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Worst Beach Boys song ever?

Filed under: Imported

Wake up, Mike-- it's time to suck!

As any longtime devotee of Brian Wilson and his messengers can attest, this is a very crowded category. After 1970 and the band's last great album, Sunflower, the magic happened less and less and the crap flowed more and more. BB bootleg collectors especially have been subjected to some of the most painful, rotten recordings ever made.

Or, in the case of our example today, never made, or at least released. Here's a demo of their rendition of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," their hoped-for cash-in on the country's Bicenntennial craze. They apparently pulled Brian out of bed and told him to bring his sleighbells. As my old friend Steve Perry said, it makes the Civil War sound kinda fun!

P.S. Listen especially to the nuanced phrasing of Boys' lead nasalist Mike Love, who never met a song he couldn't diminish. (And for all the carpsters who still complain about the 62-year-old BW's voice on the new Smile-- nominated for three shoo-in Grammys-- be thankful this money-grubbing asshole isn't on a second of it.) As I said to a friend recently, that's not singing, that's sneezing.

Posted by Steve Monaco at January 11, 2005 6:16 AM

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