Joe Marchese
22 October 2015
Following the release of The Beach Boys Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) earlier in the year, Capitol Records was eager to make yet more Beach Boys music available for the 1965 holiday season. The label urged Brian and the Boys into the studio to record Beach Boys’ Party!, an album filled with loose versions of familiar favorites, complete with laughter and background talk. Now, that LP filled with freewheeling good vibrations is getting a surprise 2-CD deluxe, expanded edition to mark its 50th anniversary. Beach Boys’ Party! Uncovered and Unplugged is set for release from Capitol on November 20. It features a whopping 81 tracks – remixed, remastered and expanded from the original sessions before overdubs were added for party ambiance.
During the Party sessions held at Western Recorders in August and September 1965, the group tore through Beatles songs (“I Should Have Known Better,” “Tell Me Why,” You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”), Phil Spector classics (“There’s No Other (Like My Baby)”), goofy novelties (“Alley-Oop,” “Hully Gully,” “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow”), a Bob Dylan standard (“The Times They Are A-Changin'”) and even their own songs (a goofy romp through “I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe”). But the standout was Fred Fassert’s old Regents hit “Barbara Ann,” featuring a moonlighting Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean on vocals. It was plucked as a single and quickly became another Beach Boys staple. Armed with just acoustic guitars, bass, bongos, harmonica and tambourine, the Beach Boys created an album unlike any other in their catalogue.
“The Party! album was a result of the pressure Capitol Records was putting on us for another album,” Mike Love recalls in Capitol’s press release. “And we didn’t really have time to develop the type of album we wanted to develop, which Brian was working on, called Pet Sounds… So we said, ‘Well, what can we do quickly and easily?’ And we decided to do this party album.” Brian Wilson remembers, “Mike was saying, why not a party album and we can act like we are [at a party], and just be ourselves on tape, you know?’ And that’s what happened. It was a very spontaneous album.” After sessions had been completed, the Beach Boys returned to the studio for a three-hour session to add “party sounds” and dialogue to the album. These overdubs have been excised from this release.
The true stereo mix of the original Beach Boys’ Party! made its first appearance in 2012; this 2-CD reissue goes much further. The first disc features the original album as remixed in pre-overdubbed form and then chronologically begins an account of all five sessions as the band runs through the familiar tracks as well as ones that didn’t make the cut including The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Leiber and Stoller’s “Ruby Baby” and “Riot in Cell Block No. 9,” The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride” and more. Dialogue from the sessions has also been included. The total is 81 tracks over two CDs.
This 2-CD and digital album also includes photos from the sessions, essays by [the inestimable] Beach Boys historians Alan Boyd and Craig Slowinski, and notes by producer Mark Linett.
Following the release of The Beach Boys Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) earlier in the year, Capitol Records was eager to make yet more Beach Boys music available for the 1965 holiday season. The label urged Brian and the Boys into the studio to record Beach Boys’ Party!, an album filled with loose versions of familiar favorites, complete with laughter and background talk. Now, that LP filled with freewheeling good vibrations is getting a surprise 2-CD deluxe, expanded edition to mark its 50th anniversary. Beach Boys’ Party! Uncovered and Unplugged is set for release from Capitol on November 20. It features a whopping 81 tracks – remixed, remastered and expanded from the original sessions before overdubs were added for party ambiance.
During the Party sessions held at Western Recorders in August and September 1965, the group tore through Beatles songs (“I Should Have Known Better,” “Tell Me Why,” You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”), Phil Spector classics (“There’s No Other (Like My Baby)”), goofy novelties (“Alley-Oop,” “Hully Gully,” “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow”), a Bob Dylan standard (“The Times They Are A-Changin'”) and even their own songs (a goofy romp through “I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe”). But the standout was Fred Fassert’s old Regents hit “Barbara Ann,” featuring a moonlighting Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean on vocals. It was plucked as a single and quickly became another Beach Boys staple. Armed with just acoustic guitars, bass, bongos, harmonica and tambourine, the Beach Boys created an album unlike any other in their catalogue.
“The Party! album was a result of the pressure Capitol Records was putting on us for another album,” Mike Love recalls in Capitol’s press release. “And we didn’t really have time to develop the type of album we wanted to develop, which Brian was working on, called Pet Sounds… So we said, ‘Well, what can we do quickly and easily?’ And we decided to do this party album.” Brian Wilson remembers, “Mike was saying, why not a party album and we can act like we are [at a party], and just be ourselves on tape, you know?’ And that’s what happened. It was a very spontaneous album.” After sessions had been completed, the Beach Boys returned to the studio for a three-hour session to add “party sounds” and dialogue to the album. These overdubs have been excised from this release.
