The Beach Boys

Produced mostly by Carl Wilson, this twenty-four-minute album followed Smiley Smile by three months and got no respect from those who believed trick harmonies and arcane changes were what made the group artistic. Called their "soul" album, perhaps for its Stevie Wonder cover or its use of the Negro term "out of sight" but more likely because it emphasized emotive lead vocals, its special gifts are an achieved naivete and irrepressible good humor as Southern Californian as baggies and woodies. There's not a deep or wasted second on it.