Behind the SMiLE era of 1966-67, my next favorite period of Beach Boys music are the years from 1970-73, when their popularity was at its lowest ebb and they were trying to find their own image and sound with founder and leader Brian Wilson in recluse. While their albums during this period – Sunflower, Surf’s Up, Carl and the Passions – “So Tough”, and Holland were amongst their poorest selling at the time, they have stood the test of time and have come to be seen as minor gems, if not outright classics, in the BB catalog.

What I think I like most about this period of time, especially with the last two albums in this series, is how un-Beach Boys-like they sound. The primary reason for this is the change in personnel resulting from bassist Bruce Johnston’s departure following Surf’s Up, Dennis Wilson’s nearly two-year absence on drums following an incident involving one of his hands and a plate glass door, and the addition of two South Africans from the band The Flame, guitarist Blondie Chaplin and drummer Ricky Fataar. This change in personnel brought about a more soulful and funky edge to the traditional Beach Boys sound, quite different from that on Sunflower and Surf’s Up, and much different from the one that would follow after Chaplin’s and Fataar’s departure prior to 1976 and the whole “Brian Is Back” campaign that resulted in 15 Big Ones.

I think I also like this period best because it was the most current when my brother Mark and I first discovered the Beach Boys in all their hairy and hippie glory. Understand, this was before “Endless Summer” and “Spirit of America”, and the record-buying public re-embracing the classic Beach Boys tunes of the early- and mid-sixties as escapist tonic to Watergate and the winding down of the Vietnam conflict. Mark and I loved the fact that you could play their music from this period to anyone and they’d never guess who the artist was – to us, that made the Beach Boys cooler than cool. Mellow due to Dennis’ fascination with love songs and the group’s embrace of Transcendental Meditation, funky with the addition of Chaplin’s and Fataar’s energy and musicianship. It was a combination hard to beat, even if only a few were listening at the time.

Here, then, are some samples of their stuff from 1972 and 1973. To me it never, ever gets tiring:

From Carl and the Passions – “So Tough”: “All This Is That” (Mike Love’s and Alan Jardine’s ode to TM), “He Come Down” (a mix of gospel and TM, quite unlike anything else they have ever recorded), “Marcella” (a more classic BB-sounding tune), “You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone” (a bit of soulful funk with a gritty Carl Wilson vocal featuring Daryl “The Captain” of The Captain and Tennille on piano), and “Cuddle Up” (a Dennis Wilson classic with Dragon on piano and Toni Tennille on background vocal).

From Holland: “We Got Love” (featuring Chaplin and Fataar, an anti-apartheid tome dropped from the album at the last minute, unreleased in studio form to this day), “Steamboat” (a murky Dennis Wilson tune featuring Carl on lead and an atmospheric slide-guitar solo), “The Trader” (Carl Wilson on the lead), “Sail On Sailor” (one of their all-time great tunes), and “California Saga – California” (Brian Wilson actually sings the intro to this hint of classic sound in a folksy, ’70s setting).

Classic sounds, great memories.