One of the distinguishing elements of Holland's music is not dissimilar from some of the greater aspects of Carl and the Passions, and that is an inherent rootsy nature to much of the album's work. I hesitate to call the album Americana, especially given how more than a few of the song are driven by textural synths, but it's hard for me to listen to the surprisingly thoughtful lyrics for "The Trader" and not immediately draw connections to songs by The Band or even some of Elton John's more roots rock-influenced works like Honky Château. This is, of course, just one example, and I'd argue not even the sharpest one, given that the album's first half is rooted in a distinctly American songwriting, and in a completely different way that early Beach Boys songwriting is American. It's hard not to listen to the band's brilliant California Saga which sprawls across the album's first side and see that The Beach Boys have long evolved past their early sensibilities in "Surfin' USA" and "California Girls" into something more abstract. Perhaps the full integration of Fataar and Chaplin encouraged the risk-taking, and they insert themselves even more successfully on this album, boosted by a couple of quality numbers, including the powerhouse opening of "Sail On Sailor" and the beautiful melancholy of "Leaving This Town", one of the back-half's most brilliant and illustrious gems. In the duo's short time with the band, this is undoubtedly their artistic peak with them, and they aren't necessarily alone in their accomplishments. Mike Love himself towers high with his "Big Sur" contribution to the aforementioned Saga, the most deliberately Americana-leaning moment of the entire album, lifted by a sweetness and nostalgia into a territory of all-time heights. Al Jardine is the other champion of Holland, finding his name both on the surprisingly poetic "Beaks of Eagles" and "California", making up a great deal of the album's first half in the process. It only makes sense that the rest of the band would be pushed to such greatness—the band's previous leader, Brian Wilson, is effectively absent from this album, with his name only on two songs, and his voice only on one.
Even without Brian Wilson's involvement, the album is not hindered. Holland is great in the same way that its preceding albums such as Surf's Up and Sunflower are great, in the sense that it shows the band as a unit, bravely exploring new musical boundaries together and meshing a variety of ideas. Such is the product of each member slowly blooming into their own quality songwriter, be it Dennis as he continues down his path of moody pop music with the intimate soft rocker "Only With You" or the surprisingly (and fittingly) funky final track "Funky Pretty", a sort of cosmic love song written by Brian, Mike, and band manager Jack Rieley. If anything connection could be made to earlier projects, it's a sort of muscled-up and stranger version of Wild Honey, fitting given Carl's own success rate in pulling off blue-eyed soul with enough bravado to properly sell it. Here, too, he pulls it off well, and helps carry Holland to a triumphant enough of an end. That is the other mark of a great Beach Boys album—the structure of the album is brilliant through and through, and every song serves the album incredibly well, helping the product come together into something greater than the sum. Perhaps the album's only flaw is a general slowing of the pace in the second half, almost certainly not helped by three slower-tempo moments back-to-back-to-back, even with my love for "Leaving This Town" and "Funky Pretty". Much of the album leans on the low tempo side, actually, including Dennis' other contribution in "Steamboat" and two-thirds of the generally mellow California Saga. This is not inherently a weakness, but it does cause the album to drag its feet a bit, especially as we get closer to the end.
But that remains my only reservation. In a little less than a decade, The Beach Boys had greatly affirmed their musical creativity and capabilities across a number of diverse albums. Holland may not be the greatest of their legacy, but there is seldom a better way to end this creative streak. It's a show of confidence, a comfortable risk, and still assuredly The Beach Boys as a unit all at the same time. Much like it's three predecessors, it too has had the luxury of re-evaluation with time, partially in part due to recent archival sets. As a fan of this era of The Beach Boys, it brings me great satisfaction to see this era of the group receive the love and respect that I feel it's absolutely deserving of, and it's obvious to me that The Beach Boys remained a creative powerhouse through the 60s and early 70s. I only wonder what the group would be like had they not taken their three year hiatus, had "Brian's Back" not occurred in the meaningful way that it did. Ultimately, we can't know, and when 15 Big Ones saw the group's return to the studio in '76, it would have much more in line with the group's early pop-making days compared to their more adventurous era. That's not to discredit the music made then, and I myself enjoy quite a bit of it, but I do find it a bit disappointing. Perhaps I should just be thankful that we even have albums like Sunflower or Surf's Up or Holland at all—that, of course, isn't hard to do.
RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯
Listen to Holland.
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