the concert clips were recorded January 30 at KTTV Studios - these were recorded before all of the KTSA sessions were completed so you may hear musical differences! enjoy :)
This is the first time I've seen the whole documentary. Previously, I had just seen bits and pieces, so thank you for posting this! It was great seeing so many Carl moments. What a sweetheart! He sure is missed.
Elora, thank you for sharing this amazing documentary!! It's one of the most interesting music-focused documentaries on the Beach Boys. I love the quality of the production and much of the never-seen precious footage.
I love the 1977-1980 era of The Beach Boys. Hearing "Goin' On" on the radio in 1980, it locked in my 8 year old brain into loving The Beach Boys. My parents played the 60s an 70s Beach Boys for me and I was already familiar with their back catalog. Hearing new music from them in 1980 was amazing. Still love Keepin The Summer Alive album. Thank you for posting this!
RIP, CArl Wilson & Dennis Wilson. -------------I remember the very 1st time I heard " Goin On " --------------I loved the song, & realized that they sounded adult, but still, with the harmonies, it was The Boys, for certain. It should have been a huge hit.------------Sad to miss DW here, but his drug & ETOH use had become impossible to deal with. ------i wish i could return to 1980 ! -----------------WolfSky9, 74 y/o
- Hope that the album goes platinum Doesn't crack the Top 40 and gets terrible reviews - Focus on cohesiveness instead of fragmentation Carl leaves for a solo career less than a year later - Claim they're in a "Renaissance period" Don't release another album for 5 years I think the boys jinxed themselves here.
They didn't name the show, "Going Platinum." It did better than their last two albums did on the charts in the U.S. This was right before MTV started and album sales were starting to decline.
While you could argue there was a jinx, from what I recall, Carl said that there was a brief time (around Knebworth) that the group was performing really well, but then it deteriorated shortly after that concert. This was a reason for Carl's departure in 1981. The elephant in the room in the documentary is Dennis, who was still alive at the time. Going from memory, Dennis was kicked out after a 1979 stage fight with Mike. He was let in to the live band just prior to Knebworth. Some could argue that letting Dennis (who was still battling his personal struggles) in at that point led to the deterioration. There was an attempt at an album in 1982 as well as the infamous 'Cocaine' sessions in 1981, so there was some creativity going on in the band. (You can also jump in all the Mike solo projects he did in the early 1980s.) KTSA was an attempt for unity. Yes, it's hypocritical since Dennis hardly contributed but he hardly added anything to M.I.U. either. (My Diane being recorded prior to the Iowa trip.) Mike's comment that their recent albums sound like a bunch of solo artists and that's true. I would say Big Ones was a group effort led by Brian, despite Carl and Dennis' resistance to do covers. Love You and Adult/Child were 110% Brian, but they took production control away from him with M.I.U. That's an Al album with strong Brian and Mike contributions. (Of course there was POB, which some songs could have been BBs.) Bruce was brought in for L.A. and it showed with them doing disco. The rest of the album is a fake attempt at unity. I don't think the Dennis' songs were meant for the BBs. At least Dennis sang a Carl song on that one. Sumahama was originally from First Love (though a different version). Lady Lynda had been played live for a few years and Good Timin' was the latest raid from the Brian Wilson vault. I don't want to blame Dennis (or any of the guys) for the the early 1980s nadir. They've all given the fans more than we could ever hope for and I'll be forever. grateful for that.
Mr J. Wilson : Sir-----------The Boys didn't " jinx " anything. One issue was terrible promotion-----------another was BW's drug use & weight became impossible to deal with -----------DW's issues became more & more tragic---------after this album, Carl had more music & the guys were tired of recording , so he went his own way. Also, Carl's role of always being so responsible, had become exhausting , & he badly needed a break. All of these forces came together, after it became clear that CBS was not going to promo this album. The group was left with serious splits , personally, & musically. -------------IMO, these years of being apart -----------Mike & Carl doing " their own thing " -----------almost certainly saved The Beach Boys, in the long run. ---------they lost DW----------BW got healthy-----------& they found that they needed each other anyway. Mike & Carl found a way to co-exist, until Carl's tragic passing. ----------------------------------WolfSky9, 74 y/o
I genuinely wonder how the audience felt being subjected to bizarre lip synced 80’s album cuts (still as unfinished mixes), when going in they probably expected Barbara Ann and 409
they probaly got big time BB fans and insiders and friends,,, fan club people to go to taping.. i like the songs and would have went to taping if asked
This gave me a better appreciation for this album. Brian appears to have been more active in its making than I have always assumed. But still it isn't a very good album. Better than LA Light Album (what isn't?). And whose idea was that album cover? It probably hurt sales more than the inferior music. Thanks for posting.
