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8.16pm
18 November 2011
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Whereas the Beatles and Stones never really considered eachother rivals, between 1965 and 1967, there was a friendly rivalry between Brian Wilson and Lennon/McCartney. Rubber Soul influenced Brian Wilson to write Pet Sounds, which in turn influenced songs on Revolver and Sgt. Pepper . Some of both bands best music came out in this time period.
Macca claims that the “La-la-la”s on this song influenced the “Tit-tit-tit”s on “Girl”, and possibly “Nowhere Man “/”You Won’t See Me “.
That guitar/Leslie speaker combination is also fairly Beatlesque, a trick they’d started on “Help !” a few months before this was recorded.
This song was reportedly Wilson’s attempt at writing a Beatles style number, and clearly references “Ticket To Ride “.
This is one of Paul McCartney ‘s favorite songs, and influenced his bass playing. I think it was also fairly influential on a lot of their Sgt. Pepper /MMT era output.
12.37am
16 August 2012
Offline The best known example is in “Back In The USSR “. Mike Love was throwing ideas around with Paul, and he suggested that the song do a “California Girls” thing, but using Soviet places instead.
E is for 'Ergent'.
12.38am
16 August 2012
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1 November 2012
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7.17pm
26 May 2014
Offline In terms of vocals, I can think of 3 Beatles songs having very Beach-Boys -esque harmonies: Because , Sun King and Back In The USSR .
Stripped down “acapella” videos of these are linked below.
For compare-and-contrast fans…I have included three acapella Beach Boys tracks: Surfer Girl, In My Room and When I Grow Up to Be a Man.
I’m not making any point, one way or the other, here…merely serving up some food for thought and discussion…
Beatles acapella Because
Beatles acapella Sun King
Beatles acapella Back in the U.S.S.R.
Beach Boys acapella Surfer Girl
Beach Boys acapella In My Room
Beach Boys acapella When I Grow Up to Be a Man
I know when it's a dream.
8.27pm
11 November 2010
Offline I thought that this was semi-relevant, even though it doesn’t add much to the conversation.
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Wigwam, vonbontee, Matt BusbyI'm Necko. I'm like Ringo except I wear necklaces.
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Most likely to post things that make you go hmm... 2015, 2016, 2017. 
9.48pm
26 May 2014
Offline I think it is the perfect song choice for this duo to express their mutual admiration.
I know when it's a dream.
3.21am
17 October 2013
Offline God only knows what we’d be without them……..
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Ahhh Girl, vonbontee, Into the Sky with Diamonds3.48am
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20 August 2013
Offline Atlas said
God only knows what we’d be without them……..
Awesome observation, @Wigwam. I will be pondering this thought for quite some time.
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5.12am
8 February 2014
Offline The Beatles and Beach Boys hung out together, at least some of them sometimes, and they were at Rishikesh together. I have a bootleg of the Beatles (and others) singing Happy Birthday to Mike Love there, or maybe it’s on an official release…I can’t seem to find it now :/
I saw the Beach Boys at a Beatles festival last month, and Mike Love talked quite a bit about the two bands’ friendships and friendly rivalry. He commented that in the 60s, one of the main goals of every band (except one) was to not be like the Beatles. He also told of the morning at Rishikesh that Paul showed him the newly-penned Back In The USSR , and later that day John showed him Dear Prudence (this was an intro to their first-ever Beatles covers, starting with Back In The USSR /Dear Prudence with the fade/merge like on the White Album ). I don’t think there’s any question that the bands borrowed and bounced ideas from/off each other – I seem to remember hearing that from a Beatle’s mouth, maybe in Anthology, and Love alluded to it at the concert. It was very interesting, he told a lot of stories illustrating the relationship between the two groups.
I think it was at Brian’s 2002 Royal Festival Hall Pet Sounds concert that he commented about how they were each trying to outdo the other in the Pet Sounds/Pepper’s time period.
It’s worth mentioning that we Beatlemaniacs make good audiences. Despite there being less than 5,000 of us, the band was obviously (and Love said repeatedly) pleased by our knowledge, enthusiasm, and Good Vibrations. The audience sang along a lot (and we were in tune 
so it was more than just the usual familiarity with their distinctive sound.
Rolling Stones’ 2005 list of the 500 best albums had Pepper’s ranked #1 and Pet Sounds #2. This wiki entry ranks albums based on their average place on 14 different “best albums” lists. Our team holds 3 of the top 4 spots, the only group listed more than once – guess which came out on top?
