I half-noticed that tempo change in Louie Louie before, but never fully formed a thought about it. But when you mentioned it, I knew exactly what you were talking about! Perhaps it is two takes sewn together. My favorite version of Louie Louie is by the Surfaris, with Jim Fuller on lead vocal. Never realized that VA Shut Down Volume 1 charted higher than BB Shut Down Volume 2! Very interesting!
Thanks for the comments and, especially, for letting me know about the Surfaris' version of "Louie, Louie." I just listened to it here on youtube. Excellent version! It occurs to me that, shortly before they recored their version of "Louie, Louie," the Beach Boys had been on tour in Australia and New Zealand with the Surfaris. I wonder if those events are related? Thanks again for the comments and info, friendly!
I rank "Cassius Love vs Sonny Wilson" as one of the most bizarre episodes in Beach Boys history. Other strange episodes that come to mind: -- Bruce Johnston's short-lived stint as frontman for Motörhead. -- Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign using the “two girls for every boy” verse to welcome the President on stage. -- Al Jardine as a little Honda-ridin’ gangsta in DMX’s “Where the Hood At” video. -- Mike Love’s “curly orange toupee” phase of the 1980s. -- The Ol’ Dirty Bastard remix of “Car Crazy Cutie.” -- The Sega Genesis Beach Boys video game with Murry Wilson’s glass eye as the level 4 boss.
Great stuff, Aquaman! I got a lot of laughs out of that, especially, the "curly orange toupee" line. (That might be because I'm currently reading a biography of Harpo Marx.) I know I'm always in for a wild, and fun, ride when I see your name come up in the comments! Thanks for that!
Nice review. There are actually three versions of why do fools fall in love. The album version,which starts with the drum beat, the single/45 version which starts a cappella, and the Summer love songs version, which starts with the piano intro.
Thanks for the feedback and for sharing your experience, Bill! My experience was similar when I started my record collection as a teen in 1974. Being able to buy two or three albums a month was pretty much all I could do, so I had to be extremely selective. (On the plus side, I really "got to know" those albums; listening to them many, many times.) Thanks again, Bill!
It's been too long since I've descended the stairs down to the "Basement." This LP is special to me because it was my first BBs LP purchased. I may have said this earlier, but I remember, as a 12-yr-old, being disappointed that the track lineup didn't include "I Get Around," the killer mega-hit that got me started on this lifelong fanboy path! Of course, with the help of Wiki, one can easily see this was an impossibility, as this LP was released 2 months before the 45. I think the term 'grab-bag" is a good descriptor. There WAS a huge disparity between "Fun Fun Fun" and "Denny's Drums." But even their covers of WDFFIL and LL were special, so you really didn't feel they were just filler. Steve, you did the usual superb job of quick witty overview, peppered with deep (sometimes unusual) insights, illustrated well and enthusiastically-delivered. And of course, all of this centered on the group we love so much. Most of the time I read the comments section before watching the video -- they are so much fun, and I always learn a lot. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
Thanks for the feedback and comments, as always, Bill! I knew from your earlier comments that this was your first Beach Boys album, so I've been especially looking forward to your take on it. It's interesting that, at the time, you were disappointed to find "I Get Around" wasn't on it. It's an excellent reminder of just how difficult it was to get information about record releases in those days! We were pretty much stuck with what we could glean from looking at track listings of the records sleeves in the bins. Even in the early 70s, when I started my current record collection, finding a printed discography was pretty rare. It wasn't always clear what material was out there or when it was released. (BTW, "I Get Around" has got to be one of the all-time great tracks to start Beach Boys fandom with..and I envy you starting with the group so early and being there for all the changes and the new releases as they came.) Once again, I really appreciate the great feedback and comments. As I've said before, the channel is a labor of love and the people I've connected with and the great information and feedback are certainly what makes it worthwhile. Thanks, Bill!
I absolutely agree! Like Chuck Berry, I think Mike's ability to tell a vivid story in just a few spare lines is so well-done that it's easy to overlook just what a challenge that kind of writing is. On top of that, Mike seems to have often been writing lyrics "on the fly"; just scribbling out the lines in the studio or in the hall during the session. He wrote some classic stuff under tight time constraints. Thanks for pointing out that often under-appreciated, and very important, component in the Beach Boys success, Michael!
Sir-------1st off, I hope you read this . ----------I was already a huge fan , but when The Boys did that appearance on " AB " , & instead of lip-synching " Fun, Fun, Fun " , did ' DWB " , I was speechless. I'd never, ever, heard harmony like that ! This was on a Saturday, 1100 hours in Denver, ABC Channel 9. Well--------I was so taken by " DWB " , after my chores were done, I called my #1 record store, " Harmony Records " in downtown Denver, 16th & Welton Street, & learned, 5 copies of the new album had arrived the day before from the Capitol Rep./ So, I walked all the way to downtown, & for $1.98 , bought the mono --------of course ! -------album , ' Shut Down, Vol. 2 " -------------Oh by the way,on the cover, that's a '64 Stingray Corvette 427, with the split top roof , & made of fiberglass. it belonged to Dennis, of course .--------As I played this album, I was simply blown away with what I heard. By the time I got to " TWOTS" , I was so moved, I asked my Dad to listen . I'll never forget how he & my younger Brother, just sat, & kept shaking their heads. After, Dad said, " Son, whoever these boys are, there is real genius here. That song, is beautiful. " I remember, because I was so surprised Dad would react so intensely, but he did, as did my Brother, Joe. -----------So, I kept on listening, getting to " Keep An Eye On Summer " & once again, was so moved by Brian's gorgeous voice, & the perfect harmonies. The song is just beautiful. -----------This album, so poorly marketed by Capitol, is a gem, in every way there is. Brian, at then just 21 y/o, had taken a giant step musically. In April of 1964, I was a 2nd semester senior in HS , & all of life, was ahead. -----------MJL, 76 y/o
Wow! Thanks for sharing that great story and those memories! What a great time to experience the group and their music. I'm really impressed that your Dad listened with "open ears" and recognized the quality of the music he was hearing. (Naturally, many parents would not have been able to do that with "teenage" music.) "The Warmth of The Sun," "Keep An Eye On Summer" and, especially, "Don't Worry Baby" have meant a great deal to me since I first "discovered" them as a teenager. I really envy you having been able to experience those songs when they were brand new...and all of the great music that followed! Thanks so much for passing that along and I hope you'll continue to share your thoughts and perspective on future episodes! Much appreciated, Michael!
Interesting! I'll have to give "In A Gadda da Vida" another listen with that in mind....(when I have a spare half hour or so!) (Actually, I just checked, "In A Gadda da Vida" is actually 17:05.) Anyway, thanks for passing that along, George!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Was IAGDV the first rock album with a single song being an entire side of the record? I wouldn't be surprised if it was. It was my 1st time seeing that..
@@burlingtonbill1 That's a good question, bill! I know "Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands" got the entirety of side four of "Blonde on Blonde." (It's only 11:23, so another "normal" length track could have easily fit on that side.) I wonder if there are others even earlier? (I'm hoping someone else will chime in!) Thanks for raising an interesting question, bill!
Steve great job again as usual. Really. I was wondering, this is about the front cover picture. Steve was the reason that it was focused on Dennis's and Carl's and Als cars , not Brian and Mike's, because of it was a sure way to get Dennis to participate in the photo shoot. I heard that Dennis would show up when he wanted to, sometimes late
That's an excellent theory! I could definitely see that being a motivating factor for Dennis to show up. Great (and kind of hilarious) insight, Mark! Thanks so much for passing it along!
There's a couple of key changes on Louie, Louie that create tension. The first one is at the 54-5 second mark. I think it's not much of an up tempo. I saw them do it live. Mike sang it 'Louie, Lou-eye' like the Kingsmen - pretty cool. You're really takin' me back in time!
Thanks for clarifying on the recording of "Louie, Louie." I think you're probably right that it's the key changes that I'm hearing. Very cool that you saw the group do "Louie, Louie" live! Maybe it was in their set regularly at some point, but it seems like a pretty "deep cut" to me! Thanks again for the comments and great to hear from you!
There was a grass-roots movement started by TV host Ross Shafer in the middle 1980's in Washington State, to have Louie Louie named the WA St. Anthem. It was such a well-known and easy to play song that just about every Pacific Northwest band in the early 60's, like The Raiders, The Ventures, and The Fabulous Wailers, had a cover. I don't even know if the petition reached the congressional floor.
Thanks for passing that info along, Trenton! Now that you've mentioned it, I seem to have some vague memory of hearing about that. I'm going to look into it to see what else I can find! Thanks again, and great to hear from you!
HILARIOUS: Fifty years later the prestigious New Yorker magazine addressed this record with an article titled “Is This The Dirtiest Song Of The Sixties?” “On that April day in 1963, the only microphone available to Ely was located several feet above him, hanging from the ceiling. Ely was wearing dental braces, and his bandmates, who were gathered around Ely in a circle, played their instruments loudly. The result was an incomprehensible vocal that, in time, would make Ely the most celebrated interpreter of a song which is close to being pop Esperanto. "A, D, E minor, runs the chord progression. Easy. As for the lyrics, it doesn’t matter how you sing them, or even really what you sing, though you might consider beginning with the words ‘Louie Louie / Oh no / Me gotta go.’ Really, though, the floor is yours. Sing your grocery list. Pull random words from a hat.” tinyurl.com/yc3umw9e
@@burlingtonbill1 Thanks for passing along that great info, and for the comments and insights, Bill! It seems like it's been a while since we've heard from your and it's great to have you back!
