If you count all the Beach Boys albums Capitol Records had released up to this point, it's said to come to 20. With Brian Wilson continuing to battle with his psyche and the group trying to find its footing in the rapidly changed musical environment of the late '60s, Beach Boys albums from this period are best noted for their independent highlights. Bruce Johnston brings forth his first solo composition with the instrumental "The Nearest Faraway Place," which became the name of a critically respected biography of the group. Dennis Wilson issues "Never Learn Not to Love," which was claimed in certain circles to have been composed at least in part by Charles Manson. "Cabinessence" reaches back into catalog of songs from the infamous Smile project, with a tune written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks. Al Jardine reinvents Lead Belly's "Cotton Fields." "Do It Again" and the Brill Building special "I Can Hear Music" capture the band's early fun and became medium-sized hits.
- 1966
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