The Beach Boys started the 1970s ambitiously with Sunflower. With a new lucrative record deal, the band hoped to continue their creative period of the late sixties while also continuing to score commercially. In their own United States, the record flopped magnificently, but in England the enthusiasm they gathered since Pet Sounds (1966) remained valid. Sunflower has been seen as The Beach Boys'
… answer to Sgt. Pepper. In the Netherlands the album achieved a respectable tenth place and the single Tears In The Morning even reached the top five. With contributions from all Beach Boys, Sunflower was also proof that the group didn't have to rely entirely on Brian Wilson. (JE)more
