Good Boy!

It's entertaining, nostalgic, even poignant... not much more one could ask for from a Beach Boys concert. This 70-minute concert was the last time the complete group (brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, and Bruce Johnston, plus backing musicians) would appear in the U.K., performing a mix of oldies ("California Girls," "Help Me Rhonda," "Fun, Fun, Fun," etc.) and some newer material. And if the show itself is somewhat pedestrian, it's still marvelous to see the three Wilsons together onstage, especially in view of the subsequent deaths of Dennis (in '83) and Carl (in '98), and Brian's eventual triumphant recovery from mental and emotional problems. To hear Carl sing so beautifully on "God Only Knows," or Dennis play drums with such power and emotion, or Brian, vacant but game, contribute a few lines to "Surfer Girl"... well, it might just bring a tear to your eye. --Sam Graham