The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (Single, Limited Edition)

Description

"Good Vibrations" is a song composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love for the American rock band the Beach Boys, of which both were members. Released on October 10, 1966, the single was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record charts in several countries including the US and UK. Characterized by its complex soundscapes, episodic structure and subversions of pop music formula, it was the costliest single ever recorded at the time of its release. "Good Vibrations" later became widely acclaimed as one of the finest and most important works of the rock era.

Also produced by Wilson, the title derived from his fascination with cosmic vibrations, as his mother would tell him as a child that dogs sometimes bark at people in response to their "bad vibrations". He used the concept to suggest extrasensory perception, while Love's lyrics were inspired by the nascent Flower Power movement. It was written as it was recorded and in a similar fashion to other compositions from Wilson's Smile period. The song was not originally issued as a track from an album, but rather as a standalone single, with the Pet Sounds instrumental "Let's Go Away for Awhile" as the B-side. "Good Vibrations" was to be included on Smile before the project's collapse and instead appeared on the substitute LP Smiley Smile (1967).

The making of "Good Vibrations" was unprecedented for any kind of recording. Over 90 hours of tape was consumed in the sessions, with the total cost of production estimated to be in the tens of thousands. Building upon his approach for Pet Sounds, Brian recorded a surplus of short, interchangeable musical fragments with his bandmates and a host of session musicians at four different Hollywood studios from February to September 1966, a process reflected in the song's several dramatic shifts in key, texture, instrumentation and mood. Band publicist Derek Taylor dubbed the unusual work a "pocket symphony". It heralded a wave of pop experimentation and the onset of psychedelic and progressive rock, and helped develop the use of the recording studio as an instrument. The track featured previously untried mixes of instruments, including jaw harp and Electro-Theremin, and although the latter is not a true theremin, the song's success led to a renewed interest and sales of theremins and synthesizers.

"Good Vibrations" received a Grammy nomination for Best Vocal Group performance in 1966 and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994. The song was voted number one in Mojo's "Top 100 Records of All Time" and number six on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and it was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". In later years, the song has been cited as a forerunner to the Beatles' "A Day in the Life" (1967) and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975). A 1976 cover version by Todd Rundgren was released as a single, peaking at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Beach Boys followed up "Good Vibrations" with another single pieced from sections, "Heroes and Villains" (1967), but it was less successful.

Release info

Label: Capitol Records B0025241-01
Format: Vinyl, 12", Single, Limited Edition
Country: US
Released: 2016
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock

Tracklist

A1 Good Vibrations (Original 45 RPM Single Version)
A2 Good Vibrations (Various Sessions)
A3 Good Vibrations (Alternate Take)
B1 Good Vibrations (Instrumental)
B2 Good Vibrations (Live Concert Rehearsal 8/25/67)
B3 Let's Go Away For Awhile (Original B-Side)