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Title: Heroes and Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys by Steven S. Gaines ISBN: 0-453-00519-5 Publisher: Penguin Audiobooks Pub. Date: March, 1989 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.2 (25 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: It was fantastic, but controversial
Comment: Interesting, Well-Written April 26, 2000 Reviewer: A reader from Texas USA I don't agree with some reviews that this book just trashes the Beach Boys. It doesn't white-wash them either, but I think Steven Gaines mostly wanted to tell it like it was. Only once or twice did I think Gaines seemed alittle hostile towards one or more of the group members. The book starts out with Dennis Wilson and the last month of his life. I remember hearing about Dennis drowning but never knew much of the details, only that he had been diving where his boat had been docked. I think it was very smart to start the book out this way because I was hooked from then on. Gaines ties up any loose ends about the day Dennis died towards the end of the book. Of course this book is not current with regard to Carl Wilson's death since it was published in the mid-1980s.
What really gives this book credibility is all the people closely associated with the Beach Boys who talked with the author, even the Beach Boys themselves. After finishing the book, I have wondered if any of them regretted it. Its no tip-toe through the tulips. I gave this book 5 stars because I didn't get bored once while reading it. Its interesting from beginning to end.
Rating: 3
Summary: Not all fun and sun
Comment: This Beach Boy biography gives a disturbing look into the troubled lives of rock'n'roll's quintessential California poster children. Their music was a soundtrack for fun in the sun; yet, their lives were anything but a day at the beach.
Gaines' story ends with the death of kid brother Dennis Wilson, and tells of his wild, rebellious life. Eldest brother Brian's life is a study in contrasts -- he's a talented genius, a sensitive soul with a troubled mind. Middle brother Carl tried to mediate an impossible situation, between his brothers and overbearing father.
Things get rocky as the group split into two factions -- between the members who were into meditation and those who were into drugs. Many of their relationships were rough surfing indeed; not at all like the lovely harmonies on their recordings.
If you want to get a behind-the-scenes look at the life and times of the Beach Boys, this is a compelling read; if, on the other hand, you'd rather only remember the good vibrations, you might want to skip it.
Rating: 2
Summary: A REAL DOWNER....
Comment: If U want the dirt, about who abused who, which family member slept with which, about the lawsuits that tore them apart, about Brian's unBELIEVable drug intake, this is yr book. (Some people LIKE that kinda stuff, & I read every word of Albert Goldman's ELVIS, which had nothing BUT dirt in it, so....)
But there's not enuf about THE MUSIC or where it came from, Gaines' section on the SMILE era coulda bn 3 times as long, & Gaines sums up his outlook when he says "it was all downhill" after "Good Vibrations." Not so fast -- there's still a CD or 2 worth of really good overlooked songs in their middle period (1967-1978) when the Boys couldn't seem 2 GIVE AWAY their albums....
NEway, Gaines was 2 negative 4 me -- I thot he was a ghoul. U'd B MUCH better off with David Leaf's brilliant THE BEACH BOYS AND THE CALIFORNIA MYTH (5 stars), or Byron Priess's colorful THE BEACH BOYS (4 stars). Gaines' book is just 2 Dpressing, tho it'll tell U who & what 2 blame 4 this great American band's collapse....
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Title: Wouldn't It Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (The Vinyl Frontier series) by Charles L. Granata ISBN: 1556525079 Publisher: Chicago Review Press Pub. Date: 01 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Add Some Music To Your Day : Analyzing and Enjoying the Music of the Beach Boys by Don Cunningham, Jeff Bleiel ISBN: 0967597307 Publisher: Tiny Ripple Books Pub. Date: 20 December, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Look, Listen, Vibrate, Smile by Domenic Priore ISBN: 0867194170 Publisher: Small Press Distribution Pub. Date: February, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title:Beach Boys - An American Band / Brian Wilson - I Just Wasn't Made for These Times ASIN: B00006SFJC Publisher: Lionsgate/Fox Pub. Date: 17 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $13.48 |
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Title:Biography - Brian Wilson ASIN: 0767020545 Publisher: A & E Entertainment Pub. Date: 26 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.95 |
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