The documentary is fascinating, although it's painful seeing them trying to convince people that Keeping the Summer Alive was a return to form, when in reality it is a tremendously terrible album. A big problem was their best songwriter at this point wasn't involved with the group. And, no, I'm not talking about Brian.
Brian sounds and looks so with it here. I know he had his issues but he seems normal here and sounds together when he speaks here. What the hell did Landy do to him?
Honestly, I think most of the bad reviews were just dogpiling because the BBs were seen as the lamest of lame. KTSA has many fantastic tracks, with only a few duds. The production is generally much better than on MIU and LA. The most infuriating part for me about their post '73 career is that they had enough songs floating around to compile really fantastic albums, but I'd say over half of their output (not counting Love You) is just garbage.
I agree, I’ve recently heard the fan compilations of what would’ve been the California Feelin record from 74/75. Had they released that album I think they would’ve been taken more seriously by critics. For better or worse Endless Summer was released and it was just too easy to tour off the oldies and become a juke box
That Rolling Stone editor said multiple times this was only part 1 in what was going to be a documentary series that included other artists. Did they ever make any others?
Very groovy. I love these Beach Boys documentaries. Such an amazing group. I don’t know why but I just can’t stand Mike Love. He seems like he always wants credit. I never met the guy though so who knows, maybe he’s a nice guy. Doesn’t seem to be, but maybe he is.
Needs to be louder; otherwise very interesting! Dennis is missed + they probably would've make another classic with all six fully committed to it. Most of the lip-synched songs are quite good. Takes repeated listening with most of what they released after 1977. Brian is clearly having problems again, while seeing mike getting aggravated when they (i.e. bw/ml) work together is a hoot!
I knew someone would ask that. Probably Dennis was out being Dennis. Bad point in time for both Brian and Dennis. This promo film is close to being propaganda. And I'm a huge fan.
My understanding is he was temporarily dismissed from the group over drugs and behavior, but came back for the KTSA tour in 1980 but was pretty on and off til his death in 83.
This is the first time I've seen the whole documentary. Previously, I had just seen bits and pieces, so thank you for posting this! It was great seeing so many Carl moments. What a sweetheart! He sure is missed.
love that trying to keep the summer alive clip
Wow! Saw this when it first aired 39 yrs ago. Thanks for sharing.
finally the whole thing - fantastic!!!
I've never even heard of this til now.
Wow!!!...A real time capsule. Great to finally see this in full. No mention of Dennis, he's been totally airbrushed out of the picture !
He was probably kicked out of the band around then to deal with his addiction issues.
Underrated album, some real gems to be unearthed here
Elora, thank you for sharing this amazing documentary!! It's one of the most interesting music-focused documentaries on the Beach Boys. I love the quality of the production and much of the never-seen precious footage.
I love the 1977-1980 era of The Beach Boys. Hearing "Goin' On" on the radio in 1980, it locked in my 8 year old brain into loving The Beach Boys. My parents played the 60s an 70s Beach Boys for me and I was already familiar with their back catalog. Hearing new music from them in 1980 was amazing. Still love Keepin The Summer Alive album. Thank you for posting this!
Gee u sure were a hip 8 yr old did u drive and smoke,too?
Man, these guys looked old already and it was only 1980!
Drugs and stress.
Looks like Bruce has 1970s Carl's fashion sense here, and Carl himself has moved onto his basic black 1980s self.
Al Jardine picked up Mike's 1969-70 fashion sense
RIP Carl Wilson. So great to see and hear him. Amazing voice!!
Bengt Stenström yeah Carl is amazing
RIP, CArl Wilson & Dennis Wilson. -------------I remember the very 1st time I heard " Goin On " --------------I loved the song, & realized that they sounded adult, but still, with the harmonies, it was The Boys, for certain. It should have been a huge hit.------------Sad to miss DW here, but his drug & ETOH use had become impossible to deal with. ------i wish i could return to 1980 ! -----------------WolfSky9, 74 y/o
Hi WolfSky9 ... always love your comments and take on things! May I ask what ETOH stands for? Thanks!
@@bethbarry6231 Ethyl Alcohol which is the medical or research designation of alcohol. So booze..
Love this era of the band.. idk why fans hate it soo much. I enjoy it
It's my favorite album by them
After 1977, things become cornier. But this is one of those rare gems
@@marty3888 Great scott!
