Sunflower

Sunflower
Studio album by The Beach Boys
Released	August 31, 1970
Recorded	sporadically from January 9, 1969 to July 21, 1970
Genre	Pop, soul, classic rock, rhythm & blues, sunshine pop
Length	36:55
Label	Brother/Reprise
Producer	The Beach Boys
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Pitchfork Media (8.9/10) link Robert Christgau (A-) link Rolling Stone [1] RS Album Guide link Blender link
The Beach Boys chronology
20/20 (1969) Sunflower (1970) Surf's Up (1971)

Sunflower is The Beach Boys' sixteenth studio album, twenty-first official album release, and their first under their contract with Reprise Records. Issued in August 1970, Sunflower is often regarded as among The Beach Boys' very best releases.^{[citation needed]}

Sunflower (Brother/Reprise RS 6382) hit #151 in the US charts during a 4 week stay, becoming the lowest charting Beach Boys album until 1978's M.I.U. Album equalled it. It reached #29 in the UK.

The album's critical reputation has grown since its original appearance. In 2003, the album was ranked number 380 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.^[1] Sunflower is now paired on CD with Surf's Up.

The recording of Sunflower

Early Sessions

After their last album, 20/20, Dennis Wilson was the first Beach Boy to head back into the recording studio, producing five tracks in the first two months of 1969: "Forever", "San Miguel", "Got To Know The Woman", "What Can The Matter Be?", and "Celebrate The News". Bruce Johnston's "Deirdre" was also recorded during these sessions. In early March the entire band went into the studio to record "Loop de Loop" and "All I Wanna Do", and also finish up Dennis's "Forever".

On April 12, The Beach Boys sued Capitol Records for unpaid royalties and unpaid production fees in the amount of two million dollars. This was the second time that they have sued Capitol (the first being in the spring of 1967), and it may have contributed to a lack of promotion by Capitol of The Beach Boys' final releases for them.

They then turned their attention to "Break Away", written by Brian Wilson and his father Murry, who used the pseudonym Reggie Dunbar. At the time, it was thought that it would be their last single for Capitol and was a very small hit in the U.S. (It reached #63). It did much better overseas, peaking at #6 in the UK. "Celebrate The News" was the b-side, and neither song was released on a Beach Boys album.

After they were done recording "Break Away", the band went on a tour of Europe. When they got back, they recorded two more Dennis Wilson songs, "Slip On Through" and "I'm Going Your Way". Next on the agenda was a rerecording of "Cotton Fields" (retitled on the single as "Cottonfields"), a Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly) song that was released on The Beach Boys previous album, 20/20. Al Jardine was the producer for this recording of the song.

The Fading Rock Group Revival

After the new "Cotton Fields" was finished, they started to try to put an album together which would finish their commitment to Capitol. It had working titles of Reverberation and The Fading Rock Group Revival. A master tape was put together with these songs:

• "Cotton Fields"
• "Loop de Loop"
• "San Miguel"
• "Deirdre"
• "Forever"
• "The Lord's Prayer"
• "Break Away"
• "Celebrate The News"
• "All I Wanna Do"
• "Got To Know The Woman"

track sequence unknown

"The Lord's Prayer" was the B-side to their 1963 single "Little Saint Nick", and was remixed to be in Duophonic sound on this album. This album was never released, and it is unknown if Capitol rejected the album or if the Beach Boys never submitted it. The Beach Boys fulfilled their contract with Live in London. Capitol had such little faith in the album, they chose to release it only where the Beach Boys' records were still selling respectably well—the UK. That business decision forced diehard fans around the world into record stores to 'special order' the import version. The live album finally appeared as an official American release in 1976.

A new record label

After giving Live in London to Capitol, the band began to work seriously on a new album. In October and November 1969, they started recording "Walkin'", "Games Two Can Play", "Add Some Music To Your Day", "When Girls Get Together", "Soulful Old Man Sunshine", "Raspberries, Strawberries", "This Whole World", and "Tears In The Morning". They also continued work on Dennis's "Slip On Through".

