Lei'd in Hawaii | ||||
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![]() The Beach Boys rehearsing on stage before their concerts in Hawaii (August 1967). From left: Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson (obscured), and Mike Love. | ||||
Live album (unfinished) by | ||||
Recorded | August 25 – September 29, 1967 | |||
Venue | Honolulu International Center Arena, Hawaii | |||
Studio | Wally Heider and Beach Boys, Los Angeles | |||
The Beach Boys recording chronology | ||||
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Lei'd in Hawaii is an unfinished live album by American rock band the Beach Boys that was produced shortly after the completion of their 1967 studio album Smiley Smile. It was initially planned to include the band's first live concert performances since their tour of Europe in May 1967.
The two concerts, held at the Honolulu International Center Arena on August 25 and 26, featured a rare appearance from Brian Wilson, marking his only shows with the touring group between 1965 and 1970. It was also the band's first public appearance following their controversial withdrawal from the Monterey Pop Festival that summer. For this one-off engagement, the group arranged their songs in a similar stripped-down style as Smiley Smile, with Wilson on Baldwin organ. However, the band was underrehearsed and performed their sets poorly. Some of the members were also under the influence of LSD for the duration.
After deeming the concert tapes unsuitable for release, in September 1967, the group attempted to rerecord the entire performance as a "live-in-the-studio" album. Lei'd in Hawaii was ultimately abandoned in favor of recording the songs that formed their next album, Wild Honey (1967).
Commentators have highlighted Lei'd in Hawaii for offering unique reinterpretations of the Beach Boys' hits, notwithstanding the substandard sound quality. Some of the relevant recordings were later released on Beach Boys compilation albums, reissues, and bootlegs. In 2017, all studio tracks and live performances were collected for the official compilations 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow, 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow 2: The Studio Sessions, and 1967 – Live Sunshine.