Playlist: Ten More Beach Boys Songs You Ought to Know but May Not

Andrew Hickey compiles another playlist. This time it's Beach Boys only. He explains:

The Beach Boys are one of my very favourite bands - possibly my very favourite, though there are several bands that could compete with them - but I’ve had great difficulty explaining the appeal to people. Individual Beach Boys albums are often patchy, some of the music I love by them is quite quirky, and people also associate them with their early hits.

So I’ve put together a playlist of music by them that I think would appeal to any music lover, that’s not too difficult to get into, but also isn’t Barbara Ann. If you’re a music-lover at all, and have never really checked out the Beach Boys, then please listen to this - it will open your eyes.

I'm not so sure about any music lover and whether it will open your eyes, but generally it's a great idea. The execution is also great: The list looks pretty similar to the one I would have compiled given the job description. But then there's always room for disagreement. I certainly wouldn't have included "Don't Talk" or "Marcella" and thought that there are some songs that definitely need to be on it, so I've compiled a playlist of my own to supplement Andrew's. If you think "Beach Boys - they're the ones with 'California Girls' and 'Surfin' USA', aren't they?", here's what to do: First, go over to Andrews place and listen to his list if, unlike me, you can use the Spotify service. Then come back here and give this one a shot:

Discover The Beach Boys!

Experience shows that some songs will be faded out after 30 seconds when you use the player. If this problem occurs (and, frankly, I can't be bothered to check), you can go directly to the playlist's page. Click on the big "play" button at the top to get a random shuffle; click on the small "play" button left of the first song's title to start the carefully crafted sequence.

Hey, comments:

1. Our Prayer (20/20): This seventy-seconds-harmonies-only beauty is one of the songs that was originally going to be on the famous unfinished Smile album and eventually turned up on another one, in this case 20/20. It's last but one on 20/20, but first on my Smile bootleg. I think the bootleggers got it right, it's an excellent opener. Maybe especially when you're compiling a punk playlist cassette.

2. Slip on through (Sunflower): Do you know a song that conveys the emotion of relaxedness any better? I don't. Great percussion.

3. Wild Honey (Wild Honey): Nice wordplay on "honey", suckitome. Could do with a little more ooomph, although as a producer I wouldn't know what to do about it. The thing that goes weeeeee-wooooo is called a theremin.

4. Cuddle up (Carl & the Passions): Kitsch or Beauty? You'll have to pick one or the other opinion. At one point in time, that is; my view changes each hour or so.

5. I'm Waiting for the Day (Pet Sounds): This one's a grower. Note how the different parts are cleverly put together and interact. I once tried to dance to this one, it's impossible.

6. Girls on the Beach (All Summer Long): Bikini melancholy. Only from the Beach Boys.

7. Pet Sounds (Pet Sounds): Contrary to the song "Caroline, No", also to be found on the Pet Sounds album, this one contains no actual pet sounds. Artists sometimes move in mysterious ways.

8. I Was Made to Love Her (Wild Honey): That's a cover version of the Stevie Wonder song, and that's what it sounds like.

9. The Warmth of the Sun (Shut Down, Volume 2): It may be - I'm not sure on this one - that you can usefully classify people on a continuum which ranges from those who have a strong preference for being around other humans vs. those who prefer being around nonhuman stuff (and that's distinct from the introversion-extraversion construct). If, paradoxically, you ever want to start a club for the latter kind of people, you may want to consider this song as your anthem. Brian Wilson wrote it a few hours after John F. Kennedy had been assassinated, but it may have had more of an influence that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

10. Let's Go away for Awhile (Pet Sounds): The best track on the Pet Sounds album. That's a minority opinion.