Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2
Encyclopedia
Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 is the 1967 sequel to the previous year's hits package. It was compiled by Capitol Records
rather hastily after Brian Wilson
had announced the shelving of Smile, the album he had spent the better part of a year toiling on.
Released at a perilous moment in the Beach Boys' career, the appearance of their past glories on Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 perhaps helped confirm to the general public that the band was not up to the challenge of the new psychedelic music
, spearheaded by The Beatles
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
and The Jimi Hendrix Experience
's radical debut Are You Experienced
.
Although it is hard to argue with a line-up that includes "I Get Around
", "California Girls
", "Let Him Run Wild", and "Please Let Me Wonder
", those songs were considered old hat in the face of psychedelia, and as a result Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 initially flopped in the US, only reaching #50. The fact that Smile had been shelved two months earlier meant the group had no new material to release in time for the Summer Of Love
. Another commercial blunder came from their failure to appear at the Monterey International Pop Festival, which they had helped organised, and were suppose to Head-line and be the closing act. In time, the album would go on to sell over two million copies, but it was likely with the reaction to this album that the Beach Boys knew they were in trouble commercially in their homeland.
However, a reworked tracklist issued under the same title in the UK in late 1967 proved to be another big success.
Like its predecessor, Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 is out of print.
"Please Let Me Wonder" and "Little Saint Nick" do not appear on the cassette tape version.
Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 (Capitol (D) 2706) hit #50 in the US during a 22 week tenure. In the UK, it reached #3.
The following songs were found on the British version of Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2:
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
rather hastily after Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
had announced the shelving of Smile, the album he had spent the better part of a year toiling on.
Released at a perilous moment in the Beach Boys' career, the appearance of their past glories on Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 perhaps helped confirm to the general public that the band was not up to the challenge of the new psychedelic music
Psychedelic music
Psychedelic music covers a range of popular music styles and genres, which are inspired by or influenced by psychedelic culture and which attempt to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues-rock bands in the...
, spearheaded by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...
and The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience
The Jimi Hendrix Experience were an English-American psychedelic rock band that formed in London in October 1966. Comprising eponymous singer-songwriter and guitarist Jimi Hendrix, bassist and backing vocalist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell, the band was active until June 1969, in which...
's radical debut Are You Experienced
Are You Experienced (album)
Are You Experienced is the debut album by English/American rock band The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Released in 1967, it was the first LP for Track Records...
.
Although it is hard to argue with a line-up that includes "I Get Around
I Get Around
"I Get Around" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for The Beach Boys. The song features Love on lead vocal for the verse, and Wilson for the chorus. It is noteworthy for its back-to-front structure - it starts with a chorus and has two short verses...
", "California Girls
California Girls
"California Girls" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys, featured on their ninth studio album Summer Days . Written by band-members Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the song features contrasting verse-chorus form...
", "Let Him Run Wild", and "Please Let Me Wonder
Please Let Me Wonder
"Please Let Me Wonder" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for American rock band The Beach Boys.The song was the B-side of the single "Do You Wanna Dance?" which was released by The Beach Boys in 1965 through Capitol Records.-Information:...
", those songs were considered old hat in the face of psychedelia, and as a result Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 initially flopped in the US, only reaching #50. The fact that Smile had been shelved two months earlier meant the group had no new material to release in time for the Summer Of Love
Summer of Love
The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, creating a cultural and political rebellion...
. Another commercial blunder came from their failure to appear at the Monterey International Pop Festival, which they had helped organised, and were suppose to Head-line and be the closing act. In time, the album would go on to sell over two million copies, but it was likely with the reaction to this album that the Beach Boys knew they were in trouble commercially in their homeland.
However, a reworked tracklist issued under the same title in the UK in late 1967 proved to be another big success.
Like its predecessor, Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 is out of print.
Track listing
- "Barbara AnnBarbara Ann"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert and performed by The Regents in 1961. The recording reached a peak position of #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart....
" (Fred FassertFred FassertFred Fassert is most famously known as the writer of the popular song "Barbara Ann," which was originally written for the band that he was in at the time, The Regents. In 1961, the song reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart...
) – 2:11 - "When I Grow UpWhen I Grow Up (To Be a Man)"When I Grow Up " is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Today! and as a single the previous year hit number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number seven in Cash Box. It spent two weeks at number one in...
" (Brian WilsonBrian WilsonBrian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
/Mike LoveMike LoveMichael Edward "Mike" Love is an American singer/songwriter and musician with The Beach Boys. He was a founding member of the band along with his cousins Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson, and their friend Al Jardine, and continues to perform with the band to the present day...
) – 2:01 - "Long, Tall Texan" (Henry Strezlecki) – 2:30
- "Please Let Me WonderPlease Let Me Wonder"Please Let Me Wonder" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for American rock band The Beach Boys.The song was the B-side of the single "Do You Wanna Dance?" which was released by The Beach Boys in 1965 through Capitol Records.-Information:...
