By the spring of 1968, the Beach Boys were overdue to submit an album to Capitol, and so Brian rushed to finish the Friends album while his bandmates were on tour. Columnist Joel Goldenburg believes that the lightly produced album was the closest the group ever came to sunshine pop, a genre they had influenced but never fully embraced.
For the album's 1990 CD liner notes, Brian recalled that he "had a good thing rollin' in my head. The bad things that had happened to me had taken their toll and I was free to find out just how much I had grown through the emotional pain that had come my way. ... I think that the Beach Boys’ sound was evolving right along."
The final three tracks are genre experiments
"Diamond Head" is an instrumental exotica lounge jam that echoed the use of extended forms from Smile, and is the album's longest piece at 3 minutes and 39 seconds. Biographer Mark Dillon surmised that it was likely inspired by the group's visit to Hawaii during the previous year. It was briefly considered for inclusion on Brian Wilson Presents SMiLE in 2004.
"Transcendental Meditation" contrasts all that comes before it with its raucous tone. Asked about the song, Dennis explained that the group "wanted to get away from anything that sounded too pompous, too religious. It would have been easy to do something peaceful, very Eastern, but we were trying to reach listeners on all levels." Jardine viewed it as a weak effort. "Our Happy Home" was described by music journalist Brian Chidester as "a short, bouncy riff that maintains the gentle air of the Friends sessions". "New Song" contains a melody that was recycled for "Transcendental Meditation". "You're As Cool As Can Be" is an instrumental of unknown authorship that features an upbeat piano melody played by Brian. these shows were poorly attended due in part to the political mood following the assassination of Martin Luther King that April. Six of the 35 dates were canceled, while two were rescheduled.
Because of the disappointing audience numbers and the Maharishi's subsequent withdrawal to fulfill film contracts, the remaining 24 tour dates were canceled at a cost estimated at $250,000 for the band (equivalent to $ in ). Afterward, Love and Carl told journalists that the racial violence following King's assassination was to blame for the tour's demise. Carl said: "A lot of people just would not let their children out. Nobody wants to get hurt." He added that the group's goal was to appeal mainly to young people, "but not the teeny-boppers", while Love commented that the shows were "not put together for commercial purposes". In his 2016 autobiography, Love wrote: "I take responsibility for an idea that didn't work. But I don't regret it. I thought I could do some good for people who were lost, confused, or troubled, particularly those who were young and idealistic but also vulnerable, and I thought that was true for a whole bunch of us."
Sleeve design
Friends was packaged with a cover artwork, designed by David McMacken, that depicted the band members in a psychedelic visual style. Love remembered that the group lacked "savvy marketing and design", and that while in Rishikesh, Paul McCartney had urged him "to take more care of what you put on your album covers". Johnston opined that the Friends cover ultimately ranked second to Pet Sounds for being the worst "in the history of the music business". Johnston remembered that performing the Friends songs caused him to "wince", and that it was difficult to maintain the "subtle" nature of the songs in a live setting. and subsequently peaked at number 126 while artists such as the Doors and Cream occupied the top positions. On July 8, the band released "Do It Again" as a standalone single backed with "Wake the World". "Do It Again" was recorded within the prior two months as a self-conscious throwback to the group's early surf songs, and the first time they had embraced the subject matter since 1964. It reached the top twenty in the U.S. and was a number one hit in the UK. When Friends was issued in Japan, the song was included in the album's track list. were the group's worst to date. Rolling Stones Arthur Schmidt wrote in his review of the album: "Everything on the first side is great. ... Listen once and you might think this album is nowhere. But it's really just at a very special place, and after a half-dozen listenings, you can be there." Jazz & Pops Gene Sculatti reported that there were detractors of the Beach Boys who most frequently took issue with the band's "apparently excessive immersion in and identification with mass culture and 'commercialism'". In spite of such criticisms, he deemed Friends "[perhaps] their best" work yet, calling it "the culmination of the efforts and the results of their last three LPs. ... It is another showcase for what is the most original and perhaps the most consistently satisfying rock music being created today."
In his review for NME, Allen Evans commented on the brevity of several of the tracks and described "Transcendental Meditation" as "a weirdo piece" and "Passing By" as "quite delightful" in its use of "voices … as instruments". He concluded: "Varied and interesting, though maybe not their best LP." Writing in the same publication's annual for 1968, Keith Altham reported that "Do It Again" "seemed like two steps backwards" but had nevertheless re-established the Beach Boys as hit-makers, while Friends received "considerable criticism from critics who complained that one entire side of the album lasted just a few minutes longer than the hit single 'MacArthur Park'". In Disc & Music Echo, Penny Valentine wrote of the "Friends" single, "Whither the progressive Beach Boys? ... If The Beach Boys are as bored as they sound, they should stop bothering ... They are no longer the brilliant Beach Boys. They are grey and they are making sad little grey records." Record Mirrors David Griffiths referred to "Transcendental Meditation" as "the most disappointing Beach Boys track of the year".
