A little-known live album by The Beach Boys has been tipped as one of the best live albums around and an example of the group’s greatest period. While best known for Pet Sounds and Surf’s Up, the Brian Wilson-featuring group has offered more than a few out-there albums. Be it NASCAR tributes or doomed projects based on the teachings of Maharishi, The Beach Boys have struggled to be defined by more than their two outstanding albums.
But a live album experience offers listeners the chance to hear the band in a whole new experience. Listeners have since rushed to X to share their thoughts on how great a live band The Beach Boys were. One person wrote: “I don’t know if people know how good the Beach Boys were live, or how important that was to their identity. This show from 1972 is a good look at what that means in practice. It’s a great lineup, and they’re veterans at this point. Check out what they turn Pet Sounds songs into.”
Linked to their post is The Beach Boys in Concert, a live album that released in November 1973. It would be the band’s highest charting album since Wild Honey in 1967 and earned them their first gold record since 1966’s The Best of the Beach Boys. Others have suggested that this is the final releae before The Beach Boys opted for “corny” releases and a different on-stage attitude.
One fan wrote: “For me, this is the moment the band start to be corny. Idk why, never my particular taste. But the cover is wonderful..” Another added: “Well, this is the last before 15 Big Ones, and after they got rid of Jack Rieley, who seemed to help steer them away from being corny.”
A third listener shared: “They were so good live during this era. I like how this album captures Carl really rocking out with his amp cranked and distorted sounding when appropriate. I saw them during this time and they rocked so much harder than people were expecting.”
Others have hailed it as an “underdiscussed live album” which is well worth the praise. One person wrote: “I think why I like Carl so much was his ability to value and put effort into the live component of the band as much as The Studio side during the 70s. Even well into the mediocre albums, they kept it up live. The shows for Keeping the Summer alive are fantastic!”
Another added: “I’m not much of a live album guy, so my list of favourites is very very short (hello, Thin Lizzy!). This one is firmly around the top of that short list.” A third wrote: “I adore this album, and I’d argue the Carnegie ‘72 set in the Sail On box could even be a cut above that.”
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