Audio CD review:
The Beach Boys - Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1

The Beach Boys - Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1

Band: The Beach Boys Title: Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1 Rating: Release Date: 20 August, 1996 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Don't Worry Baby 2: Little Deuce Coupe 3: 409 4: Long Tall Texan 5: I Get Around 6: Be True To Your School 7: Fun, Fun, Fun 8: Help Me Rhonda 9: The Warmth Of The Sun 10: Sloop John B. 11: I Can Hear Music 12: Caroline, No

Customer Reviews Not as Bad as Some Insist Some are excellent. Most of the songs on this album are listen-able. The question that really arises is, why? Most of the Beach Boy songs are not really the stuff of country music and country music artists trying to shoe horn themselves into these arrangements is awkward, at best. I bought this album because I wanted the Junior Brown version of "409" to add to a collection of Brown's other works. However, there are some renditions that I consider to be worthy of note. "Don't Worry, Baby" with Lorrie Morgan's soulful lead is a pretty good fit with the Beach Boy backups and makes for good listening, but I have to wonder how it would sound with voices that fit better with hers. Also, the mix on this song makes Morgan's voice difficult to hear properly, but a nudge on the 1k Hz EQ slide fixed that. I think Junior Brown's rendition of "409" is really good, as I said before. "Caroline, No," "I Can Hear Music," "Warmth of the Sun" all work well, standing on their own. Even "Long Tall Texan" is well done, but I'm not fond of that song, regardless of who does it. Overall, I can't recommend this album, but if there's an artist here whose work you'd like to add to for the sake of a collection, it just might fill the bill. Edit: Without altering my initial perceptions of this album, I just want to add that I put this in the car stereo today and went for a ride. The songs on this album really have a way of growing on you, especially when you get accustomed to the idea that these are not the renditions you grew up with. The first times I listened to the album was on my computer which has Bose speakers, but since I live in an apartment, I didn't really crank it up. In the car, however, I really let 'er rip and I'm actually glad I bought this album. . Not what it could have been I have a great affection for country music and would have been fascinated by hearing how country musicians would interpret the classic Beach Boys songs in their milieu. This had the capacity to be something good. The problem is that for the most part this does NOT happen. Instead, you have fairly rock/pop arrangements with country singers doing the lead and the Beach Boys as backup. There are exceptions: Willie Nelson uses authentic country instrumentation (his acoustic, harmonica, fiddle, pedal steel) to make "Warmth of the Sun" sound Western and gives it a tender interpretation. He emphasizes the words with his halting style and gave me new appreciation for the lyric. T. Graham Brown's voice is a good "mesh" with the group making "Help Me Rhonda" work but the arrangement doesn't really do much interesting with it. "409" is re-invented as rockabilly by Junior Brown and it works very well with a great guitar solo. My only quibble here is that Junior's baritone tends to clash with the Beach Boy falsetto. Colin Raye's "Sloop John B. " takes the tune into two step territory. Raye gives an impassioned performance though at times it's oversung. Lowest points are "Long Tall Texan" which was never more than a novelty song when first done by the Beach Boys and not worth the time of a re-interpretation. "I Get Around"'s handclaps and quite a bit of the Boys harmonies are mixed into oblivion on the Sawyer Brown rendition. James House sounds like a low-rent Elvis on what is quite simply a horrible vocal for "Little Deuce Coupe". And the question begs to be asked: If the CD is supposed to be country singers joining the band, why on earth is adult contemporary belter Kathy Troccoli here?!?! BOTTOM LINE: The concept was great, but the arrangements aren't great and as a result it ends up being uninspired. It fails as a tribute album and as a country all-star album. Only get it if you're a completist of either the Beach Boys or Willie Nelson. . Beach Boys with their favorite country singers I am not a huge fan of country music, which is why I do not rate this a 5 star album. This is a one of a kind album with the Beach Boys on harmony in the background and country singers on lead vocals. My parents and bro heard this album when I first bought it, and they said "what did you buy?!!" I especially like the song "Long Tall Texan" on this album and on the Beach Boys Concert/Live in London album. This is out of print since 2001, and there will probably never be a Volume 2 of this album. If you like tribute albums and country music, you probably would like this ablum, if you don't like tributes or country music, you probably don't want to spend your money on this album. . . You can see a complete list of all The Beach Boys discography, or go back to the The Beach Boys tabs