Audio CD review:
The Beach Boys - Sights and Sounds of Summer

The Beach Boys - Sights and Sounds of Summer

Band: The Beach Boys Title: Sights and Sounds of Summer Rating: Release Date: 2004-06-15 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: California Girls 2: I Get Around 3: Surfin' Safari 4: Surfin' U.S.A. 5: Fun, Fun, Fun 6: Surfer Girl 7: Don't Worry Baby 8: Little Deuce Coupe 9: Shut Down 10: Help Me, Rhonda 11: Be True to Your School 12: When I Grow Up (To Be a Man) 13: In My Room 14: God Only Knows - The Beach Boys, Asher, Tony [Rock] 15: Sloop John B - The Beach Boys, Traditional 16: Wouldn't It Be Nice 17: Getcha Back - The Beach Boys, Love, Mike 18: Come Go with Me - The Beach Boys, Quick, Clarence E. 19: Rock and Roll Music - The Beach Boys, Berry, Chuck 20: Dance, Dance, Dance 21: Barbara Ann - The Beach Boys, Fassert, Fred 22: Do You Wanna Dance - The Beach Boys, Freeman, Bobby 23: Heroes and Villains 24: Good Timin' 25: Kokomo 26: Do It Again 27: Wild Honey 28: Darlin' 29: I Can Hear Music - The Beach Boys, Barry, Jeff 30: Good Vibrations 31: Surfin' U.S.A. (live on the T.A.M.I. Show, 1964) [DVD] 32: I Get Around (live on the T.A.M.I. Show, 1964) [DVD] 33: Surfer Girl (live on the T.A.M.I. Show, 1964) [DVD] 34: Dance, Dance, Dance (live on the T.A.M.I. Show, 1964) [DVD] 35: Little Deuce Coupe (live from The Lost Concert, 1964 [DVD] 36: Sloop John B (promotional video, 1966) [DVD] 37: PET SOUNDS (promotional film, 1966) [DVD] 38: God Only Knows (live montage, 1967/1968) [DVD] 39: Good Vibrations (live on The Ed Sullivan Show, 1968) [DVD] 40: Do It Again (live on The Ed Sullivan Show, 1968) [DVD]

I'm really not into greatest hits albums, but this is a good deal! I've listened to most of the "Brother Years" CDs, and I can say that sometimes I still like to crank up nothing but the big hits. I own all the Beach Boys CD's prior to Pet Sounds plus Pet Sounds. This is an excellent "greatest hits" CD because with the exception of Sail On Sailer, which it amazingly does not include, it has all the "Brother Years" hits on it, including my favorite of that era "I Can Hear Music". And, the DVD is a huge bonus. What a piece of history. Worth it for the DVD alone! ALL 4 SONGS FROM THE TAMI SHOW! If they had dumped Come Go With Me and Rock & roll music and added Sail On Sailor and Surf's Up, this would have been a near perfect collection. The CD is another rehashed collection of Beach Boys hits, with a few uncommon tracks. The DVD (only 10 tracks, not 20 as listed above) has ALL 4 SONGS FROM THE 1964 TAMI SHOW! It also has songs from the "Lost Concert" some Pet sounds promos, Ed Sullivan songs and a couple more. If they had added a few more promo videos, like the early tv appearances singing "Surfin" and "Surfin' Safari" with David Marks (pre Al Jardine) this would have been a 5 star set!. Even with its flaws, a classic... First the bonuses. . it's a decent overview that you not only get to hear but see the band as well. Considering how many repackages that have been done, I'd recommend this one out of them all. It's a great intro for a new generation to listen to, the ones that bought the Beatles and Elvis 1's. I like it better than both of the documentaries, and wish they would put out a full-length DVD of all their great songs and some of the promo videos they did in the 80s. Even the one they did with the Fat Boys. But I do feel that you get your money's worth with this collection. The drawbacks are the songs that are missing, which would amount to a whole other CD. Maybe a "rock" CD and a "roll" CD. . . As a companion (even though there are songs on both) I'd recommend "Beach Boys Classics", a set handpicked by Brian that serves as a great companion to this one, or just get the "Good Vibrations" box set which covers a lot of territory. And "Pet Sounds" should have been in your collection anyway. This collection is "Fun, Fun, Fun". Even with this many songs, it still misses a few favorites, but it's hard to complain when you get "California Girls", "Surfin' U. Well if "Elvis" and "The Beatles" can do it, "The Beach Boys" deserve a 30 track hits disc too. S. A. ", "God Only Knows" and "Kokomo" on the same disc, plus 26 others. It's amazing how many great songs they had, especially considering that half of them aren't on here. But to make up for the missing, this includes a DVD of numerous TV show appearances and film clips, hence the title "Sights AND Sounds Of Summer". Overall I'd say this will please any level of fan, and should give you "Good Vibrations". You can see a complete list of all The Beach Boys discography, or go back to the The Beach Boys tabs