Wild Honey was predominantly composed by Brian with Mike Love, and was a valiant attempt to make a simple rock ‘n roll album. Released exactly three (!) months after Smiley Smile, it was a nice try, but still sounds very cramped, and came in at just under 24 minutes. At least there were more drums.
Carl Wilson notably dominates the album, while Mike isn’t as prominent, probably because he was off meditating with the Maharishi. The title track is a cacophony of keyboards, while Carl shouts the lyrics overhead. (He uses the same approach on the otherwise straight cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made To Love Her” two tracks later.) “Aren’t You Glad” is a harmless little skip of a song, with Mike and Brian trading off in near-falsetto voices, but Carl belts the choruses for a real kick. “Country Air” seems to cover the same musical ground, but it also seems unfinished, as the verses consist of energetic humming. The actual words in the chorus follow on Smile theme, while the Chamberlin keyboard puts us in mind of 1967 Kinks. And “A Thing Or Two”—inexplicably described in the liner notes as “jazzy”—is just plain forced.
The best song is “Darlin’”, a decent hit song for once, despite Carl’s trouble hitting some of the high notes. Hal Blaine is back on board to nail down the rhythm section, and he is appreciated. The first instance of Brian writing a song describing his activities in real time comes in “I’d Love Just Once To See You”, with a musical arrangement that deserves better lyrics, even with the joke ending. “Here Comes The Night” is not the Them classic, but is at least catchy. “Let The Wind Blow” also seems to have developed from various discarded Smile ideas, which is fine, but the Leslie effect on the piano is becoming tiresome. Although Brian had nothing to do with “How She Boogalooed It”, it brings back the carefree feeling of their first albums, and two minutes later, “Mama Says” revives the tag from “Vegetables”.
A cult of Beach Boys fanatics will praise Wild Honey for its simple greatness, but that overlooks how insubstantial it is. One of the CD bonus tracks, a compilation of various attempts at a track called “Can’t Wait Too Long”, shows just how close yet out of grasp their potential had gone from them. Hence, the cult would be very excited when a CD set and accompanying digital releases would one day expand on this album even further.
The Beach Boys Wild Honey (1967)—2½
1990 CD reissue: same as 1967, plus Smiley Smile album and 6 extra tracks
I don't think I'm a Beach Boys fanatic and yet I really like this album. Country Air and Let the Wind Blow are simple and great. Carl's singing on Wild Honey the song make the impossible idea possible: Beach Boys making quality R and B. It's short and has some filler, but the high points would stand out on any album.
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ReplyDeleteThis album was never intended to be any more than lightweight fun. Unfortunately, it came out at the exact time (“Magical Mystery Tour”, “..Satanic Majesties” and “After Bathing at Baxter’s all came out within the same one-month period) when that was increasingly uncool for major rock acts. Nowadays, the fan base is very fond of this album because of its energy level, significantly bumped up from the stoned lethargy of “Smiley Smile” and the sometimes-moody introspection of “Pet Sounds”.
ReplyDeleteMike didn’t leave for Rishikesh until after the album was released. So, he had much greater influence here than he did on the previous two records, mainly as the lyricist. What’s interesting is that the soul influence inspired him and Brian to create the group’s most carnal album. (Relatively speaking, of course – nobody saying this is the Stones here). The words to songs like “Here Comes the Night”, “A Thing or Two” and the title track make I quite clear what was on Mike’s mind, and it wasn’t surfing. This is also emphasized on the speedy, great reading of “I Was Made to Love Her”, if less blatant.
“A Thing or Two” is a less creepy and more upbeat rework of “Gettin’ Hungry”. Like on that song, the editing seems somewhat clumsy. “Aren’t You Glad?” would be utterly transformed live. “Let the Wind Blow” is the only song that gets anywhere near the spirituality and introspection of “God Only Knows”, but the tempo undermines it somewhat.
"I'd Love Just Once to See You" was the first folk song about life in the affluent suburbs. (Wings’ “Deliver Your Children” would be next). "How She Boogalooed It" does not sound like a song that took four people to write. A throwback to teens partying around the turntable was an especially unhip song on an already unhip album. I always thought that the lead was sung by Al, but it’s a sped-up Carl. Why? Carl already had the majority of the leads.
The best harmonies on the album are in the two fragments. At least these fragments are not as disturbing as those on “Smiley Smile”. “Mama Says” is rather childish (as is its parent song, the weakest thing from “Smile”). However, “Country Air” is evocative and gorgeous, even if it is only a chorus in search of verses. It seem to go down well live, anyway.
I really love the stereo mix. You can hear details that show that the album wasn’t quite as raw as the mono mix would have you think. For example, there are more guitar parts than are apparent, even though the sound is dominated by piano. The sound is appealing now, but the group’s rapid and very deliberate turn away from psychedelia after the failure of “Smiley Smile” put them way out of sync with their musical peers and their audience. If this had come out in 1968, it wouldn’t have sold more. The next trend was not simpler music, as the liner notes contended – it was rootsier. Despite the R&B influence, this was still a simple California pop album. Not the same thing. Again, it had to be removed from the context of the time to be appreciated