The Beach Boys "Adult/Child" (unreleased 1977 album)
You may have heard about the upcoming Beach Boys box set titled We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years, set to be released on February 13th. Among many other tracks recorded between 1974 and 1977, the 3-CD set will include the entire 1977 album Beach Boys Love You, which is generally considered a Brian Wilson solo album with some participation from the other Beach Boys. And included among the box set's bonus material is most of the unreleased 1977-recorded album Adult/Child, which was the intended follow-up to Beach Boys Love You, and was also mainly a Brian Wilson solo project with some help from other Beach Boys. That album was shelved in favor of the weaker 1978 M.I.U. album, which was a discouraging work by middle-aged "boys" who were seemingly pretending it was 1963.
Some Beach Boys fans describe Adult/Child as "another lost masterpiece", in allusion to the legendary unfinished Smile album which was expected to be revealed to the world a decade earlier in 1967. In truth, Adult/Child has not acquired anything close to the mystique of Smile. First off, being the intended follow-up to the divisive Beach Boys Love You is nothing like being the intended follow-up to the venerated Pet Sounds, as Smile was meant to be. (In fact, Love You was once a forgotten album in itself. I can tell you it was difficult to find and was rarely discussed when it was out of print in the 1990's). Also, Adult/Child was not exactly unfinished; it was merely unreleased, and has been much-bootlegged, and therefore does not have the same level of mystery and unattainability as Smile.
Still, it is a good album that deserved to be released, and I'm glad it is finally becoming officially available in some form, nearly 50 years after its recording. Adult/Child was a logical progression from Beach Boys Love You, offering another, more sophisticated set of quirky but likable recordings by the temporarily revitalized Brian Wilson. The album's first track, going by the official track listing on the box set, is "Life Is for the Living", an exuberant jazz-pop number with lyrics that seem to decry the way Wilson was living his own life a few years earlier, when he lived in extreme isolation for a period of at least two years. These lyrics probably resulted from the first time Brian was under the care of Dr. Eugene Landy, the controversial and controlling therapist who was first hired to treat Brian's mental and drug abuse issues from 1975 until 1976. That song's jazz-pop sound was certainly unusual for a Beach Boys recording, but a similar approach was used for the second track, a cover of the 1930's jazz classic "Deep Purple"; it had nothing to do with the heavy metal band of the same name, but it was unexpectedly reminiscent of Frank Sinatra. "It's Over Now" and "Still I Dream Of It" are melancholy ballads that recall the baroque pop of Pet Sounds, as does the instrumental "New England Waltz". (If you listen for it, "It's Over Now" includes a short guest vocal spot from Brian's then-wife Marilyn Rovell). Some of the more upbeat tracks include a rollicking rendition of the traditional folk song "Shortenin’ Bread" (possibly inspired by quick-tempo rockabilly versions from the early '60's), a short piano tune ("Lines") with Brian and Carl Wilson taking vocal turns, and a cheerful song about baseball ("It’s Trying to Say") sung by Dennis Wilson. The deepest song of the bunch is "Everybody Wants to Live", with its lyrics about ecology and the potential of life, and with backing vocals by both of Brian's brothers.
Adult/Child shows what Brian Wilson was capable of at that moment in time, when he had returned to studio work and had seemingly achieved a better mental state. Sadly, Brian soon became withdrawn again, and did not make another full return until he recorded his first official solo album in 1988. Meanwhile, the music of the Beach Boys suffered a long decline, despite their scoring a #1 comeback hit with "Kokomo" (also in 1988). So, listening to Adult/Child in 2026 is at once joyful and sad, as we can enjoy what was and lament what could have been.
The backing track mixes listed for four songs seem like time-filling substitutes for some songs which have been included on bootlegs of Adult/Child but are missing from this box set's version of the album. Two of them, "H.E.L.P. Is On The Way" and "Two Can Play", were already issued on the 2021 box set Feel Flows, and -- like the rest of the tracks on that set -- were recorded several years before the Adult/Child sessions. Another track, a cover of the Drifters' "On Broadway" sung by Al Jardine, is included on the We Gotta Groove set as a 15 Big Ones outtake. A cover of Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl", sung by Mike Love, is nowhere in sight, and would have made a good inclusion somewhere on the box set. But the most notable omission is the original version of "Hey Little Tomboy", which sounds creepier than the rerecorded version on M.I.U. with its spoken-word dialogue at the end. It's a song that people might have laughed off in the '70's, but in these times the lyrics now sound glaringly age-inappropriate -- and could ignite other political arguments, as well. So, I'll say it was a good idea to leave this track off the new box set.
Additional notes: An inferior, slickly-produced rerecording of "Shortenin’ Bread" appeared on the 1979 L.A. (Light Album). "It's Over Now" and "Still I Dream Of It" were both included on the 1993 box set titled Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys, as were the aforementioned "H.E.L.P. Is On The Way" and "Two Can Play". The 2013 compilation Made In California contained a more polished alternate mix of "It's Over Now", on which the vocals were particularly made to sound more professional.