The true stereo mix of the original Beach Boys’ Party! made its first appearance in 2012; this 2-CD reissue goes much further. The first disc features the original album as remixed in pre-overdubbed form and then chronologically begins an account of all five sessions as the band runs through the familiar tracks as well as ones that didn’t make the cut including The Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Leiber and Stoller’s “Ruby Baby” and “Riot in Cell Block No. 9,” The Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride” and more. Dialogue from the sessions has also been included. The total is 81 tracks over two CDs.
This 2-CD and digital album also includes photos from the sessions, essays by [the inestimable] Beach Boys historians Alan Boyd and Craig Slowinski, and notes by producer Mark Linett.
The Beach Boys, Beach Boys’ Party! Uncovered and Unplugged (Capitol Records/UMe, 2015)
Disc 1
The Album (Original album released on Capitol Records MAS-2398, 1965)
Hully Gully [Session #2 – 9/8/65]- Lead Vocal: Mike
I Should Have Known Better [Session #3 – 9/14/65]- Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Tell Me Why [Session #2 – 9/8/65] – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Brian
Mountain Of Love [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Mike
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away [Session #5 – 9/23/65] – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Devoted To You [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Alley Oop [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Mike
There’s No Other (Like My Baby) [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Brian
I Get Around / Little Deuce Coupe [Session #4 – 9/15/65] – Lead Vocal: Mike
The Times They Are A-Changin’ [Session #5 – 9/23/65] – Solo Vocal: Al
Barbara Ann [Session #5 – 9/23/65] – Lead Vocals: Brian & Dean
The Sessions
Let’s Get This Party Rolling [Session #2 – 9/8/65]
Session #1 [8/23/65]
I Should Have Known Better #1 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Ruby Baby #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction #1 – Group Vocals: Brian, Carl, Dennis, Al, Mike
Hully Gully #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Blowin’ In The Wind – Solo Vocal: Al
Dialog: “The Sunrays”
Session #2 [9/8/65]
Ruby Baby #2 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “The Masked Phantom”
Hully Gully #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “Carl, Go Get Your Bass”
Hully Gully #3 – Lead Vocal: Mike
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction #2 – Group Vocals: Brian, Carl, Dennis, Al, Mike
Dialog: “That’s A Bad Guitar” – Piano: Brian
Ruby Baby #3 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “What’s The Matter, Carl”
Ruby Baby #4 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “Carl’s Tires”
I Should’ve Known Better #2 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
I Should’ve Known Better #3 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Dialog: “Wasn’t That Great Folks?”
Tell Me Why #1 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Don’t Worry Baby – 12-String Acoustic Guitar: Carl
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #1 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Little Deuce Coupe #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
California Girls -Lead Vocal: Mike
Disc 2
Session #2 [9/8/65], Continued
She Belongs To Me/The Artist (Laugh At Me) #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Fooling Around: Hang On Sloopy/You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’/Twist And Shout – Lead Vocal: Mike
Riot In Cellblock No.9 #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Fooling Around: The Diary – Lead Vocal: Bruce
Dialog: “I Think We Better Do This Next Week” – Piano: Brian
Session #3 [9/14/65]
Dialog: “Let’s Cook Now And Eat Later”
Tell Me Why #2 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
I Should Have Known Better #4 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Dialog: “What I Want To Do”
Dialog: “Are We Still In The Party?”
Mountain Of Love #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “Where’s Denny?”
Devoted To You #1 – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Dialog: “What Are You Doing Now”
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #2 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Dialog: “This Phony Party” / Ticket To Ride – Lead Vocal: Al
Alley Oop #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Alley Oop #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “Tune It Like It Is”
There’s No Other (Like My Baby) #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
There’s No Other (Like My Baby) #2 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “Do The Splits”
Devoted To You #2 – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Devoted To You #3 – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Session #4 [9/15/65]
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #3 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
I Get Around – Lead Vocal: Mike
Little Deuce Coupe #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Mountain Of Love #2 – Lead Vocals: Mike & Brian
Ticket To Ride #2
Riot In Cell Block No. #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
The Artist (Laugh At Me) #2 – Solo Vocal: Mike
One Kiss Led To Another – Lead Vocal: Mike
Session #5 [9/23/65]
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #4 – Solo Vocal: Dennis
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #5 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Dialog: “What Did You Stop Us For Chuck?”
