Background: In the summer of 1964 the Beach Boys (Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine) undertook an extensive tour of many cities criss-crossing the United States. Because of the success of previous show there, and the Beach Boys’ growing relationship with local DJ Fred Vail, the Civic Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento was chosen as the venue where a live album would be recorded. The voice introducing the band is that of Fred Vail, soon to assume the responsibility of officially promoting the band.

Review: The recent top 5 single Fun Fun Fun opens the set and is a good choice to get the crowd going. It is likely that this is one of the tracks ‘sweetened’ subsequently by Brian at Western studio 3 as some of the vocals are stronger here than on other tracks. Jan & Dean’s The Little Old Lady From Pasadena was at No.3 in the charts at the time of the concert and as it suited the Beach Boys style coupled with the fact that Brian was working closely with Jan & Dean, it made perfect sense to include this in their show. Little Deuce Coupe has a neat start where Mike Love introduces each Beach Boy and their instrument. It is surprising how quiet Al Jardine’s rhythm guitar is though. Long Tall Texan had been in the charts the previous year and perhaps was already a fixture in the Beach Boys live show from then. It certainly went down well with the audience. And In My Room seems to have been a firm favourite too judging by the screams that greet its intro. Monster Mash is a fun song and gives Mike full reign to ham it up. Let’s Go Trippin’ must have been a fixture in their set given the crowd’s raucous yell of the title. Carl Wilson makes easy work of this surf standard and the band is really cooking on it. There sounds like there is a piano in the mix at some points - who played it? If the band cook on the previous track, they WAIL on Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow, which was a minor hit for the Rivingtons in 1962. Mike Love gives an outstanding bass contribution. Dennis Wilson was the undisputed sex symbol of the group then and always. In his featured solo spot singing the (somehow so apt!) 1962 Dion hit The Wanderer he gets a wonderful reaction from the girls in the audience. As Dennis was out front on this, Brian took over the drumming duty and not only acquits himself well (the timing is spot-on) his ‘drum fills’ on the tom-toms are VERY good indeed. If Hawaii wasn’t one of the tracks ‘sweetened’ later in the studio, then the Beach Boys could sometimes recreate their recorded sound flawlessly live. Graduation Day is a Four Freshmen song from 1956, and again is a remarkable display of their close harmony blend. As Mike Love indicates in his introduction, I Get Around had just been the No.1 single in the USA and the crowd go wild. It has to be said that the track particularly seems to have benefited from that extra special ‘attention’ from Brian afterwards… Johnny B. Goode is a great Chuck Berry rocker to close a show and the band is on fire ending on a great climax.

Summary: Concert was the first (and the only non-compilation) Beach Boys album to reach the top of the charts. Notwithstanding the post concert ‘adjustments’, it serves not only as a historical record of the group’s live sound at that point in their career when Brian Wilson was still a part of the touring band, it is worth listening to on its own terms for the energy of the performances and the reaction of the crowd.

Highlights: The Little Old Lady From Pasadena, Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow, The Wanderer, Graduation Day, Johnny B. Goode.

On the Concert/Live In London CD Twofer, one of the bonus tracks is Don’t Worry Baby recorded during the same concert, which didn’t make the original release. Such an exquisite song, and so difficult to sing live, the group handles it very well although the lushness that we know and love, is missing.

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