Since the Beach Boys are one of the handful of best rock groups in history and this is their home town, it is no wonder they received a series of standing ovations over the weekend at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Though the group played the Whisky a few nights last fall, the Saturday night concert was in a real sense a homecoming for the group that popularized Southern California girls, surfing and other teen-oriented activities during the 1960s.

Along with record producer Phil Spector, the Beach Boys were the most important and permanent force in rock music in the 1960s before the rise of the Beatles and the many other English groups. Brian Wilson, the Beach Boys’ leader, captured teen themes and moods better than anyone since Chuck Berry.

Though Brian watched it all from the wings Saturday (he has not been a regular member of the Beach Boys’ concert lineup for years now), the rest of the Beach Boys went through some of their early hits (such as “I Get Around” and “Good Vibrations”) and some of their more recent recordings for nearly two hours, enjoying it all apparently as much as the capacity audience.

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Since then, only The Band, perhaps, has come close to the smooth use of harmony in rock. Similarly, the Beach Boys have an instrumental discipline that allows them to integrate the traditional rock unit (drums, bass, guitar) with piano and a five-piece brass section perfectly. The focus in the Beach Boys’ music is always crisp. The songs move forward with economy and direction. There is no flashy, self-defeating, self-indulgence in the music.

While the early songs continue to receive the greatest audience response (there were audience requests for “Surfin’ U.S.A.” all night), the Beach Boys have moved forward steadily since the mid-1960s when their “Pet Sounds” album became a mini-classic. The group’s current “Sunflower” album was named one of the year’s best by several rock reviewers.

But the group continues to have an identity crisis. The problem is that a large share of the rock audience continues to think of the Beach Boys in the past tense. Most of the post-”Pet Sounds” work has gone unheard. The group’s last top-10 record was in 1966.

In recent months, the Beach Boys (Dennis and Carl Wilson, Alan Jardine, Mike Love and Bruce Johnson) have begun an active campaign to upgrade its image. They recently toured Europe, have scheduled some key U.S. concerts (including New York’s Carnegie Hall on Wednesday) and plan some further promotion of the “Sunflower” album. If the rock community (which often tends to pay more attention to new acts and trends than to established talents) will give them a chance, the Beach Boys may make it to the top once again.

It should be pointed out, however, the Beach Boys were guilty of some sloppiness Saturday. They should stick to business between songs rather than slow down the pacing by unnecessary chatter. And, there’s no reason they should waste time allowing Bruce Johnson to sing Elton John’s “Your Song.” The group has too much at stake now not to make every moment on stage count.