The Times They Are A Changin’ – Lead Vocal: Al
Fooling Around: Heart And Soul/Long Tall Sally
Fooling Around: The Boy From Nyc
Smokey Joe’s Café – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “I Got One More”
Barbara Ann #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Barbara Ann #2 – Lead Vocals: Brian & Dean
Barbara Ann #3 – Lead Vocals: Brian & Dean
Disc 1
The Album (Original album released on Capitol Records MAS-2398, 1965)
Hully Gully [Session #2 – 9/8/65]- Lead Vocal: Mike
I Should Have Known Better [Session #3 – 9/14/65]- Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Tell Me Why [Session #2 – 9/8/65] – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Brian
Mountain Of Love [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Mike
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away [Session #5 – 9/23/65] – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Devoted To You [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Alley Oop [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Mike
There’s No Other (Like My Baby) [Session #3 – 9/14/65] – Lead Vocal: Brian
I Get Around / Little Deuce Coupe [Session #4 – 9/15/65] – Lead Vocal: Mike
The Times They Are A-Changin’ [Session #5 – 9/23/65] – Solo Vocal: Al
Barbara Ann [Session #5 – 9/23/65] – Lead Vocals: Brian & Dean
The Sessions
Let’s Get This Party Rolling [Session #2 – 9/8/65]
Session #1 [8/23/65]
I Should Have Known Better #1 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Ruby Baby #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction #1 – Group Vocals: Brian, Carl, Dennis, Al, Mike
Hully Gully #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Blowin’ In The Wind – Solo Vocal: Al
Dialog: “The Sunrays”
Session #2 [9/8/65]
Ruby Baby #2 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “The Masked Phantom”
Hully Gully #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “Carl, Go Get Your Bass”
Hully Gully #3 – Lead Vocal: Mike
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction #2 – Group Vocals: Brian, Carl, Dennis, Al, Mike
Dialog: “That’s A Bad Guitar” – Piano: Brian
Ruby Baby #3 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “What’s The Matter, Carl”
Ruby Baby #4 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “Carl’s Tires”
I Should’ve Known Better #2 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
I Should’ve Known Better #3 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Dialog: “Wasn’t That Great Folks?”
Tell Me Why #1 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Don’t Worry Baby – 12-String Acoustic Guitar: Carl
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #1 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Little Deuce Coupe #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
California Girls -Lead Vocal: Mike
Disc 2
Session #2 [9/8/65], Continued
She Belongs To Me/The Artist (Laugh At Me) #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Fooling Around: Hang On Sloopy/You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’/Twist And Shout – Lead Vocal: Mike
Riot In Cellblock No.9 #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Fooling Around: The Diary – Lead Vocal: Bruce
Dialog: “I Think We Better Do This Next Week” – Piano: Brian
Session #3 [9/14/65]
Dialog: “Let’s Cook Now And Eat Later”
Tell Me Why #2 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
I Should Have Known Better #4 – Lead Vocals: Carl & Al
Dialog: “What I Want To Do”
Dialog: “Are We Still In The Party?”
Mountain Of Love #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “Where’s Denny?”
Devoted To You #1 – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Dialog: “What Are You Doing Now”
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #2 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Dialog: “This Phony Party” / Ticket To Ride – Lead Vocal: Al
Alley Oop #1 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Alley Oop #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “Tune It Like It Is”
There’s No Other (Like My Baby) #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
There’s No Other (Like My Baby) #2 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Dialog: “Do The Splits”
Devoted To You #2 – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Devoted To You #3 – Duet Vocals: Brian & Mike
Session #4 [9/15/65]
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #3 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
I Get Around – Lead Vocal: Mike
Little Deuce Coupe #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
Mountain Of Love #2 – Lead Vocals: Mike & Brian
Ticket To Ride #2
Riot In Cell Block No. #2 – Lead Vocal: Mike
The Artist (Laugh At Me) #2 – Solo Vocal: Mike
One Kiss Led To Another – Lead Vocal: Mike
Session #5 [9/23/65]
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #4 – Solo Vocal: Dennis
You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away #5 – Lead Vocal: Dennis
Dialog: “What Did You Stop Us For Chuck?”
