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Title: Surfer boy stays home and cries about puppy love
Review: Maybe if I hadn't heard the hype, I could have enjoyed this for what it is, an OK Beach Boys album that has one or two greatest-hits-caliber songs. Unfortunately I went in expecting something on the artistic level of the Beatles at their best, which this is not. True there is a consistency of voice, but it's that of a whiny teenager with girlfriend problems, enough to hold my interest for about one song. The lyrics consist of commonplace rhyming conversational prose, totally lacking in imagery, metaphor and anything else that separates verse from poetry. The music has that distinctive Brian Wilson sound, pleasant and ingratiating. Breaking up the meter or, adding accordions, barking dogs and train sound effects doesn't alter that. If you love the Beach Boys, buy Pet Sounds. If you only just like the Beach Boys buy their Greatest Hits instead.
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