At this point in their career, The Beach Boys were still picking up some pieces from SMiLE two years prior. The relative failure of Smiley Smile and Friends had both disappointed in the charts, with the latter originally selling an estimated 18,000 copies in the United States. Not to mention a recent tour with the Maharishi was a spectacular failure, with the tour ended after only five shows. To add onto their troubles, the group partook in the old-time beloved rock and roll artist pass-time of "hemorrhaging money due to trying to become business owners." Yes, from Britain to Burbank, groups had a particular knack for burning through thousands of dollars due to mismanagement of funds - a fate that would effectively destroy The Beatles by the end of 1969. On top of the group having funds burn through their pockets like matches, Brian Wilson was on an increasing downward spiral, to the point where he was checked into a mental hospital; first hand accounts from friends say that Brian was experiencing suicidal thoughts at the time.
Amidst the chaos, the group released the single "Do It Again," a song that was essentially a self-conscious callback to their early surf music days - it became a massive hit for the floundering group, hitting the Billboard Top 20 and becoming the group's second UK number one. Not long after, 20/20 released early 1969, the group's 20th album when factoring in compilations and live recordings. Complete with successful singles like "Do It Again" and "I Can Hear Music," you'd expect 20/20 to be a home run - well, kinda, but not in the way you'd expect. A good chunk of 20/20 is built off of old, recycled recordings and previous recording sessions, with some dating as far back as SMiLE, hallowed by thy name. Invariably, this mismatch of recordings that range from the modular brilliance of "Cabinessence" to the Wild Honey leftover "Time to Get Alone" leave 20/20 feeling a bit scattershot at best, made a little more apparent by having what I feel to be seriously underwhelming moments. Nevertheless, the group does pull through with some fun, bouncing, lovely, and occasionally even rocking material. While it's maybe not their tightest album, I can at least say that 20/20 is a pretty fun album.
On previous listens, my big sticking point against 20/20 was what I perceived to be some serious filler, and to an extent I still very much buy that. The group's rendition of "Bluebirds Over the Mountain" is still a pretty unexciting cover, and I'd argue it's one of the weakest singles up to this point from the group. "Be With Me" is just not as interesting as I remember it being, especially in comparison to his other song on this album, the blasting rock number of "All I Want to Do," but more on that later. Perhaps the most controversial opinion out of this is that I never really liked the group's rendition of "Cotton Fields." Something about the overall feel and style of the song is not exactly suited to how the group covers it in my opinion - Creedence Clearwater Revival released their own version of the song on that year's Willy and the Poor Boys, and I'd sooner recommend you listen to that rendition before the Boys' take on it.
However, on this most recent revisit of the album, I was surprised how much of it clicked far better than I initially recalled. Of course, "Do It Again" and "I Can Hear Music" are both competent singles, with the latter containing some excellent vocals from the likes of Carl Wilson. Other obvious standouts are the two SMiLE tracks, "Our Prayer" and "Cabinessence," the former being arguably the greatest a-cappella track the group ever composed, and the latter being one of the most masterful, complex moments in the group's entire catalog - I could spend the rest of this review singing praise of "Cabinessence," but than I'd be neglecting the rest of the music here. "Time to Get Alone" is a Wild Honey leftover, and it proves to be a lovely song - one that would've fit in great with that album, I might add... "All I Want to Do" is a thumping rocker by Dennis, complete with one of Mike's dirtiest vocal performances. Is it out of character for the group? Oh yeah, but maybe that's what makes it so great - imagine what the rest of the album would've been like if they went down this overdriven, blasting rock path. "The Nearest Faraway Place" right after showcases the beginning of Bruce Johnston's artistic ascent, proving to be a beautiful instrumental, and one that I shamefully paid little mind to on previous listens - what was I thinking? Finally, while "Never Learn Not to Love" may be composed by Charles Manson, it pains me to say that it is a pretty damn-good pop song, and Dennis' voice is lovely here.
I'm almost tempted to liken 20/20 to The Beatles' self-titled release, what with all the variety in sound and ideas throughout. While I don't think it's nearly as good as that album, 20/20 proved to be a whole lot better than I gave it credit for on previous listens. What it maybe lacks in some consistency or stylistic cohesion is mostly made up for with some powerful highlights and a general creativity that defines this era of the group. I think I can confidently say that 20/20 is an album that's just a bit better than I initially gave it credit for. Even still, I don't believe it quite lived up to what was about to follow for the group.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to 20/20.
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