When the Beach Boys released BEACH BOYS PARTY! on November 8th,
1965 on Capitol Records, believe it or not, it was their third album that
year! Capitol wanted a Beach Boys album
available for Christmas present purchases and this was the result, as PET
SOUNDS was not yet completed. Brian
Wilson shares: “One night in June of 1965, I and the other Beach Boys invited
some friends to the recording studio to take part in what was to be the first
and only live party album. We even had
some beers for everybody...The party album was a challenge for us to try our
hand at spontaneity. It worked...So call
some friends and sit down and join the party as you listen to this one. Have a good party”. Author David Leaf notes: PARTY’S
instrumentation, with the exception of a bass guitar, was all acoustic. Basically, it’s just bongos, guitars and
exuberant vocals and voila, a top ten LP”.
The album reached #6 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart!
The party begins with Mike Love singing lead on ‘Hully
Gully’. It is a rock and roll song all
about having a good time: “Well, there’s a dance spreadin’ ‘round like an awful
disease/Hully, hully gully/You just shake your shoulders and you wiggle your
knees/Hully, hully gully/Well, there’s a dance spreadin’ round from coast to
coast/Hully, hully gully/Well, when me and my baby do it that’s how we do it
the most/Hully, hully gully/Mama, hully gully/Papa, hully gully/Baby, hully
gully too”. There are three John
Lennon/Paul McCartney tracks here. The
first two are from A HARD DAY’S NIGHT.
‘I Should Have Known Better’ is about puppy love: “Oh, oh I should have
realized what a kiss could be/That this could only happen to me/Can’t you
see?/Can’t you see?/That when I tell you that I love you, oh/You’re gonna say
you love me too/And when I ask you to be mine/You’re gonna say you love me
too/You love me too (3X)”.
‘Tell Me Why’ is a peppy rock and roll song of one
experiencing heartache: “Well, I gave you everything I had/But you left me
sittin’ on my own/Did you have to treat me, oh, so bad?/All I do is hang my
head and moan.../If there’s something I have said or done/Tell me what and I’ll
apologize/If you don’t, I really can’t go on/Holding back these tears”. ‘Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow’ is a fun, non-sensical
crowd favourite: “The funniest sound I ever heard/Papa-oom-mow-mow (2X)/But I
can’t understand a single word.../The weirdest sound/I can’t figure it out/Wee,
this sound makes me slap and shout.../Papa-oom-mow-mow”.
Johnny Rivers took ‘Mountain of Love’ to #6 in 1964. This great rock and roll song uses harmonica
to good effect. It is a song of longing:
“Standin’ on a mountain lookin’ down on a city/The way I feel is a doggone
pity/Teardrops fallin’ down the mountainside/Many times I’ve been here, many
times I’ve cried/We used to be so happy when we were in love/High on a mountain
of love.../Wedding bells are ringin’ and they should’ve been ours”. ‘You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away’ is from
the Beatles’ HELP! soundtrack. Dennis
Wilson takes the lead on this pretty, melodic song of heartache: “Here I stand,
head in hand/Turn my face to the wall/If she’s gone I can’t go on/Feeling two
foot small/Everywhere people stare/Each and every day/I can see them laugh at
me/And I hear them say/’Hey! You’ve got to hide your love away’ (2X)”.
‘Devoted to You’ was a Top Ten hit for the Everly Brothers
in 1958. Brian Wilson and Mike Love sing
lead on this tender ballad which finds a guy making several promises to his
girl: “I’ll be yours through endless time/I’ll adore your charms sublime/Guess
by now you know/That I’m devoted to you/I’ll never hurt you, I’ll never lie/I’ll
never be untrue/I’ll never give you a reason to cry/I’d be unhappy if you were
blue/Through the years my love will grow/Like a river it will flow/It can’t die
because I’m so/Devoted to you”. Brian
says ‘Alley Oop’, a fun rock and roll song, is “about a guy of ancient times
that nobody ever fooled with”. It really
could be a children’s song given these silly lyrics: “He’s the toughest man
there is alive/Alley Oop/Wears clothes from a wildcat’s hide/Alley Oop/He’s the
king of the jungle jive/Look at that caveman go/He’s got a chauffeur that’s a
genuine dinosaur/Alley Oop Oop, Oop (3X)/And he can knuckle your head before
you count to four/Alley Oop Oop, Oop (3X)”.
