Beach Boys - The Warmth of the Sun
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Free Music Notes for The Warmth of the Sun
Free Music Review: WOW - What A Sound - New Mixes (and Surprises, Too)
Hit: 5 Stars
"THE WARMTH OF THE SUN" has new/FIRST TIME STEREO mixes of All Summer Long, You're So Good To Me, Then I Kissed Her, Please Let Me Wonder, and Let Him Run Wild (all hard-core Beach Boys Classics); plus the stereo mix of Kiss Me Baby (which has only appeared on the Endless Harmony CD), and a new stereo remix of Wendy. The songs are annotated in detail, with many unseen photos of the boys, but there are no liner notes or essay.
SURPRISES:
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is annotated as the original 1964 mono single mix (b-side of Fun, Fun, Fun); it's a different/better sounding mono mix, with a very different intro (no drum beat to start, with some piano & percussion sounds under the vocals). Very nice. Never before on CD!
"Cool, Cool Water" is annotated as the 1970 single version, and is in fact 1:40 shorter than the album version from Sunflower. The first 1:20 of the album version was excised, plus another 20 seconds edited out to create this stereo single version. This version had been released on the long out-of-print Ten Years Of Harmony LP/CD.
"California Dreamin" is annotated as the original 1986 stereo mix from "Made In The USA", but it is not; this version has wind, rain and thunder sounds before the guitar intro fades in. Never before on CD!
INTERESTING NOTES:
"Breakaway" is annotated as "alternate mix". It is in fact the "alternate version" that was released on the incredible "Hawthorne,CA" CD in 2001, although the studio chatter has been trimmed off the beginning. [FYI: this 2001 alternate stereo mix has Brian singing lead on the first verse instead of Carl, and additional/more complex vocals on the ending section, although it comes from the same basic master as the original mix. It also runs about 10 seconds longer, and to me the mix sounds much better]
The closing title track "Warmth Of The Sun" appears in it's mono single mix, although it's in stereo on the original LP and CD of Shut Down Vol 2, Endless Summer, etc. A surprising choice in this context.
BOTTOM LINE:
This is a beautiful companion to "Sounds Of Summer", the 30 song compilation from 2003, which itself had 2 new stereo mixes (and 5 stereo mixes which had only recently been released on various sets).
Both are great as casual compilations and collector's treasures.
Thank You producer/engineer Mark Linett and Capitol /EMI !
and of course Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al & Bruce !
Free Music Review: Another greatest hits CD with a few new stereo mixes.
Hit: 5 Stars
I really don't like it when people write reviews who have not experienced the product they are reviewing, or before the product even comes out. In this case, I'm submitting this review because I've done some searching and have read the press releases for this cd, and I know what's going to be on it. I've heard all the songs on this CD before and I own many of them several times, being a collector of both Beach Boys CDs and vinyl.
This CD will contain 29 songs. It is a "complement and companion to 2004's double-platinum certified Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys". (That's from the March 14th news release from Capitol Records).
Of the 29 songs, 14 are classics from the pre Pet Sounds era. The rest are after Pet Sounds. None are from Pet Sounds.
It looks like they've all been released before, but the songs listed below are supposedly going to have new stereo mixes:
All Summer Long
You're So Good To Me
Then I Kissed Her
Please Let Me Wonder
Let Him Run Wild
Wendy
So, if you just have to have these six new stereo mixes, or you only own Beach Boys greatest hits CDs, you might want to buy this. However, if you already own the original albums or CDs, this seems to be just another release of stuff that already out there.
Isn't it possible to do a "new" Beach Boys CD? Isn't there stuff still in the vaults from recording sessions that we seasoned Beach Boys fans might find refreshing and fun to listen to? Perhaps a CD of alternate takes? How about new stereo mixes for all the classic songs that could benefit from it? Just wondering.
Anyway, five stars because it is The Beach Boys after all.
Update: I wrote this review when the page for this product was nothing but the CD picture, and there wasn't even a track listing. I did my own research and then shared what I found out with the Amazon.com community.