I had to go back and listen to it again because truthfully, I hadn't given it a full listen since after I bought in the mid 90's. As I said in part 1, there's 3 gems but on the second listen I have to agree that Keep Your Eye on Summer is a classic early Beach Boys song, always love a Brian song. The two covers I can take them or leave them, prefer other versions, Parking Lots, Car of Mine and Pom Pom Girls aren't bad for filler, kind of fun, Shut Down, Denny's Drums and the Cassius Love won't be making any of my play lists. When you listen to it in the context that it was released it's fair to say that it's a pretty good record. The whole album concept in rock and roll was in it's infancy. Jazz was light years ahead of rock and roll at the time which I think is why Brian sought out jazz musicians to play on his later albums, genius move on Brian's part. I also wanted to mention that the AM station that I heard playing Warmth of the Sun introduced me to a lot of music that never would have ever thought to give a chance. I was to make a mix of the type of music I was likely to hear on that station and upload it somewhere for anyone who would like to give it a listen, I have a feeling that a lot of that music influenced Brain.
Thanks for the thoughts and feedback, Ron! I like how you succinctly, and accurately, I think, broke the tracks down between the gems, the "better" filler (I'm always happy to hear an original, even if it's a "lesser" original) and the ones that "won't be making your playlist." Well put! I agree too that any album with three (or four) gems like those images it a pretty good record. Good point on jazz vs rock 'n' roll in those days. For those who missed it, I think it's hard to understand just how unimportant rock 'n' roll records had been considered up to this point. Of course, Brian, the Beatles, and some others were about to show its potential to be much more than "teenage music" and I think you're right, too, that working with jazz players was a great move. If you upload the music mix based on that AM station, please be sure to let me know where to find it! I'd love to check it out! Thanks again for the great comments, Ron!
Good point, Richard! I think the case could definitely be made for this album being more "listenable" if it was just boiled down to the key tracks. (Now that you mention it, it would have made one of the greatest EPs in history!) Thanks for the feedback, Richard!
Great stuff Steve! Being somebody who can drum and likes Denny's voice, I Love "This Car Of Mine" and the drums on "In The Parking Lot." I also love the vocals on the later. I had to check out "This Bike Of Mine" that rangergrrrl mentioned last episode. I thought the Super Stocks didn't sound too bad. So being a little impulsive, I ordered a few of their albums. I did notice a little "Louie, Louie " influence on "I Can't Remember The Dream" by They Might Be Giants. Anyway, always a joy to watch. P.S. Love the reference to "Carl's Big Chance."
Thanks for the thoughts and feedback, Michael! I enjoyed "This Bike of Mine" by the Super Stocks as well. I picked up a double CD set of the "Complete Recordings" of the Super Stocks, on One Way Records, back in '96, mainly because it was the only way, at the time, to get "My First Love" which was an Usher/Christian/Brian Wilson co-write from the "Muscle Beach Party" film. It's a nice collection with a lot of enjoyable tracks, though I still dream of someday finding affordable copies of the original Super Stocks albums. Good point about "I Remember The Dream" but They Might Be Giants! Definitely a "Louie, Louie" riff there! Glad you noticed my reference to "Carl's Big Chance" too! For a second, I wondered if it was too subtle, then I remember the kind of folks who are watching this channel and knew I didn't have to worry about that! Thanks, Michael!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444Glad to hear that 2cd set of the Super Stocks is good. That's exactly the set I ordered. Since Brian does revisit some older ideas, I wondered if that beginning of " Wouldn't It Be Nice" with a little music with the sudden drum stop wasn't a throwback to the piano beginning of " Why Do Fools Fall In Love." Anyway, just a thought. Thanks Steve!
There has to be a video dedicated to the beach boys in 1964. They were working no stop. Releasing like, what, 4 albums? Plus singles, plus touring, TV appearances...
It was definitely an amazing year for the group! There was so much great music and so much growth in the writing and performing. I had first thought about tackling the entire year of 1964 on the channel over the summer, but realized that, to do it justice, we'd still be talking about it well into the fall! A very exciting time, indeed! Thanks and it's great to hear from you, quietjarvis!
"Shut Down Volume 2" for me has the what I call "Endless Summer Problem": All the great songs from it are on that compilation, so for me, SDV2 is only recommendable to completionists. "Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) has the same problem. Of the pre-"Pet Sounds" albums, I would say that "Surfin' USA", "All Summer Long" and "Today" are the best ones, although all their early albums have some great highlights.
Excellent point, Daisy, and it's something I should have recognized in my own experience with "Shut Down Volume 2." I rarely pull it out and, undoubtedly, it's because the key tracks are all on many compilations (and, it's pretty rare that I'm in a mood that really calls for getting out the album to listen to "Denny's Drums"!) The "Endless Summer Problem" is a great description for this phenomenon! Thanks for the comments, Daisy!
Steve , Here’s some thoughts on Louie , Louie being included on S.D. vol. 2 : Louie , Louie was not just a national hit . It was a national phenomenon evoking the rebellious spirit of early rock n’ roll in comparison to the “ teen idol “ and folk records that had plagued the charts from 1960 until The Beatles arrived in America . Everyone with a group , ( and there were lots of us ) , performed Louie , Louie . Given that The Beach Boys were only two years away from “ garage band “ status , I can almost guarantee that they were no different . Personally , I used to introduce the song by saying , “ Ladies and Gentlemen , the National Anthem . “ “ Louie “ was not filler . It was a true reflection of what was happening in 1964 ! It only seems like filler because The Beach Boys we’re evolving into a group capable of highly complex records while Louie Louie was so musically primitive.
Thanks for the feedback and for the excellent perspective on "Louie, Louie," beanie! Those are great points and thanks for passing them along! I can certainly imagine "Louie, Louie" being a real "breath of fresh air," especially considering the other kinds of records that were charting at the time. Also, I absolutely love your introduction to the song! Wish I could have been there to hear you perform it! Thanks again, beanie!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Thanks for the praise , Steve . By way of comparison , it was only a short time later that The Beach Boys resuscitated The Regents’ Barbara Ann and turned it into a top ten single . That song is clearly as simple as “ Louie “ , but nobody called it filler . Rather , the world recognized it as great fun ! I even remember us guys making up questionable lyrics to the original Regents version at early junior high dances . Don’t tell my wife …. Her name is Barbara Ann .
@@beanie226 We made up a few of those kinds lyrics to "Barbara Ann" too! Happy to hear we weren't alone on that...and I'll keep quiet about it! Thanks for the follow-up, beanie!
I'd ordered this album from my local record store and for some reason it took over three weeks to arrive where as all the previous BBs albums came in a matter of days. So when it did eventually arrive I was really surprised with the production quality. Having heard all the stuff released by the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, etc I realised that Brian and the Beach Boys had the edge over all of them when it came to producing, and I think it was at this point I started to favour the BBs over the Beatles and the others. This was despite the fact that the album had "Denny's Droms", & "Cassius Love v Sonny Wilson", as fillers , the album did however have "Fun fun fun" "Don't worry baby", & "The warmth of the sun", three songs that outclassed anything recorded by anybody up to that point. Like everybody else I tried to located "Shut down vol 1" but I abandoned the idea when I realized it was not a BBs album. Another great video Steve you bring back so many pleasant memories.
Thanks for sharing the memories and initial impressions of "Shut Down Volume 2." I can really understand how songs like "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Don't Worry Baby" and "The Warmth of The Sun" would have really outclassed nearly everything else that was going on in music at the time, as great as some of that other music was. It must have been especially great to hear it when it was "hot off the press!" Always great to hear from you, John!
Steve?, I was surprised at the chart history of "Why do fools fall in love" in the states and how many people have claimed to have written the song. It really is a great song. I think Diana Ross's version made no1 over here.
@@johnhammond1572 I was really fascinated and surprised by the history of the song too, especially that the Teenagers' version did better in the UK than it did in the US. I agree that it's a great song. Of the many excellent versions, I think the Beach Boys' version is probably my favorite. Thanks, John!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Ditto -- mainly due to the outstanding production quality that JH mentioned, starting w/ the cannon-shot echoey drum downbeat; also that amazing acapella break following the short drum instrumental! It really makes this version stand out ! Apparently only a "Brian Wilson" could come up with such an outstanding production like this while covering a fairly established song.
I can see Shut Down, Vol. 2 being considered a transitional album for the group. Don't mind their cover of "Why Do fools Fall In Love" but like their "Louie Louie" cover more (because I like the song a lot more). Probably the only cover done of the song, where the words are understood! Remember one time in college, was out with some friends in a bar, when the Kingsmen's version was played. Being drunk, we started singing along to the song. My friends followed my lead as we sang the words. After the song was finished, we congratulated ourselves on being able to sing the song. I was asked how I knew the words. When I said I picked up the words from the Beach Boys version, a friend rolled his eyes, saying, "Of course, everything to him always goes back to the Beach Boys." LOL I didn't get mad nor argue with him! In the liner notes of my double album CD of Surfer Girl/Shut Down, Vol. 2, David Leaf credits Brian as singing the lead vocal on "Pom Pom Play Girl", rather than Carl and Mike, as you said. Do you have any source for saying that? Leaf also claims that "Denny's Drums" could be the first recorded drum solo of a member of a vocal group. I know it's just filler, but to me it shows that Dennis's drumming was more than just basic.
