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Endless Summer

The Beach Boys - Endless Summer Audio CD

A fair review of the The Beach Boys "Endless Summer" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Beach Boys reviews here, or go back to the The Beach Boys tabs.

Band: The Beach Boys
Title: Endless Summer
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Surfin' Safari 2: Surfer Girl 3: Catch a Wave 4: Warmth of the Sun 5: Surfin' U.S.A. 6: Be True to Your School 7: Little Deuce Coupe 8: In My Room 9: Shut Down 10: Fun, Fun, Fun 11: I Get Around 12: Girls on the Beach 13: Wendy 14: Let Him Run Wild 15: Don't Worry Baby 16: California Girls 17: Girl Don't Tell Me 18: Help Me, Rhonda 19: You're So Good to Me 20: All Summer Long 21: Good Vibrations

Good Find, No Doubt About It
The Beach Boys, from the very start, were masters at pop and surf music. While the Beach Boys often get the most acclaimed for the (in my opinion, overrated) critically acclaimed "Pet Sounds", there's more to their discography. I am glad I picked this up after listening to Pet Sounds, as I never would have known that the Beach Boys actually really do make great music.

Endless Summer, actually is divided up into two parts, as you can hear the sound progress from surf rock to a pocket symphony of sorts (concluded with Good Vibrations, which is Wilson's idea of the pocket symphony). It's filled with surf riffs, and of course, the harmonies that make the Beach Boys so great. The latter part of the album really shows off pop mastery that Brian Wilson excelled at. Take California Girls, for example. It;s chiming guitars almost give a feel of strings and vibraphones. Overall, it's still sounds fresh and vital today, if a bit nostalgic. Just good pop music all around, and I have no complaints with what they selected.

My only gripe are some of the lyrics. Some of the lyrics are great, especially because it doesn't consist Brian Wilson whining seriously about some lady's hair. But come on, some of these lyrics are just lame. I like the song about being true to your school, but please tell me they are singing more about an actual alma matter (Ie Ohio State/University of Hawaii, come on, you know what I'm talking about) instead of that _____ fest place called high school. The whole palm trees and girls in bikins image doesn't really reflect my taste in revealing woman, either (I prefer one of those lowcut short dresses with a good pair of high-heels). Also, when southern woman talk, I want to gouge my ears out.

This is a great start, and yes, there are more Beach Boy songs, and why the hell isn't Barbara Ann on here? But I digress. If you, like me, heard Pet sounds (or that dreaded Kukamiah or whatever the hell it's called), and found it overrated, check this one out. Your in for a surprise.

Also, what a lame cover.

good vibes rock and roll
this is a great album of some of the best songs from one of the greatest rock and roll groups, for those of us who were young when the beach boys wer popular this album will bring many hours,(and years to come) of listening enjoyment, or at the very least a way to relax with good vibes on the morning commute to work.

This Was the One...
This was the ONE for me. . when I was 13, in 1976, I borrowed this 2 album set from my friend's older brother, and I never gave it back! I was completely hooked from the first song on. I wore grooves in all of the records, and created so many skips on my portable record player (yes, that's what they were back then. . . nothing fancy like a hi-fi stereo, just a blue & white plastic record player!). In fact, I could sing all of the songs, with the skips and scratches fitting right in to my vocals! I loved the fast songs, "Be True to Your School," and "Surfin' Safari", the songs I'd been hearing on "oldies" radio. But it was the multi-layered "Don't Worry Baby", and "Girl Don't Tell Me" that really blew me away. This double album took me into a new world of music (new to me, at 13), and helped me become a life-long Beach Boys fan. I later discovered "Pet Sounds" and "Friends" and the legend behind "Smile" but "Endless Summer" was my "gateway". In fact, to this day, the album cover hangs framed in my office. It is still that important to me. .

LIKE...ONE OF MY FIRST RECORDS EVER....
. . and, still I listen to it frequently. It's really easy to say that The Beach Boys are outdated, especially for kids my age. BUT, I gotta say, that, this record, a hand me down on vinyl, and eventually a purchase on CD has remained an all time bust out album, for unique situations, or just the occasional, beach party in my head type moment. This thing is loaded with just about all of the beach boys classics. . . sans the entire Pet Sounds (which I still don't see the big deal with, did it have Surfin U. S. A. on it. . . . NO!. . . . go ahead and tell me why I'm ignorant)
There are some great Beach Boy records from the sixties. They will never be my favorite, but they have some cool stuff to listen to, when you are getting a ride to the beach with one of your best freinds hot older sisters, having a Beach Boys appreciation fest. /sing along party. I still to this day believe that if it happened again, there would be a definate possibility to us stripping off our clothes and getting real crazy to the tune of HELP ME RHONDA or GOOD VIBRATIONS. . . or at least founding the roots for a solid, long lasting relationship to the tune of IN MY ROOM.
Regardless, this has the goods. If you ever need some Beach Boys, this is the place to go. It was released originally in 1974, being the original best of collection, and the best. . . Absolutely no John Stamos era stuff to be found at all. Koko-NO. You know? .

SHE'S MY LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
THIS CD FEATURES EARLY BEACH BOYS SONGS UP TILL THE TIME THEY RECORDED GOOD VIBRATIONS AND CALIFORNIA GIRLS, BUT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THE SONGS FROM PET SOUNDS, WHICH IS ARGUABLY THEIR BEST ALBUM AND SUPPOSEDLY SOME SORT OF SEMINAL RECORDING, BUT I DON'T FIND THAT TO BE THE CASE, BUT THAT'S JUST ONE MAN'S OPINION (DON'T GET ME WRONG, I LISTEN TO IT AND LIKE IT A LOT, JUST DON'T DROOL OVER IT LIKE SOME PEOPLE DO), AND DOESN'T HAVE ANY OF THEIR LATER "
HITS" LIKE KOKOME (WHICH IS PROBABLY THE WORST BEACH BOYS SONG EVER RECORDED!-MAYBE THE ABSENCE OF BRIAN WILSON WITH THAT LITTLE DITTY HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT). OKAY, LET ME THROW MY TWO CENTS IN HERE. THESE SONGS ARE MORE POP ORIENTED, AND HAVE SIMPLER THEMES, HAVE CATCHIER MELODIES AND GREAT HARMONIES. ALL THE OLD STANDARDS ARE HERE, "SURFIN USA", "SURFIN SAFARI", "HELP ME RHONDA","BARBARA ANN", ETC, BUT SOME LESSER HEARD GEMS, TOO, LIKE "IN MY ROOM", "WENDY", AND "THE WARMTH OF THE SUN". SO I GIVE THIS CD FIVE STARS. IF YOU'RE NOT PREPARED TO GO OUT AND BUY EVERY EARLY BEACH BOYS ALBUM, THEN THIS IS A GOOD PICK. .

You can see a complete list of all The Beach Boys discography, or go back to the The Beach Boys tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.