"Friends and 20/20" by THE BEACH BOYS – 10 June 1968 and 10 February 1969 US 14th and 15th LPs both on Capitol Records in Stereo – featuring Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love and Al Jardine (April 2001 UK Capitol Reissue – 2LPs onto 1HDCD in STEREO with Five Bonus Tracks – Joe Gastwirt and Mark Linett Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Meant For You..."

The entire series of 2001 CD reissues for the voluminous Beach Boys back catalogue is a shining example of how to do it right - both presentation-wise and especially sonically (these 'twofers' have always been fantastic value for money too - mid-priced or less even now in 2020). But four of the duo-combos have screamed 'buy me' more than others – three of which are "Smiley Smile" combined with "Wild Honey" (both from 1967), 1970's "Sunflower" and 1971's "Surf's Up" - and finally 1972's "Carl & The Passions - So Tough" with 1973's brilliant "Holland" being another.

Which brings us back-peddling to door number four - "Friends" from June 1968 doubled with its US follow-up "20/20" from February 1969 – both on Capitol Records and both barely bothering their once total stomping ground of the US LP charts. Despite the Summer of Love in 1967 – there appeared to be no love by the US public for more wake-the-world happy-wappy sentiment in 1968 and 1969 from The Beach Boys. "Friends" took until early July to hit the Billboard album charts after its 10 June 1968 launch and then only peaked at No. 126 – the band's worst chart showing since 1962. While "20/20" made a very respectable No. 3 in the UK on release 10 February 1969 – again American audiences waited until March 1969 to chart it and then only peaking at No. 63 (an 11-week run when "Pet Sounds" had managed 39 in 1966).

These anemic number-placements, however, have more to do with the fractured heavy-heavy politics of 1968 and 1969 than their musical content. Because you could argue that "Friends" and "20/20" began a fabulous run of studio album releases for the surfer boys that would eventually culminate in the "Holland" album in 1973. Let's get to the Cabinessence baby...

UK released 9 April 2001 - "Friends and 20/20" by THE BEACH BOYS on Capitol 531 6382 (Barcode 724353163822) offers 2LPs Remastered in STEREO onto 1HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) with Five Bonus Tracks (29 in total) and plays out as follows (66:58 minutes):

1. Meant For You [Side 1]

2. Friends

3. Wake The World

4. Be Here In The Morning

5. When A Man Needs A Woman

6. Passing By

7. Anna Lee, The Healer [Side 2]

8. Little Bird

9. Be Still

10. Busy Doin' Nothin'

11. Diamond Head

12. Transcendental Meditation

Tracks 1 to 12 are their album "Friends" - released June 1968 in the USA on Capitol ST 2895 (Stereo) and September 1968 in the UK on Capitol T 2895 (Mono) and Capitol ST 2895 (Stereo) - STEREO MIX is used for this CD. Produced by THE BEACH BOYS - the album peaked at No. 126 in the USA and No. 13 in the UK.

13. Do It Again [Side 1]

14. I Can Hear Music

15. Bluebirds Over The Mountain

16. Be With Me

17. All I Want To Do

18. The Nearest Faraway Place

19. Cotton Fields [Side 2]

20. I Went To Sleep

21. Time To Get Alone

22. Never Learn Not To Love

23. Our Prayer

24. Cabinessence

Tracks 13 to 24 are the album "20/20" - released February 1969 in the USA on Capitol SKAO-133 (Stereo only) and April 1969 in the UK on Capitol E-T 133 (Mono) and Capitol E-ST 133 (Stereo) - STEREO MIX is used for CD. Produced by THE BEACH BOYS - it peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 68 in the USA

BONUS TRACKS:

25. Breakaway

26. Celebrate The News

27. We're Together Again

28. Walk On By

29. Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)/Ol' Man River 

The 24-page booklet is a chunky affair with liner notes from expert/aficionado DAVID LEAF (author of the critically acclaimed biography "The Beach Boys And The California Myth") - artwork in colour and staggeringly detailed track-by-track analysis. The front cover is the "Friends" LP artwork and the rear page "20/20". You even get breakdowns on the five Bonus cuts. Buts its the Audio that shines, best tapes found, no remixing, just care transfers of what was originally laid down by the core six - Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love and Al Jardine - STEREO Remasters by JOE GASTWIRT and MARK LINETT using the Pacific Microsonics HDCD system. Those walls of harmony vocals are so crisp and clear, it can at times be disconcerting - "Little Bird" and "Do It Again" feel like revelations - those strings...