That's a great story about knowing the words to "Louie, Louie" from the Beach Boys! I've been on the receiving end of comments along the lines of "Everything with him always goes back to the Beach Boys" too, so I can relate to that very well! Interesting observation on David Leaf's notes crediting Brian as lead vocalist on "Pom Pom Playgirl." After reading your comment, I looked around on line and, apparently, this has been a source of some discussion over the years. I think the consensus is that it's Carl, but I'll keep looking for something definitive. (To me, anyway, it doesn't sound like Brian, but, it could be that I've just listened to it thinking it was Carl all these years.) Thanks for bringing it up! It'll be interesting to follow up on! Good point about "Denny's Drums" too. It might very well be the first drum solo from a member of a vocal group and it is nice to get a chance to hear Dennis' "chops" on drums. Thanks, as always, for the great feedback, Robert!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Personally, I'd like it to be Carl credited singing the lead on "Pom Pom Playgirl", rather than Brian. That would give him his first lead vocal credit a year earlier than "Girl Don't Tell Me." Interesting finding all these "Off the wall" live versions of "Louie Louie", by artists you'd think would never cover such a song. There used to be posted on UA-cam a minute or two minute version that Nirvana did in one of their concerts (they were just messing around). Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers also performed it, with the drummer doing the vocal! (I think, if I remember right). As I'm writing list, there's a video of the Bee Gees appearing on some Australian show in the early 1960s, performing the Beatles' "Please Please Me". I've watched that, and they did a good job! I've read that Brian has stopped giving concerts, or retired from performing, according to Carnie Wilson. Have you read anything about that, whether or not that's true?
@@robertzastrow4648 I've been hearing that Brian is retiring from performance. I wouldn't be surprised if it was true. I haven't seen anything definitive about it. I just did a google search and found articles saying Brian was retiring from performance going back to 2011! The most recent one I found is from May 15th, 2023 but it's written vaguely saying he "might soon be" retiring and, I see, the article has since been tagged as "incorrect." I didn't come across comments from Carnie but I certainly might have missed it. Please let me know if you come across anything additional. Thanks for the info on those other versions of "Louie, Louie" and about the Bee Gees doing "Please Please Me." I could imagine them doing it well. I'll check it out! Thanks again, Robert!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 The video of Nirvana messing around in concert with "Louie Louie" I can no longer find on UA-cam. There's videos on UA-cam of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing "Louie Louie", but it's Tom singing lead vocal. The one video where the Heartbreakers' drummer sings lead vocal, with Tom playing harp, was when they covered the Count Five's song "Psychotic Reaction", which is still on UA-cam (T.P. & the Heartbreakers performance of it). Have you ever heard of a mid-60s San Francisco band called the Baytovens? Seems they only released 2 - 3 singles, then faded/broke up. Their songs are also on UA-cam, and I think are good.
@@robertzastrow4648 Thanks for the follow-up! Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers doing "Psychotic Reaction" sounds great! I'll want to check that out! I'll look into the Baytovens too. I never heard of them but that's a GREAT name for a San Francisco band!
The problem with listening to this album on CD is the whiplash a person can get going from "Cassius Love" to "The Warmth of the Sun." There was an interview with Bruce Johnston (which I tried to find but couldn't) where he mentions that he always felt "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" would have been a big charting single if it had been released as an A-side (of course he wasn't in the group yet so I guess that is all just his conjecture.) On the Live in Chicago digital set, you can hear the audience go nuts when the Boys do "Louie, Louie." That and its inclusion on 1966's "Best of the Beach Boys" just show that they there working to stay abreast of the latest trends as well as doing their own new stuff. Great review for a very eclectic album!
Well said about the stylistic "whiplash" this album can induce! I admire the desire to give listeners a "varied" experience, but the clash of styles might be one of the reasons I don't actually go back to the album that often (that and, as mentioned in another comment here, the "key" tracks are all so well represented on compilation albums.) Thanks for the insights on "Louie, Louie" and, especially, for reminding me it was on "Best of the Beach Boys." There are some strange omissions on that album. "Louie, Louie" to me, always seemed like the strangest inclusion. Maybe it was included because, as you point out, it was a strong "fan favorite." Thanks, as always, for the great feedback and insights, BB! Much appreciated!
On the original cut "Warmth of the Sun" on the first pressings, at the same time this lyric is heard, you can very easily hear the sound of someone running their hand through a glass wind chime. This must have made an impression because the windchimes made it back into a future project. "These are my windchimes...." Through the years we seemed to have lost the sound of those chimes either to compression, editing or I'm not sure what to the point that I wondered if I had really remembered what I heard almost 60 years ago. So putting that original mono LP on the turntable for which I had paid $4.99 in 1964 dollars at record Town, (still had the sticker) and donning my best Bose headphones, sure enough, there it was despite hearing through 78 year old ears with attenuated high frequencies. I later heard it again, only not so pronounced, on a UA-cam channel that claimed original LP mastered. Interesting how some of the simple things are lost in the progress of technology. Larry - Salt Lake City, Utah
Thanks for letting us know about the wind chime, Larry! Very interesting and I'm going to see if I can find that! I always wonder how much gets distorted, lost or changed with all the "remixing and remastering" that goes on over the years. I worry that what most people hear today might be very different from the "original experience" and, even more, that in another fifty or 100 years, the available recordings will have little resemblance to what was really heard "back in the day." Thanks again for the comments and info, Larry! I'm off on the hunt to see what I can find out about that wind chime!
On all the early Beach Boys recordings, Murry Wilson (Brian's Father) would make them do take after take. This hampered what Brian truly wanted. I'm guessing good takes were re-recorded over until the Dad approved. I'm glad they fired him during the I Get Around Sessions. But, Brian Wilson would produce Great Albums until his depression shut him down and he stayed in bed. We all know that story. I feel Brian was held back from doing what he really wanted to do in song writing and producing.
Thanks for the feedback and insights! I think it would be tough for any young 20-something to be managed by their dad, even if he wasn't Murry Wilson! It seems like the split was inevitable and certainly positive for Brian's creative development. Thanks again for the comments, Harmony Man! Much appreciated!
History Note : That '64 427 split-top Stingray was the very 1st, & to my knowledge, the only product of US Automakers to ever be made of re-enforced fiberglass as were subsequent models, I believe, even to this day-----but don't quote me on that------------MJL, 76 y/o
Not much to add Steve, you covered it well. The album had some excellent tunes, and some very weak fillers. Seeing the name Gale Storm took me back to watching the old tv show My Little Margie. I think after all these years I only played Louie Louie 3 times, one of their poorer efforts.
Thanks for the feedback, and for mentioning that Gale Storm was on "My Little Margie." I knew I knew her name, but couldn't remember (and didn't look up) where I knew her name from!
Now, why am I not surprised Morris Levy somehow got a credit on Why Do Fools Fall In Love? Also, for me, the weirdest part of the Cassius Love track is when Mike imitates Brian on the close of Fun, Fun, Fun backed by multiple Mike Loves. It's like being on Bizarro Earth.I love it!
As I understand it, Levy bought out Gee Records (or whatever entity owned Gee Records catalog at the time) and that his name replaced Goldner's when that happened. Apparently, they both had the same amount of input in actually writing the song...which is, of course, zero. Hilarious point on Mike's imitation of Brian on the close of "Fun, Fun, Fun." It's like a Twilight Zone episode: "Submitted for your approval; a world in which the Beach Boys consisted of five Mike Loves." Thanks, Joel!
As always, enjoyable and informative. You might want to add Black Flag as another band who covered Louie Louie. They released it as a single in 1981. Since then, the song has become a punk rock classic.
Thanks for mentioning that, JDD! I didn't know Black Flag's version and, after reading your comment, I checked it out. Very cool, and very different, take! Thanks for passing that along!
Hi Steve, in defence of this album its hardly surprising that some of the quality can be questioned as the group must have been under a hell of a lot of pressure to keep up with the demands by capitol records for them to release several new albums in such a short time and bearing the debacle of Shutdown 1 being confused as being a Beach Boys album, this would`nt have helped the sales of Shutdown 11 and in all fairness, considering all this along with the various demands to appear on various shows/concerts as well as to spend time in the recording studio , its surprising that the quality of the recordings here were of such a high quality, in other words , to Brians credit and bearing in mind his hearing difficulties , each album he produced for the group sounded a lot better than a lot of his competitors at the time and history shows us this fact as a lot of the other "hit groups " have either broken up a long time ago or have been forgotten whilst not only are the BBs still relevant but their albums still sell. Also, taliking of the Beatles, they too had a very heavy workload at that very same time, but correct me if i am wrong but demands to push out records never quite so heavily enforced and i remember John saying that all he had seen was " A room and a car and a car and another room and a room and another room " or something similar, a line used in the film " A Hard Days Night " , but at least John didnt have the burdon of having to produce hit records as well as perform and make personal appearances.and like the Beach Boys, some of the tracks on their early albums were weaker than others, but as with all albums, thats what makes the other tracks sound so strong and this is why we all get a shudder down the spine when we hear those really strong songs on this and other albums . I think to consider Shutdown 11 as a weaker album, as some folk do, is unfair as it was an essential part of the groups history and bearing in mind what was to follow up to and beyond " Pet Sounds " then you need to listen to " Shutdown 11 " to appreciate the progress of the group as a whole .
Yes Chris as usual I totally agree with all you said and as I said in my comments this album as far from being a 'lesser' album in their early career. I can't think of a single track that I don't like as a song (Cassius track not included) and have several of them on my website playlist. (A guilty secret - This car of mine is one of my favourite early Beach Boy track). As you so rightly said if I wrote a list of all the groups I grew up with and loved just how many are still around.....
@@peterflegg7596 Thats a great response Peter and i just knew you would understand my points., I too love " This car of mine ", as at the time i bought this album, i was learning to drive and would complie cassettes of BB car songs to drive along to, this being one of the tracks..
