The Beach Boys: Back catching another wave

Wilson said that "Rubber Soul" inspired Pet Sounds - and that "Pet Sounds" inspired "Sgt. Pepper."

But when Wilson tried to answer "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with his own masterpiece, "Smile," the band rebelled.

"The guys didn't like it," he said. "They thought it was too experimental and it wasn't, you know - I don't know." He said he was "disappointed" by their reaction.

"Some writer said that I didn't want to put out the 'Smile' album. I didn't have anything to do with that," said Love. "I had an issue with some of the lyrics, 'cause I thought they were too obtuse."

Wilson would abandon "Smile" for nearly 40 years, descending into a long period of drug use and mental illness. Without him, the Beach Boys became mostly a nostalgia act.

Dennis Wilson drowned in 1983, Carl Wilson died of cancer in 1998. Divided by feuds and lawsuits, the surviving members looked like they'd never reunite.

But this Spring, when they returned to the studio together for the first time in at least 20 years to make a new record, the bitterness fell away.

"Brian says to me after we did 'Do It Again,' 'How does a 70-year-old guy sound so good?'" Love laughed.

"I meant that literally, not in a bad way, though!" Wilson said. "It was a compliment."

"No, I understand it was a compliment. I mean, that's the point!"

Four of the five members will be in their seventies before the year is out, but the Beach Boys are trying to catch one more wave.

When asked whether they can do it at this point - get back together and "forget all that stuff," as Mason said, Love replied, "Yeah. You can let the past screw with your head for a lifetime. Or you can say, 'All we have is right now.'"

For more info:

• thebeachboys.com
• Thanks to The Grammy Museum; Alan Boyd; Joe Thomas; and George Dougherty

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[TJphoto]

I am so fortunate to have have been a teenager in the 60s and living on the beaches of Southern California. I surfed from the age of twelve, and I grew up listening to the Beatles and of course, The Beach Boys. I still to this day I still crank it when they come on the radio.

[dspaulding49]

i tuned in when surfer girl came out and was blown away by the harmonies...a rare comodity in those days...some how brian and mike captured the white bread soul of america's middle class and they were all about fun, angst, and topics of teen interests which have ultimately transcended, through the decades. brian pioneered in the studio and paved the way for other bands to produce what came next..the beach boys set the bench mark and were the ones who went toe to toe with the beatles...too bad smile never came in it's time, cause when you hear from rubber soul thru smile...it makes a complete set and quite a musical statement..congrats on the big 50.

[queenofclubs]

Glad to see that the Beach Boys are playing and again and reconciling their differences. I love their music and have since I was a little girl. Today I heard their song "That's why God made the radio" for the first time. The lyrics and melody are a delightful reminder of what radio used to be like before the shock jocks and corporations ruined it. I was lucky to come of age at a time when radio really was good and fun, and the Beach Boys were a big part of it. They were, are and will remain the principal players on the "soundtrack of my life!"

[MagnaCartaUK]

I was too young to remember the Beach Boys in their prime, but after the Beatles, early Rainbow, and the Stone Roses they're amongst a number of bands I like listening to. That may sound remote, but it isn't. It took an exceptional talent to write 'God Only Knows', and anyone who wrote it would be deserving of further attention anyway. A great song amongst many others, though for some strange reason I have a soft spot for 'In My Room'. These lads have seen some difficult times, but deserve every acolade bestowed on them and more. They'll always be popular in the U.K. where they have a great following - and always will. Thanks Brothers Wilson, and Messers Love and Jardine. Good Vibrations? More like Great Vibrations! Cheers!

[eddyschief]

For the first time in FOREVER, I have a new Beach Boys song rolling around in my head all weekend. A brand new song! Trying to talk my band into doing That's Why God Made The Radio. Talk about feeling 16 again--a new BB song to learn! This is a musical Indian Summer, to be made the most of.

[HumaNature]

I can't believe there are only 2 comments here and the one before me is totally mindless...Beatles spelled with 2 e's and calling the Beach Boy's music "mindless patter" lmmfao. Just to think someone would make a comment with no knowledge of what they were talking about. Fact is there would have been no Sgt. Peppers if there had been no Pet Sounds for the Beatles to have heard first as a inspiration. The Beach Boy's is and will always be America's #1 group....period...fact...end of story. I love them and I know what I'm talking about.

[Goldeneaglevideo]

I agree totally!! The Beach Boys are one of the most creative groups of all time and the new stuff i have heard is amazing!!!! I met Brian a few years ago and gave him some of my cds and a song i did for him called Days of Summer by DenRA on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2Lr8WXq8w4

[PLT49]

@Sloughfoot

I agree but what do we have today? Not music but mindless crap.