Review of The Beach Boys 15th Anniversary Special DVD-Good Vibrations Tour by Peter Reum

The original It's OK TV Special, which I had the chance to view in 1976, was sponsored by Dr.Pepper and produced by Saturday Night Live's Loren Michaels. The special was a mixture of short snippets of songs mixed with vignettes of various Southern California people and places designed to illustrate the world that The Beach Boys music came from. The live scenes were taken from a Beach Boys concert filmed at Anaheim Stadium. It was remarkable in that it was only the second time that Brian Wilson had appeared live since 1970. He had also appeared a few weeks earlier at a Bill Graham Day On the Green in the Bay Area.

This was the heyday of the infamous "Brian's Back" campaign, a public relations ploy designed to convince the Music World that Brian Wilson was a renewed human being, competent enough to be responsible for the musical output of the family business. That Brian was willing to undergo this travesty of therapy was not a choice open to him. Eugene Landy had been retained to be his psychologist, and the publicity was relentless. The family business was, of course, The Beach Boys, and there were 5 Beach Boys' families livelihoods and  quality of life at stake, not to mention the backing band, the road crew, and related services.

A 1976 Publicity Photo for the It's Ok TV Special Press Kit

Anyone who has run a small business will tell you that maintaining forward momentum is a huge challenge. That the group was historically having ups and downs musically was also not debatable. Concert attendance was growing exponentially, but there was the question of new music. The group decided to try to ask Brian for help. The previous years 1973  to 1976, were called "The Wilderness Years" for a reason. Brian's self-destructive behavior had worsened, and his use of stimulants was approaching implosion levels. Another important point to make is that there was little to no knowledge of how to treat the dual diagnosis of Chemical Dependence/Mental Illness extant. The field was in it's infancy.

Into this environment came the film crew for the 'It's Ok" special. The footage from Anaheim, and a little from the Bay Area show displays the group at the zenith of their potential for filling large concert venues. Not more than 30 months previous, prior to Endless Summer's release, their concert demand was for 3000 to 5000 seat venues. As early as the summer of 1974, they were beginning to play large summer festival type concerts. I remember attending one in Denver with The Beach Boys playing second to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

The Beach Boys stage presence at this period of their career was powerful. Upon viewing this dvd, it is evident that they were no longer self-conscious about their Pet Sounds and earlier songs, and the energy onstage is high. The set was a sailboat, and there were about the same number of musicians onstage as Brian Wilson tours with these days. The backing band crackled with energy. Ed Carter, Billy Hinsche, Bobby Figueroa, and Carli Munoz were all visible. The band was led  very obviously by Carl Wilson. Brian's participation in the footage is fitful. He can be seen at times sitting and watching the crowd, waving at people, noodling on the keyboard, and at times singing. It is apparent that he felt terribly out of place.

1976 Publicity Shot aboard The Harmony

Some of the songs themselves are dynamite. There are great versions of most of the group's evergreen live arsenal, such as Sloop John B, I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, Good Vibrations, California Girls, and Help Me Rhonda  being present. The dvd begins with a radio being punched to the tune of a live Fun Fun Fun. Scenes of the Malibu Coast Drive are cut with concert footage, and the late Karen Lamm-Wilson is the beautiful blonde driving the proverbial T-Bird. Brian, laying in his famous bed with the angels on the headboard, bogarts a cigarette and stokes the legend of being in bed for "3 and a half years." Dennis's shots on his boat, The Harmony, are poignant. Be True To Your School is introduced by Brian's high school music teacher, who says that he gave him an "F" for the song Surfin. Never mind that it is an urban legend....it was his 15 minutes (seconds?) of fame. One indication it is 1976 is that the Hawthorne High Cheerleaders are mostly Caucasian, whereas in 2005 at the dedication of the Beach Boys Monument, they were mostly Hispanic, Asian, and African-American. The Southland's demographics had changed dramatically in those 30 years.

Brian, Carl, and Dennis do I'm Bugged at My Old Man, and it is goofball funny. It is apparent that the Wilsons look back at their dad with affection, even if they did experience abuse. This is the paradox of a family that is chemically dependent. It is a touching moment that is genuine and authentic. They cut to the group breaking into an angelic version of God Only Knows, illustrating The Wilsons' memory of why their dad would cry when he heard their harmonies.  The song may have been written by Brian, but Carl owned it live. I Get Around is cut with film footage of an aerial acrobat riding atop what looks like an old Boeing 737. Stuff like this only happens in Southern California....

