The Beach Boys changed direction in 1968 with the release of Friends. <\/i>The pop brilliance of Pet Sounds, <\/i>the psychedelic flavor of Smiley Smile <\/i>and the soul inflections of Wild Honey <\/i>were all discarded by the group in favor of the mellow and laidback vibes found here. <\/i>While this does not contain the brilliant highs of the three aforementioned albums, it does have a pleasant quality and passes by like a gently flowing stream. <\/p>\n
In many ways, Friends <\/i>was out of place upon its release in 1968. The Vietnam War was raging, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been assassinated, the hippie movement was alive and well, and Jimi Hendrix was changing the musical landscape. It was against this background that the tranquil Friends <\/i>was released and as could be expected, it encountered little commercial success. <\/p>\n
I have always considered Wild Honey<\/i> more interesting than listenable. Friends, <\/i>on the other hand, is more listenable than interesting. The Beach Boys take few chances, which is fine given their releases of the past few years. This disc <\/i>provided a nice counterpoint to the world swirling around the group.<\/p>\n
This <\/i>marks the album where Dennis Wilson stepped out from behind his drum set. He coauthored and sang lead on \u201cBe Still\u201d and \u201cLittle Bird.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cBe Still\u201d is a simple song but Dennis Wilson delivers a great vocal. \u201cLittle Bird\u201d has the feel of a classic Beach Boys song. His voice moves counter to The Beach Boys\u2019 traditional harmonies. These songs show how important Dennis Wilson\u2019s clear and plaintive voice were to the vocal harmonies of the group. I have always thought that when The Beach Boys were having problems in the late 1970\u2019s, they should have regrouped around his voice. While that did not happen, his occasional vocal and creative contributions were always welcome. <\/p>\n
The title song is a full-blown Brian Wilson production and regrettably a single that did not reach the top 40. The words \u201cWe\u2019ve been friends for so many years \/ Through the good times and bad,\u201d may not have been aimed at their fans but would have fit. It also contains an odd beat for Carl Wilson\u2019s lead vocal. Brian\u2019s voice joins Carl\u2019s about halfway through the song. The uses of intermittent harmonies fill the spaces in the song\u2019s structure.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen A Man Loves A Woman\u201d contains a bubbly organ at its foundation. The vocal by Brian is excellent, but the song peters out near the end and has an unfinished feeling. Brian Wilson\u2019s \u201cPassing By\u201d contains harmonies without words. The wonderful textures of the group\u2019s voices just float about simple instrumentation. Brian Wilson also sang lead on the sparse \u201cBusy Doing Nothing.\u201d The title of this song describes its basic theme. Brian Wilson, without backing, basically sings about a day in his life at the time. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnna Lee, The Healer,\u201d co-written by Brian and Mike with lead vocals by Mike, is a song bout a masseuse (I hope) who reduces a person\u2019s stress. Musically, this song has a creative musical structure as it substituted harmony in place of many instruments.<\/p>\n
The instrumental \u201c All in all, Friends,<\/i> is ultimately satisfying in its own way. It is an album that should be listened to with your feet up and a glass of wine in hand.