User:MookieZ/Beach Boys sources

Guide to Beach Boys books/websites/other

books

 * The Beach Boys Pet Sounds: The Greatest Album of the Twentieth Century -- Kingsley Abbott
 * A fair enough resource for information about Pet Sounds, but it's not like there is a dearth of Pet Sounds material. It does have (I believe) a big listing of covers done of the Pet Sounds songs.


 * Back To The Beach -- ed. Kingsley Abbott
 * Good. Much like Look, Listen... below, this is a compilation of contemporary articles about the band


 * The Beach Boys: The Definitive Diary Of America's Greatest Band on Stage And In The Studio -- Keith Badman
 * Um... eh... This book purports to be a day-by-day account of Beach Boys concerts, sessions, etc. Do not use this book for dates, as many of the ones listed are wrong. Acceptable use: There is a wealth of quotes in this book seemingly about every facet of The Beach Boys. This is a wonderful source in that regard.


 * The Beach Boys: A Biography in Words & Pictures -- Ken Barnes
 * Catch A Wave: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson -- Peter Carlin
 * Good. Very well-researched book.


 * Add Some Music To Your Day -- ed. Don Cunningham and Jeff Bleiel
 * I have no idea.


 * Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys: The Complete Guide to their Music -- Andrew G. Doe & John Tobler
 * Good. Track-by track info about every single song released by The Beach Boys, including solo tracks. Brief album overviews too.


 * Surf's Up! The Beach Boys On Record 1961-1981 -- Brad Elliott
 * Great. If you are looking for information on the first twenty years of The Beach Boys, this is the place to go. On the other hand, it was published more than 20 years ago, so some of it is out of date.


 * Heroes & Villains: The True Story of the Beach Boys -- Steven Gaines
 * I don't know. Actually, the financial info in this book is rock solid, apparently.


 * The Beach Boys: Southern California Pastoral -- Bruce Golden
 * Wouldn't It Be Nice: Brian Wilson and the Making of Pet Sounds -- Charles A. Granata
 * Inside the Music of Brian Wilson -- Phillip Lambert
 * Good. Track-by-track information for every BW/Beach Boys song from Surfin' up to Smile. Particularly good for more obscure songs ("The Shift", for example) that don't usually get written about.


 * The Beach Boys and the California Myth -- David Leaf
 * The Wilson Project -- Steven J. McParland
 * SMiLE, Sun, Sand & Pet Sounds -- Steven J. McParland
 * In The Studio with Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys: our favorite recording sessions -- Steven J. McParland
 * The Beach Boys Silver Anniversary -- John Milward
 * The Beach Boys: The Authorized Biography of America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band -- Byron Priess
 * Look! Listen! Vibrate! Smile! -- com. by Dominic Priore
 * Wonderful. This is a compilation of newspaper/magazine clippings from the Smile era. If you stay away from the few articles written for the book, this is a great resource.


 * Smile: The Story Of Brian's Wilson's Lost Masterpiece -- Dominic Priore
 * The Real Beach Boy: Dennis Wilson -- Jon Stebbins
 * The Lost Beach Boy -- Jon Stebbins and David Marks
 * The Beach Boys -- John Tobler
 * Dumb Angel: the life and music of Dennis Wilson -- Adam Webb
 * The Nearest Faraway Place -- Timothy White
 * Fine. This is a well-researched book, particularly good if you are looking for information on Wilson ancestors.


 * How Deep Is The Ocean? -- Paul Williams
 * OK. Paul Williams is the founder of Crawdaddy magazine, and this book is a collection of his Beach Boys writings through the years. If you are looking for contemporary critical reaction to albums or songs, this book may deliver.


 * Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story -- Brian Wilson and Todd Gold
 * Unusable. Brian had nothing to do with writing his "auto"biography, and it was found to be libelous/slanderous (I forget which) in a New Hampshire court. The portions of this book that would be fine to use were taken from either the David Leaf book or the Steven Gaines book.