The Beach Boys "Adult/Child" (unreleased) 1977
Official track listing on box set:
1. Life Is for the Living
2. Deep Purple
3. It’s Over Now
4. Still I Dream of It
5. Everybody Wants to Live
6. Lines
7. It’s Trying to Say
8. Shortenin’ Bread
9. New England Waltz
10. Life Is for the Living (Backing Track)
11. Deep Purple (2025 Backing Track Mix)
12. It’s Over Now (2025 Backing Track Mix)
13. Still I Dream of It (2025 Backing Track Mix)
Some Beach Boys fans describe Adult/Child as "another lost masterpiece", in allusion to the legendary unfinished Smile album which was expected to be revealed to the world a decade earlier in 1967. In truth, Adult/Child has not acquired anything close to the mystique of Smile. First off, being the intended follow-up to the divisive Beach Boys Love You is nothing like being the intended follow-up to the venerated Pet Sounds, as Smile was meant to be. (In fact, Love You was once a forgotten album in itself. I can tell you it was difficult to find and was rarely discussed when it was out of print in the 1990's). Also, Adult/Child was not exactly unfinished; it was merely unreleased, and has been much-bootlegged, and therefore does not have the same level of mystery and unattainability as Smile.
Still, it is a good album that deserved to be released, and I'm glad it is finally becoming officially available in some form, nearly 50 years after its recording. Adult/Child was a logical progression from Beach Boys Love You, offering another, more sophisticated set of quirky but likable recordings by the temporarily revitalized Brian Wilson. The album's first track, going by the official track listing on the box set, is "Life Is for the Living", an exuberant jazz-pop number with lyrics that seem to decry the way Wilson was living his own life a few years earlier, when he lived in extreme isolation for a period of at least two years. These lyrics probably resulted from the first time Brian was under the care of Dr. Eugene Landy, the controversial and controlling therapist who was first hired to treat Brian's mental and drug abuse issues from 1975 until 1976. That song's jazz-pop sound was certainly unusual for a Beach Boys recording, but a similar approach was used for the second track, a cover of the 1930's jazz classic "Deep Purple"; it had nothing to do with the heavy metal band of the same name, but it was unexpectedly reminiscent of Frank Sinatra. "It's Over Now" and "Still I Dream Of It" are melancholy ballads that recall the baroque pop of Pet Sounds, as does the instrumental "New England Waltz". (If you listen for it, "It's Over Now" includes a short guest vocal spot from Brian's then-wife Marilyn Rovell). Some of the more upbeat tracks include a rollicking rendition of the traditional folk song "Shortenin’ Bread" (possibly inspired by quick-tempo rockabilly versions from the early '60's), a short piano tune ("Lines") with Brian and Carl Wilson taking vocal turns, and a cheerful song about baseball ("It’s Trying to Say") sung by Dennis Wilson. The deepest song of the bunch is "Everybody Wants to Live", with its lyrics about ecology and the potential of life, and with backing vocals by both of Brian's brothers.
Adult/Child shows what Brian Wilson was capable of at that moment in time, when he had returned to studio work and had seemingly achieved a better mental state. Sadly, Brian soon became withdrawn again, and did not make another full return until he recorded his first official solo album in 1988. Meanwhile, the music of the Beach Boys suffered a long decline, despite their scoring a #1 comeback hit with "Kokomo" (also in 1988). So, listening to Adult/Child in 2026 is at once joyful and sad, as we can enjoy what was and lament what could have been.
The backing track mixes listed for four songs seem like time-filling substitutes for some songs which have been included on bootlegs of Adult/Child but are missing from this box set's version of the album. Two of them, "H.E.L.P. Is On The Way" and "Two Can Play", were already issued on the 2021 box set Feel Flows, and -- like the rest of the tracks on that set -- were recorded several years before the Adult/Child sessions. Another track, a cover of the Drifters' "On Broadway" sung by Al Jardine, is included on the We Gotta Groove set as a 15 Big Ones outtake. A cover of Neil Sedaka's "Calendar Girl", sung by Mike Love, is nowhere in sight, and would have made a good inclusion somewhere on the box set. But the most notable omission is the original version of "Hey Little Tomboy", which sounds creepier than the rerecorded version on M.I.U. with its spoken-word dialogue at the end. It's a song that people might have laughed off in the '70's, but in these times the lyrics now sound glaringly age-inappropriate -- and could ignite other political arguments, as well. So, I'll say it was a good idea to leave this track off the new box set.
Additional notes: An inferior, slickly-produced rerecording of "Shortenin’ Bread" appeared on the 1979 L.A. (Light Album). "It's Over Now" and "Still I Dream Of It" were both included on the 1993 box set titled Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys, as were the aforementioned "H.E.L.P. Is On The Way" and "Two Can Play". The 2013 compilation Made In California contained a more polished alternate mix of "It's Over Now", on which the vocals were particularly made to sound more professional.
The Beach Boys "Adult/Child" (unreleased) 1977
Official track listing on box set:
1. Life Is for the Living
2. Deep Purple
3. It’s Over Now
4. Still I Dream of It
5. Everybody Wants to Live
6. Lines
7. It’s Trying to Say
8. Shortenin’ Bread
9. New England Waltz
10. Life Is for the Living (Backing Track)
11. Deep Purple (2025 Backing Track Mix)
12. It’s Over Now (2025 Backing Track Mix)
13. Still I Dream of It (2025 Backing Track Mix)
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