Uncanny

AZ CENTRAL "A pristine 1971 Hemi 'Cuda owned by Al Jardine of The Beach Boys was on display in Palm Beach and will be one of the 'crown jewel' cars sold in Las Vegas."

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SCOTSMAN "Sparks came to life in 1970 when the California-based duo were still students. Their quirky – albeit ignored or maligned – assault on the mainstream was initially called Halfnelson, blending Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and the Beach Boys."

ISLINGTON TRIBUNE discusses Sparks' up-coming 21-gig retrospective of their back catalogue

Also see our previous POST on Sparks.

AMAZON Not much info on this yet. The Beach Boys "Surfin' Success" (DVD/CD or CD) is a new documentary of the band. Here's what we've read so far:

"From their arrival at Heathrow to backstage at The Hammersmith Odeon, this film follows the group on their infamous first visit to London. The only American supergroup to rival The Beatles talk us through their early days when three brothers, a cousin and a high school friend began their surfing harmony group. This amazing documentary covers their achievements with 'Pet Sounds' and the difficulties Brian Wilson had with the unreleased 'Smile' album. Brian's 'Teenage Symphony To God' was said to be the greatest unreleased album ever made and in this film Brian describes the making of 'Smile' as 'a hashish-fuelled period of craziness'. The film features many rare & unreleased scenes and the group 'at home' in London. Includes a bonus 13 track CD (also available separately) featuring demos & outtakes from the late '60s as well as a fascinating, 24 minute interview with Brian Wilson & Mike Love."

NEW YORK TIMES Here's an artilcle about the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM)

SPORTING NEWS

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NEWBURYPORT CURRENT “But it was ‘Little Pad,’ the Beach Boys tune from the Smiley Smile album that pushed him over the ukulele edge."

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VARIETY "A treasure trove of witness-at-creation anecdotes and enduringly potent '60s pop classics, 'The Wrecking Crew' is a well-nigh irresistible treat for aficionados of music from the era when acts like the Beach Boys, the Association and the Monkees were topping the charts. Pic celebrates a loose-knit group of largely unknown (except by industry insiders) session musicians, many of whom supplied the defining licks and backbeats -- and in some cases, actually played instruments for band members -- on legendary recordings. Nostalgia-drenched rockumentary should score impressively as cable fare, homevid product and public television fund-raiser."

Beach Boys Mike Love and Bruce Johnston led the Beach Boys in a private concert at the Wellesley Country Club in 2006

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THE WELLESLEY TOWNSMAN

SAN ANTONIO CURRENT Madonna is a co-writer, “in the sense that Mike Love is the co-writer of ‘Good Vibrations’ and countless other Beach Boys hits. Like Love, she needed someone else to come up with the initial inspiration for the song and shape the music so she could put a lyric on top of it. Finishing off someone else’s idea is not an insignificant skill, but it’s not the essence of true songwriting, either. That’s why people consider Brian Wilson a genius and Mike Love a calculating putz.”

THE HERALD Steve Forman has performed and/or recorded with musicians such as The Beach Boys ("post Pet Sounds, post all of the crises"), Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, Cate Brothers, Phil Spector, Raymond Manzarek, Pink Floyd, David Bowie