- Hope that the album goes platinum
Doesn't crack the Top 40 and gets terrible reviews
- Focus on cohesiveness instead of fragmentation
Carl leaves for a solo career less than a year later
- Claim they're in a "Renaissance period"
Don't release another album for 5 years
I think the boys jinxed themselves here.
They didn't name the show, "Going Platinum." It did better than their last two albums did on the charts in the U.S. This was right before MTV started and album sales were starting to decline.
While you could argue there was a jinx, from what I recall, Carl said that there was a brief time (around Knebworth) that the group was performing really well, but then it deteriorated shortly after that concert. This was a reason for Carl's departure in 1981. The elephant in the room in the documentary is Dennis, who was still alive at the time. Going from memory, Dennis was kicked out after a 1979 stage fight with Mike. He was let in to the live band just prior to Knebworth. Some could argue that letting Dennis (who was still battling his personal struggles) in at that point led to the deterioration. There was an attempt at an album in 1982 as well as the infamous 'Cocaine' sessions in 1981, so there was some creativity going on in the band. (You can also jump in all the Mike solo projects he did in the early 1980s.)
KTSA was an attempt for unity. Yes, it's hypocritical since Dennis hardly contributed but he hardly added anything to M.I.U. either. (My Diane being recorded prior to the Iowa trip.) Mike's comment that their recent albums sound like a bunch of solo artists and that's true. I would say Big Ones was a group effort led by Brian, despite Carl and Dennis' resistance to do covers. Love You and Adult/Child were 110% Brian, but they took production control away from him with M.I.U. That's an Al album with strong Brian and Mike contributions. (Of course there was POB, which some songs could have been BBs.) Bruce was brought in for L.A. and it showed with them doing disco. The rest of the album is a fake attempt at unity. I don't think the Dennis' songs were meant for the BBs. At least Dennis sang a Carl song on that one. Sumahama was originally from First Love (though a different version). Lady Lynda had been played live for a few years and Good Timin' was the latest raid from the Brian Wilson vault.
I don't want to blame Dennis (or any of the guys) for the the early 1980s nadir. They've all given the fans more than we could ever hope for and I'll be forever. grateful for that.
@@bobbyd7524 it did better in charts, but sold less than LA (Light Album). This is my least favourite Beach Boys album
@A S same
Mr J. Wilson : Sir-----------The Boys didn't " jinx " anything. One issue was terrible promotion-----------another was BW's drug use & weight became impossible to deal with -----------DW's issues became more & more tragic---------after this album, Carl had more music & the guys were tired of recording , so he went his own way. Also, Carl's role of always being so responsible, had become exhausting , & he badly needed a break. All of these forces came together, after it became clear that CBS was not going to promo this album. The group was left with serious splits , personally, & musically. -------------IMO, these years of being apart -----------Mike & Carl doing " their own thing " -----------almost certainly saved The Beach Boys, in the long run. ---------they lost DW----------BW got healthy-----------& they found that they needed each other anyway. Mike & Carl found a way to co-exist, until Carl's tragic passing. ----------------------------------WolfSky9, 74 y/o
I think this was A great album !!! It was the first new Beach Boys album I bought when I was 15 in early 1980
I genuinely wonder how the audience felt being subjected to bizarre lip synced 80’s album cuts (still as unfinished mixes), when going in they probably expected Barbara Ann and 409
they probaly got big time BB fans and insiders and friends,,, fan club people to go to taping.. i like the songs and would have went to taping if asked
I’m curious if they actually played but their performance was dubbed over or if they’re lip syncing.
I think there are some live elements only, not the majority of the tracks and none of the vocals
Very nice documentary
Love this, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this Elora!!
What......Did Al say fu*k it im not even getting dressed for these live shows anymore, I'll just preform in my pajamas???
ha😂
Probably. They recorded the album in his home, maybe they filmed this near it as well and he didn't see the point of getting dressed😅😅😅😅
Even Mike got caught up in the Urban Cowboy fad lol
This my favorite album by them. two of my favorites they didn't talk about; Santa Ana winds and when girls get together.
As Carl’s singing your can see he keeps checking on Brian. Carl was the glue to the band
This gave me a better appreciation for this album. Brian appears to have been more active in its making than I have always assumed. But still it isn't a very good album. Better than LA Light Album (what isn't?). And whose idea was that album cover? It probably hurt sales more than the inferior music. Thanks for posting.
