The Beach Boys Album: “Love You”

I've been combing through the Beach Boys' '70s output for hidden gems, and somehow I overlooked this underrated album.

"The Beach Boys Love You" is both disposable and ridiculously fun -- perhaps the best and worst of this band's tendencies, all in one recording. You could see Brian Wilson was taking determined baby steps to reclaim his pop songwriting scepter; at the same time, the band indulges its nostalgic/retro direction more firmly than ever, ensuring their commercial touring agenda. Yet these are some of Wilson's most charming, idiosyncratic moments. At times embarrassing (the goofy rhymes in "Solar System," the general corniness of "Love is a Woman"), Brian seems to have struck upon his childlike muse in cuts like "Airplane" and "I Wanna Pick You Up."

Opening with a barnstormer that remained on my top playlist for several days ("Let Us Go On This Way"), the band uses a Moog synth as the underlying bass, and it actually sounds better now than it probably did to jaded ears in 1977. Check out how the Moog adds an almost Jesus & Mary Chain stomp to "Roller Skating Child" and the Phil Spector number, "Mona" (apparently much fancied by Marc Bolan, and you can tell why: it rivals "Metal Guru.") Wilson hits his moody stride on "The Night Was Young" and "I'll Bet He's Nice" which are almost good enough for Pet Sounds. The other two songs that grabbed me were the ambiguous "I Wanna Pick You Up" (I'd prefer to think it's about a baby). The chord progression is truly vintage Wilsonia, and the chorus sounds like the outro to Weezer's "Only in Dreams." (I s***you not.) You can tell Alex Chilton was a fan, too; he even covered the song. Finally, "Airplane" is sublime, perfect as a chillout track, with its airy chorus harmonies ("Airplane, airplane...") Sure, a lot of Brian's words sound half-baked, like the cookies weren't quite done yet. But that's really the charm of "Beach Boys Love You." Ignore the 4 or so dubious tracks, and this is a pure classic, pure sandbox pop.

This is a fun album for hardcore Brian fanatics. Such a quirky, underrated album. Like Smiley Smile, all of the songs are written by Brian himself. Like Pet Sounds, it's a solo Brian Wilson album featuring the Beach Boys. It doesnt get any better than this. God, please let us go on this way and listen to Love You forever.

With five stars for post beach boys surfin days, we come to the trademark Brian Wilson works of Surf's up and Pet Sounds, adding 4 stars for Holland or Sunflower, and then fall down to "Love You"; with high hopes still, the album was a beached whale. Even if Brian had returned from his bedside, he was still under doctor's orders, and inspiration is simply not of it. I've kept it for the cover. Skip Love You, which appears to be the boys trying to make Brian's lyrics into music, and continue on to 'good timing' or the Live in Europe album, and the more current Imagination or the new Smile redo if you prefer to find the real education in Beach Boys/Brian Wilson Sonics.