"Friends" is a short album and opens well with the promising ditty "Meant For You" - a 38-second intro of sorts that acts as a love coda. Capitol issued "Friends" as an advance 45 taster to the LP in April 1968 with Dennis Wilson's gorgeous "Little Bird" on the flipside (Capitol 2160) - but despite the strength of both cuts - it hit only No. 47 on the US singles chart. Al Jardine gets his first songwriting credit with Brian Wilson on "Wake The World" (Brian and Carl handle the lead vocals) - that Tuba wrapped around the chorus clear on the Remaster. The lyrics in "Be Here In The Morning" mention getting no phone calls from "...Korthof, Parks or Grillo..." - we now find out they're Brian's one-time assistant Steve Korthof, Road Manager Jon Parks and Lawyer/Business Manager Nick Grillo. Becoming family men and having children fills the jaunty "When A Man Needs A Woman". That niggling feeling of unfinished songs lingers throughout the semi-instrumental "Passing By" as humming floats over keyboard plinks. The band's masseuse gets her nimble hands immortalized in "Anna Lee, The Healer" - another OK tune that seems more childish than enlightening.

But Side 2 offers up two of the album's true gems – both Dennis Wilson contributions – the "Pacific Ocean View" album man emerging out the songwriting shadows. Brian admits in his liner notes on the original LP that Dennis' contribution "Little Bird" blew his mind – and even though "Be Still" isn't in the same league, it has an aching vocal delivery that is borderline beautiful. Brian then throws in a goody too in "Busy Doin' Nothin'" while I've always found the Hawaiian sound-effects instrumental "Diamond Head" to be little more than indulgent studio experimentation that's interesting but not much more. They end 1968's "Friends" with the decidedly kooky and seriously dated "Transcendental Meditation" - an emancipation of the mind plea that smacks of Maharishi Guru twaddle that so many fell for (at great financial cost too).

1969's "20/20" opens on a barnstormer "Do It Again" - The Beach Boys hitting all the right notes - a hugely catchy chorus, driving rhythm and those unique harmonies and sound effects (they were rewarded with a No. 20 chart position in July 1968 on Capitol 2239 when it was paired on 45 with the lovely "Wake The World" as its flipside). Carl Wilson grabbed the Production controls on the excellent "I Can Hear Music" - a cover of The Ronettes/Phil Spector - a song that would become their 25th and last Top 40 hit of the 60ts (No. 24 chart position on Capitol 2432 in March 1969 with "All I Want To Do" on the B-side).  Even better is Dennis Wilson's majestically dense "Be With Me" - a huge vocal and string plea that has weird overtones of almost-madness as it fades out. Mike Love lets his vocals rock on the decidedly fruity "All I Want To Do" - a unusual Rock 'n' Roll tune for the California Surf boys that feels like The Beach Boys doing The Beatles doing guitar Rock 'n' Roll on the White Album. Van McCoy's string arrangements play a huge part in the Bruce Johnston's lovely instrumental "The Nearest Faraway Place" - another hidden nugget on a great Beach Boys LP (Johnston composed, performed and produced the lot).

I've never held a candle for their cover of Leadbelly's "Cotton Fields" (even if variants did huge business in overseas markets - No. 1 in the Netherlands and No. 2 in the UK). But apparently recorded during the "Friends" sessions – the nice summer day of "I Went To Sleep" is Brian at his simplistic best. I see love in your eyes, Carl sings on the shimmering "Time To Get Alone" – but it's trounced in my opinion by the second Dennis Wilson contribution on here - "Never Learn Not To Love" – a fantastic swirling chunk of Beach Boys greatness that still feels slightly otherworldly even to this day. The 1:10 cathedral-like minutes of "Our Prayer" succeeds in the middle of Side 2 on "20/20" where "Meant To Be" at the beginning of "Friends" only almost did. It's a vocal instrumental that by itself would stamp home the band's greatness if you needed an example (fabulous harmonies).

The album romps home with "Cabinessence" where the boys chant lyrics by Van Dyke Parks that include  'doyn doyn' (whatever that means) before we're hit with a "Pet Sounds" wall of music.  "Cabinessence" is ambitious and overdone for sure (like much of this non-Brian Wilson helmed LP who was checked into emotional rehab at the time of recoding) – but undeniably brilliant too. Dennis remained unimpressed with the outcome calling the LP a mess – but "20/20" is a great Beach Boys album to me, and certainly one of their better late 60ts efforts. Of the bonus cuts my faves are the contractual single "Breakaway" b/w "Celebrate The News" - a Brian ooh-ooh bopper on the A-side with a sophisticated there-ain't-no-blues Dennis Wilson composition on the flip while the outtake "We're Together Again" is also shockingly good.

1968's "Friends" is good to very good - while 1969's "20/20" is brilliant (even if insiders disagree). But at fewer than six quid and with shout-about-it great audio - this Capitol reissue really is a no-brainer must-own HDCD purchase...