The concept was simple: the Beach Boys hanging out with their friends and girlfriends slash wives, drinking pop and eating potato chips, strumming their guitars for a low-key singalong. Percussion comes from a set of bongos, a tambourine, and whoever wants to clap along (plus, according to the liner notes, Al Jardine on ashtray). A few years earlier, this would be called a hootenanny; a generation later, MTV would make a mint on the idea, save the pop and chips.
Save two tracks, the songs on Party! aren’t busked renditions of their greatest hits, but lean toward songs that they loved as teenagers—or would love if they still were teenagers. That’s how “Hully Gully” is followed by joyfully reverent takes of labelmates the Beatles’ “I Should Have Known Better” and “Tell Me Why”. “Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow” is the first nod to their own catalog, having already been on the previous year’s live album, while “Mountain Of Love” was obviously a favorite, as Brian Wilson would lift the bridge for his own “Little Children” two decades later. Dennis does his best on another Beatles song, “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”, while the rest of the party giggles. Some of the chatter between songs is a little cringey in retrospect, with Brian and Mike Love taking different tacks on crowd control, but they come together nicely on “Devoted To You”.
“Alley Oop” picks up the pace, and while it’s slower, the gang harmonies on the Crystals’ “There’s No Other (Like My Baby)” keep it going. That’s the cue for Mike to goof on “I Get Around” and “Little Deuce Coupe”, which is a dangerous setup for Al’s appropriately nasal “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, which prompts all kinds of jeering from the gang. The best is truly saved for last, as “Barbara Ann”, led by (Jan &) Dean Torrence, would become one of their biggest hits. (In fact, it was rushed out as a single in the wake of the failure of “The Little Girl I Once Knew”.) The album version goes on another minute, with false endings and further wackiness.
Beach Boys’ Party! does perpetuate the myth of sun and fun that was present from their first singles and albums, complete with lots of photos of the boys and their girls. Surely more than one record-buyer wished he or she was invited to the party itself, rather than looking in from the outside.
Despite coming from four of five different recording dates, the “uncovered” mix of the album still sounds as fun as the final product, like they actually were enjoying themselves, with minimal ribbing but still lots of goofing around. The sessions give a glimpse of the other dozen songs attempted in the process, including two further Bob Dylan songs, the Beatles’ “Ticket To Ride”, the Stones’ “Satisfaction”, Sonny Bono’s “Laugh At Me” (with parodic lyrics by Mike), several Lieber-Stoller tunes (including several attempts at “Ruby Baby”), “Twist And Shout”, “Long Tall Sally”, and “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”. “Riot In Cell Block #9” predicts a song on a future album, and it’s somewhat fitting to see that the project did indeed conclude with “Barbara Ann”.
Footnote: The album was not ignored in the 1990 two-fer rollout of the Beach Boys catalog. Since it was such an anomaly to begin with, the caretakers chose to pair it with 1969’s oddball Stack-o-Tracks, which presented 15 Beach Boys classics in classic duophonic sound (upgraded to true stereo for the CD) but no vocals, giving the budding Beach Boy or Girl the chance to sing along thanks to the included lyrics and chords booklet (sadly, not included with the CD). Until the 1993 box set, archival reissues of Pet Sounds, and The Smile Sessions, this was the only way to hear those intricate backing tracks. The upgrade even included three bonus instrumental mixes.
The Beach Boys Beach Boys’ Party! (1965)—3
1990 CD reissue: same as 1965, plus Stack-o-Tracks album and 3 extra tracks
2015 Uncovered And Unplugged: “same” as 1965, plus 69 extra tracks
Capitol Records eventually released all the band’s pre-“Pet Sounds” albums in the early 70’s after the band had moved on to Brother/Reprise. Six as is, four in truncated form in a couple of “two-fers”. However, this one remained elusive, except for the hit “Barbara Ann”. Amazingly, “Mountain of Love” and “Alley Oop” were placed on one of those cheapo Pickwick samplers, and then “Tell Me Why” made it onto “Spirit of America”. I even heard the full length “Barbara Ann” on the radio once in the mid-80’s – but the DJ was coy about its source, maybe because it was still out of print. All very tantalizing for hardcore fans.
ReplyDeleteSo, the 1990 re-release was a big deal. The liner notes amazed me. I, like most people, was totally fooled. The whole “party” atmosphere was contrived! Even “I Get Around” and “Little Deuce Coupe” were separate recordings edited together. While I enjoyed it most of the time (mocking a Bob Dylan song was a brilliant idea. No one else at the time would have dared!), at other times it was irritating (“You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away”).
So, even more tantalizing was the appearance of a stripped down “Ruby Baby”(take #2, the famous “oinking” version) on the boxed set, and then “Barbara Ann” and “Devoted to You” on “Hawthorne, CA”. I thought it would be great to hear the whole album like that.
Much to my surprise, I eventually got my wish – and then some! I love the “uncovered” versions. It’s great to hear that they really were enjoying themselves. I love enthusiasm, the side chatter, the occasional cuss word, the intimacy. Denny’s sincerity really comes through on his Beatles cover when the “party goers” are removed.
I don’t hear much more that could have been added to the original album. Maybe “Ruby Baby” (one of the non-oinking takes) or “Riot in Cell Block #9”. The rest of the tracks are either too loose, too ragged or too incomplete. One complete track could NEVER have made the album. Al plays “Blowin’ in the Wind” perfectly straight. While “..Times..” could be cut down because of its naivete and over-sincerity, there is NOTHING funny about what was, arguably, Dylan’s first timeless classic. Smart move to leave that one in the can.
The “uncovered” version is my listening preference. However, the original “party” atmosphere is very infectious, which is why “Barbara Ann” was such a massive hit and took the album with it. It’s so much fun. While it solved Brian’s contractual obligations, it also had the unfortunate side effect of making the next album seem even more of a radical change than it already was.
As for “Stack-o-Tracks”, I was amazed when I ran across it in a New Jersey record store in 1977, as a British import. No music book, unfortunately, but it did have lyrics. I made my buddy stay up late and listen to the whole thing. His reaction: “Where’s ‘Good Vibrations’?”. An excellent point. It would have been THE highlight, of course.
ReplyDeleteAnother friend thought it was too weird to hear the songs with no vocals. It was a bit disconcerting, at first, but it didn’t take too long to want to listen very closely. I wonder why the bulk of the record was taken from only four albums: “Pet Sounds”, of course,(4); “Summer Days” (3, 5 on the reissue); “Surfer Girl” (3, 4 on the reissue); and “Wild Honey” (2). This album is also the reason that a true stereo version of “Do it Again” didn’t appear for decades. The multitracks got lost during the mixing of this album. That backing track sounds exceptionally cool, along with the incomplete “Wild Honey” (no organ solo!).
One must wonder who came up with this idea. This wasn’t the best way for Capitol try and compensate for their mistiming of “Friends”. Especially only two weeks after another bungled “Best of..” (“Frosty the Snowman”?). It is fun to listen to, but not one that most people would come back to, even if they could find the album. Of course, the concept has since been beaten to death, first by The Beach Boys themselves, then by other bands. For real fans only.