For decades, Adult/Child has sat in Beach Boys lore as one of Brian Wilson’s great unfinished statements. Recorded in the mid 1970s, quietly shelved, and passed around for years as bootlegs and whispers, it has never been officially released. That finally changes this winter.
The Beach Boys have confirmed that the long scrapped Adult/Child sessions will be released in full as part of a new archival box set titled We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years, due out on February 13.
The collection focuses on Brian Wilson’s return to sustained group recording during the mid to late 1970s, a period often misunderstood but increasingly reappraised by fans and historians alike. Alongside Adult/Child, the set includes a newly remastered edition of The Beach Boys Love You, material from the 15 Big Ones sessions, and a deep selection of studio outtakes, demos and alternate mixes.
Announcing the project on Instagram, the band said:
“Introducing ‘We Gotta Groove,’ our latest box set. The collection is based around Brian Wilson’s return to the group projects, and includes a newly remastered version of ‘The Beach Boys Love You,’ as well as key tracks from the ‘15 Big Ones’ sessions, ‘Love You,’ and the unreleased Brian Wilson-produced ‘Adult/Child’ sessions. The package also spotlights studio outtakes, demos, and alternate mixes. Our newsletter subscribers sold out the pre-order with their VIP entry on our official store, so don’t miss out on this limited re-stock!”
Originally recorded between 1977 and 1978, Adult/Child was intended as a follow up to Love You. Where that album leaned into raw synth pop and confessional songwriting, Adult/Child pushed further into idiosyncratic territory. Big band arrangements, traditional pop covers, introspective originals and Wilson’s fascination with American standards sit side by side.
Tracks like Still I Dream Of It, Life Is For The Living and Everybody Wants To Live show a songwriter grappling with adulthood, mortality and recovery, themes rarely discussed in Beach Boys marketing at the time. The album was ultimately deemed commercially risky and shelved, making this release one of the most significant archival moments in the band’s history.
What’s in the Box
We Gotta Groove: The Brother Studio Years spans three CDs and three LPs, featuring 35 previously unreleased tracks and 22 newly mixed recordings. It stands as one of the most comprehensive deep dives into the Brother Records era.
The set was co produced by mixing engineer James Sáez and Beach Boys historian Howie Edelson, with longtime archivist Alan Boyd serving as artistic director. Edelson also penned the liner notes, drawing on archival interviews with members of the band.
To preview the collection, the group has shared a previously unheard Love You outtake, We Gotta Groove (2025 Mix), written and produced by Brian Wilson.
Track Highlights
Rather than a cursory add on, Adult/Child is presented as a fully realised album, including:
- Life Is For The Living
- Still I Dream Of It
- Everybody Wants To Live
- It’s Over Now
- Deep Purple
- Shortenin’ Bread
- New England Waltz
The wider set also features alternate mixes and backing tracks from Love You and 15 Big Ones, Carl Wilson vocal showcases, Brian Wilson cassette demos, and studio material spanning 1974 to 1977.
For fans who have spent years piecing this era together through unofficial sources, this release finally gives the material the context, sound quality and care it deserves.
