The Beach Boys – The Platinum Collection

The Beach Boys had a precarious time throughout the 80s. But it’s testament to their longevity that they even existed in that decade. They had written one of the soundtracks to the 60s. Blasted and blown their way through the 70s. So what could happen for them in 80s?

The decade started impressively enough. The Beach Boys played mammoth shows in the UK (Knebworth) and the US (The Mall in Washington DC). And they were awarded a star on the Hollywood walk of fame. But at the same time as these great heights, drummer Dennis Wilson was beginning to go AWOL through continued drug abuse and their 26th album, Keeping The Summer Alive, limped out…

In ’81, the drugs were visibly taking their toll. Of the three founding brothers, Dennis and Brian are were most inept at what is considered to be the bands worst ever gig (the nationally televised Long Beach concert) while Carl Wilson split from the group and released an eponymous debut, telling press that he wouldn’t rejoin the band until “1981 means as much as 1961”…

Things just got silly in 1982. Dennis had a baby by Shawn Love, band-mate Mike Love’s (alleged) illegitimate daughter. And later that year the band ‘fired’ Brian Wilson in the hope of straightening him out. Having just turned 39, Dennis tragically drowned the next year. His lasting memory is the classic – and criminally overlooked – Pacific Ocean Blue solo album.

By the mid-80s, things were picking up. Brian Wilson appeared to be winning his long battles with drugs, the band delivered a very well received Live Aid performance in ’85 and released The Beach Boys album, with Ringo Starr and Stevie Winder guesting. The next year Brian took his first tentative steps back into a recording studio, and the band hit their 25th anniversary.

It took until 1987 for The Beach Boys to get to grips with the 80s. But that’s when - musically speaking – it all started to go wrong. From ethereal beach classics and hippy experimentation, The Beach Boys (presumably with Brian Wilson safely under lock and key) released Wipe Out, with comedy rap act The Fat Boys. As if that wasn’t enough, in ’88 the band – again without Brian (who was busy releasing his critically acclaimed solo debut) – released Kokomo from the Tom Cruise film Cocktail. Like sad caricatures of themselves, they had officially become their own, budget tribute act.

It’s these travesties that close The Platinum Collection. So thank goodness for programmable CD players. Just take the 60-track 3 CD set and play it backwards. Start where it all went wrong and freewheel in reverse back to where it all went right. Midway, out of your rear-view mirror, you’ll see classics like Help Me Rhonda and Good Vibrations coming towards you. And by the time you end up at the beginning you’ll be in 1962 listening to I Get Around and Surfin’ USA and the future will be but a distant memory…