The Beach Boys - 20 Golden Greats

The Beach Boys have been compiled in a kazillion different ways. This is one of them. 20 Golden Greats focuses on the band's early surf-rock days, touching only lightly on anything after Pet Sounds.

Back when I was 8 years old, The Beach Boys were my favorite band, and I was only vaguely familiar with anything from Smiley Smile, Surf's Up, or Sunflower. I think that was mainly due to compilations like this. Anyway, there are many Beach Boys hits that aren't on this album, but you have to give this thing credit for not claiming to be the greatest hits, but rather 20 Golden Greats. There's nothing wrong with The Beach Boys' early stuff. It's fantastic. It's just that this compilation, like many others, glosses over all the good stuff from the 70's. If you're the kind of fan who only wants "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls" but not "Long Promised Road" and "Slip on Through," this comp will serve you well.

Baleeted? No, because I like the early stuff too.