1 – Revolver ; 2 – Pepper’s; 3 – Nirvana’s Nevermind; 4 – White Album
Off topic – I think my flat a/c is on the blink 🙁 78F and humid at 1am…
6.43am
1 December 2009
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Dunno what the hell Mike Love was talking about up there, I gotta say. LOTS of bands wanted to be like the Beatles! In different ways, I mean – even if they didn’t necessarily want to sound like them (as the Bee Gees, Byrds, Beau Brummells and many other bands with-or-without-‘B’s surely did want to), Brian Wilson famously wanted his Beach Boys (hey more ‘B’s!) to progress from classic songs/singles to making classic ALBUMS as start-to-finish solid as Rubber Soul .
(But what the hell does Mike Love really know about anything, really, other than making money off a nostalgia show for 40+ years? He may have hung around the right people but he’s apparently as clueless about the ’60s now as he was then. Seriously, this guy always bragging about how he wrote “Kokomo” and it became their BIGGEST SELLING SINGLE EVER (in a much huger market, decades after the band’s prime). “Kokomo” ffs, that dumb little ditty compared to which I can probably name 70 far better Beach Boys songs, and I maybe only really know 75 BBs tracks total!
Mike Love: A man so egotistical that he probably thinks “All You Need Is Love ” was written about him!)
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
1.35pm
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1 May 2011
Offline "I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)
4.33pm
6 August 2013
Offline vonbontee said
Dunno what the hell Mike Love was talking about up there, I gotta say. LOTS of bands wanted to be like the Beatles! In different ways, I mean – even if they didn’t necessarily want to sound like them (as the Bee Gees, Byrds, Beau Brummells and many other bands with-or-without-‘B’s surely did want to), Brian Wilson famously wanted his Beach Boys (hey more ‘B’s!) to progress from classic songs/singles to making classic ALBUMS as start-to-finish solid as Rubber Soul .(But what the hell does Mike Love really know about anything, really, other than making money off a nostalgia show for 40+ years? He may have hung around the right people but he’s apparently as clueless about the ’60s now as he was then. Seriously, this guy always bragging about how he wrote “Kokomo” and it became their BIGGEST SELLING SINGLE EVER (in a much huger market, decades after the band’s prime). “Kokomo” ffs, that dumb little ditty compared to which I can probably name 70 far better Beach Boys songs, and I maybe only really know 75 BBs tracks total!
Mike Love: A man so egotistical that he probably thinks “All You Need Is Love ” was written about him!)
I think Mike has never gotten over or accepted the fact that Brian really made the Beach Boys what they are/were. Not that Mike or Carl, Dennis or Al (or Bruce) didn’t contribute heavily, but how far would the Beach Boys have progressed if they didn’t have Brian?
"There's no such thing as bad student... only bad teacher."
4.11am
1 December 2009
Offline Yeah, Brian pretty much was the man in that band.
I mean, I know there’s a huge pool of bigger Beach Boys fans than I who love the Brian years but also have high praise for the stuff from, say, 1968 through 1973, when Brian’s influence receded and the other two Wilsons started to contribute more heavily. And I’ll give Mike Love some credit for writing a pretty decent set of lyrics on occasion, in a kind of second-rate Chuck Berry/Eddie Cochran idiom. But Brian was the musical genius in that band.
GEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
5.11am
8 February 2014
Offline meanmistermustard said
An article on the Beach Boys and The Beatles which looks at Pet Sounds, Revolver and the aftermath (the writer doesn’t come across as a huge fan of The Beatles).And the isolated God Only Knows vocals.
Not a huge fan of the Beatles? Sheesh, the man thinks Brian Wilson is God , the Beach Boys were mediocre without him, and John & Paul idolized him. He tears down Revolver , the only album to average in the top 5 across 14 major “best album” lists, and goes on to say “Sgt. Pepper marked the demise of the Beatles as a functioning band”. The man makes incredible statements that show that he has no sense of musical artistry (“Fixing A Hole is about repairing a hole in the roof” – C’mon, man!). Granted I (like most of us here) might be biased but look at these excerpts:
““Taxman ” rings with the bitterness of an angry and stingy rich man who wants to keep all his money for himself.” (not all, just more than 5% – and it’s sarcasm, not bitterness, well deserved at that).
“McCartney himself has regarded the influence of Brian Wilson’s methods – and especially the Beach Boys ’ single “Good Vibrations” – on these two songs [Strawberry Fields Forever and A Day In The Life ].” What does “regarded the influence” mean? Did this guy do any writing in college?