Phil Spector and Leroy Bates
wrote ‘There’s No Other (Like My Baby)’.
It is a romantic doo-wop ballad with good harmonies: “Walkin’ down the
street/In a crowd/Lookin’ at my baby/Feelin’ so proud/Well, there’s no
other/Like my baby, oh, no, no, no/Woah, there’s no other/Don’t mean maybe, oh,
no, no, no/While I was dancing/My baby by my side/Whispered to her/Someday
she’ll be my bride”. Next up is a
playful mash-up of two of the group’s rock and roll hits, namely ‘I Get Around’
and ‘Little Deuce Coupe’. The songs
still deal with cars, but include some alternate lyrics: “I’m getting awfully
mad driving down the street/Ow!/I just don’t want to be bugged sitting next to
my sweets.../She’s got a competition clutch with the four on the floor/And she
purrs like a kitten till baa-baa-baa”.
Al Jardine takes the lead on Bob
Dylan’s folk protest song ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’. It reminds us that every generation has their
own strong beliefs and opinions: “Come mothers and fathers throughout the
land/And don’t criticize what you can’t understand/Your sons and your daughters
are beyond your command/Your old road is rapidly agin’/Please get out of the
new one if you can’t lend your hand/For the times they are a-changin’’. Last up is ‘Barbara Ann’. It was penned by Fred Fassert and was a
success for the Regents. It went on to
become a #2 hit for the Beach Boys in 1966.
Brian shares lead vocal duties with Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean. It is a song about being infatuated with one
girl: “Went to a dance looking for romance/Saw Barbara Ann/So I thought I’d
take a chance/Barbara Ann, take my hand/You’ve got me rockin’ and
a-rollin’/Rockin’ and a-reelin’/Barbara Ann/Tried Betty Sue/Tried Betty
Lou/Tried Mary Sue/But I knew it wouldn’t do”.
What could have easily sounded
like a hastily thrown together, rather stupid collection of songs poorly
performed, does not. Instead, on PARTY!
you still get the signature Beach Boys vocals, but this time accompanied by a
genuinely raucous, fun-loving, carefree vocal ensemble in a room that largely
seems to be made up of females. This
album truly does sound like a live party, with lots of laughter and chit-chat
going on during and between songs. How
many people were actually intoxicated during the recording of this album, we
may never know. I’m rating BEACH BOYS
PARTY! 98%. For more info visit: www.thebeachboys.com.
On August 19th, 1968
the Beach Boys released their third album of that year entitled STACK-O-TRACKS
(Capitol). When it was originally put
out, it included a sixteen page book with the lyrics, lead lines, bass lines, chords,
and photos. Years later, writer David
Leaf would note: “STACK-O-TRACKS, unlike any official LP ever released by any
other group, presented only the backing tracks of many of the Beach Boys’
records, putting forth the concept that Brian’s great music, even without the
surf and car lyrics and more importantly, even without their incredible vocals,
was worthy of consideration”. I would
say that nearly all of these songs stand up pretty well in their instrumental
versions. They would be good to perform
karaoke to, or to perform seriously with you and your friends on vocals at a
talent show. This was the first Beach
Boys album not to make it onto the U.S. or U.K. charts, but it is a neat
collector’s item. Musicians who played
on Beach Boys records over the years include: Hal Blaine, Glen Campbell, and
Leon Russell. I’m rating STACK-O-TRACKS
85%. For more info visit: www.thebeachboys.com.