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- [00:01]
A
I was aware of this record's existence, and that's about it. Like, I knew it was out there. I didn't really understand how it kind of fit into the entire piece of, you know, the puzzle of the Beach Boys. And I realized in researching this, you know, there's a good reason why that is. Because it is maybe the most confusing record that has ever existed in terms of just where it is stationed on the Beach Boys series of catalog releases. So it is Live in London. There it is. The Beach Boys Live in London came out in 1970, May 1970, in the UK, in the United Kingdom alone, exclusively. It was not released in the US now, despite it being called Live in London, released in 1970. This tape, this show was actually recorded in December 1968. And we're going to come back to that point when we see the songs that make up this show, right? That's in the UK, but there's a.
- [01:17]
B
Reissue called Beach Boys 69 precisely in.
- [01:22]
A
1976 in the United States, on the heels of the success of the Endless Summer and Spirit of America sets, that kind of brought the Beach Boys back into the public conscious. They went back to the vault and said, what do we have? What can we just get out there to capitalize on this stuff and sell a few more records? And this UK only live album that had been released in 1970 and was a tape of 1968, Beach Boys was then repackaged and put out as the Beach Boys 69 in 1976 in the United States alone. So, you know, your guess is as good as mine as to when we should actually be talking about this record. But I'm just going with original Release, original year, 1970. Exactly.
- [02:12]
B
It is, it's. It's funny to me that they called it Beach Boys 69. I can only guess that people just didn't want to think about the year 1968 in the context of the Beach Boys. Like, I don't know, maybe that. I mean, that year just has such a chaotic and frightening aura, politically and socially, that it was just maybe not, not going down so smooth to the people at whatever, like, imprint, sub label, like in the UK, slash us who were dealing with this material.
- [02:56]
A
1969, though, that was a great year for the Beach Boys, for Los Angeles, for the culture. Charles Manson, obviously, that was all two thumbs up. So we want to. We want to emphasize that point in time. Specifically.
- [03:10]
B
I think it's just. It's more. The ecstatic truth, so to speak, is that this is, you know, the Beach Boys at the end of the 60s. So why would you call it 68 if it's, you know, you want to just capitalize on what's the closest thing to show, like where they're at. They are a quintessential 60s group and we're trying to repurpose and repackage them for the 70s and beyond. I don't know if I had covers. There's all these three. There's three of them covers too. Like design wise.
- [03:47]
A
Yes. Very different looking covers. All equally bad, I would say, in their own ways. But if I had to guess, actually kind of hazard an explanation for why this was packaged as Beach Boys 69. When it again came out in 76 and was a Beach Boys tape from 1968. I would say it's because 2020 came out in 1969 and do it Again was kind of what amounted to a hit for the Beach Boys in that year versus 68 was it was friends and stacko tracks, which were two flapolas. And so the record company might have wanted people to think, oh, Beach Boys 1969, do it again. There's going to be some good stuff here. As opposed to here's the record with Little Bird on it. As much as we love Little Bird might not be top of everyone's mind in terms of making purchases. In any case, this is what we have. Boy. Yeah, all three covers. One is just kind of like an outtake from the 2020 photo sessions. It's kind of like very brown. Everyone's kind of being wacky in it, don't care for it. The one that exists on Spotify is this kind of baffling. It's like split 2/3, 1/3.
- [05:10]
B
And there's.
- [05:11]
A
There would have been on the. Right, right.
- [05:13]
B
It should have just been the COVID I mean, if you go on the Wikipedia, there's a version from 1971. It says that it's just the Beach Boys live in London. And it's this, that photo which is actually taken apparently from their Top of the pops performance in 1970.
- [05:34]
A
Actually in 1970, despite the show taking place in 1968.
- [05:39]
B
In 68, I feel like we're like.
- [05:45]
A
We'Re deliberately trying to be misled and taken down a path of mania. Just trying to keep all of this bullshit straight.
- [05:52]
B
Yeah, it's so elusive. You're just like, yeah, it does exist, but it doesn't exist in one realm. It's just this split, odd multiverse of this one random fucking Beach Boys live album. The other cover, the like beige one with their like motion blur is just so unpleasant to look at.
- [06:19]
A
Really bad. Really bad.
- [06:21]
B
Really ugly.
- [06:22]
A
I do kind of like this Beach Boys 69. One that exists with the little newspaper, you know, kind of faux clipping. Do you see that?
- [06:29]
B
Well, this is from 76.
- [06:32]
A
That's the 76 record that came out.
- [06:34]
B
In the U.S. they're kind of going to this, I guess, taking some notes from like the Europe 72. Like that grateful Dead. Like the really, like, goofy airbrushed cartoon graphics on that and like yellow submarine type looking stuff.
- [06:55]
A
I like that. It's just got a. It's got a picture of Stone. Like, it's got some pictures up, like, tacked up. It just has Stonehenge. Yeah. Like everyone's favorite, most visually arresting symbol of the United Kingdom, Stonehenge.
- [07:10]
B
Well, it is visually arresting.
- [07:11]
A
Well, I don't know about this version of it.
- [07:14]
B
I like the. There's a postcard, the back of which it says, brian, wish you were here.
- [07:19]
A
Wish you were here. Yep.
- [07:20]
B
And then it says, Brian Wilson, 7777 Sunset, Hollywood, California, USA.
- [07:28]
A
7777 Sunset Boulevard. Is that a real address? Let's find out.