““Here, There And Everywhere ” is not only a Brian Wilson homage but also one of the Beatles most highly regarded and beautiful songs. Acknowledging Wilson’s influence on the song, McCartney himself has often cited “Here, There And Everywhere ” as his personal favorite Beatles song.” (I’ve seen Paul credit Yesterday as his favorite in more than one place, including from his mouth at the concert).
He even credits Brian with the demise of both the Beatles and the Beach Boys , saying his complex, thematic, amazing musical genius that was Pet Sounds set the bar so high that neither band could go anywhere but down.
And I wasn’t that impressed with the iso God Only Knows vocals. I notice it’s from The Pet Sounds Sessions, not Pet Sounds itself, and my guess is that it’s a take, not the released version acapello. It’s just not polished enough for Brian’s standards.
6.21am
1 December 2009
Offline Yeah, you nailed it. I thought that piece was pretty bad in a number of different ways too. Didn’t even think it was worth commenting upon but I’m glad somebody else did so.
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Matt BusbyGEORGE: In fact, The Detroit Sound. JOHN: In fact, yes. GEORGE: In fact, yeah. Tamla-Motown artists are our favorites. The Miracles. JOHN: We like Marvin Gaye. GEORGE: The Impressions PAUL & GEORGE: Mary Wells. GEORGE: The Exciters. RINGO: Chuck Jackson. JOHN: To name but eighty.
7.33am
8 February 2014
Offline vonbontee said
Dunno what the hell Mike Love was talking about up there, I gotta say. LOTS of bands wanted to be like the Beatles! In different ways, I mean – even if they didn’t necessarily want to sound like them (as the Bee Gees, Byrds, Beau Brummells and many other bands with-or-without-‘B’s surely did want to), Brian Wilson famously wanted his Beach Boys (hey more ‘B’s!) to progress from classic songs/singles to making classic ALBUMS as start-to-finish solid as Rubber Soul .(But what the hell does Mike Love really know about anything, really, other than making money off a nostalgia show for 40+ years? He may have hung around the right people but he’s apparently as clueless about the ’60s now as he was then. Seriously, this guy always bragging about how he wrote “Kokomo” and it became their BIGGEST SELLING SINGLE EVER (in a much huger market, decades after the band’s prime). “Kokomo” ffs, that dumb little ditty compared to which I can probably name 70 far better Beach Boys songs, and I maybe only really know 75 BBs tracks total!
Mike Love: A man so egotistical that he probably thinks “All You Need Is Love ” was written about him!)
I’ll agree the man has an ego. And I’ll agree that many bands did want to be like the Beatles – they just didn’t want to get caught at it (and many did anyway). I took it to mean they didn’t want to appear like copycats. And the atmosphere was too peaceful to hate on the guy. Kokomo was perfect for its time, the musically vapid late 80s. It may be a dumb little ditty but it was better than a lot of stuff being put out then (which isn’t saying much!).
12.26pm
21 November 2012
Offline What a ridiculous article. Waste of time. I can’t believe he’s slagging off A Day In The Life , Strawberry Fields Forever and most of Revolver . ”Sgt. Pepper marked the demise of the Beatles as a functioning band” No. No. No. No. Couldn’t be more wrong. Idiot.
It’s good that the author is a fan of the Beach Boys , no problem, but it’s a shame that he feels like he has to slag off the Beatles in order to ”prove” that the Beach Boys are a better band, which in my opinion, they are not.
3.39pm
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1 May 2011
Offline Interview with Brian Wilson which amongst other things goes into the supposed rivalry between the Beatles and The Beach Boys .
“Rubber Soul inspired Pet Sounds, which inspired Sgt. Pepper ’s and that inspired me to make Smile,” Brian Wilson tells me, recalling his 1960s game of one-upmanship with the Beach Boys ’ so-called rivals The Beatles.
“It wasn’t really a rivalry, though. I was jealous!” Wilson says with a hearty laugh. “It was really just mutual inspiration, I think. I would get to hear their records before they came out and I was totally blown away by Rubber Soul . And Sgt. Pepper ’s? I was totally blown away by that. But it was inspirational, too. Then I did “Good Vibrations” and Smile and it was exciting. I got into it and really produced my head off.”
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7.17am
24 March 2014
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Brian Wilson said he was much influenced by Rubber Soul for creating Pet Sounds, because he saw it like a big “whole” and all the songs seemed to come from the same place and stuff… So i was wondering, was he influenced by the US edition or he managed to get a UK copy? because they are so different in their track listing…
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