The Times They Are A Changin’ – Lead Vocal: Al
Fooling Around: Heart And Soul/Long Tall Sally
Fooling Around: The Boy From Nyc
Smokey Joe’s Café – Lead Vocal: Mike
Dialog: “I Got One More”
Barbara Ann #1 – Lead Vocal: Brian
Barbara Ann #2 – Lead Vocals: Brian & Dean
Barbara Ann #3 – Lead Vocals: Brian & Dean
http://theseconddisc.com/2015/10/22/lets-get-this-party-rolling-capitol-readies-beach-boys-party-uncovered-and-unplugged/
Rick Simmons
http://www.rebeatmag.com/retro-the-beach-boys-party-1965/
RETRO: ‘The Beach Boys’ Party!’ (1965)
Rick Simmons
Retro, Reviews
Track 3: “Tell Me Why”
It’s with the third track, this time another cover of a Beatles tune, that the album starts to build momentum. On the Beatles’ A Hard Days Night LP “Tell Me Why” was probably the weakest track on the album, but the Beach Boys do a really nice job with it here. It lends itself well to the live/party atmosphere, and although very few songs from this album surfaced again on greatest hits albums and the like, Brian Wilson apparently did think enough of “Tell Me Why” to include it on Spirit of America, the 1975 album that was released to follow up the monstrously successful Endless Summer collection.
Track 4: “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow”
Listen to “Tell Me Why,” and at the end you’ll hear them start playing around with the Rivington’s “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow.” When the video above ends, click on the one below. That’s how they flowed together on the original album, and here they do a really fun version of “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow.” Despite the fact that Brian Wilson and Mike Love share lead vocals, they sound a bit raw at times, but that’s what you’d expect of a real impromptu session (if it had been one).
Track 5: “Mountain of Love”
I didn’t care for a lot of Johnny Rivers stuff outside of “Secret Agent Man,” but honestly this Beach Boys cover made me reconsider his music. I know it’s rough, crude, and disharmonius at times, but somehow it feels right. And as I later discovered, Rivers’ version is a pretty good song after all.
Tracks 6, 7, and 8 : “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “Devoted to You,” and “Alley Oop”
Perhaps no song sells the Beach Boys Party! idea better than the cover of the Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” It’s not a great song, and Dennis Wilson’s vocals are no match for John Lennon’s to be sure, but the girls seem to have a lot of fun with it, especially the “Hey!” parts. Unfortunately, it’s the only song on the album Dennis sang lead on and it does nothing to sell his ability as a singer. The group’s cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Devoted to You” has nice harmonies that the Beach Boys’ voices naturally lend themselves to, so it’s a pleasant track. The Hollywood Argyles’ “Alley Oop” was a silly novelty song when they released it, so it seems an appropriate cut for Mike Love’s clowning around as the lead singer on the track. It sounds exactly like you’d expect a bunch of people to sound like if they were sitting around drinking and singing.
Track 9: “There’s No Other (Like My Baby)”
This song, originally recorded by the Crystals, is a strange choice for several reasons. First, it’s a girl-group song, and so it took some gender switching with the pronouns to work. Secondly, its a slow, love ballad, so it’s not as raucous as most of the tracks. When they kick in at about the 18 second mark, the Beach Boys harmonies have never sounded better, and if nothing else that makes it a track worth hearing.
Track 10: “Medley: I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe”
Fans surely would have been disappointed if they hadn’t attempted at least a song or two that they’d recorded themselves, but that’s a pretty risky proposition. If you hear them sing it acoustically, and as close as it gets to a cappella, you’ll hear exactly what the guys sound like sans the magic of the studio, which might not be a good thing. Of course in this case we are in fact hearing a studio album despite what the record implies, but that may make it even a harder task: make the record sound good, but not over-produced and artificial. The answer seems to be to clown around and sing the songs in a way that shows they weren’t serious. There’s a lot of joking, lyric changes, and the like, but when the harmonies are on, they’re fantastic. One thing is for sure — after this track you were convinced that party with Beach Boys would be a helluva of a good time.
Track 11: “The Times They are a-Changin”
For the penultimate effort on the album the group forays into a completely new area, a song by Bob Dylan. Whereas the Beatles tracks they’d covered were standard pop fare, “Times” is clearly not your run-of-the-mill pop song. Before the song begins, Al Jardine, who will handle lead vocals, says “It’s a test song. It was a protest song.” Again there’s a lot of joking around, so much so that there’s no fear that the guys will become folk rockers. It’s just a nod to one of the other great contemporary artists of the time.