Dennis Wilson at the slip for the Harmony

Brian names Van Dyke Parks as his favorite collaborator. Van Dyke is cameoed standing in front of the old Tower on Sunset saying the doesn't want to look like a "rickets reject." More telling is Van Dyke's observation that The Beach Boys did not embrace their musical history at the beach where Van Dyke says "you know, where the land comes down to the water." He then points to the group's history of a spiritual sound, remarking that they "are basically church people." Brian then sings with the group and the Double Rock Baptist Choir in what is a highlight of this special, a tremendous live version of That Same Song. Billy Hinsche can be seen singing in the choir. For a few brief moments, we see Brian on fire, enthused, bouyant, and animated.

My Favorite Rickets Reject

Camera Capture of Brian's 1976 Saturday Night Live Performance That Resulted In Charges By Paul Krassner That Brian Was Being Exploited Using Mental Health Therapy As a Pretext  

Carl is highlighted on Good Vibrations, which sounds oddly bassy and dirgelike.  This version was filmed on a soundstage, and there is some phony wind blowing Carl's hair.  Paul and Linda McCartney come to Brian's 34th birthday party, most likely at the old Bellagio home. The families are all there, and the size of the entire clan is formidable. The end of the song is from Anaheim. There is some goofy scat singing, but the footage of Dennis drumming is worth every second. Brian admits he stole song ideas from watching Dennis. Skateboarders are shone doing amazing tricks in an empty pool, and the boy talking about it says it spread nationwide. Sloop John B follows. Carl's command of the live Beach Boys is very apparent.

The infamous Belushi/Ackroyd arrest scene of Brian is next. He has stated that he was terrified facing the ocean. In his state of mind at that time, it is understandable. His resigned look from the back of a CHP patrol car is very sad, yet amazing. Cut to the Band doing Surfin' USA.To the comedians' credit, they accompanied Brian into the water. The famous Rolling Stone David Felton interview and  cover shot (see below) was done here. It is at this point that the therapeutic treatment of Brian tipped from ordinary milieu therapy into exploitative attention seeking on Landy's part. Paul Krassner, at that time the editor of Crawdaddy, later blasted Landy for his insistence that Brian do Saturday Night Live in an epic editorial. A month, or so later, Landy was fired.

The Famous Brian Goes Surfing Photograph

Dr. Eugene Landy

A guy sounding like Art Linkletter introduces a local beauty pageant, at which Dennis is a judge then cuts into California Girls. There is a nice segment of Alan at his Big Sur ranch. The camera then cuts to Rhonda, with Alan on lead vocal. There is some nice footage of a California Casual Cookout, again highlighting Alan. Brian actually plays electric keyboard on Rhonda, looking Sphinx-like, not singing.  Brian gets out of bed, and the camera cuts to a terrible version of It's Ok. They seem to bungle the chorus. Before the days of Autotune Mike sounds pitchy. Cut back to Van Dyke Parks....who is amused that they have survived musically despite repeatedly sabotaging themselves. Rock and Roll Music is then rolled out, and is workmanlike. What is apparent in the shots of the crowd is that they came to party, and The Beach Boys could have sung out of tune throughout, because no one noticed, they were all too busy partying.

The Beach Boys at Joffrey Ballet-San Francisco 1976

What to make of this historic piece of Beach Boys and Brian Wilson history???? Well, the evergreen tunes are done beautifully and anything from this period live in soundboard quality and in stereo sound is both rare and  nice. The footage itself shows its age, but is still powerful. The poignant moments in the footage are many...Brian's Double Rock appearance, candid footage of the Beach Boys' children, small then, but who now have their own children, the three Brothers Wilson affectionately singing a song to remember their dad, Carl's utter command of the live Beach Boys,  and Dennis, on the Harmony and drumming throughout, showing why he was the soul and spirit of The Beach Boys.

If you have not already bought a copy of this piece of Beach Boys history, it is worth the price of admission. The sound itself is available in Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS Surround Sound. Thanks to Eagle Rock Entertainment for reissuing it at a reasonable price.


Text copyright 2013 by Peter Reum-All Rights Reserved