" (Wilson/Love) – 2:45 - "409409 (song)"409" is a song written by Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Gary Usher for the American rock and roll band, The Beach Boys. The song features Mike Love singing lead vocals. It was originally released as the b-side of the "Surfin' Safari" single...
" (Wilson/Love/Gary UsherGary UsherGary Usher was an American surf rock musician, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:Usher's early life was spent in Grafton, Massachusetts. He attended Norcross Grammar School with his sister, Sandra, who was in the same class and was likely his twin. Gary was kiddingly called "Chicken Feed"...
) – 1:59 - "Let Him Run Wild" (Wilson/Love) – 2:20
- "Don't Worry BabyDon't Worry Baby"Don’t Worry Baby" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, produced by Wilson and first recorded by the Beach Boys. The band's version, a tender ballad with falsetto lead vocal by Brian, was first released on their 1964 album Shut Down Volume 2. It was also released as the B-side of...
" (Wilson/Roger Christian) – 2:47 - "Surfin' SafariSurfin' Safari (song)"Surfin' Safari" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Released as a single with "409" in June 1962, it peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" (Wilson/Love) – 2:05 - "Little Saint NickLittle Saint Nick"Little Saint Nick" is a Christmas song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love and originally performed by their group The Beach Boys. It was first released as a single in December 1963, reaching number three on the Billboard Christmas charts and peaking at #69 on the regular weekly sales chart...
" (Wilson/Love) – 1:59 - "California GirlsCalifornia Girls"California Girls" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys, featured on their ninth studio album Summer Days . Written by band-members Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the song features contrasting verse-chorus form...
" (Wilson/Love) – 2:38 - "Help Me, RhondaHelp Me, Rhonda"Help Me, Rhonda" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for their American rock band The Beach Boys. The song is the first Beach Boys song to feature a lead vocal by Al Jardine. It was released in March 1965 on the album Today! as "Help Me, Ronda"...
" (Wilson/Love) – 2:46 - "I Get AroundI Get Around"I Get Around" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for The Beach Boys. The song features Love on lead vocal for the verse, and Wilson for the chorus. It is noteworthy for its back-to-front structure - it starts with a chorus and has two short verses...
" (Wilson/Love) – 2:12
"Please Let Me Wonder" and "Little Saint Nick" do not appear on the cassette tape version.
Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 (Capitol (D) 2706) hit #50 in the US during a 22 week tenure. In the UK, it reached #3.
British Version
The British version of Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 was released in mid-1967 with 14 songs, instead of the usual 12 found on American albums.The following songs were found on the British version of Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2:
- "Surfer GirlSurfer Girl (song)"Surfer Girl" is the title of a song written and sung by Brian Wilson for The Beach Boys. It was released as a single and it then appeared on the 1963 album of the same name, Surfer Girl. The B-side of the single was "Little Deuce Coupe"...
" – 2:26 - "Don't Worry Baby" – 2:51
- "WendyWendy (song)"Wendy" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1964 album All Summer Long. It was also featured on their EP, Four by The Beach Boys. "Wendy" peaked at No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, at No. 36 in Germany and at No...
" – 2:22 - "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" – 2:02
- "Good to My Baby" – 2:16
- "Dance, Dance, DanceDance, Dance, Dance (song)"Dance, Dance, Dance" is a song written by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson and Mike Love for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Today!. It was also released as a single in 1964, with the B-side of the single being "The Warmth of the Sun." The single peaked at #8...
" – 1:58 - "Then I Kissed Her" – 2:15
- "The Girl from New York City" – 1:53
- "Girl Don't Tell MeGirl Don't Tell Me"Girl Don't Tell Me" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1965 album Summer Days . Featuring Carl Wilson on Lead. In December 1965, it was chosen to be the B-side to The Beach Boys' "Barbara Ann" single, which would chart at #2 in the...
" – 2:19 - "The Little Girl I Once KnewThe Little Girl I Once Knew"The Little Girl I Once Knew" is a song written by Brian Wilson for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released in November 1965 as a single 45 rpm, backed by "There's No Other ", and reached #15 on the Cash Box chart, #20 on Billboard...
" – 2:36 - "Mountain of LoveMountain of Love"Mountain of Love" is a song written by Harold Dorman . Dorman released his version as a single in 1960. It performed well, becoming his only top forty hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It was the highest charting single of his career.In 1964, Johnny Rivers released his remake as a single...
" – 2:47 - "Here Today" – 2:52
- "Wouldn't It Be NiceWouldn't It Be Nice"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the opening track on the 1966 album Pet Sounds and one of the most widely recognized songs by the American rock band The Beach Boys...
" – 2:22 - "Good VibrationsGood Vibrations"Good Vibrations" is a song by American rock band The Beach Boys. Composed and produced by Brian Wilson, the song's lyrics were written by Wilson and Mike Love....
" – 3:35