776 The Beach Boys - All Summer Long Boys (1964)

 776 The Beach Boys - All Summer Long Boys (1964)

Studio Album - Surf Pop

About the Act:

So, I was really tempted to pull out some cliché about living under a rock if you hadn't heard of the Beach Boys, you probably have, but given that I have just done a quick research on them and found out lots of stuff I didn't know, I'll attempt to give you a really potted overview.

They were formed in California in 1961, by brothers Carl, Brian and Dennis Wilson, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. They pioneered, and are most famous for their surf sound in the early 60s, happy, shiny songs about surfing with complex vocal harmonies, in a style related to doo-wop.

Then The Beatles happened, and the so-called British Invasion. At this point the popularity of surf music waned, and although it's simplistic, the Beach Boys attempted to keep pace with the increasing complexity and maturity of pop that was emerging. Out of all of the American bands, they probably did the best job of this.

There has been a lot of too-ing and fro-ing, arguments between members, changing levels of involvement, a few member changes, and some notable things, like a friendship that went sour with Charles Manson, involvement with the same Indian Guru as the Beatles, and of course, Pet Sounds, one of the most celebrated albums of all time, and certainly one of the most innovative for the time.

They kind of survived, sometimes more off than on, since 1961, and have produced 29 studio albums, just over half of which were released in the 60s.

About the Album:

This was the band's fourth album, and featured more complex arrangements and fewer songs about California Beach Culture - shockingly only one about surfing, and none about cars.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

The first track I knew, it was the single "I Get Around". The rest I didn't know but enjoyed. It is The Beach Boys - the music is OK, kind of like grown-up rock n roll, crossed with Do-Wop. There are some interesting chord shifts. The big feature is the complex vocal harmonies, which is the instantly recognisable Beach Boys sound. There is nothing deep about this album, it is slick, well-produced, safe and comforting. If you want a blast of Beach Boys then this fits the bill.

I don't feel like there is much more to say, really. Oh, I enjoyed the song that name-checked classic rock n rollers.

7/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2rKjflTNIpLUOtWWcqwbEc

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSzQ5tXtxOEZ03lu4Ovcr3_VpNoENauVj

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Summer_Long_(album)


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