Free Music Review: Very Satisfying Beach Boys Compilation
Hit: 5 Stars
I purchased this CD because I was familiar with 23 of the 28 songs, and of the ones I didn't know, only two ("It's OK" and "California Dreamin'") are unworthy of this collection. I am impressed with the song selection, which includes many of my personal favorites: "Kiss Me, Baby" and "Please Let Me Wonder," notable for lush harmonies, doo-wop undertones and over-the-top romanticism; "'Til I Die," a glimpse into Brian Wilson's tortured soul that always breaks my heart; "The Warmth of the Sun," one of the sweetest, saddest pop songs ever written; and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," which demonstrates how Brian took his R&B influences to another level with sophisticated harmonies and soaring vocals. Several cuts feature Carl Wilson, who graced us with his beautiful voice, songwriting skills and great guitar playing. "Feel Flows," with its rock guitar bridge and intimations of New Age and jazz fusion, is as gorgeous as anything the Beach Boys have done.
If this collection does nothing more than encourage you to expand your knowledge of the Beach Boys, it will have served its purpose. I believe the band was not well-served by its name, which pigeon-holed them as eternal adolescents obsessed with cars and surfing. But the Beach Boys were so much more than that. They were eclectic, unique and outrageously talented. Brian Wilson's genius and his brothers' complementary gifts produced some of the best pop music ever made. This collection is a good sampling of a small portion of that genius.
On this CD, digital remastering and remixing have improved the sound quality of some early songs, allowing for more clarity and separation of tracks. This is a good thing. No compilation could fully represent what they accomplished (there's nothing here from "Pet Sounds," for instance), but the remaining Beach Boys themselves picked the music for this CD, and they made smart choices.
Bottom line: sit back, open your ears, and enjoy.
Free Music Review: Fine collection of some lesser known Beach Boys tunes
Hit: 5 Stars
"The Warmth of the Sun" is a welcome companion piece to "Sounds Of Summer", the superb greatest hits collection from 2004. Those who liked that disc will find a few more hits here - "409", "Wendy", "All Summer Long", but will mainly be treated to other cuts that accompanied the better known tunes along the way of a career that reached heights surpassed only by the Beatles, with the astonishing masterwork "Pet Sounds", and rapidly sunk as "Smile" folded, the members began fighting, and drugs took their toll, especially on Brian Wilson.
Most of the cuts on this CD are remixes, and don't sound bad, although getting the original albums provides a better picture of Wilson's legendary studio prowess and how it grew. Nobody outside of George Martin made records that sounded as good as the Beach Boys, even though most were recorded in mono.
The picking points here would be the selection of tunes - I would have liked to see "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" instead of the annoying "Wendy", and the guitar riff of "Don't Hurt My Little Sister" is one of rock's greatest, and can only be found on "Today (And Tomorrow)". Other than that, the inclusion of "Surf's Up" and the few good cuts from the mid-70's, "Sail On, Sailor", "California Saga" and a fine cover of "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" make this a good anthology, indeed. I still hope Brian Wilson may someday release "Smile" from the 1967 sessions, but I doubt that will happen. One can hope, though.
Free Music Review: Well Done Hits Follow Up to Sounds of Summer.
Hit: 5 Stars
When you hear what "Please Let Me Wonder" sounds like in stereo your jaw will DROP!!!!!! This is worth buying - even to us ardent followers that already have these songs as there are 6 new stereo mixes here. "Please Let Me Wonder" sounds like a different song in stereo. Here is the lineup!
The Warmth Of The Sun Track Listing:
01. All Summer Long (New Stereo Mix)
02. Catch A Wave
03. Hawaii
04. Little Honda
05. 409
06. It's OK
07. You're So Good To Me (New Stereo Mix)
08. Then I Kissed Her (New Stereo Mix)
09. Kiss Me, Baby
10. Please Let Me Wonder (New Stereo Mix)
11. Let Him Run Wild (New Stereo Mix)
12. The Little Girl I Once Knew
13. Wendy (New Stereo Mix)
14. Disney Girls (1957)
15. Forever
16. Friends'
17. Break Away
18. Why Do Fools Fall In Love
19. Surf's Up
20. Feel Flows
21. All This Is That
22. Til I Die
23. Sail On, Sailor
24. Cool, Cool Water
25. Don't Go Near The Water
26. California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-i-a)
27. California Dreamin
28. The Warmth Of The Sun