I love the Beach Boys.
As a kid they were just a band that had a lot of hits to me but as I got into music as teenager their influence and importance became more clear as I got into bands like the Beatles and the Zombies.
I also found a love for all their music after Pet Sounds. For me, Pet Sounds is now a great jumping on point for the band and some of my favorite songs from the group are from the bands later period and aren't Brian Wilson songs.
Here are a few of my favorites for fans who don't know the group beyond "Help Me Rhonda."
"Feel Flows" -- One of the first Carl Wilson originals. It is also on the Almost Famous soundtrack.
"Surf's Up" -- One of the ultimate "what the hell is this song really about" songs.
"Wild Honey" -- A song that I think is a spiritual successor to "Good Vibrations" with the up-and-down melody.
"Cabinessence" -- One of Brian Wilson's trippiest songs that was recorded during "Smiley Smile" but wasn't released until 1969.
But now, on to the cards. I first found packs of Panini's 2013 Beach Boys set at the Dollar Store. These were actually regular packs and not cards designed for the store so I grabbed all of the packs I could find. I made some good progress towards the base set but had a long way to go on inserts so I picked up a hobby box for $25 on eBay recently to finally finish the set after many years.
So here is the complete set of the red-boarded base cards with some great photos. The set chronicles the career of the group from their early days to a return to fame in the 1980's
I'll do another post with the hits from the box and some of my favorite inset cards as well as a needs list post of all the inserts I'm still looking for .. which is still substantial.
Catch a wave!
The back side doesn't win any awards for design but it includes a lot of great biographical information for fans.
Comments
"Girl Don't Tell Me" -- great prototypical power pop song.
"I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" -- I sometimes do feel that Pet Sounds is a little overrated, at least compared to some of their other work. But then again, it has this amazing song, so maybe not.
"All I Wanna Do" -- I loved the "C86" scene in England in the mid-80s. This record would have fit in perfectly with that scene, except the Beach Boys did it nearly 20 years earlier.
"Sail On Sailor" -- Best example of the mid-70s incarnation of the group with Blondie Chaplin, who sings lead here, and Rikki Fataar of the Rutles. Shame they don't get a card in the set.
"It's OK" -- Joyous, fun song from the 1976 reunion of the original lineup.
"Somewhere Near Japan" -- There's a lot of dreck in their later years, but this follow-up to "Kokomo" stands out as worthy of their best.
Hi Brett -- Thanks for your thoughts! They have so many great cards and it's amazing they still get together to tour!