L.A. (Light Album)

L.A. (Light Album) is the 23rd studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys. Released on March 19, 1979, it was the band's first album issued on CBS Records. The production was credited to former Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, the band itself, and their manager James William Guercio.

L.A. (Light Album)
Studio album by
the Beach Boys
ReleasedMarch 19, 1979
RecordedApril 1974 – January 1979
GenrePop
Length41:33
LabelBrother/Caribou/CBS
ProducerBruce Johnston, the Beach Boys, James William Guercio
The Beach Boys chronology
M.I.U. Album
(1978)		 L.A. (Light Album)
(1979)		 Keepin' the Summer Alive
(1980)
Singles from L.A. (Light Album)
  1. "Here Comes the Night"
    Released: February 19, 1979
  2. "Good Timin'"
    Released: April 16, 1979
  3. "Lady Lynda"
    Released: June 1979
  4. "Sumahama"
    Released: September 1979

Background

“Baby Blue” and “Love Surrounds Me” were written (and partly originally recorded) for Dennis Wilson’s solo album Bambu. Both were included at the suggestion of label executive, co—producer, and former manager James William Guercio, who was worried that Bambu would not be finished. Carl Wilson also gave Dennis the lead vocal on “Angel Come Home” so Dennis would be more involved with the album.

One of the album's discarded tracks was "California Feelin'". The band's recording was later released for the 2013 compilation Made in California.[1]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
MusicHoundwoof![6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[7]

Upon its release, Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh wrote, "The Beach Boys have not made great rock music since Wild Honey [and haven't] made competent pop music since Holland;" he concluded that the album "is worse than awful. It is irrelevant."[8]

Retrospectively, Richard Williams of Uncut referred to the track 'Angel Come Home' as 'the most beautifully textured and exquisitely pain-racked white soul music ever made',[9] while music historian Jeff Tamarkin - who penned liner notes for the 2000 CD reissue - said of the album: "There is undeniable brilliance here if one dares to look."[10] By contrast, Allmusic reviewer John Bush wrote "The Beach Boys ended the decade by releasing the worst album of their career," describing the album as "yet another oddball attempt to push the Beach Boys into the contemporary mainstream despite their many songwriting and production flaws."[2]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."Good Timin'"Brian Wilson, Carl WilsonC. Wilson2:12
2."Lady Lynda"Johann Sebastian Bach, Al Jardine, Ron AltbachJardine3:58
3."Full Sail"C. Wilson, Geoffrey Cushing-MurrayC. Wilson2:56
4."Angel Come Home"C. Wilson, Cushing-MurrayDennis Wilson3:39
5."Love Surrounds Me"D. Wilson, Cushing-MurrayD. Wilson3:41
6."Sumahama"Mike LoveLove4:07
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead VocalsLength
1."Here Comes the Night"B. Wilson, LoveC. Wilson10:51
2."Baby Blue"D. Wilson, Gregg Jakobson, Karen LammC. Wilson and D. Wilson3:25
3."Goin' South"C. Wilson, Cushing-MurrayC. Wilson3:16
4."Shortenin' Bread"Traditional; arranged by B. WilsonC. Wilson and D. Wilson2:49

Charts
Chart (1979) Peak
position
US Billboard 200 Albums Chart[11] 100
Dutch Album Chart[12] 43
UK Top 40 Album Chart[13] 32

References
  1. "Beach Boys Producers Alan Boyd, Dennis Wolfe, Mark Linett Discuss 'Made in California' (Q&A)". Rock Cellar Magazine. September 4, 2013. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  2. Bush, John. "L.A. (Light Album) - The Beach Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  3. Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys M.I.U. Album/L.A. (Light Album) ". Blender. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: B". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  5. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  6. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 83. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  7. 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.
  8. Marsh, Dave. "L.A. Light Album | Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  9. "The Beach Boys - Made In California - Uncut". Uncut. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  10. Tamarkin, Jeff (2000). M.I.U./L.A. Light Album (booklet). The Beach Boys. California: Capitol Records.
  11. "The Beach Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  12. "Dutch Charts - THE BEACH BOYS - L.A. (LIGHT ALBUM)". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  13. "Beach Boys | full Official Charts History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
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