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The Rolling Stone Album Guide

L.A. (Light Album) is the 23rd studio album by the Beach Boys, released on March 19, 1979. Produced by Bruce Johnston, James William Guercio and the band itself, the album was the Beach Boys' first on CBS Records, and the first to feature contributions from Johnston since his departure from the band in 1972. Johnston was brought in when it became clear that the ailing Brian Wilson was in no fit state to produce the album, and has remained in the band ever since.

L.A. (Light Album) reached #100 in the US during a chart stay of thirteen weeks, and #32 in the UK.

Despite a new $8 million contract with CBS Records calling for Brian Wilson to write and produce 75% of the songs on each new album, his contributions to L.A. (Light Album) are minimal. His presence on the album as a vocalist has only been confirmed on one song, "Angel Come Home", though he probably played piano on the single "Good Timin'" which was co-written by him with brother Carl, but the origins of the recording go back to five years earlier. His arrangement of the traditional song "Shortenin' Bread" was also older, although the recording was more recent. The vocals for both songs were recorded without Brian. "Good Timin'" hit #40 in the US.

The first song attempted for L.A. (Light Album) was entitled "California Feelin'". It would remain unreleased until 2013 for the compilation Made in California. Both "Baby Blue" and "Love Surrounds Me" were originally recorded for Dennis Wilson's never-released second solo album, Bambu. These would be the last Dennis Wilson songs released before his death in 1983. Another Dennis song titled "Constant Companion" was mixed for the album but was dropped from the final track listing.

L.A. (Light Album) spawned a top-ten hit in the UK with Al Jardine's Bach-inspired "Lady Lynda", written for his wife, and later rerecorded as "Lady Liberty" after their divorce. Jardine recently revealed that Dennis Wilson made an uncredited contribution to the song's lush string arrangement.Mike Love's Japanese-flavored "Sumahama" was also a UK single chart entry later in 1979.

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