In fall of 1969, The Beach Boys intensified work on their new project. Their reputation had fallen sharply in the US since 1967, but Mo Ostin (reportedly on Van Dyke Parks' urging despite Brian Wilson's personal attempts at sabotage by meeting Warner executives, promising to behave but also painting his face green) decided to sign them in November. Part of the deal was to revive their Brother Records imprint, initially founded during the Smile era and used only for the Smiley Smile album, and the "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry" singles before becoming dormant.

Add Some Music sessions

After signing their new contracts, The Beach Boys redoubled their efforts in the studio, finishing up "Tears In The Morning" and "Add Some Music To Your Day", the latter of which was going to serve as the title of the new album. In addition, they recorded nine new songs: "Susie Cincinnati", "Fallin' In Love", "Carnival", "I Just Got My Pay", "Take A Load Off Your Feet", "Good Time", "Back Home", and "Our Sweet Love". A rough piano run-through of The Beatles' "You Never Give Me Your Money" was also taped.

Add Some Music To Your Day

After the final session (on February 2, to add car sound effects to "Susie Cincinnati"), they started to assemble the album, and released the lead single, "Add Some Music To Your Day". Reprise was so excited about the single that they convinced retailers to carry more copies of it than they ever had for any other Reprise single. Unfortunately for the band, the single (with the b-side "Susie Cincinnati") did not sell as well as they had hoped, only reaching #64 on the Billboard top 100 chart.

After the Reprise single failed, Capitol Records released their last Beach Boys single, Cotton Fields. While it failed to chart in the US, the song hit #1 in Australia, Sweden, and Norway, and hit #5 in the UK.

Before leaving for a tour of Australia and New Zealand, they finished putting the album together and submitted it to the label. Entitled Add Some Music, it consisted of these tracks:

1. "Susie Cincinnati"
2. "Good Time"
3. "Our Sweet Love"
4. "Tears In The Morning"
5. "When Girls Get Together"
6. "Slip On Through"
7. "Add Some Music To Your Day"
8. "Take A Load Off Your Feet"
9. "This Whole World"
10. "I Just Got My Pay"
11. "At My Window"
12. "Fallin' In Love"

It was rejected. After listening to the album, and after the failure of the lead single, Mo Ostin suggested that they come up with a few stronger tracks or their days at Reprise Records would be short-lived. The band was unhappy, but went into the studio one last time.

Final Sunflower sessions

The Beach Boys recorded the last two Sunflower songs in July 1970. The first, recorded at the behest of Lenny Waronker, was "Cool, Cool Water". Waronker, then an A&R executive at Warner Music, heard the unfinished tape, and convinced Wilson to finish the track for Sunflower (Wilson later reworked the original version of the song I Love to Say Dada as "In Blue Hawaii" for his 2004 solo release). Waronker was so impressed with the song's inspired simplicity, that he noted:

Eighteen years later, in 1988, Waronker would produce Brian's "Rio Grande" for Wilson's self-titled solo album.

The other song that they recorded was "It's About Time", a rocker that briefly became a concert staple for them.

Bruce Johnston also rerecorded his vocal to "Tears In The Morning".

After recording over 30 different songs, and going through several different album titles, The Beach Boys' Sunflower was finally released in August 1970.

Recorded But Not Included

The sessions that led to Sunflower provided a lot of material for future Beach Boys albums and compilations.

"Break Away" and "Celebrate The News" were released as a single, and reissued on the Friends/20/20 twofer. "Loop de Loop" and "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" were unreleased until 1998's Endless Harmony Soundtrack. "San Miguel" was released on the 1970s compilation Ten Years of Harmony. After "Cotton Fields" became a big European hit, it was added to Sunflower overseas. In the US, it wouldn't be released on an album until the 1983's Rarities came out. Dennis Wilson released "Fallin' In Love", now retitled "Lady", as the b-side to his European single "Sound of Free" in December 1970.

"Games Two Can Play" and "I Just Got My Pay" were released on the Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys box set. "When Girls Get Together" was on the 1980 album Keepin' the Summer Alive. "Raspberries, Strawberries" was a working title for "At My Window", which was on the Sunflower album. "Susie Cincinnati" was the b-side to the ill-fated "Add Some Music To Your Day" single, then again used as the b-side for a rare 1974 Christmas single, "Child of Winter", and was then released in 1976 on 15 Big Ones, which also included "Back Home". "Take A Load Off Your Feet" was on the next album, Surf's Up. "Good Time" stayed in the vaults until 1977's Love You.

