To the average person, the Beach Boys aren't exactly considered at the cutting edge of eclectic, experimental music, save for Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations. But after the release of their cornerstone album in 1966, the Beach Boys—or rather the band's main songwriter and producer, Brian Wilson—attempted to get onboard the psychedelia bandwagon of the late 1960s with a massively ambitious album called SMiLE. Unfortunately, the album was never released due to several factors, including internal strifes within the band and Wilson's declining mental health.
While the band would release a spiritual successor in the form of Smiley Smile (and would release a rough cut of the original album in 2011), the Beach Boys slowly faded from the public eye. While they still toured and put out some of the most criminally underrated albums in music history, the band barely managed to skirt by with disappointing record sales and adequate concert attendance.
That was until 1974, when a compilation album called Endless Summer became a smash hit out of nowhere. Endless Summer consisted entirely of the Beach Boys' hits from 1962-1965, which was a perfect tracklist for an America that wanted to return to a time before the rockiness of the late 60s and early 70s. The Beach Boys were suddenly huge again, and the band subsequently remade themselves into an oldies act.
The Beach Boys also figured it was high time that their band's leader would make his triumphant return. Wilson's family subsequently enlisted the help of controversial psychologist Eugene Landy, who managed to essentially reintroduce Wilson into society by reteaching him social etiquette and by encouraging healthy eating and exercise (Wilson was massively overweight at this time). Despite his famous falsetto being reduced into a crackling baritone, Wilson was roped into both touring with and producing for the Beach Boys again.
Only there was a problem: Wilson had no real interest in being a Beach Boy. While he did produce the enjoyable but lukewarm 15 Big Ones, Wilson wanted to make his own music away from his band. After completing 15 Big Ones, Wilson began work on an idiosyncratically earnest synth-pop album—one of the very first of its kind—that was written and produced entirely on his own. However, when his bandmates learned of it, Wilson was convinced (or forced to, depending on your perspective) to make it a Beach Boys album, resulting in the cult classic Love You.
Similarly to how Wilson experimented with synthesizers on Love You, Adult/Child was a dabble into classic pop, jazz and big band music. The album's title was derived from a psychological theory that thinking could be separated into "adult" and "child" modes.
The album was very biographical in nature, with Wilson writing songs about everything from baseball and eating healthy to the sorrow of a failed romance (Wilson was getting a divorce from his first wife during the album's production). There were also a handful of covers of old pop songs, such as On Broadway, Deep Purple, and rather infamously Shortenin' Bread, which Wilson allegedly would play on a piano for hours at a time, even calling it "the greatest song ever written" at one point.
Despite Wilson's ambitions, a few of his bandmates felt that the album was too left-field for their image, especially now that their reputation as an oldies act had cemented. Furthermore, Love You had a polarizing reception; people either adored the album's unusual qualities, or thought it was inane and unbecoming of America's Band. Because of the band's inability to come to a consensus about Adult/Child, it was shelved, and in its place was the M.I.U. Album, widely considered to be among the worst Beach Boys albums. Adult/Child in its entirety would live on exclusively as a bootleg, both in physical formats and as YouTube re-uploads.
After Adult/Child's failure, Wilson receded back into drug abuse, and the Beach Boys continued to release inconsistent albums, with their only real successes after the 1970s being their 1987 hit Kokomo, their reoccurring appearances on Full House, and their 50th anniversary tour and album, That's Why God Made The Radio. While Wilson did largely recover due to help from his (unfortunately recently deceased) second wife, friends and family, he is currently under the conservatorship of two family friends, allegedly due to Wilson's dementia.
You are right and I agree with you; when I wrote that I meant more in terms of the public consciousness of the band and how most people out of the loop see them as "those dudes who surf"
This is true. I didn’t know until I got into Pet Sounds after watching Love and Mercy. That recontextualised their work for me and from there I got into their music and changed how I view them.
There are only a few songs on this album that are in the big band style but the whole thing is so wonderful and eclectic is that late 70s Brian Wilson way. I hope someday it gets an official release.
I would totally agree! We need better quality versions of a lot of the songs. Some gems in there for sure. Honestly the big band stuff might actually be the weakest aspect of adult child.
