| Live in London | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by The Beach Boys | ||||
| Released | May 1970 | |||
| Recorded | December 1, 1968 | |||
| Venue | The Palladium, London | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 34:03 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Carl Wilson, Stephen Desper | |||
| The Beach Boys chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternate cover (cover picture from Top Of The Pops performance in November of 1970.) | ||||
 1971 release | ||||
| Alternate cover | ||||
 Beach Boys '69 album cover | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Blender | |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Live in London is a live album by American rock band the Beach Boys released by EMI in the UK in May 1970. When released in the US on November 15, 1976, the album was renamed Beach Boys '69 (The Beach Boys In London) via Capitol Records.
History
1968 was a difficult year for the Beach Boys in the USA, where their reputation had soured considerably. Yet enthusiasm for the group in Europe was still strong, as evidenced by the performance recorded in December while the group were finishing their 20/20 album.
After the surprise success of the Endless Summer and Spirit of America hits packages in 1974 and 1975, the Beach Boys had a resurgence of popularity in America, especially on the concert circuit. It was during this time that Capitol decided to issue a renamed edition of the album for the first time in the US. The reissue had art by rock artist Jim Evans, and a new title, Beach Boys '69. Besides the fact that the live performance was recorded in December 1968, the LP's appearance added confusion to the marketplace as the group had recently issued a new, live double album—The Beach Boys in Concert—on their own Brother Records label, as part of a distribution deal with their new label, Reprise. Despite this, the record became a small chart success in the US, following the Top 10 placing of 15 Big Ones, reaching #75 in the Fall of 1976 during a US chart stay of 10 weeks. The UK edition failed to chart.
Beach Boys observers believe that the group owed Capitol one more album (this may have been offered to fill such a role, instead of the Fading Rock Group Revival/Reverberation project), and that this release ended their relationship with that record label, as well as temporarily ending their association with EMI in the UK. When their albums were remastered for CD in 1990 (and again in 2001), Live in London was paired with their 1964 live release Beach Boys Concert.
Track listing
All tracks written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, unless otherwise noted.
- Side one
- "Darlin'" – 2:41
- "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, Mike Love) – 1:53
- "Sloop John B" (Traditional; arranged by Brian Wilson) – 2:30
- "California Girls" – 2:19
- "Do It Again" – 2:47
- "Wake the World" (Brian Wilson, Al Jardine) – 2:26
- "Aren't You Glad" – 3:09
- Side two
- "Bluebirds over the Mountain" (Ersel Hickey) – 2:53
- "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" (Bobby Troup) – 2:49
- "Good Vibrations" – 4:36
- "God Only Knows" (Brian Wilson, Tony Asher) – 3:27
- "Barbara Ann" (Fred Fassert) – 2:32
- In 1990, Live in London was paired on CD with Beach Boys Concert, featuring two live bonus tracks from 1964 ("Don't Worry Baby") and 1967 ("Heroes and Villains"). The CD was reissued in 2001.
- The live version of "Good Vibrations" featured here was used as a B-side to “Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue” and was also included in the game Rock Band 3.
Personnel
The Beach Boys
- Mike Love - vocals, tambourine, electro-theremin on “Good Vibrations”
- Carl Wilson - vocals, lead guitar
- Al Jardine - vocals, rhythm guitar
- Dennis Wilson - vocals, drums
- Bruce Johnston - vocals, bass, organ
Additional personnel
- Daryl Dragon – piano, organ, bass on "Bluebirds over the Mountain"
- Ed Carter - bass, tambourine, lead guitar on "Bluebirds over the Mountain"
- Mike Kowalski - percussion
- Uncredited horns and possible cellos
Sources
- Surf's Up: The Beach Boys On Record Brad Elliott c. 1981
- Beach Boys Concert/Live in London CD booklet notes, David Leaf, c. 1990.
- Allmusic
References
- Ruhlmann, William. "Review: Live in London". Macrovision Corporation. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
- Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys Concert/Live in London". Blender. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
- Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
- Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 46. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
