L.A. (Light Album) is the twenty-third 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 he has remained in the band ever since.[not verified in body]
Upon its release, Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh wrote, "The Beach Boys have not made great rock music since Wild Honey [and haven't] made competent pop music since Holland;" he concluded that the album "is worse than awful. It is irrelevant."[8]
Retrospectively, Richard Williams of Uncut referred to the track 'Angel Come Home' as 'the most beautifully textured and exquisitely pain-racked white soul music ever made',[9] while music historian Jeff Tamarkin - who penned liner notes for the 2000 CD reissue - said of the album: "There is undeniable brilliance here if one dares to look."[10] By contrast, Allmusic reviewer John Bush wrote "The Beach Boys ended the decade by releasing the worst album of their career," describing the album as "yet another oddball attempt to push the Beach Boys into the contemporary mainstream despite their many songwriting and production flaws."[2]
^Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN978-0-19-531373-4.
^Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 83. ISBN1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
^Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 46. ISBN0-7432-0169-8.
