L.A. (Light Album)
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| L.A. (Light Album) | ||
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| Studio album by The Beach Boys | ||
| Released | 19 March 1979 | |
| Recorded | July–November 1978 Except: "Good Timin' ": backing track recorded Autumn 1974 |
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| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 41:33 | |
| Label | Brother/Caribou/CBS | |
| Producer(s) | Bruce Johnston, The Beach Boys, James William Guercio |
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| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Beach Boys chronology | ||
| M.I.U. Album (1978) |
L.A. (Light Album) (1979) |
Keepin' the Summer Alive (1980) |
L.A. (Light Album) is the last album by The Beach Boys in the 1970s, and their first as part of their contract with CBS Records (now Sony Music). Although Brother Records was still in operation, their manager at the time, former Chicago producer James William Guercio had his Caribou Records label distribute the album in conjunction with Brother.
Also co-producing with Guercio and The Beach Boys was Bruce Johnston, who had left the band in early 1972. Johnston was brought in when it became clear that the ailing Brian Wilson was in no fit state to produce the album. Johnston has been with the Beach Boys ever since.
As the first release on a new contract (signed in 1977 for $8 million), the band had to find a way to make L.A. (Light Album) contemporary. "Good Timin'" had been recorded in 1974, during sessions for an album that never appeared, was rescued and worked on, ultimately giving The Beach Boys a top 40 hit, which was rare for the band in the 1970s. Dennis Wilson, who was at the time recording his never-released second album, Bamboo, ended up donating two of the intended songs for that project: "Baby Blue" and "Love Surrounds Me". Because of Dennis' increased agitation with certain members of the group and his declining songwriting (resulting from his worsening substance abuse), these would be his last contributions to a Beach Boys studio album in terms of songwriting. Brian was barely evident on L.A. (Light Album) at all, co-writing "Good Timin'" (again, from 1974), and arranging "Shortenin' Bread" (arrangement from 1977), which his two brothers sing on, without him.
L.A. (Light Album) spawned a top-ten hit in the UK with an edited (no harpsichord intro) version of Al Jardine's Bach-inspired "Lady Lynda", written for his wife, and later rerecorded as "Lady Liberty" after their divorce. Mike Love's Japanese-flavored "Sumahama" was also a UK single chart entry later in 1979.
Possibly the album's most controversial moment, L.A. (Light Album) contained an eleven-minute disco recasting of Wild Honey's "Here Comes the Night" that caused considerable consternation with fans, evidenced by the fact that the song was only played live during several dates at New York City's Radio City Music Hall in early March, 1979 before being dropped from the live set due to adverse audience reaction. Through all that, an abridged 4:34 version made the charts in the U.S. as the lead single, peaking at #44. It is possible that the track actually hurt the album's reputation before it had even come out, even though the rest of the album is stylistically different from that song. L.A. (Light Album) peaked at #100 in the U.S. and at #32 in the UK.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Good Timin' " (Brian Wilson/Carl Wilson) – 2:12
- Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
- "Lady Lynda" (Alan Jardine/Ron Altbach) – 3:58
- Features Al Jardine on lead vocals
- "Full Sail" (Carl Wilson/Geoffrey Cushing-Murray) – 2:56
- Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
- "Angel Come Home" (Carl Wilson/Geoffrey Cushing-Murray) – 3:39
- Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
- "Love Surrounds Me" (Dennis Wilson/Geoffrey Cushing-Murray) – 3:41
- Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
- "Sumahama" (Mike Love) – 4:30
- Features Mike Love on lead vocals
- "Here Comes the Night" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 10:51
- Features Carl Wilson, Al Jardine and Mike Love on lead vocals
- "Baby Blue" (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jacobson/Karen Lamm) – 3:25
- Features Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
- "Goin' South" (Carl Wilson/Geoffrey Cushing-Murray) – 3:16
- Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
- "Shortenin' Bread" (Adapted by Brian Wilson) – 2:49
- Features Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson [bass vocal] on lead vocals
[edit] Singles
- "Here Comes the Night" (edit) b/w "Baby Blue" (Brother/Caribou ZS9 9026), 19 February 1979 US #44; UK #37
- "Good Timin' " b/w "Love Surrounds Me" (Brother/Caribou ZS9 9029), 16 April 1979 US #40
- "Lady Lynda" b/w "Full Sail" (Brother/Caribou ZS9 9030), June 1979 UK #7
- "Sumahama" b/w "It's a Beautiful Day" (Brother/Caribou ZS9 9031), September 1979 UK #45
L.A. (Light Album) is now paired on CD with M.I.U. Album. L.A. (Light Album) (Brother/Caribou/CBS JZ 35752) reached #100 in the U.S. during a chart stay of thirteen weeks.
[edit] Sources
- M.I.U. Album/L.A. (Light Album) CD booklet notes, Jeff Tamarkin, c.2000.
- "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience", Timothy White, c. 1994.
- "Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story", Brian Wilson and Todd Gold, c. 1991.
- "Top Pop Singles 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
- "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
- All Music Guide.com