Track 12: “Barbara Ann”
The pièce de résistance here is a cover of the Regents’ “Barbara Ann,” which had risen to #13 on the charts in 1961. It just so happened that Dean Torrance (of Jan and Dean fame) was in the studio that day and he and Brian Wilson shared lead vocal duties on the song. At the time the group’s previous single, “The Little Girl I Once Knew,” had stalled at #20 on the charts, and the group was looking for a hit. Listener response was apparently good for this cover of “Barbara Ann,” and so Capitol decided to release it as a single. It went all the way to #2 on the charts in 1966, becoming the one and only single hit from this album. It is, unquestionably, a classic.
In many ways, the Beach Boys’ Party! was a benchmark. It was their last record that belonged largely in the realm of the simple surf, cars, girls, and “let’s have some fun” music that had come before it, and maybe the inclusion of songs by Dylan and the Beatles should have been an indication that indeed times were a changing. Pet Sounds was their next album, and “God Only Knows,” “Wouldn’t it Be Nice,” “Sloop John B” and the other tracks found there were an entirely different, more mature type of Beach Boys’ music. Maybe some listeners weren’t quite ready for the “new” sound: Beach Boys’ Party! rose all the way to #6 on the national album charts, while subsequently the now-legendary Pet Sounds peaked at #10. In the UK, the album also made an impact. Both “Barbara Ann” and the album peaked at #3 on the British charts, making them the Beach Boys’ highest charting album and single on the British charts up until that time. But any way you cut it, it was a unique, and fun, record, and in some ways the last vestige of those innocent early years of Beach Boys music.
6 June 2015
If I asked you to name your favorite Beach Boys album, what would you say? I’m guessing many of our readers might say Pet Sounds, and that’s a valid response given that it’s one of the most critically acclaimed albums ever recorded. Some might say Endless Summer, because although it was a greatest hits compilation, it brought the Beach Boys to a whole new generation of listeners (like me) in the 1970s when they’d been more or less out of the limelight for a few years. Or maybe Surfer Girl? Wild Honey? Surf’s Up? My point is that I have a feeling I’m in the overwhelming minority of Beach Boys fans who would answer with The Beach Boys’ Party!
First and foremost, by any standards it’s an odd album, a concept album before there were concept albums. The idea behind Party!is that it was supposed to be a live performance taped one evening while the Beach Boys were just kind of sitting around in the company of friends. They knock out a few songs accompanied only by acoustic guitars, a tambourine, a harmonica, and bongos, and their friends chime in on vocals once in a while as well. They sing a few old favorites, some new favorites by other artists, and even throw in a couple of their own songs. There’s background chatter, girls laughing, and a fair amount of joking around and misremembered lyrics as they enjoy themselves as they sing one song after another in one continuous take. If I’d heard it when it was released in 1965, I’m betting I would have thought it was exactly what I would have imagined a Beach Boys party to be like.
Except the whole thing was one big fabricated put-on, and unlike the first grader I would have been if I’d heard it in 1965, today I’m wise enough (and cynical enough) to know there’s no way this was a live, one-take party album. Granted, it’s so seamlessly engineered that one track flows right into another and it literally does sound like they sat down, played and sang for a little more than half an hour, and recorded it all the while. If there was a Grammy for “Best Sound Engineering” or whatever back then (and I’m sure there wasn’t), this album should have received it. The reality is, though, that the group recorded this over a period of many days, and it was heavily edited and carefully crafted to sound like an impromptu recording. Despite the fact that it sounds seamless, a number of aborted attempts to casually sing songs were excised because they didn’t work so well. This included versions of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride,” the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind,” and others, the best of which is the Drifters’ “Ruby Baby” (which appeared for the first time on the Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys box set in 1993). I would assume they chose the 12 songs that seemed to work best and included those here. What follows is my take on those songs, and despite what seems to be a somewhat non-commital introduction here, I really love this album.
If I asked you to name your favorite Beach Boys album, what would you say? I’m guessing many of our readers might say Pet Sounds, and that’s a valid response given that it’s one of the most critically acclaimed albums ever recorded. Some might say Endless Summer, because although it was a greatest hits compilation, it brought the Beach Boys to a whole new generation of listeners (like me) in the 1970s when they’d been more or less out of the limelight for a few years. Or maybe Surfer Girl? Wild Honey? Surf’s Up? My point is that I have a feeling I’m in the overwhelming minority of Beach Boys fans who would answer with The Beach Boys’ Party!
