LOS ANGELES - When The Beach Boys took the stage at The Grammy Awards, no one knew what to expect from them. Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine and David Marksare the remaining original Beach Boys.
Glen Campbell, who also performed that night, played guitar on a few tracks for the group. That would have been a great reunion.
The Beach Boys was always based on their vocal talents. It just wouldn't be a Beach Boys tune without each person holding their own parts. Their performance at the Grammy Awards was their first in years. Often as singers age, their voices don't age very well. The Beach Boys are, well, much older than they were in the 1960s when they were local teens from Hawthorne.
This was not the case for the Beach Boys who upstaged their openers Maroon 5 and Foster the People. Adam Levine may have the 'moves like Jagger' and a nice voice, but he didn't have the sweet pipes of a Beach Boy for 'Surfer Girl.' Even Foster The People's pumped up kicks didn't quite kick into a nice falsetto for singing 'Wouldn't It Be Nice.'
It wouldn't be the first time someone was lambasted for singing other people's songs poorly. A few years ago at the Grammys, Taylor Swift appeared with Stevie Nicks to piticy results and very poor reviews. Luckily for Swift, her songwriting keeps putting her back in the spotlight.
It wasn't a complete disaster, and Foster the People had the right spirit dressing in retro suits and striped shirts. There's something endearing about the young band. Mark Foster was proud to be a part of the segment and tweeted as @FosterThePeople "Man...I never thought I would be able to say that I shared a stage with my favorite band. Humbled, honored, and grateful. @TheGRAMMYs"
Maybe singing other people's songs is a feat that takes more rehearsal than the artists have the time for. Either that, or perhaps it would have been better to allow them to sing their own hits. Perhaps Fleet Foxes would have been a better choice since they often sing in harmony. It's a tough pill to swallow, but these days vocal talents aren't as prized they once were until it becomes obvious that they aren't there.
So far video of the performance is not easily accessible in high quality.
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