Album Trivia

Released on Ace on 3 February 2003.
Compilation of songs produced by Brian and released from 1962 to 1973 by various artists.

Website Comments and Review

Few people realise that Brian's work outside the Beach Boys started almost the same time as his work for the band. His first outside production, The Revolution and Number One was released only three months after their first Capitol single Surfin' Safari, and indeed, Brian's first number one hit that he wrote was Surf City, for Jan and Dean. Brian's outside production work is therefore a key part of Brian's overall body of work as a songwriter and producer. This collection contains the cream of this material, covering much of Brian's outside productions, although some key songs that he wrote for others, but didn't produce, are omitted.

So what of the music. Some of it is amongst Brian's best work ever, notably Guess I'm Dumb, generally acknowledged as a key step on the road to Pet Sounds with it's aching melody and lyric of self-doubt. Pamela Jean and He's A Doll are high quality productions, probably a bit more Spector-ish than most Beach Boys material, while After The Game is a romantic interlude containing some of the interesting percussion that was another feature of Pet Sounds. There are gems elsewhere too, and overall this record has to be part of anybody's collection who claims to be a fan of Brian.

RATING: 8.5 out of 10