![]() On the idealistically eager opening ecological protest number “Don’t Go Near the Water,” which features a distant piano melody and trippy aquatic “boings” against a low, crepsecular backdrop, while still retaining the group’s signature doo wop harmonies, Mike Love sings, “What’s happened to the water/It’s going bad.” The use of experimental techniques such as vocal distortion and “issues”-oriented lyrical content reveal the culturally-aware Rieley’s significant influence on the band’s creative direction during this period, helping to hone some of the most unique and innovative work of their post- Pet Sounds career. Surf’s Up continues the group’s transition from the baroque glee of their ’60s output to the mellowed-out murkiness prevalent in early-’70s rock, placing on full display the group’s capabilities independent of Brian Wilson’s direction. While some critics remained skeptical, the darker, often politically conscious new album received acclaim from Time and Rolling Stone magazines, as well as slightly wider interest from the decade’s booming counterculture. Their efforts were ultimately rewarded, with Surf’s Up quickly charting higher than any Beach Boys release since Wild Honey, their 1967 foray into R&B. With the exception of four tracks, Brian Wilson’s presence on the album was minimal at best, leaving the remaining members-sans Dennis, who was recovering from a nasty hand injury-along with group manager Jack Rieley, to their own devices. The painted depiction of John Earle Fraser’s sculpture End of the Trail on the uncharacteristically stark album cover emphasizes the group’s departure from its earlier interests-gone were the days of surfing, fast cars, and girls on the beach, now replaced by the haunting reality of The Beach Boys’ transition from fresh-faced all-American youths to husbands and fathers sporting full beards and shoulder-length hair to obscure their sunken features. Released 30 August 1971 on the group’s own Brother label, their 17th studio album Surf’s Up received favorable reception. ![]() While charting poorly, critical response to Sunflower was considerably enthusiastic, especially in comparison to that of the group’s previous few releases, though it failed to return The Beach Boys to the prominent mainstream status they had enjoyed earlier in their career. With Wilson frequently hidden away, his regular influence over the band had been delegated to its remaining members, namely youngest Wilson brother Carl, who was coming into his own as a skilled songwriter and performer.ġ970’s Sunflower had seen the younger Wilson brothers, along with guitarist Al Jardine, vocalist Mike Love, and later addition and former Rip Chord Bruce Johnston, contributing their own compositions with some success, opening numerous doors within the group for fresh creative direction. Plagued by in-group animosity, drug abuse, a brief affiliation with the Manson Family, and Wilson’s worsening struggle against then-undiagnosed schizoaffective disorder, the five youths from the working class Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne were watching their chance at maintaining their status as unrivaled pop music revolutionaries dwindle before their very eyes. The road to The Beach Boys’ second decade had been rocky, to say the least. By the dawn of the 1970s, Brian Wilson was but a ghost of his former self, having all but officially resigned from the hit making pop group he had co-founded with his two younger brothers, first cousin, and former El Camino College roommate 10 years prior.
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