We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
By 1972 the iconic sound that had been put together 10 years earlier in Torrance California was on life support. The heart & soul of the Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, was busy with other things and had little time to contribute to their latest record, ‘Carl & The Passions So Tough”. In order to fill out the sound and get some new material, the band added two members of the group Flame, Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, to the mix. Carl Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love and Dennis Wilson were still around, the but signature harmonies that made the group international stars, were not much in evidence on the new record.
The two songs that come closest are “Marcella” (a song about a massuse at a Santa Monica massage parlor that Brian would frequent) and “All This & That” with lyrics that addressed their continued interest in Transcendental Meditation.
The two Dennis Wilson tracks ( written with future Captain, Daryl Dragon) had some critics perk up but I can’t hear what they do. The syrupy strings and Wilson’s struggling voice do nothing for me.
More interesting are the two tracks by the new guys, although they don’t really sound like Beach Boys songs. ‘Here She Comes” is a nice pop track with some fine piano and ” Hold On Dear Brother” is a revelation. Sung by Chaplin with some tasty pedal steel from Fataar, it is really good. One critic thought it sounded like The Band…and it really does.
The Beach Boys would have a few more hits and even have an 80’s comeback for a bit…but the ravages of sun, surf and sand…along with the drugs and other diversions , had taken their toll.
