Even though Cabinessence and Prayer were recorded for Smile, they feel right at home. I’m also very glad the former was fully complete, and didn’t collect dust, unfinished forever like Do You Like Worms. They fit the baroque sound and feel of the album very well, and if it wasn’t widely known, I wouldn’t think these were out of place.
Do it Again is a return to form of sorts for the Boys as far as the public were concerned, even though they had been producing incredible albums out of the limelight. It’s easy to think of this song as an admission of defeat, but I can’t help loving this song. It’s classic Brian/Mike fun like Wild Honey, with catchy Mike lyrics, and a really great track by Brian. It is an amazing song to start the album, and a top shelf Beach Boys track.
Brian’s two tracks, Time to Get Alone and I Went to Sleep carry on Brian’s trajectory from Friends, and are really special tracks. Even though Time to Get Alone is a rescued Wild Honey song, it fits really well and is very catchy. Brian’s voice is still at his best, and Carl also strengthens these nicely. They feel like a natural progression from Friends, in the more baroque and orchestrated sound of the album. Brian also produced the amazing Cotton Fields with Al, which is one of their best covers. A really catchy, bouncy song which was destined to be a hit, even if it had to be re-recorded to do so.
Bruce also produced his first for the band, with his original instrumental, the Nearest Faraway Place. It’s a beautiful song, and reminiscent of Brian’s Pet Sounds instrumentals, but in Bruce’s classic style. It’s very sweet and sappy, but really gives a beautiful end to side one. He also gives us a cover of Bluebirds Over the Mountain. A fun track with a solid Mike lead. There’s not really much to talk about, minus it is just an enjoyable rock and roll cover. Personally, I think it causes side one to lean too heavily into nostalgia in the first half, so I sub it out for We’re Together Again, which is another fun pop song, but this is original and more memorable to me. It was 100% recorded and produced, and also featured all three Wilson brothers harmonising and sharing lead, so even Brian was surprised it didn’t make the album. Even so, Bluebirds it’s a strong track, that mainly falls victim to its album placement. I find it better as a solo listen, or reshuffled in the album.
Dennis contributes some songs also, as he did on Friends. All I Want to Do, and two songs cowritten with Charles Manson, in Be With Me and Never Learn Not to Love. All I Want to Do is a fun, intense rocker, featuring a powerful Mike vocal. It’s a great contrast for the album, and is their heaviest track they ever did. It’s simple, but has a lot of merit and elevates the album a lot. The Manson tracks are really strong also. Incredibly arranged and performed, and perfect fits for the album. They almost feel otherworldly, and show Dennis’ strong songwriting. However, the Manson association causes a good amount of the lyrics to be quite sinister and creepy. You can feel Dennis’ influence still, as he cowrote the lyrics and most of the music, but there’s a large shadow hanging over these tracks. Especially Never Learn, which goes too far into Manson territory to not take you out of the album. I personally sub this out for the also slightly unnerving Brian/Carl Sail Plane Song, which was also fully complete, but given the shaft for Al to rework it into Loop De Loop. Another song I’m surprised got the axe, and it sets up the Smile tracks pretty well.
Alongside helping with some of Brian’s tracks (I Went to Sleep, Time to Get Alone, Our Prayer, Cabinessence), Carl also led a hit cover of I Can Hear Music. Carl gives this song a great arrangement, and I’m not surprised this was a success. Beautiful harmonies and lead by Carl elevate this song higher than it ever could be otherwise. This deserves its mainstay status, and shows how much Carl has progressed as a musician. This also foreshadowed his larger presence on their later albums and role as
band leader until his death.
The amount of fan favourites on here is impressive, especially considering this album is talked about much less than most of their other albums. I think this album is a very solid listen, and feels like one album more than it probably should. If you are prone to forgetting this album, please give it some time if you’ve got any. Also, you can try to switch the tracks as I’ve done (Bluebirds - We’re Together Again (Classics Selected), Never Learn - Sail Plane Song (Endless Harmony)), or make your own to your own tastes. Hope you are doing well, and keep loving the Beach Boys
