Help settle a Beach Boys argument

Which is the better song: Good Vibrations or Wouldn’t It Be Nice

Good Vibrations, hands down. (make your own joke here)

Whichever you like better?

What criteria would you have us use?

My vote is Good Vibrations. In fact, I’d also say God Only Knows is also better than Wouldn’t It Be Nice. But Good Vibrations is better than God Only Knows.

I don’t know. Which one do you prefer? Which one would you rather hear on an average day? Which one is easier to spell? Use whatever criteria you like. I just want to know what the masses think.

“Good Vibrations” over “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” no question. “God Only Knows”? That’s a harder one. GV is stunningly ambitious, and succeeds brilliantly in those ambitions, but GOK is just so heartbreakingly beautiful that it still makes my tears well up after all these years.

“Wouldn’t it be Nice” in a walk. It’s an absolutely perfect pop ode to teen longing. All “Good Vibrations” has is a theremin.

Between the two, definitely Good Vibrations (probably the high water mark of the Theremin in popular music), but I’ll always have a soft spot for I Get Around.

Good Vibrations” completely destroys “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”.
“Good Vibrations” - better song, arrangements, harmonies, production, etc.

My second favorite would be “Don’t Worry Baby”.

Technically, it is not a theremin used in the song “Good Vibrations”.
It is a Tannerin.
http://www.tompolk.com/Tannerin/Tannerin.html

I’m a huge Beach Boys fan. I prefer "Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ to “Good Vibrations.” If I made a top ten list of their songs, “Good Vibrations” wouldn’t make the list. Just a perference. it’s a good song, but…

If you isolate just the vocal tracks, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is a perfect composition. But if you’re looking for the ultimate produced song, it’d be “Good Vibrations.”

Now, “Heroes & Villians” … :smiley:

Well, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is a piece of fluff that I wouldn’t put in the Beach Boys top ten, so I couldn’t figure out why you pairing it against a great song.

Brian’s masterpiece is “California Girls,” not “Good Vibrations.” As pop/rock it’s about perfect, slowly building the tune, a heavenly chorus, a paean to all the girls in the world, who would be California Girls if they only could.

Others in my top ten would be “Caroline, No,” “Don’t Worry, Baby,” “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “Darlin’,” “Please Let Me Wonder,” “Sail on Sailor,” and “I Get Around” in no special order.

But “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?” Eh, it’s better than “Kokomo.” :smiley:

A couple years ago they did a story on NPR about Good Vibrations. They played a tape of the first recording of the song, which sounded like a goofy garage band song from the 60’s. And then they traced all the production elements that were added, and the new harmonies that were song for the song. It was amazing to hear the evolution.

Maybe, but it still isn’t as good as Wipe Out. Talk about a masterpiece…

Hells no. Hells no. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” is phenomenal. You really have to listen to its subtle orchestrational complexity to fully appreciate it. It’s one of those songs that I’ve never paid much attention to then, one day, while revisiting Pet Sounds, I listened to it very closely and realized just how intricate the instrumentation is. From its quirky and memorable out-of-tune mandolin intro to the pulsing accordian (I think), bombastic tympani, and trademark harmonies. It’s a perfect pop song.

Between it and “Good Vibrations,” I have to go with “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” partly because it’s sublime, and partly because it’s the opening track to one of the greatest albums of all time.

Oh, and “God Only Knows” trumps both of these.

I never really appreciated “Good Vibrations” until I saw/heard how Cameron Crow used it in Vanilla Sky. Within context of the film I discovered the haunting beauty of the opening lyrics, and it’s been one of my favorite song ever since. So, I’m going with GV.

Pash

Well, the grandfather from “Sloop John B” can kick the ass of every song mentioned yet. :smiley:

Good Vibrations is on top by a long shot. Wouldn’t It Be Nice and God Only Knows are worthy candidates for the #2 spot and Sloop John B is vastly underrated.

It’s hard to have respect for a song that contains these lyrics:

“The poor cook he caught the fits
And threw away all my grits
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn”

Yeah, but the Beach Boys didn’t write the lyrics for Sloop John B. It’s one hell of a nice cover, though.