Live Knebworth 1980 [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
The last ever recording by the classic line up of Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Alan Jardine and Bruce Johnston. 22 tracks. Slipcase. Eagle/Warner. 2002.

Tracks:

Intro
California Girls
Sloop John B
Darlin'
School Days
God Only Knows
Be True To Your School
Do It Again
Little Deuce Coupe
Cotton Fields/Heroes And Villains
Happy Birthday Brian
Keepin' The Summer Alive
Lady Lynda
Surfer Girl
Help Me Rhonda
Rock & Roll Music
I Get Around
Surfin' USA
You Are So Beautiful
Good Vibrations
Barbara Ann
Fun Fun Fun

Album Description

The last ever recording by the classic line up of Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Alan Jardine and Bruce Johnston. 22 tracks. Slipcase. Eagle/Warner. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Too bad I wasn't there..........2005-12-22

An absolutely first-rate performance, probably the last time the original Beach Boys played together, including Bruce Johnston. I never tire of this music, as uplifting today as ever. The music is so clear for a live recording that at first I thought it was a studio dub, but then I remembered reading that their amps went directly into the sound board as opposed to being miked individually. Just great, great, great.

Rare cuts in concert.......2005-03-28

This concert is one of the last ones to feature Brian and Dennis both. It also is one of the last ones to still include material that was new at the time (it was taped 6/21/1980 in Knebworth, England) and because a few songs did better chartwise in the U.K. than in the Boys' home country, you get versions of "Lady Lynda" and "Cotton Fields". Despite those exceptions, though, the band had begun to turn into the "oldies jukebox" and most of the material is pre-"Pet Sounds".

Performancewise, it veers a bit but for the most part the vocals are good and the instrumental passion is there actually improving some songs over the studio versions. It's obvious that the band was still "working out" the set, though (Al Jardine asks "Are we gonna do a medley thing again?" prior to starting "Cotton Fields").

PEAKS:
Dennis shouting "Eat your heart out, Elton John!" as he took the piano spot for "Help Me Rhonda" (Elton was the headliner for his "Captain Fantastic" tour and debuted the album for the first time live that day). "Keepin' the Summer Alive" BURIES the studio version...the guitars smoke and the acappella break is tight. "Lady Lynda" was only on bootlegs in live shows before this and is good (Al's a little weak on some of the verses but the final group acappella coda shimmers..especially after someone (Mike?) shouts "one more time.." and they do it again)
"Do it Again" is tough-edged.Carl puts in a fine vocal on "Darlin'", "School Days" is fabulous live, and the "fun/sun" portion of the show sounds better than it often does. "Help Me Rhonda" benefits from a great Ed Carter guitar solo..Mike Meros on organ is all over the keyboard for "Surfin' U.S.A.".."I Get Around" is stellar..and an extended "Good Vibrations" has the crowd really into it.

VALLEYS:
The final encore on "Fun Fun Fun" is actually the WEAKEST performance of the 'encore set' (track 19 and up). "Barbara Ann" has a flaccid vocal from Bruce (I believe...it doesn't say but it SOUNDS like him). Mike is painfully nasal on "Be True to Your School". As others have noted, the CD should NOT have been named "Good Timin'" when it's not on the disc (Also, after the liners talk up "Santa Ana Winds" it's not wise to omit that track also. Two bad moves in choosing which ones made the cut)

BOTTOM LINE:
This is not their best official live show (that's "In Concert 1973") but it is the only non-bootleg to have "School Days","Cotton Fields","Keepin' the Summer Alive","Lady Lynda","Rock and Roll Music" or Dennis' version of "You are So Beautiful" and they all sound pretty decent. A good one to get AFTER you already have "In Concert 1973" and the twofer with "Concert (1964)/Live in London". It's only essential if you have those two and want more...

Good, but not great performance.......2005-03-09

A live show from 1980-- if I'm not mistaken, the last tour to feature Brian, Dennis and Carl. By this point, the Mike Love touring jukebox concept (i.e. play the same surf and car songs over and over again) was already in effect, but the Wilson brothers kept the set honest-- its a pretty good mix or early and later material.

The performance itself is extremely high quality-- by this point, the touring band was tight, and their execution is relatively flawless. The vocals are top notch, as you would expect (although Brian sounds a bit shaky here and ther). Highlights for me are pretty varied, certainly Mike's shout of "BRIAN WILSON!" after the first line of "Sloop John B", the new material ("School Days", new to the Boys at least and "Keepin' the Summer Alive") comes off really well, and Dennis' impassioned "You Are So Beautiful" are all really great, and there's really no going wrong with "Heroes and Villains" in my book.

Several tracks were cut from the live show-- "In My Room", "Good Timin'", "Catch a Wave", "Some of Your Love", "I Write the Songs", "Santa Ana Winds", and "Wouldn't It Be Nice"-- these I suspect would have distinctly improved the show, though they would have biased away from the surf & car stuff, which I suspect was the intent by the track selection. Personally, I would've rather had the whole show on a double, but that's just me.