"What Can The Matter Be?", "Walkin'", "Carnival", and "You Never Give Me Your Money" have never been released.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Slip On Through" (Dennis Wilson) – 2:17
   • Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
2. "This Whole World" (Brian Wilson) – 1:56
   • Features Brian Wilson and Carl Wilson on lead vocals
3. "Add Some Music to Your Day" (Brian Wilson/Joe Knott/Mike Love) – 3:34
   • Features Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine on lead vocals
4. "Got to Know the Woman" (Dennis Wilson) – 2:41
   • Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
5. "Deirdre" (Bruce Johnston/Brian Wilson) – 3:27
   • Features Bruce Johnston on lead vocals
6. "It's About Time" (Dennis Wilson/Carl Wilson/Bob Burchman/Al Jardine) – 2:55
   • Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals

Side two

7. "Tears in the Morning" (Bruce Johnston) – 4:07
   • Features Bruce Johnston on lead vocals
8. "All I Wanna Do" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 2:34
   • Features Mike Love on lead vocals
9. "Forever" (Dennis Wilson/Gregg Jakobson) – 2:40
   • Features Dennis Wilson on lead vocals
10. "Our Sweet Love" (Brian Wilson/Carl Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:38
    • Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
11. "At My Window" (Brian Wilson/Al Jardine) – 2:30
    • Features Bruce Johnston on lead vocals, French language spoken word sequence by Brian Wilson
12. "Cool, Cool Water" (Brian Wilson/Mike Love) – 5:03
    • Features Brian Wilson and Mike Love on lead vocals

European track listing

This variation of the album was released by EMI subsidiary, Stateside Records, in November, 1970. Its opening track was "Cottonfields." "Got to Know the Woman" and "Deirdre" were placed in inverse order on side 1. The contents of the individual tracks were unchanged. This track listing has been superseded with the regular Sunflower running order, now released worldwide.

Singles

• "Add Some Music to Your Day" b/w "Susie Cincinnati" (Brother 0894), 23 February 1970; US #64
• "Cottonfields" b/w "The Nearest Faraway Place" (Capitol 2765), 20 April 1970; US #103, UK #5
• "Slip On Through" b/w "This Whole World" (Brother 0929), 29 June 1970
• "Tears in the Morning" b/w "It's About Time" (Brother 0957), November 1970
• "Cool, Cool Water" b/w "Forever" (Brother 0998), February 1971

Production notes

producer: The Beach Boys
chief engineer and mixer: Steve Desper
cover photo: Ricci Martin
other photos: Ed Thrasher

The vast majority of the album was recorded at Brian Wilson's home studio in Bel Air.

Artwork

The picture of the band on the front sleeve, featuring all six group members, was taken on the golf course at the family ranch owned by Dean Martin (named The Hidden Valley Ranch) near Thousand Oaks in Ventura County, CA. Dean's son Ricci Martin, a friend of the band, took the photograph, also featuring Brian's daughter Carnie, Alan's first son Matthew (later an auxiliary Beach Boy himself), Mike's children Hayleigh and Christian (the latter a current touring member of the Beach Boys Band), and Carl's son Jonah.

The inner gatefold spread on the original vinyl LP featured a series of photographs taken by designer/photographer Ed Thrasher at the Warner Brothers studio backlot.

References

Sources

• Badman, Keith; Bacon, Tony. The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary of America's Greatest Band on Stage and in the Studio (San Francisco: Backbeat Books, 2004) ISBN 0-87930-818-4
• Bush, John. 'Sunflower', All Music (2005) Retrieved July 24 2005.
• Elliott, Brad. Surf's Up: The Beach Boys On Record (1981)
• Whitburn, Joel. "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 2002) ISBN 0-89820-147-0
• Whitburn, Joel. "Top Pop Singles 1955-2001", (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 2002)
• White, Timothy. The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience (1994)
• White, Timothy. CD booklet notes, Sunflower/Surf's Up (2000)
• Wilson, Brian; Gold, Todd. Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story (1991).

External links

• Sunflower lyrics