Sunflower (album)

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Sunflower
Sunflower cover
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released 31 August 1970
Recorded sporadically from
January 1969 to
21 July 1970 except for Cool Cool Water, which had the beginning and middle recorded in May 1967 and July 1967
Genre Rock
Length 36:55
Label Brother Records/Reprise
Producer(s) The Beach Boys
Professional reviews
The Beach Boys chronology
20/20
(1969)		 Sunflower
(1970)		 Surf's Up
(1971)


Sunflower is The Beach Boys' twenty-first official album release and their first under their contract with Reprise Records. Issued in August 1970, Sunflower is often regarded as among The Beach Boys' very best releases (and was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time).

The Beach Boys started work on "San Miguel" and other new songs in January 1969, sporadically recording and touring for the rest of the year, while continuing to write and record new songs. The first of these songs to appear on Sunflower was "Forever", which some sources date to 9 January. Because the band still owed Capitol one album, a collection of songs was compiled for that label, but never issued.

In late summer 1969, The Beach Boys intensified work on their new project. Their reputation had fallen sharply in the US since 1967, but Mo Ostin (reportedly on Van Dyke Parks' urging despite Brian Wilson's personal attempts at sabotage by meeting Warner executives, promising to behave but also painting his face green) decided to sign them in November. Part of the deal was to revive their Brother Records imprint, initially founded during the Smile era and used only for the Smiley Smile album, and the "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry" singles before becoming dormant.

By the end of 1969, The Beach Boys, having worked with several outside songwriters, had composed dozens of new songs; their stockpile was so large that unused Sunflower tracks would later appear, unchanged or altered, on the following:

  • Another track, Games Two Can Play was slated to appear on the aborted Adult Child project.

A projected release, titled Add Some Music, was handed in to Reprise for a planned spring 1970 release, but was rejected. The band's first single with their new label (and their 31st overall) was issued in February 1970: "Add Some Music To Your Day". It was not commercially successful, only reaching #64 in the US. Its B-side, "Susie Cincinnati", was one of several songs dropped from the album project. With recording continuing until July, the retitled and reworked Sunflower was presented to and accepted by Reprise. The final album, complied and mastered on August 12, 1970, was a mix of songs from "Add Some Music", the last Capitol studio album, and two new songs recorded in July 1970: "Cool, Cool Water" and "It's About Time". Several songs were also remixed and new a lead vocal for "Tears In The Morning" was also recorded in July 1970.

During this time, a remake of Leadbelly's Cottonfields (with revised lyrics and recorded in August of 1969) was a huge hit outside of North America. While missing the Hot 100 in the USA, the song hit #1 in Australia, Sweden, and Norway, and hit #5 in the UK.

Although Brian Wilson's vocals were mostly inconspicuous on the LP (his only lead vocals are on "Add Some Music to Your Day" and "Cool, Cool Water"), his influence was clear, in the lush arrangements and elaborate harmonies. Wilson also contributed a song from the unreleased Smile. A water chant, heard approximately a minute into the song, was initially titled I Love To Say Da-Da. Wilson rewrote this song as Cool, Cool Water during the Wild Honey sessions, but left the track unfinished. Lenny Waronker, then an A&R executive at Warner Music, heard the unfinished tape, and convinced Wilson to finish the track for Sunflower (Wilson later reworked the original version of the song I Love to Say Dada as "In Blue Hawaii" for his 2004 solo release).

