The Beach Boys - Sounds of Summer: Very Best of The Beach Boys
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Free Music Notes for Sounds of Summer: Very Best of The Beach Boys
Free Music Review: California conformin'
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the music your Mum wanted you to listen to - a homage to a materialistic life in the sun, a life of smart cars, pretty girls and milk shakes, with not a hint of politics or protest. "Be True to Your School" sounds like a parody today. Hard to believe, but it was perfectly serious in 1963.
If you have grown up with synthesized and electronic music, you will find it hard to imagine the impact of The Beach Boys' music when it was first released. "Good Vibrations" in particular, created a sensation and a real sense that popular music would not be the same again. There was also considerable unease when it was realized they could not create the same sound live on stage. How times change.
Some reviewers have expressed disappointment that not all the tracks have been remastered into stereo versions, but bearing in mind that it was often a deliberate choice to record them in mono originally (the fact that Brian Wilson was deaf in one ear might have had something to do with it), you could argue that it is wrong to rerecord them in stereo. You're hearing what they intended.
Their two main influences, Chuck Berry and The Everly Brothers, are very obvious in this compilation. It includes a Berry song, "Rock and Roll Music" which I could have done without, but it does help to show where they came from musically. They began as a fusion of hard rock and soft country.
Also obvious is their affinity with The Mamas and the Papas - complex vocal harmonies, a love affair with California, a smooth, tuneful sound. If you like one group, you'll almost certainly like the other. No surprise therefore that this album includes "Kokomo", a late hit co-written with a couple of Papas. Also no surprise that offspring of Boy Brian and Papa John went on to form Wilson Phillips.
The traditional "Sloop John B" serves to remind us that the 60s folk revival influenced The Beach Boys as well as it did the more obvious groups. Lonnie Donegan had already had a hit in the UK with this song, years before, and when the Boys' version was a hit, he re-released his, "Because there's renewed interest in it." Inevitably, his version bombed. When all is said and done, The Boys were more rockers than folkies.
There is a huge number of 'best of' Beach Boy collections to choose from, so you may want to shop around. This album has 30 tracks, comprising their big hits, and is available at discount prices. So I recommend this as your best single-disk choice.
Free Music Review: Some of the best from America's number one surf band
Hit: 5 Stars
"The Beach Boys" are either number one or two in biggest American bands in history (along with "Chicago"). The California boys knew how to write addictive ditties about cars, girls, surfing, the beach, and summer fun. However, they dove into more complexity and deeper as they progressed in their music career. "Sounds of Summer" grabs 30 tracks, over 20 of them top 40 hits in the day, and puts them together.
The simple numbers about topics talked about above are on this disc. That means "Surfin' U.S.A.", "I Get Around", "Surfin' Safari", "Fun Fun Fun" and "Little Deuce Coup" are included, as is the cheesy "Be True to Your School." These songs show the boys at their most breezy and easy going. However, where the Beach Boys truly shine is in their more complex and deeper numbers. I'm talking about compositions like "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "God Only Knows", "Sloop John B." and "Good Vibrations". The lush arrangements, the diversity in sound, and the deep issues at hand about questioning love, life, and going on in a challenging world is similiar in vein to what the Beatles did around the same time. The album includes the surprise number one hit from the 1980's in "Kokomo". Sure, by then Dennis Wilson passed away and Brian had numerous issues to deal with, but you can't help but smile at John Stamos becoming a Beach Boy for this song and playing the drums! The song also shows how even though the Beach Boys experimented for a while, they couldn't stay away too much from what they loved: songs about girls, beachs, surfing, and summer fun.
Only two things deter this collection. One is that it is not chronologically ordered. This might not be a big deal for some, but the Beach Boys showed a progression in their sound until the mid 70's, when it started decreasing to their brief comeback in 1988. Also, some songs should have been included with the others. These include "Wendy", "409", "Caroline No" and "Warmth of the Sun". However, with 30 songs, it's a heavty collection in itself.
The Beach Boys have lots of influenced over many contemporary bands of today. Cake, Weezer, Blink 182, and Rooney all took a page out of the Beach Boys playbook. If you want to get a collection of not only great music but some of the most recognizable in history, "Sounds of Summer" might be a good place to start.
Free Music Review: Everything Here Is Excellent, Only One Small Complaint
Hit: 5 Stars
This release features seemingly 30 of The Beach Boys best hits, all on one disc featuring some of the best pop/rock music of all-time. They space out the collection nicely and also found in this compilation are some of the original Mono versions of songs which is a great thrill to hear, and for some of us older fans, brings back very fond memories.
