''The Beach Boys'' is the 25th studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

, released on June 10, 1985. Produced by Steve Levine, the album is the band's first after the drowning of founding member

Dennis Wilson Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...

. The album saw the band incorporate 1980's contemporary musical styles into their own sound and was intended to be a "comeback" for the band. It was also the band's first album to be recorded digitally and the last released by

James William Guercio James William Guercio (born July 18, 1945) is an American music producer, musician, songwriter, and director. He is well known for his work as the producer of Chicago's early albums as well as early recordings of The Buckinghams and Blood, Sweat ...

Caribou Records Caribou Records is an American record label. It is owned by James William Guercio, who also owns Caribou Ranch recording studios and was the longtime manager of the band Chicago. Caribou was an imprint of CBS Records, now Sony Music. Discograph ...

. Brian Wilson's psychologist

Eugene Landy Eugene Ellsworth Landy (November 26, 1934 – March 22, 2006) was an American psychologist known for his unconventional 24-hour therapy and treatment of celebrity clients. His most notable patient was the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, with who ...

, who was originally awarded co-writing credits on Wilson's songs, stated in a contemporary interview, "I'm practically a member of the band ... Brian's got the talent to make the music. ... He's the creator. The other band members are just performers. So I'm the one who's making the album." Critical reaction was mixed. Writing in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', Parke Puterbaugh called the album 'pretty entertaining', adding 'though not a world-beating act of artistic reassertion, the LP does serve to showcase those amazing voices, and to remind the world that nobody does it better — still.' Retrospectively, Levine said that he remained "immensely proud" of the album and wished that it had sold better.

Track listing

originally received co-writer's credit for all Brian Wilson compositions. This credit was omitted on later editions. ;Side one ;Side two ;Bonus CD track

Personnel

Credits adapted from the 2000 CD liner notes. The Beach Boys *

Al Jardine Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as " Help Me, Rh ...

– vocals, electric guitar *

Bruce Johnston Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...

– vocals,

Kurzweil 250 The Kurzweil K250, manufactured by Kurzweil Music Systems, was an early electronic musical instrument which produced sound from sampled sounds compressed in ROM, faster than common mass storage such as a disk drive. Acoustic sounds from br ...

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...

– vocals * Brian Wilson – vocals, Yamaha DX 1,

Jupiter 8 The Jupiter-8, or JP-8, is an eight-voice polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizer introduced by Roland Corporation in early 1981. The Jupiter-8 was Roland's flagship synthesizer for the first half of the 1980s. Approximately 3300 units have ...

, Oberheim OB8, piano * Carl Wilson – vocals, Yamaha DX 1, electric guitar Additional players * John Alder – guitar, guitar synthesizer, dobro *

Graham Broad Graham Broad (born 10 March 1957) is an English drummer who has been playing professionally since the age of fifteen, after attending the Royal College of Music in 1970. He is a former pupil of drumming educator Lloyd Ryan, who also taught Ph ...

– percussion, drums * Stuart Gordon – violin, viola, cello * Steve Grainger – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone * Roy Hay – all instrumentation on "Passing Friend" * Simon Humphrey – bass *

Judd Lander Judd Lander (born 1 March 1948) is an English harmonicist. Originally from Liverpool, Lander was previously a member of the band The Hideaways. He has experienced success as a prolific session musician, record industry executive, and company direc ...

– harmonica * Steve Levine –

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commercial lic ...

* Julian Lindsay – Kurzweil 250, PPG Wave 2.3, Oberheim OB8, Yamaha DX 1, bass, organ, acoustic piano * George McFarlaine – bass * Kenneth McGregor – trombone *

Terry Melcher Terrence Paul Melcher (born Terrence Paul Jorden; February 8, 1942 – November 19, 2004) was an American record producer, singer, and songwriter who was instrumental in shaping the mid-to-late 1960s California Sound and folk rock movements. His ...

– Kurzweil 250 * Gary Moore – guitar, Synthaxe * Ian Ritchie – tenor saxophone,

Lyricon The Lyricon is an electronic wind instrument, the first wind controller to be constructed. Invented by Bill Bernardi (and co-engineered by Roger Noble and with the late Lyricon performer Chuck GreenbergIngham (1998) p.184), filed for patent o ...

* Dave Spence – trumpet * Ringo Starr – drums and timpani on "California Calling" * Stevie Wonder – drums, bass, Fender Rhodes, and harmonica on "I Do Love You"

Charts

References

Citations Bibliography * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beach Boys, The 1985 albums The Beach Boys albums Capitol Records albums Caribou Records albums Albums produced by Steve Levine