Sunflower reached only #151 on its initial American release. The later, slightly expanded international release was more successful, reaching #29 on the British charts. The album's critical reputation has grown since its original appearance. In 2003, the album was ranked number 380 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

During these sessions, Dennis Wilson (with help from The Captain and Tenille's Daryl Dragon) recorded his first single. The single, "Sound of Free" backed with the song "Lady" (aka "Fallin' In Love"), was released outside of the US in late 1970 on the Stateside label. The single, credited to "Dennis Wilson and Rumbo" was never released in the U.S.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Slip On Through" (Dennis Wilson) – 2:17
    • Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
  2. "This Whole World" (Brian Wilson) – 1:56
    • Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
  3. "Add Some Music To Your Day" (Brian Wilson/Joe Knott/Mike Love) – 3:34
    • Features Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson, and Bruce Johnston on lead vocals
  4. "Got To Know The Woman" (Dennis Wilson) – 2:41
    • Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
  5. "Deirdre" (Bruce Johnston/Brian Wilson) – 3:27
    • Features Bruce Johnston on lead vocals
  6. "It's About Time" (Dennis Wilson/Carl Wilson/Bob Burchman/Al Jardine) – 2:55
    • Features Carl Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals
  7. "Tears In The Morning" (Bruce Johnston) – 4:07
    • Features Bruce Johnston on lead vocals
  8. "All I Wanna Do" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 2:34
    • Features Mike Love on lead vocals
  9. "Forever" (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jakobson) – 2:40
    • Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
  10. "Our Sweet Love" (Brian Wilson/Carl Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:38
    • Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
  11. "At My Window" (Brian Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:30
    • Features Bruce Johnston on lead vocals, French language spoken word sequence by Brian Wilson
  12. "Cool, Cool Water" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 5:03
    • Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals

Other songs recorded during this period were "Soulful Old Man Sunshine", "I´m Going Your Way", "Rasperries; Strawberries" [which became - and used the same instrumental track as] "At My Window", "Where Is She", and an early version of "'Til I Die".

[edit] European track listing

This variation of the album was released by EMI subsidiary, Stateside Records, in November, 1970. Its opening track was "Cottonfields." "Got To Know The Woman" and "Deirdre" were placed in inverse order on side 1. The contents of the individual tracks were unchanged. This tracklisting has been superseded with the regular Sunflower running order, now released worldwide. The original European track listing is:

  1. "Cottonfields" (Huddie Ledbetter) – 3:02
  2. "Slip On Through" (Dennis Wilson) – 2:17
  3. "This Whole World" (Brian Wilson) – 1:56
  4. "Add Some Music To Your Day" (Brian Wilson/Joe Knott/Mike Love) - # – 3:34
  5. "Deirdre" (Bruce Johnston/Brian Wilson) – 3:27
  6. "Got To Know The Woman" (Dennis Wilson) – 2:41
  7. "It's About Time" (Dennis Wilson/Carl Wilson/Bob Burchman/Al Jardine) – 2:55
  8. "Tears In The Morning" (Bruce Johnston) – 4:07
  9. "All I Wanna Do" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 2:34
  10. "Forever" (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jakobson) – 2:40
  11. "Our Sweet Love" (Brian Wilson/Carl Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:38
  12. "At My Window" (Brian Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:30
  13. "Cool, Cool Water" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 5:03

[edit] Singles

  • "Add Some Music To Your Day" b/w "Susie Cincinnati" (Brother 0894), 23 February 1970 US #64
  • "Cottonfields" b/w "The Nearest Faraway Place" (Capitol 2765), 20 April 1970 US #103; UK #5
  • "Slip On Through" b/w "This Whole World" (Brother 0929), 29 June 1970
  • "Tears In The Morning" b/w "It's About Time" (Brother 0957), November 1970
  • "Cool, Cool Water" b/w "Forever" (Brother 0998), February 1971
  • "Deirdre" featured as the B-side to "Long Promised Road" (1st issue)
  • "Susie Cincinnati" featured as the B-side to "Child Of Winter" and "Everyone's In Love With You"

Sunflower is now paired on CD with Surf's Up.

Sunflower (Brother/Reprise RS 6382) hit #151 in the US charts during a 4 week stay. It reached #29 in the UK.

