Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace Of A Musical Legacy

05/31/2001 8:22 PM, Yahoo! Music
Bill Holdship

Although the Beach Boys have always been around for as long as most living people can remember, it's still hard to believe that America's greatest '60s rock band (at this point in time, I'm fairly certain all the other candidates for that title would probably concur) is 40 years old. Hawthorne, CA is a new Capitol two-CD anthology honoring that very fact. Yet, for many of us, it's still kind of haunting to hear the solo voices--both singing and speaking--of Dennis and Carl Wilson on these tracks and remember that they're no longer with us. The Beach Boys sounded so young, fresh, and vibrant once upon a time (and the essence of that sound never dies, which is why so many young children still immediately fall in love with the sound) that it's hard to associate their music with the concept death.

Unlike so much that's been out there recently, this is a celebration of the group and not solely a tribute to band genius/maestro Brian Wilson. Hence, Mike Love's is the first voice you hear on the disc, introducing the group's first single, "Surfin'," recorded in their native Hawthorne. And, hence, most of the music here concentrates on that aforementioned vibrant, young sound (no "Till I Die" or "Surf's Up"), albeit in the form of demo versions, alternate takes, and unmixed forms of songs--i.e., an a capella version of Dennis's beautiful "Forever," or the backing track to "Fun, Fun, Fun" a la the Stacks Of Tracks album. (It's on the latter types of things that you often can really understand Brian's genius.)

You also get studio rehearsals, radio spots, and studio chatter (alas, still no official release of the much-bootlegged Murry Wilson "I'm a genius, too" tirade). There's even an unreleased live version of "Shut Down," as well as an unreleased Dennis composition, "A Time To Live In Dreams." Actually, all 57 tracks are noted as "previously unreleased," although at this stage of the game, longtime fans may wonder if a lot of it doesn't sound familiar. The Brian-at-the-piano demo version of "Surfin' U.S.A." sounds identical to the one on the mid-'90s Beach Boys boxset. Still, if you're a longtime fan who owns everything, you're gonna want this as well--even if there might be a bit of melancholy when you sit and marvel that it's actually been 40 years.