Background: In September 1965 Brian Wilson was planning his next Beach Boys album and having given Capitol Summer Days in mid 1965, he would have been hoping for time and space to develop his work-in-progress and what was to become his masterpiece, Pet Sounds It was not to be. Capitol’s insatiable appetite for material continues and the transition from TODAY! To Pet Sounds is once again interrupted as Brian Wilson yields to the pressure and agrees to create another dollar machine. Having previously released The Beach Boys Concert album and a Christmas Album, Capitol’s (and the band’s) options were limited to a brand new Beach Boys recording or a Greatest Hits package. Brian Wilson knowing that Pet Sounds is in the pipeline is unwilling to rush his masterpiece and has no desire to start work on a new set of songs within the timescale. At their commercial peak, a Greatest Hits release is deemed premature. The suggestion of a “live” party album is an agreeable solution with the added benefit of being easily completed in a matter of days. Everyone is happy, Brian gives Capitol just a little time and Capitol gets another moneyspinner – the pressure is relieved.

Review: Recorded 'live' in September 1965 at Western Studios, and released in November ’65, The Beach Boys’ PARTY! is not a work of art. Neither however is it a throwaway album. It is a simple album in terms of its easy listening and limited production sound. Mainly acoustic guitars, bongos, harmonica, and tambourine, it showcases the Beach Boys singing their favourite 1950s and ‘60s chart hits. The ‘guests’chitchat and party sounds (recorded and added afterwards) can be distracting and at times annoying, but the core of the album - the individual and group vocals, and the care-free sound of the album is worth the listen. There are decent and recognisable songs on Beach Boys’ PARTY! - some amusing, and some great performances; notably The Beatles’ covers I Should Have Known Better, Tell Me Why, and You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away where the ad-libbing and flaws in the singing are perhaps what makes them endearing. Papa Oom Mow Mow shows how Mike Love’s powerful and persistent bass vocals contrast perfectly with the wild screeching of Brian Wilson’s. Mountain Of Love, and the Phil Spector tribute There’s No Other (Like My Baby) both have a strong lead vocal from Mike Love and Brian Wilson respectively, and are the only tracks on the album sounding like full-length, rehearsed songs. Barbara Ann of course with Dean Torrance guesting on vocals was the surprise hit from the album, reaching No 2 in the US charts and No 3 in the UK.
From archive tapes, it is now known that a number of songs were recorded for PARTY! but did not make it to the final cut of the record, notably One Kiss Led To Another, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, the entertaining Smokey Joe’s Café, and remarkably Ruby Baby featuring an excellent vocal by Brian Wilson sounding as if this was the song he had always wanted to sing.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this album is the ease of access the listener seemingly gets to the band. For a fan in 1965, to be given a glimpse into the world of a rock band at the peak of their commercial success in this type of demo-like fun setting, must have been like being involved in their party. Something surely connected with the audience, as PARTY! went on to be a huge hit in both the US charts, peaking at No 6 and reaching the No.3 slot on the UK chart.
With the knowledge we have now, it is easy to look back on this album and dismiss it as a fake, but in fact it was both an imaginative and innovative concept for the time. Not until the introduction of MTV in the late ‘80s did bands even begin to record and release ‘unplugged’ versions of their songs. It is of no great concern that The Beach Boys’ PARTY! was contrived, all that matters is that it sounds real and has a feel good factor. But it is an even better album for believing it’s real.

Highlights: Mountain Of Love, Tell Me Why, Devoted To You, and the out-take Ruby Baby (later to be released on the Good Vibrations Box Set)