I-I love the colorful clothes she wears
And the way the sunlight plays upon her hair
I hear the sound of a gentle word
On the wind that lifts her perfume through the air
Hesitant as I am to include any collections or greatest hits compilations in my list of key albums, I’m willing to make an exception for The Beach Boys. Somehow, my go-to album for a group from the 1960s, who I’ve listened to my whole life, was released in 2018. And I love it so much that I rarely venture back to the older recordings.
My parents used to always have music playing in the house. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give a child, and if I ever have a child of my own I’ll be doing the same.
My mum’s tastes were aligned along The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Cliff Richard, Buddy Holly and 70s rock. Dad was into The Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, Paul Simon, Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds (magnificent), ELO, Johnny Cash, Gregorian chants, Enya and that random whale-noise-music which oddly never set the top 40 charts on fire. Mum’s music was an education, but I didn’t come to appreciate it until I was older. But as a kid, dad’s tastes caught my ears and I latched onto them (except maybe the whale moans). The biggest of these was The Beach Boys and Paul Simon.
That first moment of Good Vibrations where Carl Wilson utters that first syllable ‘I’ could be my favourite one-second of recorded music. Somehow in that moment the whole essence of the song is captured.
On this version, it gets the foreplay it deserves.
The Royal Philharmonic version is essentially a greatest hits, but it brilliantly adds an extra layer of depth and stereo re-balancing without losing the charm of the original recording – the incredible harmonies and melodies. It also has the effect of evening out the sound so that all of the songs fit together.
I’ve long had this idea that I’d have been right at home growing up in 1960s California, much of that fed by a romanticised vision created by the music of the time – sunshine, beaches, burgers, cars, girls and love. Thankfully I can transport myself to that place at any time by slapping on this masterpiece.
Also, Good Vibrations may well be my favourite song of all time.