‘In Concert’ by The Beach Boys

It’s fifty years since the Beach Boys began, and in 2012, the world can look forward to the band dragging themselves round the earth’s arenas for (presumably) one last time. It’s hard to say how long it’s been since this happened – the line-up of the band changed so often from the mid-sixties onwards – but it’s certainly been a while. There will almost certainly be recordings made and sold – whether they’ll be good or bad is hard to say, as historical precedent swings in both directions. This album, however, is a good one.

Recorded on tour around the time of ‘Holland’, it captures the Beach Boys in their final gasp of creativity. Beefed up by the presence of Ricky Fataar and ‘Blondie Chaplin’, the band are in fine form as musicians, and the setlist is sprinkled with all sorts of interesting stuff which would soon be shelved forever – ‘The Trader’, ‘Marcella’, ‘Let The Wind Blow’, ‘Leaving This Town’, and so on. Even more interesting is the presence of ‘We Got Love’, a track recorded from ‘Holland’ but then ditched – nine tracks was obviously deemed sufficient. A shame, as it’s a great song.

Only at the very end does the record start to degenerate into the sort of greatest hits sing-along which the band were soon to become on a full time basis. The band would never sound this good again – I suspect that 2012 is unlikely to change this state of affairs.

‘In Between Dreams’ by Jack Johnson

I’ve been sitting on this for a fair while. Listened to it ages ago – and actually, it’s been on heavy rotation in the house since the Christmas music went away – but I just haven’t worked out what to say about it. The problem with this album is that it’s so straightforward, so undemanding, that it almost defies description. Trouble is, as soon as you say that, it sounds like a massive criticism, and it’s not meant to be, as this is a very fine record. I listened to ‘Brushfire Fairytales’ a few weeks ago, and it’s best track (‘Flake’ – if you think otherwise, you’re wrong) is matched, quality-wise, by almost everything on ‘In Between Dreams’.

So, it’s easy to listen to, but it has a warmth and a lightness of touch that’s hugely enjoyable. Johnson’s songwriting and vocal delivery have both developed well since his first two albums. Most of it is fairly simple, whether in the one-man-and-his-guitar tracks of ‘Do You Remember’ or the loose-acoustic-rock style of ‘Good People’, but there are some more ambitious moments – the close harmonies of ‘Staple It Together’, say. And that’s it, really. Let it wash over you. All done.