Excellent points (as always), chris! The pressure to create records was undoubtedly ridiculous on both the Beach Boys and the Beatles in those days and it's really amazing how well they all "rose to the occasion." They may have sometimes had to resort to "filler," the kind of tracks you find on "Shut Down Vol. 2" in the case of the Beach Boys, or cover songs they knew from their "Hamburg days" in the case of the Beatles, but they always made them entertaining and enjoyable. Even more, with all the pressure on their time, both groups always made sure the important songs were "done right." There's certainly no sense that "The Warmth of The Sun" or "Can't Buy Me Love" were "thrown together" in any way. Which kind of makes me wonder if the record companies felt "three albums and four singles a year" was a reasonable requirement in 1962 because they didn't actually expect the music would be so good. Maybe things had to change when the Beach Boys and the Beatles, and some of their contemporaries, began to force the "assembly line" into an "artists' space." In any case, it is, I'm sure, impossible to really imagine the pressure those groups were under in the early days. It's almost like there must have been some "mind over matter" involved in all the things did. I'm guessing some combination of youth and enthusiasm carried them through things that others would have thought unreasonable or impossible. Thanks again for the great insights and feedback, chris!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 It might be possible to consider that, aside from his drive for perfection, Brian began using Wrecking Crew individuals to help take the load off the other Beach Boys so that they could tour while he was still actively assembling tracks. Four LPs in one year certainly sounds like a huge burden to me. "According to Hal Blaine, Dennis did not care a bit about not drumming on the singles: 'He was thrilled that I was making their records because while I was making Beach Boy records, he was out surfing or riding his motorcycle. During the day, when I was making $35 or $40, that night he was making $35,000. He was thrilled because he had all the girls.' "
I'm determined to keep this (relatively) short... What's on the t-shirt? Song of...? Didn't I comment on the whole Goldner-Levy saga a few eps back? I go on and on about things you obv already know. Pardon me for being so damn pedantic... I'm sure I read God-knows-where that Denny's Drums is the first-ever drum solo of the rock era. Do we have to define drum solo? Does it count? And does it matter? Maybe the track is too harmlessly negligible for that kind of distinction...? I am NOT a tech guy, so I hope I can explain: one of my big problems with SDV2 was the irritating stereo separation on a lot of the tracks. DWB, Warmth, PPPGirl, Keep an Eye, Louie--lead and bg vocals split left and right, with the instruments bunched up in the same way--with not much (or nothing) in the center. I prefer stereo to mono--sorry not sorry if that's heretical. But in the past few years, I've finally found official or fan made remixes of all them in nice, balanced stereo...so all's well. Question from an ignoramus: why were the songs and LPs released like that, and did record buyers care...? Spot-on comments and fascinating details throughout this vid, esp your drawing a line from the ballads here to Side 2 of Today! Excellent stuff... PS I was able to match all of my socks after I got my laundry out of the dryer. Success...!
Coincidentally, or maybe in some mystical connection, I have just finished doing my laundry and matching my socks immediately before reading your comments! (Spooky!) Good question on "Denny's Drums" being the first rock drum solo. (I'd have thought Sandy Nelson might have done a drum solo track somewhere before that, but maybe all of his stuff had other instruments on it. The few Sandy Nelson tracks I know feature drums but also have guitar.) I've made a note of that question to, hopefully, pose to "the group" in a couple of weeks. Thanks for mentioning it! I'd forgotten that the first vinyl copy I had of "Shut Down Volume 2" very distinctly had that complete "right/left" separation problem. (It was among the albums I resold in 1997. Presumably, it was the "duo-phonic" version.) It WAS really annoying. Thanks for reminding me of that! BTW, the t-shirt is "Song of Norway" which is a cruise ship and also a very vague David Bowie reference. (He wore a "Song of Norway" shirt in one of his final videos. There's a whole big story about "Sing of Norway" and his early girlfriend, Hermione, which is way too long to go into here. It can be googled if you're interested.) Thanks for all the great thoughts and feedback, rangergrrrl! Always great to hear from you! (Now, I'm off to put my socks away.)
I think Sandy Nelson might differ with you. Wiki: "Sander Lloyd Nelson (December 1, 1938 - February 14, 2022) was an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock and modern jazz drummers of the late 1950s and early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and released over 30 albums... In 1959, Kim Fowley produced Nelson's first recording, "Geronimo" by the Renegades (a band made up of Nelson, Richard Podolor, Bruce Johnston, and songwriter Nick Venet)... His instrumental recording "Teen Beat" rose to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. It sold over one million copies & was awarded a gold disc.[9] Subsequently he... pounded out two more Top 40 hits, "Let There Be Drums", which went to number 7 on the Hot 100, & "Drums Are My Beat". In Dec. 1961 the British music magazine, NME, reported that "Let There Be Drums" had gone Top 10 in both the UK & US.
@@burlingtonbill1 Steve also mentioned Sandy Nelson in his comment above. I don't really know anything--I just know I read it somewhere...probably in a misinformed YT comment (like most of mine). I once left a similar YT comment about how I'd read that Little Honda has the first use of fuzz guitar on a rock-era record...and sure enough, some guy replied and pointed out earlier uses of it etc etc. Over-zealous BBs fans probably want to give the boys credit for everything...you know?
@@burlingtonbill1 Thanks, bill! Sandy Nelson came to mind. I wasn't sure if any of his recordings were "drum solos" like "Denny's Drums" or whether they also featured guitar or some other instrument. In another comment here, someone (Sorry I'm "blanking" on who it was.) said that "Denny's Drums" was the "first drum solo by a member of a vocal group" which might be the important distinction. Thanks again for the feedback and info, bill! Much appreciated!
Rangergrrrl: Sorry for so late a comment on your remarks on "stereo" you expressed above. Since Brian purposely produced in mono (for the reasons we've heard over the years) and "stereo" re-creation is either Crapitol trying to sell additional units by asking engineers to "create it" by filtering highs to one side and lows to the other, adding reverb to create a second (delayed) channel, or in the modern era, using sophisticated digital extraction software to "isolate" an instrument or voice and send it into a new mix. Mark Linett talks extensively about this software and creation of "true" stereo mixes in this wonderful show: ua-cam.com/video/lFHGP4kwgt4/v-deo.html The WORST "stereo" version of any song that I remember is the LP version of the Doors' Light My Fire. You have Ray's organ solo (in mono) hard-panned to one side, while Densmore's drums were in mono, also, hard-panned to the other side. Perhaps unintentionally, it was a good test of your home stereo's channel separation!
Greetings Steve. Yes this album isn't as great as it might have been had they been allowed to take time to write and record how they could do as on those tracks that really stand out. At this early stage of their career all the record company wanted was another album as soon as they could get it with quality at a very low level of demand. Under the circumstances they did as best as they could and even their 'fillers' are quite acceptable under the circumstances. Apart from the Cassius track there isn't a single track that I would say I dislike and several of the tracks you refer to as fillers I quite like. If I had to make a list of beach Boy albums I was disappointed in (and there are a few) this album would NOT be on the list.
Thanks for the excellent feedback, peter! I agree that the group did great considering the pressure they were under to "get product out" in those early days, and when you consider they were never sitting on a huge "back catalog" of material to start with...and had already done three albums (more or less) over the last year, it's really astonishing what they were able to produce for "Shut Down Volume 2." (and the key tracks were, undoubtedly, the finest work they had created so far.) Thanks for the comments and perspective, peter! Much appreciated!
I've said for years The Beatles' "Tell Me Why" sounds built on the foundation of "Why Do Fools..." and am glad someone else heard the similarity. That said, I'm in disagreement with the recommendation of this album at the end. I think "Shut Down, Vol. 2" is one of the worst LPs ever put out by a major band. I've also seen this album recommended in various "ranking" videos, and wonder if Beach Boys fans might be losing perspective. Even the cover art looks shoddy, with lame lettering and an ugly backdrop color --- especially when you compare it to excellent (and iconic) art of the previous four albums.
Thanks for the feedback and perspective, Tony! I can understand the point. The album certainly feels (and in large parts, admitted was) put together hastily and haphazardly. On the other hand, it contains four (or five) all-time great tracks. The highs are really high and the lows are really low. I can certainly understand "averaging that out" could be done in a lot of different ways. I'm really glad you mentioned, and also hear the similarity, between "Tell Me Why" and "Why Do Fools..." Coincidentally, I was just thinking, yesterday, that, since posting this video, nobody had followed up on that in the comments. I'm glad to finally have some confirmation that I'm not alone in hearing the similarity! Thanks again for the great feedback and perspective, Tony!
Love the detail you bring to your channel....Bravo....
Thanks, Julia! The good feedback is much appreciated!
I half-noticed that tempo change in Louie Louie before, but never fully formed a thought about it. But when you mentioned it, I knew exactly what you were talking about! Perhaps it is two takes sewn together.
My favorite version of Louie Louie is by the Surfaris, with Jim Fuller on lead vocal.
Never realized that VA Shut Down Volume 1 charted higher than BB Shut Down Volume 2! Very interesting!
Thanks for the comments and, especially, for letting me know about the Surfaris' version of "Louie, Louie." I just listened to it here on youtube. Excellent version! It occurs to me that, shortly before they recored their version of "Louie, Louie," the Beach Boys had been on tour in Australia and New Zealand with the Surfaris. I wonder if those events are related? Thanks again for the comments and info, friendly!
I rank "Cassius Love vs Sonny Wilson" as one of the most bizarre episodes in Beach Boys history. Other strange episodes that come to mind:
-- Bruce Johnston's short-lived stint as frontman for Motörhead.
-- Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign using the “two girls for every boy” verse to welcome the President on stage.
