Beach Boys not always 'Smiley'

This is the sixth story in a weekly series giving readers a "Beginner's Guide" to important figures and genres of music. This story focuses on the Beach Boys.

With the recent death of Beach Boy guitarist Carl Wilson, brother Brian is now the only remaining of the three Wilson brothers who once formed the core of the legendary group.

In some ways it seems odd that Brian Wilson, with his penchant for nervous breakdowns and problems with drug abuse, is the last remaining Wilson brother.

To understand the long and varied history of the Beach Boys' musical output, it is necessary to completely forget about "Kokomo" and the days when "Full House" star John Stamos played kettle drums behind singer Mike Love's cheesy lyrics.

Instead, return to the mid-'60s, when the Wilson brothers "pre-dated a lot of the trends in '60s rock," according to longtime fan Adam Bugaj (junior-English).

The group's long run of hits began in 1961 when drummer Dennis Wilson, an ardent surfer, persuaded brothers Brian and Carl Wilson, along with cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine, to write a song about the growing subculture.

The result, "Surfin', " remained in the charts for six weeks and helped them ink a deal with Capitol Records.

By 1965, members of the group had become teen idols and Brian a sought after songwriter and arranger because of the group's trademark lush harmonies.

However, Brian Wilson started crumbling from the pressure of stardom and had a nervous breakdown in early 1965.

His decision to stop touring changed the Beach Boys' career for both good and bad.

The positive aspect of Brian Wilson's hiatus from touring was that he was able to devote his complete energy to writing and producing the groups' hits such as the wildly successful Pet Sounds album and the groups best-known single "Good Vibrations."

The negative aspect was that the boy genius started getting heavily involved in drugs and began a long decline that took him further and further away from the creative core of the group.

The band's next project, Smile, never made it to record stores, and, though subsequent records followed, such as Wild Honey and 20/20, Brian Wilson's involvement diminished and collaborators such as Van Dyke Parks were called in to help Jardine and Carl Wilson generate material.

The hits stopped too, as 1971 ended the nine-year run of at least one Top 20 hit for the group.

Hits or no hits, though, the Beach Boys has a diverse body of work as the following albums demonstrate.

Endless Summer (1974): This double album contains all the early Beach Boys hits such as "Surfin' USA" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" and is the best representation of the band's early sound.

Every single track is a sing-along and listening to Endless Summer makes you realize just how good early Beach Boys songs were.

Pet Sounds (1966): The product of Brian's hiatus from touring, it is the band's crowning achievement.

"It's the perfect meeting of the early sunshine vocalization and Brian's more experimental side," Bugaj said.

Brian Wilson's fascination with legendary producer Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" approach to recording led to Pet Sounds' lush orchestration and multi-layered harmonies and proved Brian was a successful student of the Spector school of record producing.

"I wanted to make a teen-age symphony to God," Wilson would later say, and with songs such as "Caroline No" showcasing some of the most beautiful harmonies and high register singing ever recorded he nearly did.

Surf's Up (1971): This obscure, drug-laden record has Brian Wilson partially returning to the fold to help the rest of the group.

The title track, recycled from the aborted Smile sessions, shows Parks' push towards environmental issues, while the dark quality of the record reflects how drug-addled the lives of the group members had become during the late '60s.

Dennis Wilson was actually hanging out with Charles Manson for a time and Brian Wilson was refusing to leave his bedroom.

"Songs such as 'Til I Die' are easily the darkest and most beautiful in the Beach Boys' canon," Bugaj said.

In Concert (1972): With all the talk about Brian Wilson's producing abilities, the Beach Boys are often overlooked as a great live act and this record shows off the group's tight rhythm section bolstered by the addition of South African musicians Blondie Champlin (guitar) and Ricky Fataar (drums).

Included are live renditions of older hits such as "California Girls" and "Good Vibrations" as well as some more obscure tracks from their late-'60s output.