Tame Potatoes

Overall Album Score: 8.3 out of 10

The good news is that The Beach Boys had their ducks in a row by the time they released Wild Honey after their disastrous Smiley Smile. Unfortunately, they'll never be the same band that I enjoyed listening to leading up to Pet Sounds, but I'll get over it. I know it.

And thus a new era of The Beach Boys was birthed --- one that's much less treasurable and wonderful, but a great band nonetheless. Brian Wilson was still writing most of the songs, but he had less to do with the production--- and he would eventually just whither out of the band. Well, luckily he would still be an official member up until the '80s, because nobody else would ever emerge as a "genius."

It's nice that Brian Wilson continued to write music... The Beach Boys probably wouldn't have existed past Smiley Smile if he would have completely retired. He was obviously very cared for!! But he's not writing music of the same caliber that he used to --- and frankly a lot of this music sounds so freaking weird that I have absolutely no idea where he's coming from. Much of this music is unsettling, and it's not a stretch of the imagination to think that this is from a genius who's no longer trying to move mountains, but he can still amusingly piddle around with the foothills.

So what I'm getting at, post-breakdown Beach Boys had a remarkably positive aftermath, and I'm thrilled this group was still able to move on in a functional state. There's more good music to hear!! Of course this group isn't going to strive for perfection anymore. They're settling on being mortals... Deal with it!!! Besides, this album contains its fair share of gems anyway. "Darlin'" is the hugely wonderful song. Supposedly, it was written in the early '60s, but it sounds great here. The sound is crisp and clear, and I love the harmonies and melody.

Unfortunately many of the other tracks aren't as unabashedly enjoyable, and quite a few of them are difficult to digest. Wild Honey is credited as being their "soul" album. That's accurate, but you'd also call it their "confused" album. There's really no sense of direction anywhere. This seems like a collection of semi-inspired ideas --- many of which were just random and not properly developed. The arrangements are unique but not always enjoyable, and many of these tracks are left sounding too off-base for comfort. All that said, it's much better than what they did on Smiley Smile, which sounded like they plum gave up (except for the two major gems, that is).

It might take awhile to get used to Carl Wilson's attempt to deliver soulful vocal solos in a few of these songs. He sings with passion, but his voice is strained and dry. Yeah, he does that on purpose, but it's not as effective as it might have been. Though I like his performance on the opening track, "Wild Honey," he goes a little too far with the Stevie Wonder cover, "I Was Made to Love Her." But he makes up for that with his perfect vocal rendition on "Darlin'."

I certainly wrote a lot about this album --- especially one that isn't even thirty minutes long. I do recommend this album. As someone who generally likes weird music, I can appreciate this album's uniqueness. It's unfortunate that Wilson was so detached from this work to make it sparkle a bit more, but he had good enough reason not to care so much anymore.

Overall Album Score: 8.3 out of 10 (They'll never return to their glory days, but this album is an enjoyable album just the same!)

Average Song Score: 8.4 (Nice songs all around!!)

Album Tilt: 8.0 (A little bit sluggish and hard to sit through sometimes...)

Artist Rating: 8.5 (This is better than I previously assumed it would be. This is definitely a unique album though not "amazingly unique.")

Track Reviews

Wild Honey 9/10

This track features a weirdly passionate performance from Carl Wilson. It seems pretty sloppy at first, but then it also seems like he's believing in what he's singing. And, well, it's 1967 so I guess nobody was that interested in having these guys sing like they did in 1964. But anyway, this is a pretty fun song. The groove is fun, and they have a great use of those scaling synthesizers in the background. The melody is catchy and manages to garner enough energy and spirit. It's neat to hear the Beach Boys try something like this, and it works!!

Aren't You Glad 8/10

This is undoubtedly Brian Wilson! You can hear those stripped down xylophone sounds in this that was hiding behind the shroud of all those layers of sound in Pet Sounds. The instrumentation is quite nice but a little sluggish. You know those xylophones are pounding and a little distracting. The melody is catchy, and it's nice that he never let up in that department. The vocal performances are fun and spirited!!

I Was Made to Love Her 8/10

A Stevie Wonder cover... It's funny that they would go soul. Anyway, Carl Wilson does another one of his soulful vocals. I didn't feel the need to really point it out before, but I'm going to have to do it now. He doesn't have a voice for soul. He gives it all he's got, and that's a good part of it. But his voice seems too strained and dry!!

Country Air 9.5/10

Oh, here's finally a great little composition. This one features nice instrumentation. It's very strange, but a tad more streamlined and enjoyable. That idea they had to use the weird fuzzy noise was interesting. Gosh, these guys are weird. This track marks the return of The Beach Boys using their famous vocal harmonies --- oh, why'd they ever stop?

Thing or Two 7.5/10

They're going jazzy at first, and then they suddenly jump into a strange, R&B groove. It's hard to put your finger on this --- and I guess that's an appealing aspect. It sure sounds confused... I'm confused............

Darlin' 10/10

YES! Here is a wonderful tune, and the best one of the album. For ONCE they don't sound so dang confused. The instrumentation is streamlined and wonderful. It makes me think maybe there is a hope for The Beach Boys to return to their former glories... Well, at least they're still capable of creating bona fide classics. The chord progressions are wonderful, and Carl Wilson's strained soulful vocals actually suit this beautifully. This is absolutely infectious and wonderful.

I'd Love Just Once to See You 9/10

Ah, there's some more hope with this wonderful track. Brian Wilson delivers a nice solo as someone furiously strums an acoustic guitar. The chorus is absolutely heavenly --- and he doesn't need to use an abundant of complex instrumentals to achieve this like he used to do. Well--- there's such a thing as perfect, subtler beauty. (OK, he's talking about wanting to see somebody in the nude, but --- Well, she must be lovely.)

Here Comes the Night 8.5/10

It is a blander song, and I'm having a difficult time connecting with it. I want to call it sub-par songwriting, but it's a little too creative for that. Well, whatever it is... This is a rather droning track that features really peculiar vocal ideas --- They're almost chanting the lyrics. The instrumentation consists mostly of very dark keyboard sounds... Weird...

Let the Wind Blow 8/10

This begins with a strange piano loop, and what occurs next is a strange and unsettling song. It sounds like a ballad they might have done for Today! except much more bitter. I suppose Wilson was feeling pretty bitter. Well, it's a strange song, and you can't dismiss it for one millisecond.

How She Boogalooed It 8/10

But you can dismiss this, but I'm not sure why you'd want to. At least the songwriters are generally normal!! It's a joint composition between Carl Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston. It's a pretty standard rocker that would have been pretty generic in 1964 --- except they use more up-to-date instrumentals including an organ that's on crack.

Mama Says 7/10

Bring on more of the abandon Smile tunes! This is an a cappella chant that was to appear (in more orchestrated form) on "Vegetables." I don't think this particular bit was included in the version of "Vegetables" on Smiley Smile, but it doesn't matter --- this melody was certainly used there. They sort of do a playful barbershop quartet rendition of it. OK, thanks.

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