-- Al Jardine as a little Honda-ridin’ gangsta in DMX’s “Where the Hood At” video.
-- Mike Love’s “curly orange toupee” phase of the 1980s.
-- The Ol’ Dirty Bastard remix of “Car Crazy Cutie.”
-- The Sega Genesis Beach Boys video game with Murry Wilson’s glass eye as the level 4 boss.
Great stuff, Aquaman! I got a lot of laughs out of that, especially, the "curly orange toupee" line. (That might be because I'm currently reading a biography of Harpo Marx.) I know I'm always in for a wild, and fun, ride when I see your name come up in the comments! Thanks for that!
Nice review. There are actually three versions of why do fools fall in love. The album version,which starts with the drum beat, the single/45 version which starts a cappella, and the Summer love songs version, which starts with the piano intro.
Can't believe I never noticed the different openings on the album and single versions! Thanks so much for pointing that out, Go! Much appreciated!
Great review. I was a teen then and, as you said, didn't have much money for LPs. So it was later when I collected more the their greatest hits LPs.
Thanks for the feedback and for sharing your experience, Bill! My experience was similar when I started my record collection as a teen in 1974. Being able to buy two or three albums a month was pretty much all I could do, so I had to be extremely selective. (On the plus side, I really "got to know" those albums; listening to them many, many times.) Thanks again, Bill!
It's been too long since I've descended the stairs down to the "Basement." This LP is special to me because it was my first BBs LP purchased. I may have said this earlier, but I remember, as a 12-yr-old, being disappointed that the track lineup didn't include "I Get Around," the killer mega-hit that got me started on this lifelong fanboy path! Of course, with the help of Wiki, one can easily see this was an impossibility, as this LP was released 2 months before the 45. I think the term 'grab-bag" is a good descriptor. There WAS a huge disparity between "Fun Fun Fun" and "Denny's Drums." But even their covers of WDFFIL and LL were special, so you really didn't feel they were just filler.
Steve, you did the usual superb job of quick witty overview, peppered with deep (sometimes unusual) insights, illustrated well and enthusiastically-delivered. And of course, all of this centered on the group we love so much. Most of the time I read the comments section before watching the video -- they are so much fun, and I always learn a lot. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
Thanks for the feedback and comments, as always, Bill! I knew from your earlier comments that this was your first Beach Boys album, so I've been especially looking forward to your take on it. It's interesting that, at the time, you were disappointed to find "I Get Around" wasn't on it. It's an excellent reminder of just how difficult it was to get information about record releases in those days! We were pretty much stuck with what we could glean from looking at track listings of the records sleeves in the bins. Even in the early 70s, when I started my current record collection, finding a printed discography was pretty rare. It wasn't always clear what material was out there or when it was released. (BTW, "I Get Around" has got to be one of the all-time great tracks to start Beach Boys fandom with..and I envy you starting with the group so early and being there for all the changes and the new releases as they came.) Once again, I really appreciate the great feedback and comments. As I've said before, the channel is a labor of love and the people I've connected with and the great information and feedback are certainly what makes it worthwhile. Thanks, Bill!
Mike Love's lyrics are one of THE most under-appreciated parts of early BB's success.
I absolutely agree! Like Chuck Berry, I think Mike's ability to tell a vivid story in just a few spare lines is so well-done that it's easy to overlook just what a challenge that kind of writing is. On top of that, Mike seems to have often been writing lyrics "on the fly"; just scribbling out the lines in the studio or in the hall during the session. He wrote some classic stuff under tight time constraints. Thanks for pointing out that often under-appreciated, and very important, component in the Beach Boys success, Michael!
Sir-------1st off, I hope you read this . ----------I was already a huge fan , but when The Boys did that appearance on " AB " , & instead of lip-synching " Fun, Fun, Fun " , did ' DWB " , I was speechless. I'd never, ever, heard harmony like that ! This was on a Saturday, 1100 hours in Denver, ABC Channel 9. Well--------I was so taken by " DWB " , after my chores were done, I called my #1 record store, " Harmony Records " in downtown Denver, 16th & Welton Street, & learned, 5 copies of the new album had arrived the day before from the Capitol Rep./ So, I walked all the way to downtown, & for $1.98 , bought the mono --------of course ! -------album , ' Shut Down, Vol. 2 " -------------Oh by the way,on the cover, that's a '64 Stingray Corvette 427, with the split top roof , & made of fiberglass. it belonged to Dennis, of course .--------As I played this album, I was simply blown away with what I heard. By the time I got to " TWOTS" , I was so moved, I asked my Dad to listen . I'll never forget how he & my younger Brother, just sat, & kept shaking their heads. After, Dad said, " Son, whoever these boys are, there is real genius here. That song, is beautiful. " I remember, because I was so surprised Dad would react so intensely, but he did, as did my Brother, Joe. -----------So, I kept on listening, getting to " Keep An Eye On Summer " & once again, was so moved by Brian's gorgeous voice, & the perfect harmonies. The song is just beautiful. -----------This album, so poorly marketed by Capitol, is a gem, in every way there is. Brian, at then just 21 y/o, had taken a giant step musically. In April of 1964, I was a 2nd semester senior in HS , & all of life, was ahead. -----------MJL, 76 y/o
Wow! Thanks for sharing that great story and those memories! What a great time to experience the group and their music. I'm really impressed that your Dad listened with "open ears" and recognized the quality of the music he was hearing. (Naturally, many parents would not have been able to do that with "teenage" music.) "The Warmth of The Sun," "Keep An Eye On Summer" and, especially, "Don't Worry Baby" have meant a great deal to me since I first "discovered" them as a teenager. I really envy you having been able to experience those songs when they were brand new...and all of the great music that followed! Thanks so much for passing that along and I hope you'll continue to share your thoughts and perspective on future episodes! Much appreciated, Michael!
I always noticed, after 1968 of course, that some drum phrases from "Denny's Drums" showed up on the extended drum solo in "In A Gadda da Vida".
Interesting! I'll have to give "In A Gadda da Vida" another listen with that in mind....(when I have a spare half hour or so!) (Actually, I just checked, "In A Gadda da Vida" is actually 17:05.) Anyway, thanks for passing that along, George!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Was IAGDV the first rock album with a single song being an entire side of the record? I wouldn't be surprised if it was. It was my 1st time seeing that..
@@burlingtonbill1 That's a good question, bill! I know "Sad Eyed Lady of The Lowlands" got the entirety of side four of "Blonde on Blonde." (It's only 11:23, so another "normal" length track could have easily fit on that side.) I wonder if there are others even earlier? (I'm hoping someone else will chime in!) Thanks for raising an interesting question, bill!
Steve great job again as usual. Really. I was wondering, this is about the front cover picture. Steve was the reason that it was focused on Dennis's and Carl's and Als cars , not Brian and Mike's, because of it was a sure way to get Dennis to participate in the photo shoot. I heard that Dennis would show up when he wanted to, sometimes late
That's an excellent theory! I could definitely see that being a motivating factor for Dennis to show up. Great (and kind of hilarious) insight, Mark! Thanks so much for passing it along!
There's a couple of key changes on Louie, Louie that create tension. The first one is at the 54-5 second mark. I think it's not much of an up tempo. I saw them do it live. Mike sang it 'Louie, Lou-eye' like the Kingsmen - pretty cool. You're really takin' me back in time!
Thanks for clarifying on the recording of "Louie, Louie." I think you're probably right that it's the key changes that I'm hearing. Very cool that you saw the group do "Louie, Louie" live! Maybe it was in their set regularly at some point, but it seems like a pretty "deep cut" to me! Thanks again for the comments and great to hear from you!
There was a grass-roots movement started by TV host Ross Shafer in the middle 1980's in Washington State, to have Louie Louie named the WA St. Anthem. It was such a well-known and easy to play song that just about every Pacific Northwest band in the early 60's, like The Raiders, The Ventures, and The Fabulous Wailers, had a cover. I don't even know if the petition reached the congressional floor.
Thanks for passing that info along, Trenton! Now that you've mentioned it, I seem to have some vague memory of hearing about that. I'm going to look into it to see what else I can find! Thanks again, and great to hear from you!
HILARIOUS: Fifty years later the prestigious New Yorker magazine addressed this record with an article titled “Is This The Dirtiest Song Of The Sixties?”
“On that April day in 1963, the only microphone available to Ely was located several feet above him, hanging from the ceiling. Ely was wearing dental braces, and his bandmates, who were gathered around Ely in a circle, played their instruments loudly. The result was an incomprehensible vocal that, in time, would make Ely the most celebrated interpreter of a song which is close to being pop Esperanto.
"A, D, E minor, runs the chord progression. Easy. As for the lyrics, it doesn’t matter how you sing them, or even really what you sing, though you might consider beginning with the words ‘Louie Louie / Oh no / Me gotta go.’ Really, though, the floor is yours. Sing your grocery list. Pull random words from a hat.” tinyurl.com/yc3umw9e
@@burlingtonbill1 Thanks for passing along that great info, and for the comments and insights, Bill! It seems like it's been a while since we've heard from your and it's great to have you back!
I had to go back and listen to it again because truthfully, I hadn't given it a full listen since after I bought in the mid 90's. As I said in part 1, there's 3 gems but on the second listen I have to agree that Keep Your Eye on Summer is a classic early Beach Boys song, always love a Brian song. The two covers I can take them or leave them, prefer other versions, Parking Lots, Car of Mine and Pom Pom Girls aren't bad for filler, kind of fun, Shut Down, Denny's Drums and the Cassius Love won't be making any of my play lists. When you listen to it in the context that it was released it's fair to say that it's a pretty good record. The whole album concept in rock and roll was in it's infancy. Jazz was light years ahead of rock and roll at the time which I think is why Brian sought out jazz musicians to play on his later albums, genius move on Brian's part. I also wanted to mention that the AM station that I heard playing Warmth of the Sun introduced me to a lot of music that never would have ever thought to give a chance. I was to make a mix of the type of music I was likely to hear on that station and upload it somewhere for anyone who would like to give it a listen, I have a feeling that a lot of that music influenced Brain.
