The Beach Boys Are America’s Greatest Band. Period.
by John Paul McBain
Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Don’t Talk, I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, Don’t Worry Baby, Surfs Up, Cabinessense, You’re So Good To Me, Let Him Run Wild, In My Room, Sail On Sailor, Every last scrap of Smile, Surfer Girl ( The Hawaii 1967 version ), Carol Kaye’s bass on Sloop John B, The string break on You Still Believe In Me, Smiley Smile ( contrary to popular belief, its a landmark LP ), Please Let Me Wonder, Til I Die, The intro to California Girls, Friends LP, Our Prayer, Do You Like Worms?, Did I mention Good Vibrations? No? Well then….Good Vibrations, the many Heroes and Villians themes, the drums of one Hal Blaine, The silence before the choruses on The Little Girl I Once Knew, Meant For You, Can’t Wait Too Long, AND Dennis Wilson. Dennis never got props for his songwriting, singing and drumming. Check out the “Live 1964” video for proof of his unheralded garage punk skinsmanship.
Contrary to popular belief, The Beach Boys WERE a band. America’s greatest band. So there.
Unknown and Forgotten Legends:
Jon DuCann…Guitarist. British FreakBeat legend. One time member of The Attack, perhaps the best mid sixties rock band that never got a break, later formed Andromeda, perhaps the best late sixties psych band that never got a break. Went on to form Atomic Rooster, perhaps the most over rated band with a cool name. Avoid the Rooster and embrace The Attack.
Eddie Phillips…Guitarist for The Creation. Master of controlled feedback. Ripped off by that guy in The Who. Pioneered the use of a violin bow on guitar. Ripped off by that fop in Led Zep. Catalog has been re-issued. Put down that Pearl Jam Scranton, Pennsylvania bootleg and help Eddie Phillips pay his bills.
Paul Kossoff…Guitarist for Free, my personal pick for best Brit rock band of the seventies. Master of rock in the key of G. Huge vibrato. Died for the sake of rock, for rocks sake! First two Free LPs are flawless. Second album might be the most beautifully rendered recording ever.
Al Jackson Jr…The greatest R&B drummer for the greatest R&B band of all time, Booker T & The MGs. No other drummer, with the exception of Earl Palmer, posessed the dynamics of Al. Never EVER made a mistake. The true foundation behind Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Al Green…I’ll stop there. That should be more than enough to convince you of his powers.
Lyle Preslar…Guitarist for Minor Threat. A tone that was part Mick Ronson, part James Williamson. A thorough knowledge of compatible chords in the punk genre. Often wore stripes. He WAS the band. Ian was just the singer.