audio review : God Only Knows ( song ) … The Beach Boys

This song has one of the most beautiful endings you’ll ever hear. Almost exactly 2 minutes in; when a piano, tambourine and string ensemble give way to what sounds like gentle tap dancing; it goes from just a nice serenade to something special.

“God Only Knows what I’d be without you,” the Boys sing in succession, seemingly trying to outdo each other with their melodic acquities, until the music fades. It’s a marvelous sequence. Too bad the whole song doesn’t sound like that.

my rating : 4 of 5

1966

audio review : God Only Knows ( song ) ... The Beach Boys

audio review : That’s Why God Made The Radio ( album ) … The Beach Boys

That's Why God Made The Radio

The Beach Boys sound like they did decades ago. It’s as if they’re stuck in the past, not even aware that; with the invention of the internet, iPods and such; AM-FM radio is a dying medium. That’s not a bad thing. The point of this album is to take rock and roll lovers on a trip down memory lane where they’d cruise the streets in a relatively recent creation now known as the classic car.

The harmonies are nice and the concepts are fitting. Titles include words like Spring, Ocean and Coast. Brian Wilson’s soundscape is there, but the Boys sang better melodies in the past. As serene as these songs are, there isn’t a gem in the sand. It’s also debatable whether or not “God” made the radio as opposed to hard-working people who’d probably take umbrage with such a claim.

my rating : 3 of 5

2012