The Beach Boys DVD's Revisited
Continuing my recent Beach Boys kick, I picked up the Good Timin’: Live At Knebworth, England 1980 DVD this week. Overall, I enjoyed watching it — not only because it documents the last time the original five Beach Boys (+ Bruce Johnston) performed on stage in England, but also because it’s a good concert as well.
By this time, the Beach Boys were half-way to being Mike Love’s dream of a perfect Vegas-lounge-act-jukebox machine, so there’s no surprises on the disc. The performances are all pretty standard, and you get a good dose of Mike Love’s “Learn Sign Language with the Beach Boys” schtick.
Aside from all that though, it’s good to see Brian take the lead on the first verse of “Sloop John B” and the bridge of “Surfer Girl.” The main highlight is Dennis Wilson, throughout the whole show: He really was the heart of the band. Whether it was jumping up on the piano, kissing Brian on the back of the head, ad-libbing during “Heroes and Villains,” or bugging Mike Love every chance he got, Dennis was the guy trying to pull the gears out of Mike Love’s well-oiled machine. And isn’t that what Rock’s about?
Therein lies the tragedy, I guess. Dennis — who was at that time the most genuine, spontaneous, and charismatic member of the band, essentially the personification of the Beach Boy spirit — was playing one of his final shows. Sure, he missed a bunch of beats on the drums, but that was because he was playing his heart out, not worrying about being slick or proficient. That’s it, isn’t it? Not being predictable, or acting like Mike Love does now, with his “I’ve been singing this song for 40 years, and I’m still wondering why we didn’t record this in a lower key” act.
Of course "Good Vibrations" sounds nice. To me, though, the best is Dennis's version of "You Are So Beautiful." It's better than the one shown on An American Band, 'cause you're not sitting on the edge of your seat the whole time hoping that his voice doesn't completely fall apart. No, it's really heartfelt, really Dennis.
So yeah, Good Timin’ is good because of Dennis — it’s a fitting tribute to him. Thank God for Carl Wilson — he really carried the torch nicely for the next 15 years or so after Dennis’s death.
