The Beach Boys - Live at the Fillmore East 1971 (2015)

Never as hip as other Fillmore-era bands, The Beach Boys were undeniably among the most innovative groups of the 1960s, thanks to Brian Wilson's production and arrangement skills, and the group s near-perfect vocal harmonies. They created some of the most compelling recordings of that decade which remain as potent today as they ever were. This set, recorded live on the closing night of New York s Fillmore East in 1971, captures the group at a time when their performance abilities were at a peak and just as they were finishing up the recording of one of their finest late-era studio albums, Surf's Up. Although Brian was no longer performing with the band, and Dennis Wilson (due to a hand injury) had been replaced on drums by Mike Kowalski, the core group of Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine was still intact - and more than capable of delivering a great show. Carl Wilson handles most of the lead vocals and his voice rings with the same crystalline clarity and heartfelt sincerity that he brought to God Only Knows on Pet Sounds. The band opens with the complex and intriguing SMiLE era tune Heroes And Villains followed with several memorable, vintage Beach Boys hits, specifically Do It Again, Help Me Rhonda and the Brian Wilson masterpiece Wouldn't It Be Nice, here performed in its full length version. Bruce Johnston takes over lead vocals on a rendition of Elton John's Your Song - probably the most contemporary cover the band ever performed, having only been an American hit for Elton the previous December - followed by Student Demonstration Time - essentially a cover too of Riot In Cell Block #9 with new lyrics - as politically charged as any they ever played and the only cut performed from the impending Surf s Up. They close the set with ragged but enjoyable versions of their two biggest hits, California Girls and Good Vibrations, before being brought back onstage for a quick encore of I Get Around and It's About Time to end the night.

Tracklist
01. Intro: Bill Graham (0:08)
02. Heroes And Villians (3:54)
03. Do It Again (2:52)
04. Cottonfields (2:42)
05. Help Me Rhonda (4:15)
06. Wouldn't It Be Nice (3:00)
07. Your Song (4:58)
08. Student Demonstration Time (5:16)
09. Good Vibrations (4:29)
10. California Girls (3:30)
11. I Get Around (2:31)
12. It's About Time (3:51)