First and foremost, by any standards it’s an odd album, a concept album before there were concept albums. The idea behind Party!is that it was supposed to be a live performance taped one evening while the Beach Boys were just kind of sitting around in the company of friends. They knock out a few songs accompanied only by acoustic guitars, a tambourine, a harmonica, and bongos, and their friends chime in on vocals once in a while as well. They sing a few old favorites, some new favorites by other artists, and even throw in a couple of their own songs. There’s background chatter, girls laughing, and a fair amount of joking around and misremembered lyrics as they enjoy themselves as they sing one song after another in one continuous take. If I’d heard it when it was released in 1965, I’m betting I would have thought it was exactly what I would have imagined a Beach Boys party to be like.
Except the whole thing was one big fabricated put-on, and unlike the first grader I would have been if I’d heard it in 1965, today I’m wise enough (and cynical enough) to know there’s no way this was a live, one-take party album. Granted, it’s so seamlessly engineered that one track flows right into another and it literally does sound like they sat down, played and sang for a little more than half an hour, and recorded it all the while. If there was a Grammy for “Best Sound Engineering” or whatever back then (and I’m sure there wasn’t), this album should have received it. The reality is, though, that the group recorded this over a period of many days, and it was heavily edited and carefully crafted to sound like an impromptu recording. Despite the fact that it sounds seamless, a number of aborted attempts to casually sing songs were excised because they didn’t work so well. This included versions of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride,” the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind,” and others, the best of which is the Drifters’ “Ruby Baby” (which appeared for the first time on the Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys box set in 1993). I would assume they chose the 12 songs that seemed to work best and included those here. What follows is my take on those songs, and despite what seems to be a somewhat non-commital introduction here, I really love this album.
Tracks 1 and 2: “Hully Gully” and “I Should Have Known Better”
I’ll admit the first two tracks are pretty disposable. Track #1 is a forgettable, if harmonious version of the Olympics’ “Hully Gully,” followed by a somewhat discordant version of the Beatles’ “I Should Have Known Better.” It was pretty ballsy to cover a Beatles tune when both groups were at the height of their popularity, but with this version the Beatles clearly had nothing to fear: the Beach Boys acoustic version is little better than what you might have heard at summer camp in 1965 with everybody singing it around a camp fire. Both of these are okay, but nothing special.
I’ll admit the first two tracks are pretty disposable. Track #1 is a forgettable, if harmonious version of the Olympics’ “Hully Gully,” followed by a somewhat discordant version of the Beatles’ “I Should Have Known Better.” It was pretty ballsy to cover a Beatles tune when both groups were at the height of their popularity, but with this version the Beatles clearly had nothing to fear: the Beach Boys acoustic version is little better than what you might have heard at summer camp in 1965 with everybody singing it around a camp fire. Both of these are okay, but nothing special.
Track 3: “Tell Me Why”
It’s with the third track, this time another cover of a Beatles tune, that the album starts to build momentum. On the Beatles’ A Hard Days Night LP “Tell Me Why” was probably the weakest track on the album, but the Beach Boys do a really nice job with it here. It lends itself well to the live/party atmosphere, and although very few songs from this album surfaced again on greatest hits albums and the like, Brian Wilson apparently did think enough of “Tell Me Why” to include it on Spirit of America, the 1975 album that was released to follow up the monstrously successful Endless Summer collection.
Track 4: “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow”
Listen to “Tell Me Why,” and at the end you’ll hear them start playing around with the Rivington’s “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow.” When the video above ends, click on the one below. That’s how they flowed together on the original album, and here they do a really fun version of “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow.” Despite the fact that Brian Wilson and Mike Love share lead vocals, they sound a bit raw at times, but that’s what you’d expect of a real impromptu session (if it had been one).
Track 5: “Mountain of Love”
I didn’t care for a lot of Johnny Rivers stuff outside of “Secret Agent Man,” but honestly this Beach Boys cover made me reconsider his music. I know it’s rough, crude, and disharmonius at times, but somehow it feels right. And as I later discovered, Rivers’ version is a pretty good song after all.