[edit] The last Capitol album

According to Capitol files and tapes found in the Beach Boys archives, the Beach Boys were due to deliver one more album to Capitol Records sometime between the summer of 1969 and the spring of 1970. Capitol files indicate the title was supposed to be Reverberation, but it is commonly called The Fading Rock Group Revival based on a Bruce Johnston quip.

It might have been a 10-track album consisting of (not in the correct running order):

  1. "Break Away"
  2. "Celebrate the News"
  3. "Cottonfields"
  4. "Loop de Loop"
  5. "San Miguel"
  6. "Deirdre"
  7. "All I Wanna Do"
  8. "Forever"
  9. "Got to Know the Woman"
  10. "The Lord's Prayer"

(A possible 11th track might have been "When Girls Get Together.")

After Warner Bros. signed the band and rejected the Add Some Music album that the group submitted for release in the Spring of 1970, the group took the four best tracks from the planned Capitol album and included them on the reworked album, now titled Sunflower. In place of the studio album, the Beach Boys gave Capitol the Live in London album to release instead.

[edit] Add Some Music

After the Beach Boys signed with Warner Bros. in the fall of 1969, the group entered the studio to finish work for their first album for the label. The first album, entitled Add Some Music was delivered to Warner Bros. in early 1970. Covers were printed, and a catalog number was assigned. The album was rejected by Warners as being too weak. If released, the album would have included the following tracks:

  1. "Susie Cincinnati"
  2. "Good Time"
  3. "Our Sweet Love"
  4. "Tears in the Morning"
  5. "When Girls Get Together"
  6. "Slip on Through"
  7. "Add Some Music to Your Day"
  8. "Take a Load off Your Feet"
  9. "This Whole World"
  10. "I Just Got My Pay"
  11. "At My Window"
  12. "Fallin' in Love" (Otherwise known as "Lady")

It has been assumed that a 16-track album titled Sun Flower was compiled in late 1969. This is not true. This album was in fact a compilation reel of songs recorded during the sessions that became Sunflower.

[edit] Sources

  • Badman, Keith; Bacon, Tony. The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2004) ISBN 0-87930-818-4
  • Bush, John. 'Sunflower', All Music (2005) Retrieved July 24 2005.
  • Elliott, Brad. Surf's Up: The Beach Boys On Record (1981)
  • Whitburn, Joel. "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 2002) ISBN 0-89820-147-0
  • Whitburn, Joel. "Top Pop Singles 1955-2001", (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 2002)
  • White, Timothy. The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience (1994)
  • White, Timothy. CD booklet notes, Sunflower/Surf's Up (2000)
  • Wilson, Brian; Gold, Todd. Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story (1991).

[edit] External links

The Beach Boys
Brian Wilson | Carl Wilson | Dennis Wilson | Mike Love | Al Jardine | Bruce Johnston
Studio albums
Surfin' Safari (1962) | Surfin' USA (1963) | Surfer Girl (1963) | Little Deuce Coupe (1963) | Shut Down Volume 2 (1964) | All Summer Long (1964) | The Beach Boys' Christmas Album (1964) | The Beach Boys Today! (1965) | Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965) | Beach Boys' Party! (1965) | Pet Sounds (1966) | Smiley Smile (1967) | Wild Honey (1967) | Friends (1968) | 20/20 (1969) | Sunflower (1970) | Surf's Up (1971) | Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" (1972) | Holland (1973) | 15 Big Ones (1976) | Love You (1977) | M.I.U. Album (1978) | L.A. (Light Album) (1979) | Keepin' the Summer Alive (1980) | The Beach Boys (1985) | Still Cruisin' (1989) | Summer in Paradise (1992) | Stars and Stripes Vol. 1 (1996)
Live albums
Beach Boys Concert (1964) | Live in London (1970) | The Beach Boys in Concert (1973) | Good Timin': Live at Knebworth England 1980 (2002)
Related articles
Song List | Lead Vocalists | Capitol Records | Brother Records | Sea of Tunes | Discography | Solo Discography
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