Beach Boys Faq

A half-century after their first single release, Surfin', the Beach Boyscontinue to define California popular culture and the sunshine-infused sound that will forever be its living soundtrack. But beyond innocent harmonies touting the delights of catching waves and cruising to the drive-in, the Beach Boys are responsible for some of the most sophisticated pop/rock music ever made. Brian Wilson's acclaimed production, the 1966 LP Pet Sounds, was both a creative triumph that inspired The Beatles' best work, and a commercial disappointment that was widely misunderstood bythe band's U.S. fans. The Beach Boys followed that with perhaps the gre atest three-minute rock single ever, Good Vibrations, which wowed the critics, was a worldwide number one hit, and ushered Brian Wilson down thepath of substance abuse and mental illness. Brian then leapt into the a bstract madness of Smile, his epic psychedelic masterpiece that was ultimately scrapped in a 1967 sea of paranoia that nearly drowned th