{"id":38595,"date":"2005-10-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2005-10-26T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/sunflower\/"},"modified":"2005-10-26T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2005-10-26T00:00:00","slug":"sunflower","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/sunflower\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunflower"},"content":{"rendered":"

In
\nthe last episode<\/a> of “Jeff Reviews
\nThe Beach Boys,” our intrepid heroes were being torn to shreds for
\ntheir terrible album
\nSmiley Smile<\/i>, an album that kept me from considering other
\nBeach Boys releases. However, I stepped off that ledge and fell
\ninto
\nSunflower<\/i>. Not only does this album restore my faith in the
\nBeach Boys, but also my overall opinion of the band has grown
\nstronger.<\/p>\n

By 1970, those carefree surfin’ days were over for the Wilson
\nbrothers. Commercial success was fleeting;
\nSunflower<\/i> would peak at #151 on the Billboard charts.
\nUnfortunately, what the public missed out on was a return to form
\nfor The Beach Boys. In fact, one could make the argument that
\nSunflower<\/i> and
\nSurf’s Up<\/i> were the last artistically viable albums from the
\ngroup. That alone makes
\nSunflower<\/i> worth a purchase.<\/p>\n

From the get-go,
\nSunflower<\/i> instantly recalls the glory years of the group.
\nTight, soaring harmonies ooze from every track on the album. Echoes
\nof the immaculate production of
\nPet Sounds<\/i> can be heard. However, the most impressive
\nfeature of
\nSunflower<\/i> is that it is so strong. Every band member got
\ninto the writing process, and Dennis Wilson’s or Bruce Johnston’s
\nsongs hold their own against the contributions of genius Brian
\nWilson.<\/p>\n

The strongest moments reside on the first half of
\nSunflower<\/i>. Starting things up is “Slip On Through,” one of
\nDennis Wilson’s best Beach Boy efforts. It rocks more than you’d
\nthink the Beach Boys were capable of and showcases a strong chorus.
\nHowever, nothing on the album compares to “This Whole World.” It’s
\nonly about two minutes, but it perfectly encapsulates what Brian
\nWilson was all about. Striking chord changes, unique production,
\nand one of the best a cappella tags I have ever heard. As the
\nvoices of the Beach Boys surround you and fill the room, it is pure
\ntranscendence. It is a triumph to music in general and adds to the
\nlegend of Brian Wilson.<\/p>\n

As I said, Bruce Johnstone contributes some lovely tracks.
\n“Tears In The Morning” has a world-music influence to it with
\ntraces of American pop and French love songs; it’s all superb. “Our
\nSweet Love” is Carl Wilson at his best; no one could touch his
\nfalsetto, while “Forever” is what Beach Boy fans consider to be
\nDennis Wilson’s “God Only Knows.” While not as breathtaking as the
\nformer, it is a gorgeous ballad, slipping into a stunning, ethereal
\nrefrain. “Add Some Music To Your Day,” is probably the best group
\neffort from The Beach Boys. Every member gets to sing lead and it’s
\ntruly a showcase of the group’s enormous vocal talent.<\/p>\n

So, is there anything not to like? The last track “Cool Cool
\nWater” is a dud. Fragments of the
\nSMiLE<\/i> sessions were pieced together to form an ode to the
\nboys’ “favorite group of molecules.” Vocally it’s gorgeous, but it
\ndoesn’t fit in with the overall sound. “At My Window” is a track
\nI’d love to listen to over and over again, save for the 10-15
\nsecond Spanish speaking interval, where some Beach Boy (I think
\nit’s Brian) just randomly speaks in Spanish. It is these little
\nquirks the can ruin songs for me. They are wholly unnecessary.
\nOther than that, the song itself is musically sound.<\/p>\n

\nSunflower<\/i> makes up for
\nSmiley Smile<\/i> on some level, which is amazing considering my
\nopinions on that “album.” If you think The Beach Boys died in the
\n’60s, think again. They managed to stave off mediocrity for a
\nlittle while longer, and
\nSunflower<\/i> is a testament to that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":27243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7136],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-38595","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-beach-boys","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38595"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}