12.30: Carl looks like he wants to go away from it all, which he did a couple of months later. The artistic low point of The Beach Boys!
Mike loves getting ready to ride out on his steel horse
Cuddles Elora thank you
It's weird to see people "enjoying" and clapping along to the album tracks
The documentary is fascinating, although it's painful seeing them trying to convince people that Keeping the Summer Alive was a return to form, when in reality it is a tremendously terrible album.
A big problem was their best songwriter at this point wasn't involved with the group. And, no, I'm not talking about Brian.
I think it’s a solid album. Just my opinion
I thought the album was pretty good
It’s okayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. There’s some fucking vomit on it but it’s got some solid tunes
“Carl Wilson has always been the Henry Kissinger of the group” def a dated reference. I was like Carl Wilson IS NOT a War Criminal jk
and henry kissinger died a couple days ago
Brian sounds and looks so with it here. I know he had his issues but he seems normal here and sounds together when he speaks here. What the hell did Landy do to him?
over medicated him with psychotropic drugs
He sounds coherent but IMO he just looks disheveled and out of it to me
Mental illness is complicated xx
6:15 Bassist isn’t even pretending to know the Sunshine changes
No kidding...good catch
This is brilliant !!
Honestly, I think most of the bad reviews were just dogpiling because the BBs were seen as the lamest of lame. KTSA has many fantastic tracks, with only a few duds. The production is generally much better than on MIU and LA. The most infuriating part for me about their post '73 career is that they had enough songs floating around to compile really fantastic albums, but I'd say over half of their output (not counting Love You) is just garbage.
I agree, I’ve recently heard the fan compilations of what would’ve been the California Feelin record from 74/75. Had they released that album I think they would’ve been taken more seriously by critics. For better or worse Endless Summer was released and it was just too easy to tour off the oldies and become a juke box
Yeah after Love You it's hit& miss
I totally agree with you. KTSA is solid album, I think it’s better than even some of early 60’s albums. FYI- I am born in 1980
Ben Fong Torres - I still think of him as a character from Almost Famous.
43 years ago. Wow. Where was Dennis?
God Mike's acting so meek here, it's almost crazy.
Alan's ROBE
😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
Elora.. ❤
this is actuallly kinda crazy lmaooo
My Gluv in full prime Cowboy Era. 😂
lmaoo
A song or two from Dennis would have helped on this lp. Bruce did a good job with what he had to work with--the title track does rock.
best cover art
That Rolling Stone editor said multiple times this was only part 1 in what was going to be a documentary series that included other artists. Did they ever make any others?
No, I just read a post (that brought me here) that said this was such a commercial failure they never made another one.
Very groovy. I love these Beach Boys documentaries. Such an amazing group. I don’t know why but I just can’t stand Mike Love. He seems like he always wants credit. I never met the guy though so who knows, maybe he’s a nice guy. Doesn’t seem to be, but maybe he is.
March 2024
Was this during one of the periods when Dennis was told his services were no longer required?
Most likely
Big Sur for sure 🤙🏼
I didn't know that Murray Wilson managed them in 1970
Yeah that part is incorrect, He was fired in 1964. He still had a lot to do with the band on occasion up to the early 70's
on the final mix of school days, did carl play the guitar solo or ed.
Such a strange period for the group.
Needs to be louder; otherwise very interesting! Dennis is missed + they probably would've make another classic with all six fully committed to it. Most of the lip-synched songs are quite good. Takes repeated listening with most of what they released after 1977. Brian is clearly having problems again, while seeing mike getting aggravated when they (i.e. bw/ml) work together is a hoot!
Of course it doesn't have the best song "Endless harmony".
Oh that saxophone solo...gives me the chills!!
8:19 Carl is the Henry Kissinger of The Beach Boys. Okay.
Where was Dennis?
This was a feature film?
Carl is The henry kissenger? lol. no i think he's a little better than that. In fact he's the exact opposite of that person
Is this the only documentary to come out during Dennis's life?
No, there's a 1976 film of their "Good Vibrations" Tour. There's also a video on Amazon Prime in which he features. Can't remember the year.
Lmao @ 7:38
Where was Dennis?
I knew someone would ask that. Probably Dennis was out being Dennis. Bad point in time for both Brian and Dennis. This promo film is close to being propaganda. And I'm a huge fan.
Historically great to watch though.
bassball67 He was actually banned from the touring band around this time and he returned in summer of 1980
My understanding is he was temporarily dismissed from the group over drugs and behavior, but came back for the KTSA tour in 1980 but was pretty on and off til his death in 83.