screaming ...

The Beach Boys: Is Mike Love Evil?

Interview by Bill Holdship, MOJO, December 2004

Well, that's what we got told. But The Beach Boys' vocalist says he never hated Pet Sounds and he certainly didn't stop Smile coming out. ...

Carl Wilson

Interview by Steven Rosen, Player, 2005

AT A TIME when the venerable institution of the Beach Boys was threatening to disassemble itself during the late 70s and early 80s, youngest Wilson ...

An Interview With Dominic Priore: Good Things Come To Those Who SmiLE, part 1

Interview by Gary Pig Gold, fufkin.com, August 2005

Gary Pig Gold climbs into the Virtual Sandbox ...

The Beach Boys: Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story

Film/DVD/TV Review by Terry Staunton, Record Collector, August 2005

Surf's up, mm-mm, mm-mm ...

An Interview With Dominic Priore part II: Good Things Come To Those Who SMiLE

Interview by Gary Pig Gold, fufkin.com, September 2005

Gary Pig Gold climbs into the Virtual Sandbox ...

Brian Wilson: Adelphi Theatre, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Yahoo! Music, November 2006

YOU KNOW YOU'RE going to cry at a Brian Wilson concert, it's just a matter of when. Sometime during the last-ever UK rendition of Pet ...

Perfect Harmony: Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary Show Celebrates Brian Wilson's Pop Legacy

Live Review by Kirk Silsbee, LA CityBeat, 9 November 2006

OUT OF CURIOSITY and love of a good story, I've had a longstanding parlor question for jazz-minded friends on the far side of 60. What ...

The Beach Boys: The Making of Pet Sounds

Retrospective and Interview by Bill Holdship, MOJO, January 2007

BACKSTAGE AT UCLA's Royce Hall a joyous sound suddenly erupts from behind a closed door, which one assumes leads to Brian Wilson's dressing room judging ...

David Anderle's California Nights

Profile and Interview by Kirk Silsbee, Life After 50, May 2007

"WATCH YOUR HEAD," cautions David Anderle. The retired record industry executive-turned-painter is leading the way down a steep, narrow stairway in his classic Spanish-style home ...

The Beach Boys: The Making of 'Good Vibrations'

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, June 2007

Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine guide Uncut through their perfect "pocket symphony", three minutes and thirty-six seconds of avant-garde pop. ...

Mister Optimism: Mike Love Talks

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Uncut, March 2008

OVER 45 YEARS have passed since three Californian brothers and their first cousin formed a rocking little combo that harmonized angelically on classic songs about ...

The Lure Of The Beach

Report and Interview by Jude Rogers, New Statesman, 12 June 2008

A new generation of US bands cites the Beach Boys as a huge inspiration. Why now? ...

The Beach Boys: Friends: The Beach Boys' Feel-good Record

Retrospective by Various Writers, Goldmine, 18 July 2008

IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA – during the summer of 1968 – Brian Wilson created a song cycle out of love and inner peace with the Friends ...

The T.A.M.I. Show: Rock's Greatest Concert Movie Ever?

Retrospective and Interview by Richie Unterberger, Record Collector, May 2010

Richie Unterberger celebrates a legendary who's who of rock and soul royalty caught live in their prime, and now finally available on DVD. ...

Steve Levine

Retrospective and Interview by Johnny Black, Music Week, June 2010

ACHIEVING THE perfect mix and getting the balance right are essential skills for any record producer but, with a glittering career which has spanned 35 ...

Bob Stanley's guide to writing the perfect Christmas hit

Guide by Bob Stanley, The Guardian, 16 December 2010

From Elvis to Shakey, from Cliff Richard to Mark E. Smith, every pop star worth their salt has sung a song of Santa at some ...

Beach Boys, Animals return to Washington older, but no worse for wear

Report by Charles Bermant, Crosscut, 15 July 2011

NOSTALGIA FOR THE 1960s isn't what it used to be. This summer's concert schedule has only a smattering of golden era bands who try hard, ...

Brian Wilson and SMiLE

Retrospective and Interview by Harvey Kubernik, Rock's Backpages, October 2011

NOTE: A small portion of this interview appeared in the 2011 MOJO '60s issue. ...

The SMiLE You Send Out Returns to You: The Story of Brian Wilson's Great Lost Masterpiece

Retrospective by Tim Meade, Rock's Backpages, October 2011

WE ALL KNOW THE STORY of the Beach Boys' SMiLE. After Pet Sounds, Brian set out to make a "teenage symphony to God" that ...

