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The Beach Boys Friends/20/20 Average Rating: 
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If you like "Friends/20/20", you might also like ...
Smiley Smile/Wild Honey |
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Carl & The Passions - So Tough / Holland |
Little Deuce Coupe/ All Summer Long |
| Customer Reviews 1-5 of 47 | NEXT >> |
2008-12-05This album (i.e. this CD of two albums and out takes) is something I never would have bought a couple years ago, prior to reading severeal (yes, severeal) biographies of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. Knowing what I do about the band's history now, I am facinated by both albums. Still, if a casual fan is expecting the high energy fun in the sun and delightful harmonies of the band's signature sound, then start with Pet Sounds, the Sounds of Summer compilation, and the Warmth of the Sun compilation. All three of those are essesital. Friends/20/20 is for more die hard fans.
Friends is a soothing confection of a listen, just like the cover art suggests. The music is relaxing and often beautiful, yet never really all that substatial. severeal tunes are more abstracts, fading out as they really get going. It took me repeated listens to really get into it, but I did. If you're in the mood for a lighter, softer Beach Boys experience, and don't really mind that it lacks intensity, then it's a good listen. I even like the "Diamond Head" instrumental track quite a bit. "transcendantational Meditation," however, is an embarassing indulgence. "We're Together Again," an out take track on this version would have worked better.
20/20 is to my mind a better listen over all, in spite of the fact it's scrapped together to meet contractual obligations. The first two tracks "Do It Again" and "I Can Hear Music" get the album started strongly. The out take tracks "Break Away" and "Celebrate the News" have similiar hit potential (even though they didnt chart all that well), showing signs how both Friends and 20/20 could have been better albums overall with a little better song selection and effort.
And "could have been better" is an impression both of these albums leave me with. I know the band well enough to see the potential there and apprieciate the beauty in the recordings. Yet to my mind neither Friends nor 20/20 approachs Sunflower, Surf's Up, Wild Honey or Smiley Smile, not to mention Pet Sounds or anything prior. As it is, the combined albums on one CD represent a good value because you get a bigger slice of "what could have been."
2008-05-26I really love 'friends'. 'Meant for you' is possably one of the best openers to an album I have ever heard. The album just passes by with mellow and captivating harmonies. The ascending crescendo in 'friends' is captivating and there are no clunkers, except maybe 'be still', which is so simplistic and could have been composed by a child and, 'transcedental meditation', which is very out of tune. A lovely little album, that doesnt try too hard and succeeds for that reason.
20/20 is a diffrent kettle of fish altogether. As soon as 'Do it again' started, I thought 'oh no, unmelodic, nasally Mike Love.' I futher don't like 'bluebirds over the mountian', just tuneless. 'Cotton fields' has no melody whatsoever. 'All I wanna do' is the nadir of the whole of the Beach boys' carreer. I can't beleive they'd record such nonsense as this.
There are beautiful songs here also. The best track on the album is the Bruce Johnston composed instrumental ballad 'the nearest faraway place' it is so atmospheric and lush. Other highlights include 'I went to sleep', sounding exactly like a track off 'friends'. Nice counter point woodwind instruments compliment Brian's lead vocal. 'Time to get alone' has some very nice harmonies and a waltzing beat.
'Never learn not to love' has a very nice backing, although I'm never convinced by Dennis's vocals. 'Our prayer' is enchanting and shows how well the voice of the Beach Boys blended together. I wonder if Dennis is in the mix? One of the loveliest sounding songs ever.
Friends is barely 25 minutes, I think this could have been a five star album, if they cut 'be still', 'transcendantational meditation', and added all tracks from 20/20, except the aforementioned four abysmal tracks. 'Breakaway' should also be included and it is a wonder this never made the album in the first place.
2006-07-10Friends is the best BB album. It's 25 minutes of peace, positivity and the lost hippy masterpeice of 1968. The real fans best kept secret. If you're not a fan you'll hate it, if you're a real BB fan, it is meant for you.
20/20 is worth it for the lost Smile track Cabinessense.
2006-05-22The only reason I gave this four stars is because it's combined with Friends, which with the exception of Meant For You & the title song is just OK, in my oppinion. 20/20, however is loaded with phenomenonal songs. Do It Again,I Can Hear Music,Be With Me, Time To Get Alone,Our Prayer(a capella at it's best), etc. For some reason, criticists never even gave this album a chance and I don't know why. Maybe it didnt fit the late 60's groove that was going on, but still the lyrics are strong and the harmonies are fantastic. Yes, there is that one song, "Never Learn not to Love", whose lyrics were written by Charles Manson, but the way the song is done by The Beach Boys is just too good to pass off just because of who wrote it. This 2 CD set also includes Break Away and We're Together Again, which are also excelllent songs that never recieved any airplay. The only 2 songs that did were Do It Again and I Can Hear Music. My advice is to buy this while you can. You won't be disappointed!!
2005-11-06In fact I have heard that "Friends" is Brian Wilson's favorite album. The songs on here that will hypnotize and captivate you are ones that you have probably never heard like "Anna Lee The Healer" on Friends. Or the minor hit "I can Hear Music" on 20/20. It's funny but on 20/20 the biggest hit is "Do it Again" and it is actualy one of the weaker songs on the album. On Friends Denis Wilson starts to really emerge as a vocal talent and songwriter. And on 20/20 Bruce Johnston contributes something pretty special with the instrumental "The Nearest Faraway Place" which went on to become the title of the Timothy White biography about the Beach Boys. These albums are must haves because a lot of the best material on them is not found on any of the greates hits packages including the Brother Years compilation. Buy these NOW!
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| Editorial Review |
20/20 marked the 20th--and last--album of the band's first Capitol era. The album is a collection of singles (the nostalgic "Do It Again," Carl Wilson's vibrant showcase "I Can Hear Music") and a couple of key Smile scraps (the transcendent a cappella album intro "Our Prayer" and the American gothic-tinged "Cabinessence," with obtusely punning lyrics courtesy of Van Dyke Parks) set amidst productions that are mostly divided among various band members. Perhaps most notable is the continued blossoming of Dennis Wilson's talents on "Be with Me" and "Never Learn Not to Love" (the latter reputedly originally given to Wilson by temporary housemate Charles Manson; strange days, indeed). This digitally remastered edition of the long out-of-print twofer edition includes the reminiscences of Brian Wilson and insightful liner notes by Beach Boys and the California Myth author David Leaf and features five bonus cuts: "Break Away," the band's vocally spectacular, if woefully underappreciated, last Capitol single; the B-side "Celebrate the News," sung and produced by Dennis; the beautiful '68 outtake, "We're Together Again"; a snippet of Brian's soaring falsetto paying tribute to Bacharach's "Walk on By"; and a medley of "Old Folks at Home"/"Ol' Man River" that underscores the band's distinctly American historical and artistic heritage. --Jerry McCulley
If you like "Friends/20/20", you might also like ...
|
Smiley Smile/Wild Honey |
Sunflower/Surf's Up |
Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights) |
Carl & The Passions - So Tough / Holland |
Little Deuce Coupe/ All Summer Long |
