Idolator

Bruce Johnston is the perennial "Sixth Beach Boy," so to speak, even though he's been in the Beach Boys since 1965, when he replaced Glen Campbell (!) as the stand-in for Brian Wilson. Heckfire, he's allegedly the guy who played Pet Sounds for the Beatles, and he sang on "California Girls," so he's a Beach Boy in my book. My favorite solo work of Johnston's is his version of the Chantays' surf-rock hit "Pipeline," which was recently unearthed by a thrifting friend of mine. It's pretty much ruled my year. It's long, but hardly repetitive, carried forward by an insistent beat that was probably a tad fast by the standards of the day, but feels just right now and held together by dippy background vocals, bongos, surf guitar, and absolutely monstrous drumming (check it out at 2:39 for proof). More »