Sail On Sailor – 1972 (Super Deluxe 6 CD Box Set)

The Beach Boys

Capitol, 2022

http://www.thebeachboys.com

REVIEW BY: David Bowling

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/13/2023

The Beach Boys 50th anniversary sets just keep on coming. The latest title is Sail On Sailor – 1972, reviewed here in the new “Super Deluxe 6 CD Box Set” version. The release covers material from their Holland and Carl And The Passions albums plus a 1972 Carnegie Hall concert. The original albums have been impeccably remastered and outtakes and alternative versions see the light of day after decades in the vault. The complete concert is a nice relic from the era and the accompanying 48-page booklet ties everything together.

In many ways the Holland album was just too smooth for its era. Songs such as “Sail On Sailor,” the three part “California Saga,” and even the slightly odd “Funky Pretty” are pop perfection in the middle of the Led Zeppelin era.

Brian Wilson’s EP Mount Vernon And Fairway was originally issued as a separate record in the 1972 release. While it may not approach Wilson’s best material, it works better when connected to the whole.

Holland was also issued during the time period when South Africans Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chapin were full members of the group, and they give many of the songs a slightly different flavor.my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

Carl And The Passions’ So Tough was a strange release when it came out and remains so today. Carl Wilson took over the production of the album and managed to issue a jumbled affair with a few gems mixed in. “Marcella” is very good and “Cuddle Up” holds up well.

The additional tracks included in this set add little but the a cappella versions of “Marcella” and “All This Is That” are worth a listen or two.

The band’s concert at Carnegie Hall from November 23, 1972 fills two of the six discs here. The concert is divided into two sets and reflects their attempt to modernize their music in a live setting.

Their classic hits are interspersed among their newer material and the audience reaction is less than kind and borders on surly. Beach Boy fans did not want to hear their newer songs and it all adds up to one of their more interesting concerts. Fifty years later, this material has long disappeared from their live act, so this concert remains a nice document of what they were trying to do at the time.

“Student Demonstration Time,” “Marcella,” “California Saga-California,” and “You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone” are all welcome in the midst of the songs they have performed thousands of time. “Wild Honey” and “Good Vibrations” are performed back-to-back before making everyone happy with “California Girls” and “Surfin’ USA.” They should have stopped there but they finish with “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” which eliminated much of the good will they had finally created.

The final two CDs are a mixture of live, unfinished, and never-released material. Most of these tracks are only for the fan who wants everything. Live performances of “California Saga,” “Funky Pretty,” and “Sail On Sailor” are all solid. The songwriting session for “Sail On Sailor” is historically interesting. The two CDs cover 50 tracks and it is doubtful a person will want to listen to them multiple times.

The core albums represented in this set may not be as strong as some of the Beach Boys’ past 50-year anniversary omnibus releases, but the two-disc live concert makes up for some of this failing.

As with their other multi-CD anniversary releases, Sail On Sailor – 1972 (Super Deluxe 6 CD Set) is only for the Beach Boys fan who wants everything or wants to dig a little deeper into their career.

Rating: B+

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