The Beach Boys – 15 Big Ones Review

You can never be too sure what to expect from The Beach Boys after Surf’s Up. Occasionally, they’ll release an inspiring, underrated gem like Carl and the Passions “So Tough” which has all the hallmarks of contemporary rock and roll but the same heart as the band’s best years. There are misaligned experiments, chances to hear the band pull their sound in interesting directions, like with Holland. But the bulk of it is rough listening. The closer The Beach Boys got to the 1980s, the worse they sounded. 15 Big Ones is a complete disaster of a listening experience, but also a woeful example of how bad it truly got in the recording studio for the Pet Sounds legends. The Beach Boys bank on enough time having passed between their radio replay value in the early 1960s and 15 Big Ones. But it had not. Trying to replicate those successes is a dire listen, and a near forty-minute offering of harmonising rot is as bad as you would expect.  

Opener Rock and Roll Music sounds truly dated. A brilliant example of why bands should leave their early years style well alone. The Beach Boys’ send up of their radio tone merely pokes holes in that style. They offer no innovations as they had on their work just two years before 15 Big Ones and instead recede into a style which was uncool and primitive on the band’s first release. They evolved out of that to acclaim and went back into it with miserable offerings like It’s O.K. Faux pop positivity which reduces the band’s best efforts in the 1970s to nothing more than a successful experiment which they had no interest in repeating. Cover efforts like Chapel of Love are recognisable, but not any good. Wilson was an excellent producer but 15 Big Ones does not bring out the best in his work. How much of the grating tone heard on 15 Big Ones can be put down to Wilson alone is questionable, but it’s certainly prevalent. Behind-the-scenes trouble, be it Eugene Landry or health issues, is at play here.  

It’s no excuse for the aim of the album though. No amount of problematic production can affect a song as poor as Had to Phone Ya or ugly efforts like Everyone’s In Love With You. That Same Song at least notes the band are building the fire of rock music and now extinguishing it with tracks of mockery. Palisades Park is at least interesting, though the carnival rides and fairground thrills are lacklustre, much like a real fairground. It’s all showmanship and flashy lights without a satisfying entertainment underlying it. Wilson’s return to the studio is a bit of a misfire because the other band members believe he is key to their chart return. Fatigue in the core group and Wilson’s conservatorship with Levy is a disastrous pairing. The Beach Boys turned to Wilson for help, but what he brought them is far less interesting than their preceding albums, which were not chart performers but at least interesting.  

You can hear someone mutter “oh, come on” during A Casual Look. Either it’s a quip to help the song or distaste from a person in the studio. Truly dreadful covers which offer nothing new to the fundamentals of the song, nor change it enough to give it that Beach Boys style. Blueberry Hill is a monstrous example of this, a sluggish and tired-sounding Fats Domino cover. Forget it’s The Beach Boys and the song becomes a little more enjoyable, in the same way an early bus is going to brighten your mood. Not exactly long-lasting joy, but you can accept the qualities if you forget the band behind it was once innovators. 15 Big Ones is horrendous, and it works as an example of why artists should spend less time chasing chart success and more on what they want to say to their listeners. “Sorry,” would be a start after this release.