Rarities (The Beach Boys album)

Rarities
Compilation album by
The Beach Boys
Released1983
Recorded1962–1970
GenreRock
Length30:25
LabelCapitol
ProducerBrian Wilson
CompilerBrad Elliot
The Beach Boys chronology
Sunshine Dream
(1982) 		Rarities
(1983) 		The Beach Boys
(1985)

Rarities is a Beach Boys compilation album released in 1983 by Capitol Records. It is a collection of outtakes, alternate mixes and B-sides recorded between 1962 and 1970. Included are songs written or made popular by the Beatles, the Box Tops, Stevie Wonder, Ersel Hickey and Lead Belly. Also featured are several standards, such as "The Lord's Prayer" and "Auld Lang Syne". The album sold poorly and quickly went out of print.

Track listing

  1. "With a Little Help from My Friends" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) – 2:22
  2. "The Letter" (Wayne Carson) – 1:47
  3. "I Was Made to Love Her" [alternate version] (Henry Cosby, Lula Mae Hardaway, Sylvia Moy, Stevie Wonder) – 2:34
  4. "You're Welcome" (Brian Wilson) – 1:06
    • B-side of “Heroes and Villains” (1967); later included as a bonus track on the 1990 CD release of Smiley Smile/Wild Honey
  5. "The Lord's Prayer" (Albert Hay Malotte) – 2:31
  6. "Bluebirds over the Mountain (two-track mix)" (Ersel Hickey) – 2:49
  7. "Celebrate the News" (Dennis Wilson, Gregg Jakobson) – 3:03
  8. "Good Vibrations" [alternate version] (B. Wilson, Mike Love) – 3:33
  9. "Land Ahoy" (B. Wilson) – 1:42
  10. "In My Room [German version]" (B. Wilson, Gary Usher) – 2:15
  11. "Cottonfields" (Lead Belly) – 3:02
  12. "All I Want to Do" [live] (D. Wilson) – 1:39
  13. "Auld Lang Syne" (Traditional) – 1:11

CD bonus tracks

  2. "Medley: Good Vibrations/Help Me, Rhonda/I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe/Little Honda/Hawaii/409/Noble Surfer/Dance, Dance, Dance/Shut Down/Surfin' Safari/Barbara Ann/Surfin' U.S.A./Fun, Fun, Fun" [Up Tempo Version] – 6:51
  3. "Medley: Surfer Girl/Girls on the Beach/Ballad of Ole' Betsy/We'll Run Away/Caroline, No/The Surfer Moon/In My Room" [Ballad Version] – 9:39
  4. "Beach Boys Medley: Good Vibrations/Help Me, Rhonda/I Get Around/Shut Down/Surfin' Safari/Barbara Ann/Surfin' U.S.A./Fun, Fun, Fun" [Single Version] – 4:10

Reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
MusicHound3.5/5[4]

In a brief review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann called Rarities a collection of "alternate takes, surprising cover versions, and different mixes of familiar songs make this a delight for collectors and hard-core fans. To anyone else, it's pleasant but non-essential."[5]

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  4. ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 84. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  5. ^ Ruhlmann, William. "Beach Boys Rarities - The Beach Boys". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-07.