Sunflower

Jed Hughett (July 22, 2010)

Beach Boys to Men sums up this great album. Their first album on Reprise label after leaving Capital, their home for ten years. They had a lot to prove and they proved it. Every song is a well crafted look at life that said they were all grown up as does the cover art, a portrait with their children. But the clincher is the complex, interwoven harmonies honed to hypnotic perfection.

Bruce Beatlefan (September 13, 2008)

Sunflower was the Beach Boys' first album under the Warner Brothers label and sold miserably in spite of very positive reviews. Beach Boys fans for decades have held this album to their bosom, claiming it to be the Beach Boy's lost masterpiece for so long and so persistently that by 2008, the secret is out. Sunflower is a beautiful album, the very best from the 'democratic' Beach Boys era of albums that span from 1968's Friends through 1973's Holland.

True to the 'democratic' spirit of the Beach Boys, all of the members came into the studio with great ideas. Mike Love sounds as good as he ever has in the song "All I Wanna Do". Bruce Johnston contributes two strong tracks featuring his 1970's easy-listening sound: "Dierdre" and "Tears in the Morning". Alan Jardine makes bit contributions to several songs, but is featured in the song "At My Window". Erstwhile leader Brian Wilson's presence is felt in the superb songs "This Whole World" and "Our Sweet Love". All of the groups members combine their talents for two standout tracks, the failed single "Add Some Music to Your Day" and the closing reverie of "Cool Cool Water". The most significant contributions, however, come from hard-living drummer Dennis Wilson, who brings four new songs to the table, ranging from the sizzling rocker "It's About Time" to the vulnerable and lovely "Forever"--many fan's choice for his all-time best song.

The first side of the album jumps around from sound to sound, rather in the manner of the preceding album 20/20. It takes a little getting used to the good-humored rave of "Got to Know the Woman" being followed by the ice-water coolness of "Dierdre"...which is then followed by "It's About Time", one of the hardest rocking songs in the Beach Boys' library.

Following "Tears in the Morning", the album hits its true groove, a succession of the most serene and gorgeous songs the Beach Boys have ever laid down. "All I Wanna Do", "Forever", "Our Sweet Love", "At My Window", and "Cool Cool Water": it will take a few listens for this progression to wend its way into your soul, but when it does (about your fourth or fifth listen) it's impossible to come out the other side not having your world made a little more blissful.

Fans of a group tend to particularly prize an otherwise unloved album by their group, and oftentimes this is the result of exaggerated loyalty for a lesser product (the example the comes most quickly to mind is the Beach Boys Love You album). Sunflower is in another class altogether; this is a truly beautiful album, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a little-known treasure.