The Beach Boys' 50 Greatest Songs

The Beach Boys are on the cover of the US edition of MOJO 258, on sale in North America now.

THE BEACH BOYS redefined the possibilities of pop music, creating harmonies and experimenting with production in ways that had never been heard before and have rarely been rivalled since.

Accordingly, their catalogue is one of the richest and most labyrinthine in popular music, encompassing flat-out rock’n’rollers and golden-age pop, bittersweet ruminations, and experimental harmonic euphoria under the direction of troubled genius Brian Wilson: from Little Deuce Coupe to California Girls, God Only Knows and beyond, from LSD highs to doubtful, regret-ridden lows.

Selected by the MOJO team of expert writers, we hope our 50 Greatest Beach Boys songs will provide a useful and enlightening guide – or cause you to rant away. Let us know on Twitter (@MOJOmagazine) or Facebook what you think.

50. Forever (Good Vibrations in Central Park 1971)

MOJO SAYS:

A broken man, simply trying his best.

49. Wind Chimes

MOJO SAYS:

Not so much sloppy as fally-over, and wonderfully so.

48. Help Me Rhonda

MOJO SAYS:

A sea-change in spring '65. Perfectionism had arrived.

47. Vega-Tables

MOJO SAYS:

The stripped back re-take of this endearingly daft song gives the group's harmonies space.

46. Do It Again

MOJO SAYS:

Mike Love reinvents the brand as a totem to nostalgia, youth and the beach.

45. Wild Honey

MOJO SAYS:

A reflection of Brian's retreat from the mid-’60s production race.

44. That's Not Me

MOJO SAYS:

A nostalgic, two-minute, 22-second paean to rueful self-awareness.

42. Let Him Run Wild

MOJO SAYS:

With key and tempo changes bolder and weirder than anything before, this was Brian's signpost to the psychedelic country up ahead.

40. "Cuddle Up"

MOJO SAYS:

A ballad that’s warm and adoring and desperate and lonely.

39. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)

MOJO SAYS:

An ode to youth's fleeting nature.

37. Sloop John B

MOJO SAYS:

Forlorn wish for home, or acid-derived ‘trip’ from hell? Trad-arr, but transformed, definitive.

36. Tears in the Morning

MOJO SAYS:

Bruce Johnston's time to shine, with help from 'the funky Frenchman' Michel Colombier.

35. All Summer Long

MOJO SAYS:

A UK-only single, but by now the Brits preferred The Beatles.

34. Barbara Ann

MOJO SAYS:

The "bane" of Carl Wilson's existence became one of band's defining sounds.

33. Break Away

MOJO SAYS:

The hit-making hot rod years were over, the uncertain '70s looming.

32. You're So Good to Me

MOJO SAYS:

The closest they got to Northern soul.

31. I Can Hear Music

MOJO SAYS:

A less stodgy version of The Ronettes' 1966 original.

30. Here Today

MOJO SAYS:

Its impact derives from Brian Wilson's grander scheme.

29. Darlin'

MOJO SAYS:

Reassuringly swept-up production with a smattering of horns and assembly singing.

28. Disney Girls

MOJO SAYS:

Chasing an unreachable high - it’s a hallucination without the hallucinogens.

27. Surfin' U.S.A.

MOJO SAYS:

The best advert So-Cal's surfing culture ever got.

26. The Warmth Of The Sun

MOJO SAYS:

Brian trancends pain to deliver words of hope and comfort.

24. Pet Sounds

MOJO SAYS:

An ambiguous, jet-age update of Martin Denny-style 1950s exotica.

23. I'm Waiting For The Day

MOJO SAYS:

One of the lavishly orchestrated gems which give Pet Sounds its astonishing depth.

22. Our Prayer

MOJO SAYS:

Emanating the warmth of the California sun rather than the interior cool of a Baroque kirche.

21. Do You Like Worms?

MOJO SAYS:

The original's serene aura epitomises Brian's sandbox meditations.

20. I Know There's an Answer

MOJO SAYS:

A fried treatise on how LSD separates the turned-on 'us' from the uptight 'them'.

19. In My Room

MOJO SAYS:

Brian's place of refuge might well be somewhere bad thoughts fester.

18. Surfer Girl

MOJO SAYS:

The most acute and piercing kind of nostalgia: nostalgia for something that never existed.

17. Let's Go Away for Awhile

MOJO SAYS:

Hawaiian guitar, vibraphone and tympani all suggest a yearning for freedom and peace of mind.

16. Sail on sailor

MOJO SAYS:

Its rolling melody, Morse code rhythm and soulful vocal from Blondie Chaplin make this an early-’70s highlight.

15. Don't Worry Baby

MOJO SAYS:

Like many of the best Beach Boys tracks, its beauty masks concern and doubt.

13. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times

MOJO SAYS:

The Theremin's debut on a pop record, but Wilson would soon take it to even greater heights.

12. Feel Flows

MOJO SAYS:

A cosmic soup spiced with manager Jack Rieley's looniest lyrics: "Unfolding enveloping missiles of soul".

11. Cabin Essence (1967 Music Video)

MOJO SAYS:

A micro-symphony to the US that's more strange than sepia-toned.

10. I Get Around

MOJO SAYS:

Mike Love is in his element, but it was Brian who headed, soon enough, for "a new place where the kids are hip".

9. Wouldn't It Be Nice (Original Video)

MOJO SAYS:

The eternal frustration of the doorstep kiss.

8. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulders) ((Stereo Remaster))

MOJO SAYS:

Only Brian could convey the reverence of lovers drinking in each other's essence among the silence.

 7. Heroes and Villains

MOJO SAYS:

Given the chance to "sunny down snuff", who wouldn't?

6. Beach Boys (Lyrics)

MOJO SAYS:

Caroline will haunt you.

5. 'Til I Die

MOJO SAYS:

Brian was feeling hopeless, insignificant, and, in contrast to his physical bulk, "very small".

4. California Girls (1965)

MOJO SAYS:

A list song, yes, but what a list song!

3. God only knows

MOJO SAYS:

How many other songs of devotional wonderment begin with a line like "I may not always love you"?

2. Good Vibrations

MOJO SAYS:

A song that everyone recognises, but only one man knows for sure what it really means.

1. Surf's Up

MOJO SAYS:

Not so much timeless but a song out of time, an elegy whose richness and mystery only deepens with age.

MOJO 258 is on sale in North America, featuring a 12-page Beach Boys special, including an exploration of their weird, wild ’70s, the best Beach Boys album you’ve never heard, plus a brand new interview with Brian Wilson. Get your copy now, or order one online while stocks last.

PHOTO: Getty Images