Ride

Even without considering "Pet Sounds", Paul McCartney's favorite album-- and there are three selections from it, but 90% are from the rest of their work, so it represents the all of their art and not just that one piece-- it is true that the Beach Boys performed a variety of different kinds of songs. "Be True To Your School" is inspired by local spirit (maybe not unlike BB's), it might be said that "Fun Fun Fun" deals with the issue of having and not having, albeit in a *goofy* way, and "California Girls" creates a sort of sociology of fun by searching around for the place with the best girls....

But although there is diversity among their different songs, there is a sort of vague broad similarity throughout them. And aside from "Pet Sounds" maybe part of what makes their music so, say, reassuring, with some energy but just overall very relaxing and easy to be with, is that they produced so much of so much broad similarity over so long a period of time-- (e.g., say, "Barbara Ann", 1965, and "Kokomo", 1988), almost as though it were indeed one very very long single album, a The Very Best Of just waiting to be edited and compiled.

And I suppose that the spirit of similar inspiration diffused throughout their stuff which makes it broadly mostly the same sort of rock and roll music, are a few easy going attitudes-- a happy-go-lucky belief that running after girls will work out well in the end, a contented feeling that being an American is a pleasant experience, and just a general feeling that there's really nothing so serious to worry about!

(9/10)