Review Summary: The last creative high for one of America's greatest bands
By 1973 The Beach Boys had released 18 studio albums. They had begun as teenagers, singing about simple topics like surfing, hot rods, and girls. By now, however, they were all grown men, approaching their 30’s and settling down with their families. Their image however, of those naïve teens had not. Though they (guided by brother Brian) had seemed to have outgrown their image with 1966’s ‘Pet Sounds’. By 1967, with the cancellation of the much hyped ‘SMiLE’, and the release of the highly eccentric, lo-fi ‘Smiley Smile’ at the height of the summer of love in its place had alienated the record buying public into the belief that the Beach Boys were squares. Their subsequent releases ‘Wild Honey’ (1967), Friends (1968), ‘20/20’ (1969), ‘Sunflower’ (1970), ‘Surfs Up’ (1971), and ‘Carl and the passions: So Tough’ (1972), often went almost unnoticed by the public. Along with this, Brian Wilson, their resident creative genius sunk further and further into drug addiction and depression, and by 1972 his active role in the band had diminished as well. So, in late 1972, DJ Jack Rieley, the group’s manager (hired in 1971) made the decision to move the group and all their equipment to rural Holland, hoping that the change of scenery would inspire Brian back to his former creative self. Though the plan partially worked, with Brian contributing two songs and a full length EP, ‘Holland’ showcases some of the best group work of any Beach Boys albums.
The album’s opener ‘Sail on Sailor’ is one of two Brian contributions. And it is perhaps the most memorable song on the album. Though the extent of Brian’s involvement in the writing of the song is unclear (it was co-written by 5 others, including SMiLE collaborator Van-Dyke Parks), and his actual involvement in it being virtually nothing, it boasts quite possibly the best arrangement on the album, with a pounding piano and crunchy Moog synth line, and newly recruited South African guitarist Blondie Chaplin on lead vocal, it sets the overall tone of the album nicely. The Album’s Closer ‘Funky Pretty’ is the second Brian contribution on the album. And contrary to ‘Sail on Sailor’s lush arrangement, ‘Funky Pretty’ is bare, with most of the instrumentation being done with a Mini-Moog synthesizer. Though Brian contributes no vocals to either one of these tracks, ‘Funky Pretty’ is a group effort, with a shared lead vocal (done by most of the group) and a catchy hook “Funky-Pretty/Pretty-Funky” it is a good, but bare closer to the album, and is far from the best song on the album.
The other members of the group are the shining stars of ‘Holland’ however. Carl Wilson contributes his best vocal performance on ‘The Trader’, a rocking harmony laden track that goes into a soulful coda, as well as his lead vocals on Dennis’ ‘Only With You’. Mike Love and Al Jardine’s ‘California Saga’ is a three part, homesick gem that’s among the two’s best works. Mike’s ‘Big Sur’ is among the best songs he ever wrote, let alone sung, as he sings his soft vocal to the quiet backing of a piano, harmonica, slide guitar and drums, one is forced to wonder how he ever could have written ‘Kokomo’ 15 years later. ‘Beaks Of The Eagles’ is a spoken word section which works better than it should, though it’s slightly out of place it is quickly repaid by Jardine’s catchy Moog driven ‘California’. Dennis Wilson’s role is diminished slightly on the Album however, with his only writing contributions being the murky, trudging ‘Steamboat’ and the beautiful love song ‘Only With You’. Ricky Faatar and Blondie Chaplin’s only contribution to the album ‘Leaving this town’ is much less eclectic than their contributions to ‘Carl and the Passions’ and it works better with the other songs on the album, however, clocking in at 5:05 it is the longest track on the album and could be seen as boring to some (though it does actually have a pretty cool Moog solo in the middle).
‘Holland’ was a new creative high for the band, showing that they had matured as musicians and songwriters, who knows what they would have made if they had continued in this direction? Unfortunately, we will never know, though 1977’s ‘Love You’ is often seen as their last ‘great’ album, it is essentially a Brian Wilson solo album. ‘Holland’ was the Beach Boys as their own band, each contributing great songs in their own right. But they didn’t do it again.