It begins with the insatiable California Girls, a song which will always hold a spot on my list of song favourites. Moving along, we get some fantastic choices placed well, including the biggest hits and ones that were minor hits such as Surfin' Safari. The music is in top form sounding as clear and vibrant as ever. The first half of the Disc very much so concentrates on the biggest hits from The Beach Boys while the latter half find us hearing more of the minor, yet nearly equally impressive tracks. This is a wonderful buy for those of us who are casual Beach Boys fans, and is also essential for fans who maybe only own one album of theirs and are looking for some great hits on this "Best Of" compilation. I have only one minor complaint. They left out a favourite of mine. Where is the song "409"? I love that song and was hoping it also lied amongst these classics. However, it wasn't easy selecting 30 perfect songs and I'm sure others are still not quite satisfied with the song listing. Surprisingly, and effectively, the compilation closes out with Good Vibrations. This surprised me a little, because at first it the collection seems almost partially in order of how big a hit one particular song was. The essentials are all here: I Get Around, Wouldn't it be nice, God Only Knows, and Surfin' USA and they're still as fresh as ever. There should be no serious complaints about this collection, but as always, there's bound to be someone who'll lash out at this collection which is totally ridiculous.
So, If you're a casual fan of The Beach Boys, looking for the best hits, or just wanting all the hits on one disc, this is the perfect buy for you.Despite 409 missing, it's great music which all rock n' roll lovers should appreciate. Buy it without hesitation if you don't own a Disc by The Beach Boys.
Free Music Review: The Best Summer Reunion on Wax (CD)
Hit: 5 Stars
Finally, a comprehensive look at the Beach Boys that covers all the bases. 'Endless Summer,' one of the best titled compilations, and 'Good Vibrations' both have considerable merits, but 'Sounds of Summer,' and the subtitle, 'The Very Best of The Beach Boys' both live up to the collection's names. Every essential song is included: "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Surfin' Safari," and "I Get Around" to name very few. This time, however, we get at least two ethereal songs seldom put on the same disc, including the essential classics, "Don't Worry Baby" and "In My Room". Generosity is extended with the 'Pet Sounds' classics "Sloop John B," "God Only Knows," and "Wouldn't It Be Nice". Wisely, there are lesser songs that are added, too, like the title track of 'Wild Honey,' "Do It Again," and "Heroes and Villains" (from the ill-fated and fabled 'Smile' album). There are also minor hits that are fabulous, such as "Dance, Dance, Dance," "When I Grow Up to Be a Man," and "Be True to Your School". The seventies are well represented with a fine cover "I Hear Music," and a so-so, but popular cover of "Rock and Roll Music" (a song propelled no doubt by a resurgence of interest in the band during the mid-seventies).
On the other hand, while the selection is impeccable for a CD, the sequence is somewhat flawed. It is understandable that "Good Vibrations," their multi-layered magnum opus, is chosen to be the final song, but it is less appealing to go in sequence into the seventies; then back up again into the sixties. Perhaps they could have retained the first two-fifths; then taken the rest of the sixties; continue with the seventies; and finish with "Good Vibrations" after their last number one, "Kokomo," a surprising and good 1988 hit. (The first portion of the C.D., however, proves that it doesn't have to be compiled in a strictly chronological order, either.)
Despite some particular criticisms, 'Sounds of Summer' is a magnificent summer celebration of The Beach Boys' music. Since there have been more collections than original albums, maybe the perfect CD is still in the making. This one comes remarkably close.
Free Music Review: The Greatest Beach Boys Hits Album Ever But Still Lacks
Hit: 5 Stars
They say that there are two things you can always be sure of - death and taxes. Add a third, a new Beach Boys greatest hits album every year or so, and the list will be complete. The latest output, "Sounds Of Summer", is probably the best greatest hits collection that Capitol has released. It has mostly all of the classic singles. For a collection of songs that can be played over and over again all summer long, "Sounds Of Summer". Whether its the sonic whirl of "I Get Around" or the romanticism of "Don't Worry Baby" or the conga beats of "Kokomo", "Sounds Of Summer" is as complete as you can get. On second thought, it may not be. For all the classic hits here, there are some really great songs that have been excluded from the collection. The following top 40 hits are missing:
"Little Saint Nick" (# 6)
"The Warmth Of The Sun" (# 13)
"The Man With All The Toys" (# 3)
"The Little Girl I Once Knew" (# 20)
"Caroline No" (# 32)
"It's OK" (# 29)
And although they didn't crack the top 40, I would've like to have seen the following singles and b - sides included on the album:
"Surfin'"
"Wendy"
"Little Honda"
"Please Let Me Wonder"
"Kiss Me Baby"
"You're So Good To Me"
"Friends"
"Little Bird"
"Bluebirds Over The Mountain"
"Breakaway"
"Cottonfields"
"Add Some Music To Your Day"
"Forever"
"Cool Cool Water"
"Marcella"
"Sail On Sailor" "California"
"Honkin' Down The Highway"
"Peggy Sue"
"Baby Blue"
"Goin' On"
"California Dreamin'"
Or even album tracks like:
"All Summer Long"
"Here Today"
"Vegetables"
"I Went To Sleep"
"Time To Get Alone"
"The Trader"
"The Night Was So Young"
Hopefully, Capitol will get their act together and release a compilation with about 3 discs of Beach Boys classics, including singles and popular album tracks. I am in the process of making one of my own, and have even typed an essay that I am thining of being formatted into a booklet. But until then, "Sounds Of Summer" will hold you over.