Tracks 6, 7, and 8 : “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” “Devoted to You,” and “Alley Oop”
Perhaps no song sells the Beach Boys Party! idea better than the cover of the Beatles’ “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away.” It’s not a great song, and Dennis Wilson’s vocals are no match for John Lennon’s to be sure, but the girls seem to have a lot of fun with it, especially the “Hey!” parts. Unfortunately, it’s the only song on the album Dennis sang lead on and it does nothing to sell his ability as a singer. The group’s cover of the Everly Brothers’ “Devoted to You” has nice harmonies that the Beach Boys’ voices naturally lend themselves to, so it’s a pleasant track. The Hollywood Argyles’ “Alley Oop” was a silly novelty song when they released it, so it seems an appropriate cut for Mike Love’s clowning around as the lead singer on the track. It sounds exactly like you’d expect a bunch of people to sound like if they were sitting around drinking and singing.
Track 9: “There’s No Other (Like My Baby)”
This song, originally recorded by the Crystals, is a strange choice for several reasons. First, it’s a girl-group song, and so it took some gender switching with the pronouns to work. Secondly, its a slow, love ballad, so it’s not as raucous as most of the tracks. When they kick in at about the 18 second mark, the Beach Boys harmonies have never sounded better, and if nothing else that makes it a track worth hearing.
Track 10: “Medley: I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe”
Fans surely would have been disappointed if they hadn’t attempted at least a song or two that they’d recorded themselves, but that’s a pretty risky proposition. If you hear them sing it acoustically, and as close as it gets to a cappella, you’ll hear exactly what the guys sound like sans the magic of the studio, which might not be a good thing. Of course in this case we are in fact hearing a studio album despite what the record implies, but that may make it even a harder task: make the record sound good, but not over-produced and artificial. The answer seems to be to clown around and sing the songs in a way that shows they weren’t serious. There’s a lot of joking, lyric changes, and the like, but when the harmonies are on, they’re fantastic. One thing is for sure — after this track you were convinced that party with Beach Boys would be a helluva of a good time.
Track 11: “The Times They are a-Changin”
For the penultimate effort on the album the group forays into a completely new area, a song by Bob Dylan. Whereas the Beatles tracks they’d covered were standard pop fare, “Times” is clearly not your run-of-the-mill pop song. Before the song begins, Al Jardine, who will handle lead vocals, says “It’s a test song. It was a protest song.” Again there’s a lot of joking around, so much so that there’s no fear that the guys will become folk rockers. It’s just a nod to one of the other great contemporary artists of the time.
Track 12: “Barbara Ann”
The pièce de résistance here is a cover of the Regents’ “Barbara Ann,” which had risen to #13 on the charts in 1961. It just so happened that Dean Torrance (of Jan and Dean fame) was in the studio that day and he and Brian Wilson shared lead vocal duties on the song. At the time the group’s previous single, “The Little Girl I Once Knew,” had stalled at #20 on the charts, and the group was looking for a hit. Listener response was apparently good for this cover of “Barbara Ann,” and so Capitol decided to release it as a single. It went all the way to #2 on the charts in 1966, becoming the one and only single hit from this album. It is, unquestionably, a classic.
In many ways, the Beach Boys’ Party! was a benchmark. It was their last record that belonged largely in the realm of the simple surf, cars, girls, and “let’s have some fun” music that had come before it, and maybe the inclusion of songs by Dylan and the Beatles should have been an indication that indeed times were a changing. Pet Sounds was their next album, and “God Only Knows,” “Wouldn’t it Be Nice,” “Sloop John B” and the other tracks found there were an entirely different, more mature type of Beach Boys’ music. Maybe some listeners weren’t quite ready for the “new” sound: Beach Boys’ Party! rose all the way to #6 on the national album charts, while subsequently the now-legendary Pet Sounds peaked at #10. In the UK, the album also made an impact. Both “Barbara Ann” and the album peaked at #3 on the British charts, making them the Beach Boys’ highest charting album and single on the British charts up until that time. But any way you cut it, it was a unique, and fun, record, and in some ways the last vestige of those innocent early years of Beach Boys music.
