L.A. (Light Album) is the twenty-third studio album by the Beach Boys, released on March 19, 1979. Produced by Bruce Johnston, James William Guercio and the band itself, the album was the Beach Boys' first on CBS Records, and the first to feature contributions from Johnston since his departure from the band in 1972. Johnston was brought in when it became clear that the ailing Brian Wilson was in no fit state to produce the album, and he has remained in the band ever since.
The outtake "California Feelin'". was later released for the 2013 compilation Made in California.[1]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Blender | [3] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | C+[4] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
| MusicHound | woof![6] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [7] |
Upon its release, Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh wrote, "The Beach Boys have not made great rock music since Wild Honey [and haven't] made competent pop music since Holland;" he concluded that the album "is worse than awful. It is irrelevant."[8]
Retrospectively, Richard Williams of Uncut referred to the track 'Angel Come Home' as 'the most beautifully textured and exquisitely pain-racked white soul music ever made',[9] while music historian Jeff Tamarkin - who penned liner notes for the 2000 CD reissue - said of the album: "There is undeniable brilliance here if one dares to look."[10] By contrast, Allmusic reviewer John Bush wrote "The Beach Boys ended the decade by releasing the worst album of their career," describing the album as "yet another oddball attempt to push the Beach Boys into the contemporary mainstream despite their many songwriting and production flaws."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Good Timin'" | Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson | C. Wilson | 2:12 |
| 2. | "Lady Lynda" | Johann Sebastian Bach; arranged by Al Jardine and Ron Altbach | Jardine | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Full Sail" | C. Wilson, Geoffrey Cushing-Murray | C. Wilson | 2:56 |
| 4. | "Angel Come Home" | C. Wilson, Cushing-Murray | Dennis Wilson | 3:39 |
| 5. | "Love Surrounds Me" | D. Wilson, Cushing-Murray | D. Wilson | 3:41 |
| 6. | "Sumahama" | Mike Love | Love | 4:07/4:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead Vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Here Comes the Night" | B. Wilson, Love | C. Wilson | 10:51 |
| 2. | "Baby Blue" | D. Wilson, Gregg Jakobson, Karen Lamm | C. Wilson and D. Wilson | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Goin' South" | C. Wilson, Cushing-Murray | C. Wilson | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Shortenin' Bread" | Traditional; arranged by B. Wilson | C. Wilson and D. Wilson | 2:49 |
Chart positions
- Albums
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | US Billboard 200 Albums Chart | 100 |
| 1979 | Dutch Album Chart[11] | 43 |
| 1979 | UK Top 40 Album Chart | 32 |
References
- ^ "Beach Boys Producers Alan Boyd, Dennis Wolfe, Mark Linett Discuss 'Made in California' (Q&A)". Rock Cellar Magazine. September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
- ^ a b Bush, John. "L.A. (Light Album) - The Beach Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys M.I.U. Album/L.A. (Light Album) ". Blender. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 83. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 46. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Marsh, Dave. "L.A. Light Album | Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
- ^ "The Beach Boys - Made In California - Uncut". Uncut. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
- ^ Tamarkin, Jeff (2000). M.I.U./L.A. Light Album (booklet). The Beach Boys. California: Capitol Records.
- ^ "Dutch Charts - THE BEACH BOYS - L.A. (LIGHT ALBUM)". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 January 2018.