I don’t disparage The Beach Boys and their partners Iconic Artists Group for trying squeeze every last cent out of the band’s legacy. That’s the music business, isn’t it? And they’re certainly not the only ones engaging in this sort of behavior.
Iconic took majority interest in the band’s intellectual property; they acquired most of the band’s creative assets in 2021. As such, they pretty much got everything that came after the 1969 album 20/20, The Beach Boys’ last for Capitol Records. That was their label for their surf/Pet Sounds era, and those recordings are now under the control of Universal Music Group.
In 2021, Iconic, in conjunction with The Beach Boys, released an expanded box set featuring music from the albums Sunflower, the 1970 follow-up to 20/20, and Surf’s Up, originally issued in 1971. The collection was generally well received by both devoted and casual fans, as well as critics. Same for Sail on Sailor, released in 2022. That contained music from the sessions for Carl & The Passions- “So Tough” (1972) and Holland (1973).
Overall, The Beach Boys/Iconic team did a pretty good job of making people realize that there’s more to the band than surf, cars, girls, and Pet Sounds. However, a cliff was approaching.
A double-edged sword
In 1973, the movie American Graffiti helped usher in nostalgia for the ‘50s and ‘60s. This was further cemented by the success of the sit-com Happy Days and things like the syndicated variety show Sha, Na, Na, hosted by the rock/doo-wop revival group of the same name. In 1974, Capitol Records, almost on a whim, released a two-album Beach Boys greatest hits collection called Endless Summer. There was very little downside to the move, which paid off massively. The album was a smash and topped the album charts in the U.S. and Canada.
The band, which had continued to tour steadily, saw more and more people coming to their shows, and they started playing bigger and bigger venues. Of course, most folks in attendance wanted the hits, not songs from Holland, Surf’s Up, or anything post Pet Sounds. For the most part, the band obliged.
In the wake of the success of Endless Summer and its follow-up Spirit of America (US #8), the band decided to start work on a new studio album. Chief songwriter, producer, and visionary Brian Wilson had been struggling since the late ‘60s and famously spent three years in bed. Not really. But he rarely left his bedroom, let alone his house.
Playing the hit and creating new music
A few months before Endless Summer was released, the band set about working on an album that would be called 15 Big Ones, released on July 5, 1976. The collection’s success, of course, put more heat on them in more ways than one. And this is where the Iconic/Beach Boys partnership hit its first stumbling block.
The problem with 15 Big Ones is that people pretty much hate it. The album that followed, 1977’s The Beach Boys Love You, is extremely polarizing, with some people despising it, while others hail it as their next best album after Pet Sounds.
The recent release pattern dictates that the We Gotta Groove box set would be music from the sessions for 15 Big Ones and Love You. BUZZ. It was decided that, instead, it would comprise Love You, plus extra tracks and outtakes from that album, as well as a few outtakes from 15 Big Ones. The other album featured in the set is the unreleased follow-up to Love You, called Adult/Child, the release of which was cancelled, although by whom (the band or Warner Brothers) no one is sure, even to this day.
Odd choices for the box set
Like its predecessors, We Gotta Groove is sonically quite enjoyable, even on low-bandwidth streaming platforms. The track listing, though, leaves a lot to be desired. I feel that way, because 15 Big Ones is not a bad album.
When the band convened to start work on it, Brian wanted to record some covers as a warm-up exercise, and the band complied. Then, Brian wanted it to be an album of nothing but covers. That did not sit well with the rest of the group. A compromise was reached, and it became half covers, half originals. I will concede that, for the most part, the covers aren’t great. Most are too slow. Take “Palisades Park,” for example, penned by Chuck Barris off of game shows, and, possibly, international intrigue. The version made famous by Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon is an up-tempo toe-tapper. The Beach Boys’ version is almost dirge-like. “Sea Cruise,” released for the first time as part of this collection, suffers the same fate. They got it right on Chuck Berry’s “Rock & Roll Music,” though. Oddly, that’s left out of We Gotta Groove, save for a backing track cut. It was the lead single and hit #5 in the U.S., the band’s first top-10 since “Good Vibrations” in 1966. Also left out: “It’s OK,” an original Brian Wilson/Mike Love tune that hit #29. No remaster, no backing track version, no nuthin’. What the heck?
Some people love Love You and some do not
Love You gets more respect, likely because it has some very respected champions, including Peter Buck of R.E.M., Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Patti Smith, and Lindsey Buckingham. What sets it apart is that it’s recorded almost exclusively with synthesizers. Indeed, many consider Love You to be the first synth-pop album. That sounds odd, since many of The Beach Boys’ contemporaries, such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Genesis, and Pink Floyd were using synths. However those acts were creating what my friend Pat Francis calls “some prog rock bulls**t.” (Note: Pat is a big fan of prog rock bulls**t, and uses the term jokingly).
The Beach Boys’ arrangements using the ARP and Moog synthesizers are simple, though. So much so, this album is also considered to be the band’s punk album. It’s a head scratcher to be sure, but it has some pretty great tracks. “Mona” is probably the best of these. Odd it wasn’t released as a single. Only “Honking Down the Highway” was. The rest is a mix of catchy and haunting. “Johnny Carson” is an odd one. As the title implies, it’s a tribute to America’s greatest talk show host.
Adult/Child tracks officially surface
Adult/Child is surprisingly good. Bootlegs have existed for years, but the reconstructed tracks are amazing. The sound is a departure from the synth pop of Love You and leans more towards what would soon be known as adult contemporary music. Brian’s vocals are crisp, apparently healed, thanks to the very controversial treatment program undertaken with Eugene Landy, of the damage caused by years of smoking, drink, and drugs. The production is full but measured. This would have been a great release, though finding a suitable single might have been a challenge.
The set also contains remastered cassette demos, a la Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, though not that deep as far as subject matter goes, these are fun. There’s an early version of “Little Children” from Brian’s very fine 1988 solo album. Here, it’s called “They’re Marching Along.” That track was later covered by, among others, the children’s music group The Wiggles.
Odd availibility
The one thing I can’t wrap my head around, though, is the way this package was released. As of this posting (February 2026, about a week and a half after its release), it appears you can only buy the physical set as one big collection of vinyl and CDs. You can’t buy them separately. What an incredible waste for a band that for nearly its entire career supported multiple environmental causes. The tracks are available for download, but if you just want CDs or just want vinyl, you are out of luck.
What Iconic and The Beach Boys do next should prove to be interesting. The late ‘70s and early ‘80s were a creative train wreck by most fans’ estimation. This view is a bit overblown. There are some fine nuggets in there, though you listen to those tracks and think there should have been a lot more gold in them there hills. Perhaps a collection called And the Rest: Stuff That Didn’t Suck: 1978-2012.
PF Wilson has been writing about music, TV, radio, and movies for over 20 years. He has also written about sports, business, and politics with his work appearing in Cincinnati CityBeat, The Houston Press, Cleveland Scene, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincy Magazine, Atomic Ranch, and many more. Check out his podcast PF’s Tape Recorder available from Podbean or in iTunes.