‘Beach Boys; Party! Uncovered nd Unplugged'
50th Anniversary 2CD and Digital Album Features 81 Songs and Dialog Tracks Culled From The Beach Boys’ ‘Party!’ Studio Sessions
Los Angeles – October 22, 2015
50th Anniversary 2CD and Digital Album Features 81 Songs and Dialog Tracks Culled From The Beach Boys’ ‘Party!’ Studio Sessions
Los Angeles – October 22, 2015
In November 1965, The Beach Boys released Beach Boys’ Party!, a creative and well-loved album of covers mixed with separately recorded party sounds created by the band members, their families and friends. ‘Party!’ was a Top 10 Billboard hit, quickly going Gold and spawning the timeless No. 2 smash hit, “Barbara Ann.” To celebrate the popular album’s 50th anniversary, The Beach Boys have overseen a remixed, remastered and expanded edition, Beach Boys’ Party! Uncovered and Unplugged, which removes the overdubbed festivities from the 12-track original album’s mix and adds 69 more songs and dialog tracks culled from all of the band’s ‘Party!’ recording sessions. To be released worldwide on November 20 by Capitol/UMe, the 2CD and digital album also includes photos from the sessions, package essays by Beach Boys historians Alan Boyd and Craig Slowinski, and notes by the new edition’s producer, Mark Linett. A vinyl LP edition of the ‘Party!’ album’s original 12 tracks, remixed and remastered in the ‘Uncovered and Unplugged’ style, will follow on December 11.
Over the course of several long sessions at Western Recorders in Hollywood, California in August and September of 1965, The Beach Boys recorded what was, essentially, the first “unplugged” rock & roll album, with instrumentation limited to acoustic guitars, bass, bongos, harmonica and a tambourine. Joined in the studio by a few friends and collaborators, the band ran through many of their favorite songs of the time, including hits by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and others, even spoofing two of their own biggest hits – “I Get Around” and “Little Deuce Coupe” -- with self-parodying renditions. The Beach Boys’ version of The Regents’ “Barbara-Ann” (released by The Beach Boys minus the title’s original hyphen), included on the album, leapt up the Billboard singles chart and became one of the band’s signature songs, beloved by fans around the world.
“The ‘Party!’ album was a result of the pressure Capitol Records was putting on us for another album,” explained Beach Boys founding member Mike Love. “And we didn’t really have time to develop the type of album we wanted to develop, which Brian was working on, called Pet Sounds… So we said, ‘Well, what can we do quickly and easily?’ And we decided to do this party album.”
“Mike was saying, why not a party album and we can act like we are [at a party], and just be ourselves on tape, you know?” recalled Beach Boys founding member Brian Wilson. “And that’s what happened. It was a very spontaneous album.”
After the band wrapped recording sessions for the album’s songs -- plus many additional songs -- they returned to the studio with friends and family in tow, for a three-hour session to record party sounds and chatter to be mixed with the songs for the freewheeling Beach Boys’ Party! album. Removed from this new ‘Uncovered and Unplugged’ edition, the mixed-in party sounds remain intact on the original album, which was most recently remixed in stereo for reissue by Capitol in 2012.
Over the course of several long sessions at Western Recorders in Hollywood, California in August and September of 1965, The Beach Boys recorded what was, essentially, the first “unplugged” rock & roll album, with instrumentation limited to acoustic guitars, bass, bongos, harmonica and a tambourine. Joined in the studio by a few friends and collaborators, the band ran through many of their favorite songs of the time, including hits by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and others, even spoofing two of their own biggest hits – “I Get Around” and “Little Deuce Coupe” -- with self-parodying renditions. The Beach Boys’ version of The Regents’ “Barbara-Ann” (released by The Beach Boys minus the title’s original hyphen), included on the album, leapt up the Billboard singles chart and became one of the band’s signature songs, beloved by fans around the world.
“The ‘Party!’ album was a result of the pressure Capitol Records was putting on us for another album,” explained Beach Boys founding member Mike Love. “And we didn’t really have time to develop the type of album we wanted to develop, which Brian was working on, called Pet Sounds… So we said, ‘Well, what can we do quickly and easily?’ And we decided to do this party album.”
“Mike was saying, why not a party album and we can act like we are [at a party], and just be ourselves on tape, you know?” recalled Beach Boys founding member Brian Wilson. “And that’s what happened. It was a very spontaneous album.”
After the band wrapped recording sessions for the album’s songs -- plus many additional songs -- they returned to the studio with friends and family in tow, for a three-hour session to record party sounds and chatter to be mixed with the songs for the freewheeling Beach Boys’ Party! album. Removed from this new ‘Uncovered and Unplugged’ edition, the mixed-in party sounds remain intact on the original album, which was most recently remixed in stereo for reissue by Capitol in 2012.
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