ALBUM REVIEW: The Beach Boys - Party!

    In 1965, The Beach Boys had made their career off of their newfound brand of clean, professional, and in many cases mature pop tunes - their back-to-back triumph of Today! and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) established the group as one of the dominant forces artistically in the pop field. By November of 1965, Rubber Soul was one month away, and sessions for The Beach Boys' next album were about to be properly underway - in the midst of what was about to be a blooming field of artistic growth and expression for many groups across both oceans, we got Party!. Recorded two months earlier in September, the material on Party! is the antithesis to the work on Today! and Summer Days, filled entirely with covers in an acoustic, intimate, and often messy fashion. In many ways, the thing that makes Party! such a fun album is this absence of a cleaned-up studio sound, and the performances being as lighthearted and carefree as they are on this album. Some of the moments still manage to carry themselves rather cleanly, and it results in some great tunes, but I'd be lying if I said that everything about this album was to die for. Party! ultimately proves to be a fun little oddity just before the group's magnum opus that would release next year - still better than MTV Unplugged.

    As previously mentioned, this album almost completely lacks the same polish and professionalism that was on previous albums like Summer Days, in what music theorist Daniel Harrison described as "an exercise in minimalist production." If this is the case, than it's certainly a success, even if their approach was completely roundabout - the tracks were recorded in a normal studio style, with the various party laughter and chatter added after the fact. Nonetheless, the effect is seamless, and it's easily what I consider to be the album's defining charm - sure, many of the covers are rough around the edges, and some are flat-out bad (oh, we'll get to that...), but the boys are having fun! Perhaps this strategy is why some of the songs still manage to sound as clean as they do, especially the few singles from the album - "Barbara Ann" was released as a single late December of 1965 following poor performance of "The Little Girl I Once Knew", hitting number two in the United States before being stalled by The Beatles and Petula Clark. Barring instances like that, Party! is a decisively low-key effort, to the point where I'm almost tempted to use the word "lo-fi" to describe it. Of course, The Beach Boys wouldn't actually do lo-fi for another two years, but nevertheless, the minimalist approach of Party! is undoubtedly its greatest charm.

    The actual performances on the album, however, certainly range in quality. Generally two songs regularly standout - the single and closing track "Barbara Ann," and the beautiful cover of "Devoted to You." Both of these are certainly amongst the album's best tracks, although I've always had a soft-spot for a handful of other tracks. The group's cover of The Beatles' "Tell Me Why" is genuinely excellent, to the point where I may prefer it to the actual Beatles version - it's just so fun sounding. As someone who's picky with his Beatles covers, I like to think that says a lot, but anyways. "Mountain of Love" and "There's No Other (Like My Baby)" are up there amongst the best material on the album in my eyes, mainly for their carefree energy and still somewhat intimate feel, especially with the latter. "Hully Gully" is a fun opening track, and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" is fine enough, although I honestly think I prefer the Concert version. Aside from those certainly honorable mentions, I think there's a good amount of schlock on this album - "Alley Oop" is far more annoying than it has any right to be, frankly. The Boys' cover of the Dylan classic "The Times They Are a-Changin'" is easily one of my least favorite songs of their entire catalog - if you think I'm picky with my Beatles covers, you haven't seen me with Dylan. "Times They Are" is a mature, impactful song that still remains timeless to this day, and The Beach Boys make a complete mockery of it on this rendition - call me a stick in the mud all you want, but this cover fucking blows. I feel similarly about their medley of "I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe," but considering it's their own work I give them a pass for making fun of themselves - part of it is my own fault for expecting a serious medley on this Unplugged affair, but my disappointment still lingers.

    For all the material recorded for the Party! sessions, some of the album leaves a little to be desired. While it certainly delivers on a lighthearted, fun, carefree feel, a good chunk of the album's material is D.O.A. Notice how I didn't mention the cover of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," and you probably didn't even notice until I brought up that fact. The Party! sessions are out there in their full glory on digital services, and between covers of "Satisfaction," "Riot on Cell Block #9," and even "California Girls," I think that the album could've easily been filled with fun, easygoing songs that still maintain a consistently enjoyable feel. Maybe I'm just a stick in the mud, though, like I said. I won't deny that Party! is probably one of the more fun albums in the group's catalog, although I think the minimalist, goofy feeling is better achieved on 67's Smiley Smile, but that's a review for another time. At the end of the day, I still like Party! and a lot of the material it brings to the table, but that doesn't stop me from thinking that it could've been more. 

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Party!