Wouldn't It Be Nice

By Michael deMartin

OK, I ripped (and ripped off) this video from the American Band documentary from the 80's (now available on DVD) and it's really cool: a promotional video for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" from 1966. I don't think Brian won an Oscar for this, but it's a lot of fun. The American Band documentary remains perhaps the finest one on the Beach Boys – it covers their whole career in great detail. One disturbing thing about it, and this is just hearsay: allegedly some people involved in the production had access to the complete sound archives and then near-perfect bootlegs were available thereafter containing tons of outtakes, sessions, etc. I would like to see Capitol release two-fers of each album: remastered versions and tracks-only versions on a single disc. Listening to Brian's productions is like going to school: fans and music students would eat them up. If you've heard, for instance, the backing for "Kiss Me, Baby," you'll know what I'm talking about.

Check out "Wouldn't It Be Nice" - perhaps one of the first music videos...