Riding The Crest Again

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This set will put all misconceptions right and demonstrate, lastingly, that Brian and the Beach Boys made luminous music. If not all the music in this set made history at first, it can take its proud place in history now. There are 141 songs on this set -- more than six hours of music. Compilers Mark Linett, David Leaf and Andy Paley have included every one of the group's Top 40 hits, along with 40 previously unreleased tracks and assorted radio spots. The collection offers evidence of Brian's emotional delicacy and creative resiliency, from the unreleased H.E.L.P. Is on the Way, with its self-mocking references to being overweight ("doughy lumps, stomach pumps, enemas too"), to the soup-deep sorrow of 'Til I Die. It also gives fair play to Carl Wilson's gifts as a writer and lead guitarist, and to the freewheeling lyricism of a third brother, the late Dennis Wilson.

The Beach Boys still play around, of course, although Brian is now making solo music on his own. He is currently in the studio with Smile collaborator Van Dyke Parks, good news that demonstrates, like this great collection, that the creative tide is still strong. Surf's up!