Thanks for the thoughts and feedback, Ron! I like how you succinctly, and accurately, I think, broke the tracks down between the gems, the "better" filler (I'm always happy to hear an original, even if it's a "lesser" original) and the ones that "won't be making your playlist." Well put! I agree too that any album with three (or four) gems like those images it a pretty good record. Good point on jazz vs rock 'n' roll in those days. For those who missed it, I think it's hard to understand just how unimportant rock 'n' roll records had been considered up to this point. Of course, Brian, the Beatles, and some others were about to show its potential to be much more than "teenage music" and I think you're right, too, that working with jazz players was a great move. If you upload the music mix based on that AM station, please be sure to let me know where to find it! I'd love to check it out! Thanks again for the great comments, Ron!
Albums like this make me rethink my position abut having limited affection for greatest hits records of groups there I already have the albums.
Good point, Richard! I think the case could definitely be made for this album being more "listenable" if it was just boiled down to the key tracks. (Now that you mention it, it would have made one of the greatest EPs in history!) Thanks for the feedback, Richard!
Great stuff Steve! Being somebody who can drum and likes Denny's voice, I Love "This Car Of Mine" and the drums on "In The Parking Lot." I also love the vocals on the later. I had to check out "This Bike Of Mine" that rangergrrrl mentioned last episode. I thought the Super Stocks didn't sound too bad. So being a little impulsive, I ordered a few of their albums. I did notice a little "Louie, Louie " influence on "I Can't Remember The Dream" by They Might Be Giants. Anyway, always a joy to watch. P.S. Love the reference to "Carl's Big Chance."
Thanks for the thoughts and feedback, Michael! I enjoyed "This Bike of Mine" by the Super Stocks as well. I picked up a double CD set of the "Complete Recordings" of the Super Stocks, on One Way Records, back in '96, mainly because it was the only way, at the time, to get "My First Love" which was an Usher/Christian/Brian Wilson co-write from the "Muscle Beach Party" film. It's a nice collection with a lot of enjoyable tracks, though I still dream of someday finding affordable copies of the original Super Stocks albums.
Good point about "I Remember The Dream" but They Might Be Giants! Definitely a "Louie, Louie" riff there! Glad you noticed my reference to "Carl's Big Chance" too! For a second, I wondered if it was too subtle, then I remember the kind of folks who are watching this channel and knew I didn't have to worry about that! Thanks, Michael!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444Glad to hear that 2cd set of the Super Stocks is good. That's exactly the set I ordered. Since Brian does revisit some older ideas, I wondered if that beginning of " Wouldn't It Be Nice" with a little music with the sudden drum stop wasn't a throwback to the piano beginning of " Why Do Fools Fall In Love." Anyway, just a thought. Thanks Steve!
@@michaelthemovieattic Interesting observation on the "Wouldn't It Be Nice" intro. You might be on to something! Thanks, Michael!
Pom Pom play girl was always one of my guilty pleasures.
Definitely a fun track! Thanks, Willy!
There has to be a video dedicated to the beach boys in 1964. They were working no stop. Releasing like, what, 4 albums? Plus singles, plus touring, TV appearances...
It was definitely an amazing year for the group! There was so much great music and so much growth in the writing and performing. I had first thought about tackling the entire year of 1964 on the channel over the summer, but realized that, to do it justice, we'd still be talking about it well into the fall! A very exciting time, indeed! Thanks and it's great to hear from you, quietjarvis!
"Shut Down Volume 2" for me has the what I call "Endless Summer Problem": All the great songs from it are on that compilation, so for me, SDV2 is only recommendable to completionists. "Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) has the same problem. Of the pre-"Pet Sounds" albums, I would say that "Surfin' USA", "All Summer Long" and "Today" are the best ones, although all their early albums have some great highlights.
Excellent point, Daisy, and it's something I should have recognized in my own experience with "Shut Down Volume 2." I rarely pull it out and, undoubtedly, it's because the key tracks are all on many compilations (and, it's pretty rare that I'm in a mood that really calls for getting out the album to listen to "Denny's Drums"!) The "Endless Summer Problem" is a great description for this phenomenon! Thanks for the comments, Daisy!
this album is certainly a rollercoaster, has its ups and downs, but fun throught overall
Well said, Lucas! I wish I could have used that line in the episode! Thanks and great to hear from you!
Steve , Here’s some thoughts on Louie , Louie being included on S.D. vol. 2 :
Louie , Louie was not just a national hit . It was a national phenomenon evoking the rebellious spirit of early rock n’ roll in comparison to the “ teen idol “ and folk records that had plagued the charts from 1960 until The Beatles arrived in America .
Everyone with a group , ( and there were lots of us ) , performed Louie , Louie . Given that The Beach Boys were only two years away from “ garage band “ status , I can almost guarantee that they were no different .
Personally , I used to introduce the song by saying , “ Ladies and Gentlemen , the National Anthem . “
“ Louie “ was not filler . It was a true reflection of what was happening in 1964 ! It only seems like filler because The Beach Boys we’re evolving into a group capable of highly complex records while Louie Louie was so musically primitive.
Thanks for the feedback and for the excellent perspective on "Louie, Louie," beanie! Those are great points and thanks for passing them along! I can certainly imagine "Louie, Louie" being a real "breath of fresh air," especially considering the other kinds of records that were charting at the time. Also, I absolutely love your introduction to the song! Wish I could have been there to hear you perform it! Thanks again, beanie!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Thanks for the praise , Steve . By way of comparison , it was only a short time later that The Beach Boys resuscitated The Regents’ Barbara Ann and turned it into a top ten single . That song is clearly as simple as “ Louie “ , but nobody called it filler . Rather , the world recognized it as great fun ! I even remember us guys making up questionable lyrics to the original Regents version at early junior high dances .
Don’t tell my wife …. Her name is Barbara Ann .
@@beanie226 We made up a few of those kinds lyrics to "Barbara Ann" too! Happy to hear we weren't alone on that...and I'll keep quiet about it! Thanks for the follow-up, beanie!
Great comment, beanie! But I must admit - I never liked "Barbara Ann." Too simplistic & they sound like sheep.
I'd ordered this album from my local record store and for some reason it took over three weeks to arrive where as all the previous BBs albums came in a matter of days. So when it did eventually arrive I was really surprised with the production quality. Having heard all the stuff released by the Beatles, Stones, Kinks, etc I realised that Brian and the Beach Boys had the edge over all of them when it came to producing, and I think it was at this point I started to favour the BBs over the Beatles and the others. This was despite the fact that the album had "Denny's Droms", & "Cassius Love v Sonny Wilson", as fillers , the album did however have "Fun fun fun" "Don't worry baby", & "The warmth of the sun", three songs that outclassed anything recorded by anybody up to that point. Like everybody else I tried to located "Shut down vol 1" but I abandoned the idea when I realized it was not a BBs album. Another great video Steve you bring back so many pleasant memories.
Thanks for sharing the memories and initial impressions of "Shut Down Volume 2." I can really understand how songs like "Fun, Fun, Fun", "Don't Worry Baby" and "The Warmth of The Sun" would have really outclassed nearly everything else that was going on in music at the time, as great as some of that other music was. It must have been especially great to hear it when it was "hot off the press!" Always great to hear from you, John!
Steve?, I was surprised at the chart history of "Why do fools fall in love" in the states and how many people have claimed to have written the song. It really is a great song. I think Diana Ross's version made no1 over here.
@@johnhammond1572 I was really fascinated and surprised by the history of the song too, especially that the Teenagers' version did better in the UK than it did in the US. I agree that it's a great song. Of the many excellent versions, I think the Beach Boys' version is probably my favorite. Thanks, John!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Ditto -- mainly due to the outstanding production quality that JH mentioned, starting w/ the cannon-shot echoey drum downbeat; also that amazing acapella break following the short drum instrumental! It really makes this version stand out ! Apparently only a "Brian Wilson" could come up with such an outstanding production like this while covering a fairly established song.
@@burlingtonbill1 Well said, Bill!
I can see Shut Down, Vol. 2 being considered a transitional album for the group. Don't mind their cover of "Why Do fools Fall In Love" but like their "Louie Louie" cover more (because I like the song a lot more). Probably the only cover done of the song, where the words are understood! Remember one time in college, was out with some friends in a bar, when the Kingsmen's version was played. Being drunk, we started singing along to the song. My friends followed my lead as we sang the words. After the song was finished, we congratulated ourselves on being able to sing the song. I was asked how I knew the words. When I said I picked up the words from the Beach Boys version, a friend rolled his eyes, saying, "Of course, everything to him always goes back to the Beach Boys." LOL I didn't get mad nor argue with him! In the liner notes of my double album CD of Surfer Girl/Shut Down, Vol. 2, David Leaf credits Brian as singing the lead vocal on "Pom Pom Play Girl", rather than Carl and Mike, as you said. Do you have any source for saying that? Leaf also claims that "Denny's Drums" could be the first recorded drum solo of a member of a vocal group. I know it's just filler, but to me it shows that Dennis's drumming was more than just basic.
