Sunflower (album)

Sunflower is The Beach Boys' twenty-first official album release and their first under their contract with Reprise Records. Issued in August 1970, Sunflower is often regarded as among The Beach Boys' very best releases (and was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time).

The Beach Boys started work on "San Miguel" and other new songs in January 1969, sporadically recording and touring for the rest of the year, while continuing to write and record new songs. The first of these songs to appear on Sunflower was "Forever", which some sources date to 9 January. Because the band still owed Capitol one album, a collection of songs was compiled for that label, but never issued.

In late summer 1969, The Beach Boys intensified work on their new project. Their reputation had fallen sharply in the US since 1967, but Mo Ostin (reportedly on Van Dyke Parks' urging despite Brian Wilson's personal attempts at sabotage by meeting Warner executives, promising to behave but also painting his face green) decided to sign them in November. Part of the deal was to revive their Brother Records imprint, initially founded during the Smile era and used only for the Smiley Smile album, and the "Heroes and Villains" and "Gettin' Hungry" singles before becoming dormant.

By the end of 1969, The Beach Boys, having worked with several outside songwriters, had composed dozens of new songs; their stockpile was so large that unused Sunflower tracks would later appear, unchanged or altered, on the following:

A projected release, titled Add Some Music, was handed in to Reprise for a planned spring 1970 release, but was rejected. The band's first single with their new label (and their 31st overall) was issued in February 1970: "Add Some Music to Your Day". It was not commercially successful, only reaching #64 in the US. Its B-side, "Susie Cincinnati", was one of several songs dropped from the album project. With recording continuing until July, the retitled and reworked Sunflower was presented to and accepted by Reprise. The final album, compiled and mastered on August 12, 1970, was a mix of songs from "Add Some Music", the last Capitol studio album, and two new songs recorded in July 1970: "Cool, Cool Water" and "It's About Time". Several songs were also remixed and a new lead vocal for "Tears in the Morning" was also recorded in July 1970.

During this time, a remake of Leadbelly's Cottonfields (with revised lyrics and recorded in August of 1969) was a huge hit outside of North America. While missing the Hot 100 in the USA, the song hit #1 in Australia, Sweden, and Norway, and hit #5 in the UK.

Although Brian Wilson's vocals were mostly inconspicuous on the LP (his only lead vocals are on "Add Some Music to Your Day" and "Cool, Cool Water"), his influence was clear, in the lush arrangements and elaborate harmonies. Wilson also contributed a song from the unreleased Smile. A water chant, heard approximately a minute into the song, was initially titled I Love To Say Da-Da. Wilson rewrote this song as Cool, Cool Water during the Wild Honey sessions, but left the track unfinished. Lenny Waronker, then an A&R executive at Warner Music, heard the unfinished tape, and convinced Wilson to finish the track for Sunflower (Wilson later reworked the original version of the song I Love to Say Dada as "In Blue Hawaii" for his 2004 solo release). Warnoker was so impressed with the song's inspied simplicity, that he noted:

Sunflower reached only #151 on its initial American release. The later, slightly expanded international release was more successful, reaching #29 on the British charts. The album's critical reputation has grown since its original appearance. In 2003, the album was ranked number 380 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

During these sessions, Dennis Wilson (with help from The Captain and Tenille's Daryl Dragon) recorded his first single. The single, "Sound of Free" backed with the song ""Lady" (aka "Fallin' In Love"), was released outside of the US in late 1970 on the Stateside label. The single, credited to "Dennis Wilson and Rumbo" was never released in the U.S.