Brian Wilson: The Strife Of Brian

Profile and Interview by Ian Gittins, Man About Town, Spring 2011

IN THE 1991 Steve Martin movie L.A. Story, which dates from the days when he was still spasmodically funny, Martin played Harris K. Telemacher, a ...

Good Vibrations and Endless Summers: The Beach Boys in Hawthorne

Retrospective by Kirk Silsbee, South Bay, Summer 2011

YOU HAVE TO look for it.  Nothing on 120th Street gives an indication as you drive along the north side of the Hawthorne Airport.  ...

Jeffrey Foskett on the Beach Boys

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, February 2012

NOTE: This is a transcript of the phone conversation I had with Jeffrey after interviewing Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David ...

Hang On To Your Egos: The Beach Boys at 50

Retrospective and Interview by Barney Hoskyns, MOJO, June 2012

NOTE: With a few minor differences, this was the piece that ran as a MOJO cover story. ...

The Beach Boys: Verizon Wireless Amphitheater, Orange County

Live Review by Gene Sculatti, Rock's Backpages, June 2012

"THERE'S SOMETHING RIDICULOUS about a 70-year-old man going out there and singing 'Fun, Fun, Fun.'" So said my wife last week when I told her ...

The Beach Boys: Made In California

Review by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, October 2013

THE BEACH BOYS' 50th anniversary year was never likely to be an event-free lap of honour. Upon reforming, they managed to produce an intermittently great ...

For Brian Wilson and Al Jardine, Life's a (Busy) Beach

Report and Interview by Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press, 1 October 2013

HE MAY BE 71 years old, but Head Beach Boy Brian Wilson might be busier today than at any point in his career. Having already ...

Charles Manson and the Death of the Californian Dream

Retrospective by Gavin Martin, Sabotage Times, 17 November 2014

The swinging '60s in the Golden State – California. A decade of sex, drink, drugs and debauchery soundtracked by the Beach Boys, the Eagles and ...

Ken Mansfield on Capitol Records and the Beatles

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages, 2015

INTERVIEWER'S NOTE: Ken Mansfield is a former Capitol executive and was the U.S. Manager of Apple Records. He was on the rooftop at Savile Row ...

The Wrecking Crew Played On All Your Favourite '60s And '70s Songs (Seriously)

Report and Interview by Juliette Jagger, Huffington Post, 19 February 2015

IN THE '60s and '70s, a should-be-legendary group of studio musicians dubbed the Wrecking Crew played on the era's defining songs. ...

Mawkish Tabloid Fare: How the Amy Winehouse Film Fails

Film/DVD/TV Review by Kate Mossman, New Statesman, 2 July 2015

This film laments the way Winehouse's life was intruded upon while relying on the same methods to create drama. ...

Capitol at 75

Book Excerpt by Barney Hoskyns, 'Capitol 75' (Taschen), 2016

NOTE: Herewith the full "director's cut" version of the historical essay I contributed to the spectacularly lavish Taschen book marking the 75th anniversary of West ...

Mike Love: Good Vibrations

Book Review by Bob Stanley, The Guardian, 13 October 2016

Love lacked the sensitivity of his cousin Brian Wilson, but he kept the band going after their fall from grace. He tells his side of ...

Gaz Coombes: The World's Strongest Fan

Interview by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, July 2018

Ever been curious about what's pumping on Gaz Coombes' stereo? RC's Jamie Atkins was, so he headed to Oxfordshire to find out. ...

Wake The World: The Beach Boys 1967-'73

Retrospective by Jamie Atkins, Record Collector, July 2018

THERE ARE FEW things music fans like more than a good "what if". And the Beach Boys' career gifts enthusiasts plenty of fantasy scenarios: what ...

Good vibrations: how the Beach Boys tuned in and turned on to Transcendental Meditation

Book Excerpt by Mick Brown, 'The Nirvana Express' (C. Hurst & Co.), September 2023

...

see also American Spring

see also Captain and Tennille

see also Blondie Chaplin

see also Bruce Johnston

see also Charles Manson

see also Van Dyke Parks

see also Spring

see also Brian Wilson

see also Carl Wilson

see also Dennis Wilson

see also Murry Wilson

see also Rip Chords, The

see also Flames, The

see also Mike Love & Dean Torrence

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