L. A. LIGHT ALBUM is the 23rd studio album
released by The Beach Boys. Light is
defined here as “the awareness of and the presence of God, here in this world
as an ongoing, loving reality”. This
album released by Brother/Caribou/CBS in 1979 was produced by Bruce Johnston
(who hadn’t been with the band since 1972), James William Guercio, and The
Beach Boys. Brian Wilson was not in
great shape at the time, so he was not a major contributor to the album. At this time many viewed The Beach Boys as an
oldies act.
The album opener ‘Good Timin’’ was penned by Brian and Carl
Wilson. Carl sings lead on this
wonderful light pop song with signature harmonies. It hit #40 on the Billboard chart and is
carefree: “We’re all goin’ places/Sharin’ each other/A celebration/Of being
together/I love/Good, good timin’/Good, good timin’/Ahhhh, ahhhh/You need good
timin’/It takes good timin’/You need good timin’/Yeah/Good, good timin’”. ‘Lady Lynda’ is based on Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of
Man’s Desiring’ and did well in the UK.
It is a tribute to Al Jardine’s then wife, sung by him: “Won’t you come
here and lie lady Lynda with me?/We can lie in the green canyon meadows/And
we’ll hear the birds sing in the Spring/Don’t you know if you’ll stay lady
Lynda with me/We can talk about love ever after/When you lie lady Lynda with
me.../Lynda won’t you say that I am your man?/Don’t look surprised, it’s all in
his plan, ooh/But darlin’ evolution is drawing us near/Lie lady lie”.
Carl and Geoffrey Cushing-Murray wrote ‘Full Sail’. It is an easy listening tune that will capture
the attention of boaters: “Full sail, full sail/Waiting for the wind to
blow/The wind will blow/Does the silence of the sea/Sound warning of a storm
ahead?/Whispers of the breeze/Stir and disappear/Too soft to hear/What’s in
store for me/Adventure on the high seas/Put the childhood dream to the
test/Find the measure of the man/Follow the sun heading west”. Dennis Wilson sings lead on the adult pop
song ‘Angel Come Home’. It is a song of
longing and heartache: “I’m waitin’ till my angel comes home/It’s been hell
bein’ here alone/I’ll be in heaven when my angel comes home/Angel, angel come
home/If you see her tell my angel come home.../Does she remember that I can’t
forget?/Does she know I regret I never told her how I, I wanted to hold her?/I
just let her go”.
‘Love Surrounds Me’ is another song on the subject of lost
love: “On my own again, left alone/To remember when her love filled my
life/Made my life alive her love/Love around me/How can I cope without the love
that I had?/All around me, love surrounds me/The love that I lost was more than
I could hope to find/Love surround me, all around me/Did I have love or did
love have me?/Oo, love around me/But there’s no/There’s no love of my
own”. Mike Love wrote and sings lead on
‘Sumahama’. It is easy on the ears and
includes these lyrics: “Sumahama/There’s a lover’s leap in old Japan/Where the
lovers walk along the sand/Hand in hand at Sumahama.../Sumahama/In the autumn
as the leaves are falling/One can almost hear the lovers calling/From the sea
at Sumahama”. The song also includes
Japanese lyrics.
‘Here Comes the Night’ was an R&B influenced track on
1967’s WILD HONEY. They turned it into a
disco single that hit #44 on the Billboard chart in early 1979. The album version here runs almost eleven minutes
long. Carl and Al sing lead and Bruce
Johnston and Curt Becher produce this funky track. It includes these passionate words: “I know
livin’ is takin’ and givin’/Baby I’m givin’ you my best/One of these days you
know/I’m gonna go crazy in the middle of your caress/When the day goes
down/Honey, I’ll be around/Why don’t you wear your pretty red dress?/Here comes
the night/Hold me, squeeze me, don’t ever leave me/Tell me I’m doin’ alright
(2X)/Hold me, love me, ooooo”. Dennis
Wilson, his wife Karen Lamm, and Gregg Jakobson wrote ‘Baby Blue’. It is the piano-based ballad of a man in
touch with his feelings: “Lie alone in bed at night/Feel the pull of a lonely
day/Thoughts like music start to play/I wonder where you were today/Baby, baby
blue/Baby, blue eyes I dream of you/Late at night when/The whole world’s
sleeping, I dream of you/Close to you/I feel your sweet heart beating/I dream
of you”.
Carl Wilson sings lead on ‘Goin’ South’. It uses keyboard and sax. Many Canadian snowbirds will easily relate to
these words: “I think of goin’ south for the winter/It’s getting mighty cold/I
watch the fire glow/The moon shining ‘cross the snow/Maybe Florida or Mexico/Is
where I oughta go/Somewhere where everything is green/Oo, the change of
scene/Might do me good/When the swallows go/When they leave Capistrano/Fly away
so gracefully/Maybe that’s for me”. The
last song, ‘Shortenin’ Bread’ dates back to 1900. Here it is adapted by Brian Wilson into a
happy go lucky rockin’ tune. It contains
these playful lyrics: “They caught me with the skillet/They caught me with the
lid/They caught me with the girl eatin’ shortenin’ bread/Six months for the
skillet/Six months for the lid/Now I’m doin’ time for eatin’ shortenin’
bread...Mama’s little baby loves shortenin’ bread”.
To me, L.A. LIGHT ALBUM is a creative highpoint for The
Beach Boys. They proved they could put
out a pleasant, artistic, emotional album for the most part without the help of
Brian Wilson. The songs here are of very
good quality and the vocals are performed well.
Pair this project with their oldies hits and you have a great and
diverse musical group. I’m rating L.A.
LIGHT ALBUM 90%. For more info visit: www.thebeachboys.com.