That's a great story about knowing the words to "Louie, Louie" from the Beach Boys! I've been on the receiving end of comments along the lines of "Everything with him always goes back to the Beach Boys" too, so I can relate to that very well! Interesting observation on David Leaf's notes crediting Brian as lead vocalist on "Pom Pom Playgirl." After reading your comment, I looked around on line and, apparently, this has been a source of some discussion over the years. I think the consensus is that it's Carl, but I'll keep looking for something definitive. (To me, anyway, it doesn't sound like Brian, but, it could be that I've just listened to it thinking it was Carl all these years.) Thanks for bringing it up! It'll be interesting to follow up on! Good point about "Denny's Drums" too. It might very well be the first drum solo from a member of a vocal group and it is nice to get a chance to hear Dennis' "chops" on drums. Thanks, as always, for the great feedback, Robert!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 Personally, I'd like it to be Carl credited singing the lead on "Pom Pom Playgirl", rather than Brian. That would give him his first lead vocal credit a year earlier than "Girl Don't Tell Me." Interesting finding all these "Off the wall" live versions of "Louie Louie", by artists you'd think would never cover such a song. There used to be posted on UA-cam a minute or two minute version that Nirvana did in one of their concerts (they were just messing around). Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers also performed it, with the drummer doing the vocal! (I think, if I remember right). As I'm writing list, there's a video of the Bee Gees appearing on some Australian show in the early 1960s, performing the Beatles' "Please Please Me". I've watched that, and they did a good job! I've read that Brian has stopped giving concerts, or retired from performing, according to Carnie Wilson. Have you read anything about that, whether or not that's true?
@@robertzastrow4648 I've been hearing that Brian is retiring from performance. I wouldn't be surprised if it was true. I haven't seen anything definitive about it. I just did a google search and found articles saying Brian was retiring from performance going back to 2011! The most recent one I found is from May 15th, 2023 but it's written vaguely saying he "might soon be" retiring and, I see, the article has since been tagged as "incorrect." I didn't come across comments from Carnie but I certainly might have missed it. Please let me know if you come across anything additional.
Thanks for the info on those other versions of "Louie, Louie" and about the Bee Gees doing "Please Please Me." I could imagine them doing it well. I'll check it out! Thanks again, Robert!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 The video of Nirvana messing around in concert with "Louie Louie" I can no longer find on UA-cam. There's videos on UA-cam of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers performing "Louie Louie", but it's Tom singing lead vocal. The one video where the Heartbreakers' drummer sings lead vocal, with Tom playing harp, was when they covered the Count Five's song "Psychotic Reaction", which is still on UA-cam (T.P. & the Heartbreakers performance of it). Have you ever heard of a mid-60s San Francisco band called the Baytovens? Seems they only released 2 - 3 singles, then faded/broke up. Their songs are also on UA-cam, and I think are good.
@@robertzastrow4648 Thanks for the follow-up! Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers doing "Psychotic Reaction" sounds great! I'll want to check that out! I'll look into the Baytovens too. I never heard of them but that's a GREAT name for a San Francisco band!
The problem with listening to this album on CD is the whiplash a person can get going from "Cassius Love" to "The Warmth of the Sun." There was an interview with Bruce Johnston (which I tried to find but couldn't) where he mentions that he always felt "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" would have been a big charting single if it had been released as an A-side (of course he wasn't in the group yet so I guess that is all just his conjecture.) On the Live in Chicago digital set, you can hear the audience go nuts when the Boys do "Louie, Louie." That and its inclusion on 1966's "Best of the Beach Boys" just show that they there working to stay abreast of the latest trends as well as doing their own new stuff. Great review for a very eclectic album!
Well said about the stylistic "whiplash" this album can induce! I admire the desire to give listeners a "varied" experience, but the clash of styles might be one of the reasons I don't actually go back to the album that often (that and, as mentioned in another comment here, the "key" tracks are all so well represented on compilation albums.) Thanks for the insights on "Louie, Louie" and, especially, for reminding me it was on "Best of the Beach Boys." There are some strange omissions on that album. "Louie, Louie" to me, always seemed like the strangest inclusion. Maybe it was included because, as you point out, it was a strong "fan favorite." Thanks, as always, for the great feedback and insights, BB! Much appreciated!
On the original cut "Warmth of the Sun" on the first pressings, at the same time this lyric is heard, you can very easily hear the sound of someone running their hand through a glass wind chime. This must have made an impression because the windchimes made it back into a future project. "These are my windchimes...."
Through the years we seemed to have lost the sound of those chimes either to compression, editing or I'm not sure what to the point that I wondered if I had really remembered what I heard almost 60 years ago. So putting that original mono LP on the turntable for which I had paid $4.99 in 1964 dollars at record Town, (still had the sticker) and donning my best Bose headphones, sure enough, there it was despite hearing through 78 year old ears with attenuated high frequencies.
I later heard it again, only not so pronounced, on a UA-cam channel that claimed original LP mastered. Interesting how some of the simple things are lost in the progress of technology.
Larry - Salt Lake City, Utah
Thanks for letting us know about the wind chime, Larry! Very interesting and I'm going to see if I can find that! I always wonder how much gets distorted, lost or changed with all the "remixing and remastering" that goes on over the years. I worry that what most people hear today might be very different from the "original experience" and, even more, that in another fifty or 100 years, the available recordings will have little resemblance to what was really heard "back in the day." Thanks again for the comments and info, Larry! I'm off on the hunt to see what I can find out about that wind chime!
On all the early Beach Boys recordings, Murry Wilson (Brian's Father) would make them do take after take. This hampered what Brian truly wanted. I'm guessing good takes were re-recorded over until the Dad approved. I'm glad they fired him during the I Get Around Sessions. But, Brian Wilson would produce Great Albums until his depression shut him down and he stayed in bed. We all know that story. I feel Brian was held back from doing what he really wanted to do in song writing and producing.
Thanks for the feedback and insights! I think it would be tough for any young 20-something to be managed by their dad, even if he wasn't Murry Wilson! It seems like the split was inevitable and certainly positive for Brian's creative development. Thanks again for the comments, Harmony Man! Much appreciated!
History Note : That '64 427 split-top Stingray was the very 1st, & to my knowledge, the only product of US Automakers to ever be made of re-enforced fiberglass as were subsequent models, I believe, even to this day-----but don't quote me on that------------MJL, 76 y/o
Interesting! I had no idea. Thanks for passing that along, Michael!
Not much to add Steve, you covered it well. The album had some excellent tunes, and some very weak fillers. Seeing the name Gale Storm took me back to watching the old tv show My Little Margie. I think after all these years I only played Louie Louie 3 times, one of their poorer efforts.
Thanks for the feedback, and for mentioning that Gale Storm was on "My Little Margie." I knew I knew her name, but couldn't remember (and didn't look up) where I knew her name from!
Nice review, Steve. See you, Nelio.
Thanks for the feedback, Nelio! Much appreciated!
Carl’s big chance…. Nice!
Glad you liked that one, Nick!
Now, why am I not surprised Morris Levy somehow got a credit on Why Do Fools Fall In Love? Also, for me, the weirdest part of the Cassius Love track is when Mike imitates Brian on the close of Fun, Fun, Fun backed by multiple Mike Loves. It's like being on Bizarro Earth.I love it!
As I understand it, Levy bought out Gee Records (or whatever entity owned Gee Records catalog at the time) and that his name replaced Goldner's when that happened. Apparently, they both had the same amount of input in actually writing the song...which is, of course, zero. Hilarious point on Mike's imitation of Brian on the close of "Fun, Fun, Fun." It's like a Twilight Zone episode: "Submitted for your approval; a world in which the Beach Boys consisted of five Mike Loves." Thanks, Joel!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 If it HAD been Mikey times 5, I prolly wouldn't be listening!
@@burlingtonbill1 The Geneva Convention should probably address that! Thanks for the laugh, Bill!
As always, enjoyable and informative. You might want to add Black Flag as another band who covered Louie Louie. They released it as a single in 1981. Since then, the song has become a punk rock classic.
Thanks for mentioning that, JDD! I didn't know Black Flag's version and, after reading your comment, I checked it out. Very cool, and very different, take! Thanks for passing that along!
Mike love . . . why?
Hi Steve, in defence of this album its hardly surprising that some of the quality can be questioned as the group must have been under a hell of a lot of pressure to keep up with the demands by capitol records for them to release several new albums in such a short time and bearing the debacle of Shutdown 1 being confused as being a Beach Boys album, this would`nt have helped the sales of Shutdown 11 and in all fairness, considering all this along with the various demands to appear on various shows/concerts as well as to spend time in the recording studio , its surprising that the quality of the recordings here were of such a high quality, in other words , to Brians credit and bearing in mind his hearing difficulties , each album he produced for the group sounded a lot better than a lot of his competitors at the time and history shows us this fact as a lot of the other "hit groups " have either broken up a long time ago or have been forgotten whilst not only are the BBs still relevant but their albums still sell.
Also, taliking of the Beatles, they too had a very heavy workload at that very same time, but correct me if i am wrong but demands to push out records never quite so heavily enforced and i remember John saying that all he had seen was " A room and a car and a car and another room and a room and another room " or something similar, a line used in the film " A Hard Days Night " , but at least John didnt have the burdon of having to produce hit records as well as perform and make personal appearances.and like the Beach Boys, some of the tracks on their early albums were weaker than others, but as with all albums, thats what makes the other tracks sound so strong and this is why we all get a shudder down the spine when we hear those really strong songs on this and other albums .
I think to consider Shutdown 11 as a weaker album, as some folk do, is unfair as it was an essential part of the groups history and bearing in mind what was to follow up to and beyond " Pet Sounds " then you need to listen to " Shutdown 11 " to appreciate the progress of the group as a whole .
