Ojai Sam
Staff member
The Beach Boys - Beach Boys' Party! (1965)
This is the Rodney Dangerfield of Beach Boys albums.
The back story is all too familiar to fans: in late summer 1965, Capitol Records started demanding an album for the holidays. However, the marathon sessions for Pet Sounds had just begun in July and wouldn't end until the following April. Having released a live album the previous year, Brian and the Boys opted for a studio recording with overdubbed party sounds. The lavish gatefold kept the "party" going.
They chose a mix of covers, from the serious (Dylan) to the zany ("Alley Oop"). They even covered themselves ("I Get Around"/"Little Deuce Coupe"). Dozens of songs were recorded over several days, with 12 making the final cut. The instrumentation is all acoustic with a bit of electric bass here and there.
It may be heresy, but in my view this records stands up to repeated listening better than the much praised Pet Sounds. But then, I prefer Rubber Soul to Revolver.
The spontaneity and sheer fun of Beach Boys' Party! makes me want to run for the Cokes, Fritos and Bean Dip every time. 
The album even produced a surprise hit single in "Barbara Ann", with lead vocals by my fellow University High Warrior, Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean. This was arguably the first "Unplugged" album and the "fool around in the studio with oldies" model was followed (far less successfully) in The Beatles' Get Back/Let It Be sessions.
The massive Sea of Tunes Beach Boys Unsurpassed Masters bootleg project gave us access to hours of unused songs with this essential 4 disc set:
In 2015 Capitol got into the act with 2 discs worth of Beach Boys' Party: Uncovered and Unplugged.
I'll report back on that collection when the hard copy arrives.
on the Sam-O-Meter. Baa! Baa! Baa! Baa Barbara Ann!
This is the Rodney Dangerfield of Beach Boys albums.
The back story is all too familiar to fans: in late summer 1965, Capitol Records started demanding an album for the holidays. However, the marathon sessions for Pet Sounds had just begun in July and wouldn't end until the following April. Having released a live album the previous year, Brian and the Boys opted for a studio recording with overdubbed party sounds. The lavish gatefold kept the "party" going.
They chose a mix of covers, from the serious (Dylan) to the zany ("Alley Oop"). They even covered themselves ("I Get Around"/"Little Deuce Coupe"). Dozens of songs were recorded over several days, with 12 making the final cut. The instrumentation is all acoustic with a bit of electric bass here and there.
It may be heresy, but in my view this records stands up to repeated listening better than the much praised Pet Sounds. But then, I prefer Rubber Soul to Revolver.
The spontaneity and sheer fun of Beach Boys' Party! makes me want to run for the Cokes, Fritos and Bean Dip every time. The album even produced a surprise hit single in "Barbara Ann", with lead vocals by my fellow University High Warrior, Dean Torrence of Jan and Dean. This was arguably the first "Unplugged" album and the "fool around in the studio with oldies" model was followed (far less successfully) in The Beatles' Get Back/Let It Be sessions.The massive Sea of Tunes Beach Boys Unsurpassed Masters bootleg project gave us access to hours of unused songs with this essential 4 disc set:
In 2015 Capitol got into the act with 2 discs worth of Beach Boys' Party: Uncovered and Unplugged.
I'll report back on that collection when the hard copy arrives.
on the Sam-O-Meter. Baa! Baa! Baa! Baa Barbara Ann!