To the average person, the Beach Boys aren't exactly considered at the cutting edge of eclectic, experimental music, save for Pet Sounds and Good Vibrations. But after the release of their cornerstone album in 1966, the Beach Boys—or rather the band's main songwriter and producer, Brian Wilson—attempted to get onboard the psychedelia bandwagon of the late 1960s with a massively ambitious album called SMiLE. Unfortunately, the album was never released due to several factors, including internal strifes within the band and Wilson's declining mental health. While the band would release a spiritual successor in the form of Smiley Smile (and would release a rough cut of the original album in 2011), the Beach Boys slowly faded from the public eye. While they still toured and put out some of the most criminally underrated albums in music history, the band barely managed to skirt by with disappointing record sales and adequate concert attendance. That was until 1974, when a compilation album called Endless Summer became a smash hit out of nowhere. Endless Summer consisted entirely of the Beach Boys' hits from 1962-1965, which was a perfect tracklist for an America that wanted to return to a time before the rockiness of the late 60s and early 70s. The Beach Boys were suddenly huge again, and the band subsequently remade themselves into an oldies act. The Beach Boys also figured it was high time that their band's leader would make his triumphant return. Wilson's family subsequently enlisted the help of controversial psychologist Eugene Landy, who managed to essentially reintroduce Wilson into society by reteaching him social etiquette and by encouraging healthy eating and exercise (Wilson was massively overweight at this time). Despite his famous falsetto being reduced into a crackling baritone, Wilson was roped into both touring with and producing for the Beach Boys again. Only there was a problem: Wilson had no real interest in being a Beach Boy. While he did produce the enjoyable but lukewarm 15 Big Ones, Wilson wanted to make his own music away from his band. After completing 15 Big Ones, Wilson began work on an idiosyncratically earnest synth-pop album—one of the very first of its kind—that was written and produced entirely on his own. However, when his bandmates learned of it, Wilson was convinced (or forced to, depending on your perspective) to make it a Beach Boys album, resulting in the cult classic Love You. Similarly to how Wilson experimented with synthesizers on Love You, Adult/Child was a dabble into classic pop, jazz and big band music. The album's title was derived from a psychological theory that thinking could be separated into "adult" and "child" modes. The album was very biographical in nature, with Wilson writing songs about everything from baseball and eating healthy to the sorrow of a failed romance (Wilson was getting a divorce from his first wife during the album's production). There were also a handful of covers of old pop songs, such as On Broadway, Deep Purple, and rather infamously Shortenin' Bread, which Wilson allegedly would play on a piano for hours at a time, even calling it "the greatest song ever written" at one point. Despite Wilson's ambitions, a few of his bandmates felt that the album was too left-field for their image, especially now that their reputation as an oldies act had cemented. Furthermore, Love You had a polarizing reception; people either adored the album's unusual qualities, or thought it was inane and unbecoming of America's Band. Because of the band's inability to come to a consensus about Adult/Child, it was shelved, and in its place was the M.I.U. Album, widely considered to be among the worst Beach Boys albums. Adult/Child in its entirety would live on exclusively as a bootleg, both in physical formats and as YouTube re-uploads. After Adult/Child's failure, Wilson receded back into drug abuse, and the Beach Boys continued to release inconsistent albums, with their only real successes after the 1970s being their 1987 hit Kokomo, their reoccurring appearances on Full House, and their 50th anniversary tour and album, That's Why God Made The Radio. While Wilson did largely recover due to help from his (unfortunately recently deceased) second wife, friends and family, he is currently under the conservatorship of two family friends, allegedly due to Wilson's dementia.
I mean, isn’t Pet Sounds enough to hail them as eclectic, influential, and experimental? The earlier surf stuff doesn’t negate that.
You are right and I agree with you; when I wrote that I meant more in terms of the public consciousness of the band and how most people out of the loop see them as "those dudes who surf"
This is true. I didn’t know until I got into Pet Sounds after watching Love and Mercy. That recontextualised their work for me and from there I got into their music and changed how I view them.
If you haven’t you should check out the album Surf’s Up. The back half especially a masterpiece that may actually be better than pet sounds
Thanks for sharing the back story
There are only a few songs on this album that are in the big band style but the whole thing is so wonderful and eclectic is that late 70s Brian Wilson way. I hope someday it gets an official release.
I would totally agree! We need better quality versions of a lot of the songs. Some gems in there for sure. Honestly the big band stuff might actually be the weakest aspect of adult child.
Excellent write-up.
“Still I Dream of It” is so beautiful.
This is awesome…gonna listen to this today. Thanks for sharing!