AI Jardine

The longtime Beach Boys guitarist talks lesser-known albums Surf's Up and Holland, his six-string relationship with Carl Wilson, his early Seventies Beach Boys gear, new EP and more

- ANDREW DALY

AL JARDINE WILL be the first to tell you he didn’t play much guitar for the Beach Boys in the Sixties. Early Beach Boys albums — like Surfin' Safari (1962) and Surfin' U.S.A. (1963) — feature plenty of nifty vocals and a ton of great songwriting but little to zero Jardine-related six-string action. Later records — including Pet Sounds (1966) and Wild Honey (1968) — did little to change that narrative. Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ brilliant yet deeply eccentric and erratic bandleader, had a vision manifested via sounds in his head, and he relied on a revolving group of L.A. session musicians called the Wrecking Crew, rather than Beach Boys guitarists Jardine and Carl Wilson, to bring it to life.

But Jardine wasn't bothered. “In the Sixties, when the Wrecking Crew came along, it was Glen Campbell and Tommy Tedesco," Jardine says. “Back then, there were so many of them that we really didn't do too much compared to the second generation of our music. Before then, we used a lot of the best players in the business. Our primary focus was doing vocals.”

Things began to change in the Seventies after the Beach Boys fell into the shadow of jam bands and riff rock. The result was a string of cult records featuring more guitar via Jardine than all of their Sixties records (probably) combined. Surf's Up (1971) and Holland (1973), in particular, have long left fans of the Beach Boys’ sugary pop Sixties offerings scratching their heads. The dark, socially conscious lyrics mixed with experimental and psychedelic tones make these records memorable, as did Jardine’s coming to the forefront with a 12-string Gibson ES-335— and a banjo — in hand.