Carl & The Passions - So Tough / Holland

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This twofer adds liner notes by Elton John to their 1972 album and liner notes by Tom Petty to their 1973 album PLUS bonus EP tracks! .com ---- If the uneven Sunflower ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004TJXS/%24%7B0%7D ) and Surf's Up ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004TJXS/%24%7B0%7D ) albums demonstrated the Beach Boys resolve to soldier on despite the largely AWOL status of Brian Wilson ( /exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/74063/%24%7B0%7D ), their founder and troubled creative mainstay, 1972's So Tough showed how quickly their own disparate instincts could lead to a creative face-. Though not nearly the train-wreck its dismal reputation might lead one to believe (its original distributor thought so little of the project that it was packaged as a two-fer with a reissue of Pet Sounds ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JJQK/%24%7B0%7D )). The album's R&B/gospel sensibilities seem woefully misplaced, while "Marcella" shows just how willing the band was to beat a hasty retreat into comfortable nostalgia. The good news was that Tough was only eight tracks long. Given that background, 1973's Holland seemed like a minor miracle. Possessed of a melodic sense and muscular musicality that the faithful must have given up for dead, the great "Sail On Sailor" leads the way to one of the band's best post-'60s efforts. Bolstered by new bandmates Blondie Chin and Ricky aar (the latter would become a cult hero as a member of the Beatles-parodying Rutles ( /exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/48739/%24%7B0%7D )) and a change of venue (hence the title), the Beach Boys attacked Carl Wilson's "Trader," Dennis Wilson's "Steamboat," and other group standouts like "Funky Pretty" and "Leaving This Town" with a vigor and self-assurance they hadn't shown in years. It even overcomes Mike Love's ham-fisted attempt at eco-awareness, the musical triptych "California Saga," and the strange, spoken-word children's tale "Mt. Vernon and Fairway," highlighted only by Brian Wilson's fleeting presence. Both albums are newly remastered on two discs. --Jerry McCulley