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In its 1990 liner notes, David Leaf wrote that Friends was since reevaluated as "one of the Beach Boys' finest artistic efforts,"
An uncredited writer for Mojo opined that "Given distance and hindsight ... Friends is a uniquely rewarding Beach Boys album that, excepting Pet Sounds, is the group's most sonically and thematically unified." The A.V. Club contributor Noel Murray said the album was "lovely" and one of the group's "warmest and most spiritual records".
Jason Fine wrote in the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide: "If you can get past sappy wannabe-hippie tracks such as 'Wake the World' and 'Transcendental Meditation', the album is gorgeous, with standout moments including 'Meant for You', one of Mike Love’s finest vocals, and Brian’s 'Busy Doin' Nothin'". In his review for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger said that, relative to its unveiling in 1968, "Today [the album] sounds better, but it's certainly one of the group's more minor efforts", adding that the production and harmonies "remained pleasantly idiosyncratic, but there was little substance at the heart of most of the songs." Biographer Steven Gaines described the LP as "boring" and "emotionless".
Among other musicians, journalist and Saint Etienne co-founder Bob Stanley called the album a "lost gem" with a "timeless quality in its simplicity, underlined by the basic instrumentation". It was voted number 662 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).
Legacy
thumb|left|upright|Friends signified Dennis Wilson's emergence as a creative talent in the group. and both "Everyone's in Love with You" and "T M Song" on 1976's [[15 Big Ones. Subsequent albums would also see Dennis contribute more songs, eventually culminating in a solo record, 1977's Pacific Ocean Blue. Brian cited Friends as his favorite Beach Boys album, and said that while Smile "had potential ... Friends has been good listening no matter what mood I'm in." He rerecorded "Meant for You" for his 1995 solo album I Just Wasn't Made for These Times and performed songs from the Friends album live with Jardine in 2019. Among cover versions of the Friends tracks: Pizzicato Five recorded "Passing By" for their album Sister Freedom Tapes (1996), and the High Llamas contributed a version of "Anna Lee, the Healer" to the tribute album Caroline Now!: The Songs of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys (2000). Noel Murray remarked that without Friends, "the High Llamas probably wouldn't exist." Lo-fi musician R. Stevie Moore based his 1975 song "Wayne Wayne (Go Away)" on Friends.
Track listing
Original release
Track information per David Leaf.
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On December 7, 2018, Capitol released Wake the World: The Friends Sessions, a digital-only compilation. Included are session highlights, outtakes, and alternate versions of Friends tracks, as well as some unreleased material by Dennis and Brian Wilson. It is the successor to 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow from the previous year. Along with I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions, Wake the World was not issued on physical media due to the record company's wish not to interfere with the release of The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Personnel
Per band archivist Craig Slowinski.
The Beach Boys
- Al Jardine – vocals, electric bass (on "Passing By" [uncertain credit])
- Bruce Johnston – vocals, keyboard (on "Passing By"), piano (on "Meant for You")
- Mike Love – vocals
- Brian Wilson – vocals, organ (on "Meant for You", "When a Man Needs a Woman", "Passing By", "Be Here in the Mornin", and "Be Still"), piano (on "Wake the World" and "Anna Lee the Healer"), percussion (on "Diamond Head" [uncertain credit])
- Carl Wilson – vocals, guitar (on "Friends", "When a Man Needs a Woman", and "Passing By"), bass (on "Anna Lee the Healer")
- Dennis Wilson – vocals, harmonium (on "Little Bird"), congas (on "Anna Lee the Healer" [uncertain credit])
Guests
- Marilyn Wilson – vocals (on "Busy Doin' Nothin'" and "Be Here in the Mornin), wordless vocals (on "Passing By" [uncertain credit])
- Murry Wilson – vocals (on "Be Here in the Mornin")
Session musicians
- Jim Ackley – keyboard, guitar
- Arnold Belnick – violin
- Jimmy Bond – upright bass
- Norman Botnick – viola
- David Burk – viola
- David Cohen – guitar
- Roy Caton – trumpet
- John DeVoogt – violin
- Bonnie Douglas – violin
- Don Englert – clarinet, saxophone
- Alan Estes – vibraphone, woodblocks, chimes
- Dick Forrest – trumpet
- Jim Gordon – drums, woodblocks, bell, congas, timbales
- Bill Green – saxophone
- Jim Horn – saxophone, clarinet
- Dick Hyde – tuba, flugelhorn
- Norm Jeffries – drums
- Robert T. Jung – saxophone
- Meyer Hirsch J. Kenneth Jensen – saxophone
- Raymond Kelley – cello
- William Kurasch – violin
- Jacqueline Lustgarden – cello
- Tommy Morgan – harmonica, bass harmonica
- Leonard Malarsky – violin
- Jay Migliori – saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Ollie Mitchell – trumpet
- Gene Pello – drums
- Bill Perkins – saxophone
- Lyle Ritz – electric bass, upright bass, ukulele
- Jay Rosen – violin
- Ralph Schaeffer – violin
- Tom Scott – bass flute, saxophone
- David Sherr – oboe, saxophone
- Paul Shure – violin
- Tony Terran – trumpet
- Al Vescovo – banjo, guitar, lap steel guitar
Technical staff
- Jim Lockert – engineer
Charts
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! scope="col"| Chart (1968)
! scope="col"| Peak<br /> position
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