LogFAQs > #955600663

159. The Beach Boys Good Vibrations (1966)
from the album Smiley Smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eab_beh07HU

Key lyrics:
Close my eyes, shes somehow closer now
Softly smile, I know she must be kind

Leave it to The Beach Boys to make one of the most complex recordings of its era and coat it in such a summery and pleasant sound that the average listener could easily overlook its marvelous originality by being caught up in its pure sonic bliss. Good Vibrations is proof that experimental is not synonymous with inaccessible. Some truly successful experiments become so embedded in our culture that their avant-garde origins become lost to time. The whirring Electro-Theremin is perhaps the most iconic oddity, but the beating cello adds more subtle complexity. On a songwriting level, Good Vibrations is fragmentary, gliding through stray elements with ease. Though bright and bubbly throughout, this is an obvious precursor to more extreme rhapsodic hits like A Day in the Life and Bohemian Rhapsody.

The question, then, is what makes Good Vibrations such an easy listen similar works draw attention to their transitions, whereas Good Vibrations maintains an unlikely cohesiveness. In large part, this is due to the harmonizing The Beach Boys perfected over their long career. The sudden changes in tempo and volume allow the band to show off their vocal work. Quiet moments are an excuse to build back up to full force Good Vibrations is a song loaded with payoffs.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/