Now the Beach Boys come with strings attached
THE BEACH BOYS: The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (UMC) Verdict: Sun, surf...and an orchestra
Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys has described the band’s 1966 single Good Vibrations as ‘a pocket symphony’. speaking about Pet sounds, the classic album from the same year that rolled back the boundaries of pop, he coined the phrase ‘chapel rock’ to sum up its bold experimentation.
so it’s no surprise that The Beach Boys are the latest heritage act given the orchestral treatment on an album that pairs their peerless vocal harmonies with new arrangements recorded by the royal Philharmonic orchestra at abbey road.
The gambit has been used before by the production team of Don reedman and nick Patrick. They successfully road-tested it with Elvis Presley’s The Wonder of You and refined it with roy orbison’s a love so Beautiful.
But if there’s one act whose songs have the sophistication and substance to warrant such a makeover it is ‘ america’s band’. Formed in 1961, The Beach Boys were Uncle sam’s Beatles. Mixing the rock ’n’ roll of Chuck Berry with the harmonies of The Four Freshmen, their early hits celebrated sun, surf and hot-rod racing cars.
By the middle of the decade, though, their music had become more complex and introspective. God only Knows, from Pet sounds, featured tuba, harpsichord, cello and flute. Good Vibrations, written by Brian and fellow band member (and cousin) Mike love, took six months to finish at a cost of $16,000, a princely sum in 1966.
and, while the new album spans the years from 1964’s Fun, Fun, Fun to 1988’s Kokomo, it’s the songs of the mid- sixties that stand out, with the new enhancements adding nuance while preserving the integrity of the original recordings. Wouldn’t it Be nice and Good Vibrations are granted atmospheric preludes, while horns have been added to sloop John B.
some of the older songs fare less well, with the strings on Fun, Fun, Fun veering too close to Elo, but most of the changes are subtle rather than overwhelming.
Mike love says both his current Beach Boys line-up, and a second group led by Brian Wilson, were involved in choosing tracks for the royal Philharmonic, leading to the inclusion of lesser- known fan favourites, such as Bruce Johnston’s nostalgic 1971 ballad Disney Girls, alongside the hits.
‘ We’ve kept the original performances, but they have been re-imagined in a respectful way,’ he adds. ‘i always felt the prelude to California Girls was somewhat symphonic and now we can hear it
that way. The Warmth Of The Sun is one of my favourite co-writes with Brian. We wrote it in 1963, and it’s beautiful with an orchestra.’
How fans react to a string-driven Beach Boys remains to be seen. But for the band that broke the mould making Pet Sounds, trying something new comes with the turf, as Love testifies: ‘ We all worked incredibly hard on Pet Sounds. I remember doing one part of Wouldn’t It Be Nice 25 times. It was a total departure from what we’d done before.
‘Some say I was resistant to that album, but that’s hogwash,’ he adds. ‘When Brian and I went to Capitol and played it to the marketing people, they didn’t know what to do with it. They wanted another California Girls. The initial reaction to Pet Sounds was concerning, but it’s now acknowledged as one of the best of all time.’
LOve,
77, and Wilson, 75, are both spreading the good vibrations this summer by touring the UK with their bands. There are no plans for a full symphonic accompaniment on either tour, although Love has experimented with orchestral dates in the States.
‘It’s fair to ask how much longer we can go on doing this, but I look at Tony Bennett and he gives me the answer. He still sings beautifully because he prepares himself so well. I meditate to eliminate stress and I still enjoy performing.
‘We did 185 shows last year, and I love the challenge of replicating these exceptional songs on stage.’
The Beach Boys play hampton Court Palace Festival on June 15 and 16 (hamptoncourt palacefestival.com). Brian Wilson starts a summer tour at Fairport’s Cropredy Convention on August 9 (brianwilson.com).