Truth is, the show doesn't really grab me enough to make me come back to it over and over again. Good enough, but not great.

Very Good, But Shows Decline.......2004-01-23

This is historic cd, as it doucments the last time all 5 original Beach Boys (plus late bloomer Bruce Johnston) performing live on a UK stage together. It has some very good moments but also quite a few flaws. This documents the band's troubled leader Brian Wilson at his worst. He is essnetially a backing musician here, his chubby frame hidden behind a piano for the majority of the cd (he brifly moves over to the electric piano on "Help Me Rhonda", but that's not important), and he contributes brief lines on "Sloop John B" and "Surfer Girl". The rest of the band is in tip - top shape. Carl gives the single best liveperformance of his career with his stunning performance of "God Only Knows", Al gives us an interesting "Cottonfields"/"Heroes And Villains" medley, Mike Love owns the show, Bruce Johnston doesn't really contribute much, and Dennis performs a beautiful version of "You Are So Beautiful".

Overall this is a very good album, though it does not rank anywhere 1973's "In Concert" and defintely shows signs of their decline which brought them to becoming nothing more than a traveling jukebox.

A great live band..........2003-12-29

...performing at its peak. Many (certainly not all) of the Beach Boys' in-concert standards are included. Sure, the band members squabbled, like many siblings (and cousins) we know, which is also one reason why Brian Wilson hated touring. But this never stopped the Boys from putting on a great concert.

Knebworth may also be our best opportunity to hear the exquisite voice and wonderful energy of Carl Wilson, who served as the artistic "heart" of the band during the "post-Brian" era, until his untimely death from cancer in 1998 at age 51. Carl's lead on Darlin', God Only Knows and several other songs here is breathtaking.

Tracks:

Intro
California Girls
Sloop John B
Darlin'
School Days
God Only Knows
Be True To Your School
Do It Again
Little Deuce Coupe
Cotton Fields/Heroes And Villains
Happy Birthday Brian
Keepin' The Summer Alive
Lady Lynda
Surfer Girl
Help Me Rhonda
Rock & Roll Music
I Get Around
Surfin' USA
You Are So Beautiful
Good Vibrations
Barbara Ann
Fun Fun Fun

Album Description

The last ever recording by the classic line up of Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Alan Jardine and Bruce Johnston. 22 tracks. Slipcase. Eagle/Warner. 2002.

Album Details

The Last Ever Live Performance from the Original Lineup that Includes all Three Wilson Brothers on Stage Together.

Customer Reviews:

Hopefully, first of many from the Beach Boys archives!.......2003-03-30

Wow, it's 75 degrees in the midwest, summer is near, and we have new (at least newly released) Beach Boys music. Recorded on one of their most acclaimed tours in 1980, and with the participation of all the original Boys + Bruce Johnston, this is a hidden gem. The guys are in great voice, clearly engaged and fired-up, and the set-list still had a few surprises. Also most interesting is hearing the on-stage banter, especially from a clearly fired-up (and raspy!) Dennis Wilson. There are supposedly hundreds of recorded concerts in the vaults, and lets hope they keep 'em coming!

Read the Editor Again, Boys.......2003-03-03

It says last ever RECORDING of the original line-up. Or perhaps it should read last ever OFFICIALLY RELEASED RECORDING.

really nice.......2003-01-04

I expected this album to sound terrible, but the band is in great form and really rocks (I never thought I would say this about the Beach Boys). The vocals are really amazing and the arrangements are "true" to the recordings, but new and energetic. Brian sings the bridge on Surfer Girl, which is amazing, I have to say. This is WAY better than any of the other live albums, both for the classic stuff and the few album cuts.

not quite the last..........2002-12-30

In response to the other review, this isn't the last time the original line-up performed together, as it has been marketed, but the inside blurb says that it is the last time they played together IN ENGLAND. which is good enough for me.
As for the CD, it's surprisingly good. I was a few months from being born when it was recorded, and the Beach Boys were way past their peak, but it's still good. Best bit? Brian Wilson's verse in Surfer Girl...

Not the last of the original 3 but a great performance.......2002-11-22

This is a great cd, but the Editorial Reviews/Album Details section on the amazon page which credit this as "The Last Ever Live Performance from the Original Lineup that Includes all Three Wilson Brothers on Stage Together" is false. I myself saw the Beach Boys do a new years eve concert at the forum in Los Angeles on 12/31/1980 and can attest with assurance that Carl, Brian and Dennis (the 3 Wilson Bros.) were all on stage and all performing for the whole show. In addition there were many other shows in the early 80's (I've seen 15 Beach Boy related concerts in my lifetime) which included all three. There were times with Brian missing and a brief time with Carl missing and Dennis had yet to be "kicked out" so there were times when all three were there. Regardless this is a great sounding cd, but one should be aware of that false claim.