Yes Chris as usual I totally agree with all you said and as I said in my comments this album as far from being a 'lesser' album in their early career. I can't think of a single track that I don't like as a song (Cassius track not included) and have several of them on my website playlist. (A guilty secret - This car of mine is one of my favourite early Beach Boy track). As you so rightly said if I wrote a list of all the groups I grew up with and loved just how many are still around.....
@@peterflegg7596 Thats a great response Peter and i just knew you would understand my points., I too love
" This car of mine ", as at the time i bought this album, i was learning to drive and would complie cassettes of BB car songs to drive along to, this being one of the tracks..
Excellent points (as always), chris! The pressure to create records was undoubtedly ridiculous on both the Beach Boys and the Beatles in those days and it's really amazing how well they all "rose to the occasion." They may have sometimes had to resort to "filler," the kind of tracks you find on "Shut Down Vol. 2" in the case of the Beach Boys, or cover songs they knew from their "Hamburg days" in the case of the Beatles, but they always made them entertaining and enjoyable. Even more, with all the pressure on their time, both groups always made sure the important songs were "done right." There's certainly no sense that "The Warmth of The Sun" or "Can't Buy Me Love" were "thrown together" in any way.
Which kind of makes me wonder if the record companies felt "three albums and four singles a year" was a reasonable requirement in 1962 because they didn't actually expect the music would be so good. Maybe things had to change when the Beach Boys and the Beatles, and some of their contemporaries, began to force the "assembly line" into an "artists' space."
In any case, it is, I'm sure, impossible to really imagine the pressure those groups were under in the early days. It's almost like there must have been some "mind over matter" involved in all the things did. I'm guessing some combination of youth and enthusiasm carried them through things that others would have thought unreasonable or impossible.
Thanks again for the great insights and feedback, chris!
@@thebeachboysbasementwithst6444 It might be possible to consider that, aside from his drive for perfection, Brian began using Wrecking Crew individuals to help take the load off the other Beach Boys so that they could tour while he was still actively assembling tracks. Four LPs in one year certainly sounds like a huge burden to me. "According to Hal Blaine, Dennis did not care a bit about not drumming on the singles: 'He was thrilled that I was making their records because while I was making Beach Boy records, he was out surfing or riding his motorcycle. During the day, when I was making $35 or $40, that night he was making $35,000. He was thrilled because he had all the girls.' "
I'm determined to keep this (relatively) short...
What's on the t-shirt? Song of...?
Didn't I comment on the whole Goldner-Levy saga a few eps back? I go on and on about things you obv already know. Pardon me for being so damn pedantic...
I'm sure I read God-knows-where that Denny's Drums is the first-ever drum solo of the rock era. Do we have to define drum solo? Does it count? And does it matter? Maybe the track is too harmlessly negligible for that kind of distinction...?
I am NOT a tech guy, so I hope I can explain: one of my big problems with SDV2 was the irritating stereo separation on a lot of the tracks. DWB, Warmth, PPPGirl, Keep an Eye, Louie--lead and bg vocals split left and right, with the instruments bunched up in the same way--with not much (or nothing) in the center. I prefer stereo to mono--sorry not sorry if that's heretical. But in the past few years, I've finally found official or fan made remixes of all them in nice, balanced stereo...so all's well. Question from an ignoramus: why were the songs and LPs released like that, and did record buyers care...?
Spot-on comments and fascinating details throughout this vid, esp your drawing a line from the ballads here to Side 2 of Today! Excellent stuff...
PS I was able to match all of my socks after I got my laundry out of the dryer. Success...!
Coincidentally, or maybe in some mystical connection, I have just finished doing my laundry and matching my socks immediately before reading your comments! (Spooky!)
Good question on "Denny's Drums" being the first rock drum solo. (I'd have thought Sandy Nelson might have done a drum solo track somewhere before that, but maybe all of his stuff had other instruments on it. The few Sandy Nelson tracks I know feature drums but also have guitar.) I've made a note of that question to, hopefully, pose to "the group" in a couple of weeks. Thanks for mentioning it!
I'd forgotten that the first vinyl copy I had of "Shut Down Volume 2" very distinctly had that complete "right/left" separation problem. (It was among the albums I resold in 1997. Presumably, it was the "duo-phonic" version.) It WAS really annoying. Thanks for reminding me of that!
BTW, the t-shirt is "Song of Norway" which is a cruise ship and also a very vague David Bowie reference. (He wore a "Song of Norway" shirt in one of his final videos. There's a whole big story about "Sing of Norway" and his early girlfriend, Hermione, which is way too long to go into here. It can be googled if you're interested.)
Thanks for all the great thoughts and feedback, rangergrrrl! Always great to hear from you! (Now, I'm off to put my socks away.)
I think Sandy Nelson might differ with you. Wiki: "Sander Lloyd Nelson (December 1, 1938 - February 14, 2022) was an American drummer. Nelson, one of the best-known rock and modern jazz drummers of the late 1950s and early 1960s, had several solo instrumental Top 40 hits and released over 30 albums... In 1959, Kim Fowley produced Nelson's first recording, "Geronimo" by the Renegades (a band made up of Nelson, Richard Podolor, Bruce Johnston, and songwriter Nick Venet)... His instrumental recording "Teen Beat" rose to number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. It sold over one million copies & was awarded a gold disc.[9] Subsequently he... pounded out two more Top 40 hits, "Let There Be Drums", which went to number 7 on the Hot 100, & "Drums Are My Beat". In Dec. 1961 the British music magazine, NME, reported that "Let There Be Drums" had gone Top 10 in both the UK & US.
@@burlingtonbill1 Steve also mentioned Sandy Nelson in his comment above. I don't really know anything--I just know I read it somewhere...probably in a misinformed YT comment (like most of mine). I once left a similar YT comment about how I'd read that Little Honda has the first use of fuzz guitar on a rock-era record...and sure enough, some guy replied and pointed out earlier uses of it etc etc. Over-zealous BBs fans probably want to give the boys credit for everything...you know?
@@burlingtonbill1 Thanks, bill! Sandy Nelson came to mind. I wasn't sure if any of his recordings were "drum solos" like "Denny's Drums" or whether they also featured guitar or some other instrument. In another comment here, someone (Sorry I'm "blanking" on who it was.) said that "Denny's Drums" was the "first drum solo by a member of a vocal group" which might be the important distinction. Thanks again for the feedback and info, bill! Much appreciated!
Rangergrrrl: Sorry for so late a comment on your remarks on "stereo" you expressed above. Since Brian purposely produced in mono (for the reasons we've heard over the years) and "stereo" re-creation is either Crapitol trying to sell additional units by asking engineers to "create it" by filtering highs to one side and lows to the other, adding reverb to create a second (delayed) channel, or in the modern era, using sophisticated digital extraction software to "isolate" an instrument or voice and send it into a new mix. Mark Linett talks extensively about this software and creation of "true" stereo mixes in this wonderful show: ua-cam.com/video/lFHGP4kwgt4/v-deo.html
The WORST "stereo" version of any song that I remember is the LP version of the Doors' Light My Fire. You have Ray's organ solo (in mono) hard-panned to one side, while Densmore's drums were in mono, also, hard-panned to the other side. Perhaps unintentionally, it was a good test of your home stereo's channel separation!
Greetings Steve. Yes this album isn't as great as it might have been had they been allowed to take time to write and record how they could do as on those tracks that really stand out. At this early stage of their career all the record company wanted was another album as soon as they could get it with quality at a very low level of demand. Under the circumstances they did as best as they could and even their 'fillers' are quite acceptable under the circumstances. Apart from the Cassius track there isn't a single track that I would say I dislike and several of the tracks you refer to as fillers I quite like. If I had to make a list of beach Boy albums I was disappointed in (and there are a few) this album would NOT be on the list.
Thanks for the excellent feedback, peter! I agree that the group did great considering the pressure they were under to "get product out" in those early days, and when you consider they were never sitting on a huge "back catalog" of material to start with...and had already done three albums (more or less) over the last year, it's really astonishing what they were able to produce for "Shut Down Volume 2." (and the key tracks were, undoubtedly, the finest work they had created so far.) Thanks for the comments and perspective, peter! Much appreciated!
I very much agree, Peter!
How could you sell poor Mike so short?? It was a TWO note solo in Shut Down, not a ONE night solo.
Oops! He's twice the sax player I thought he was! Thanks for pointing that out, and for the laugh, James!
I've said for years The Beatles' "Tell Me Why" sounds built on the foundation of "Why Do Fools..." and am glad someone else heard the similarity. That said, I'm in disagreement with the recommendation of this album at the end. I think "Shut Down, Vol. 2" is one of the worst LPs ever put out by a major band. I've also seen this album recommended in various "ranking" videos, and wonder if Beach Boys fans might be losing perspective. Even the cover art looks shoddy, with lame lettering and an ugly backdrop color --- especially when you compare it to excellent (and iconic) art of the previous four albums.
Thanks for the feedback and perspective, Tony! I can understand the point. The album certainly feels (and in large parts, admitted was) put together hastily and haphazardly. On the other hand, it contains four (or five) all-time great tracks. The highs are really high and the lows are really low. I can certainly understand "averaging that out" could be done in a lot of different ways. I'm really glad you mentioned, and also hear the similarity, between "Tell Me Why" and "Why Do Fools..." Coincidentally, I was just thinking, yesterday, that, since posting this video, nobody had followed up on that in the comments. I'm glad to finally have some confirmation that I'm not alone in hearing the similarity! Thanks again for the great feedback and perspective, Tony!