Audio CD review:
The Beach Boys - Covered by the Beach Boys

The Beach Boys - Covered by the Beach Boys

Band: The Beach Boys Title: Covered by the Beach Boys Rating: Release Date: 01 February, 2006 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: California Dreamin' 2: Do You Wanna Dance 3: School Days (Ring Ring Goes the Bell) 4: Walk on By 5: Come Go with Me 6: Johnny B. Goode 7: Palisades Park 8: Then I Kissed Her 9: Wanderer 10: Summertime Blues 11: Letter 12: With a Little Help from My Friends

Customer Reviews Great for fans Of course, it's not a place to start (buy the Sounds of Summer compilation), but this cd has lot's of early rock'n roll energy and allows to hear some great tracks that were burried in their original albums. This is a great album for old fans. California dreaming is a great oppener. You can listen to School days without having to listen to all the Keeping the summer alive album. Palisade Parks is a good tune that was lost inside 15 Big One. Good to have Johnny be good from In concert or Summertime Blues from the first album too. The two tunes (the Letter and With a Little help from my friends) from the deleted album Rarities are nice. And I'm always glad too hear the Fantastic (but short) beach boys version of Walk on By. So, I may have prefered the inclusion of I was made to love her instead of the Wanderer but I'm happy to have this album anyway. It's good timin !. They Forgot Some If they're gonna make an album like this, they should include it all. Of all The Beatles covers, they forgot to include the 3 songs from the Party album, not to mention the many other covers from that album. [[ASIN:B00005ABWZ Beach Boys' Party!/Stack-O-Tracks]]. interesting but odd compilation The project could have been a great one, but falls short of the mark. This is a unique Beach Boys compilation, in that it collects several cover songs that the Beach Boys did throughout their career. There are a few redeeming qualities, though, that make it a must-have for serious Beach Boys fans. Here is an overview of pros and cons: PROS: You get two very rare songs that at present are not available on any other release. Those songs are "The Letter" and "With A Little Help From My Friends," both of which had only been temporarily released on an album called "Rarities" in the 80s, which was removed from circulation after only a brief run. It was latter pressed to CD in small quantities (I believe in Japan only), after which it has remained off the market. Thus, if you're a Beach Boys collector wanting everything they've done and missed out on "Rarities" and don't want to pay out the wazzoo for it on eBay, here's your chance to get these two songs. Also, "Johnny B Goode" is a different mix from what appears on the "Concert / Live In London" two-fer CD, and it's a much better mix at that, bringing the vocals out where you can actually hear them well this time around. CONS: Some very noteworthy covers that the Beach Boys did have been omitted, including the hits "Sloop John B," "Barbara Ann," "I Can Hear Music" and "Rock And Roll Music," as well as some other great recordings such as "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," "Kiss Me Baby," "Hushabye," "Cotton Fields" (single version), "I Was Made To Love Her" and "Just Once In My Life. " All of these would have been very welcome inclusions (though I personally would opt for the "Live In London" version of "Barbara Ann" over the hit version). Also, "Walk On By" is an incomplete recording, and since it is already available as a bonus track on the "Friends / 20/20" two-fer, the incomplete song should not have been included on this project. CONCLUSION: As already noted, this project could have been great. As it is, it is not bad but nothing all that special, though it's definitely a must have for serious fans on the basis of the pros mentioned above. . You can see a complete list of all The Beach Boys discography, or go back to the The Beach Boys tabs