Perfect timing for me then, I first listened to "Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)" around 5 months ago and I've heard it probably 15 times by now.
In my effort to explore more of BB's discography, I started with this record simply because it was the release immediately before the magical "Pet Sounds", altough, I have to be honest, that silly title made me a little skeptical of what I would find 🤣
I let the CD play while I was cooking, so I wasn't super focused but I remember that there were 2 tracks other than the main singles ("Help Me, Rhonda" and "California Girls"), which I already knew, that immediately caught my attention. Only after 1 or 2 more listens I realized those were "Girl Don't Tell Me" and "Let Him Run Wild". These 2 tracks are just really beautifuly written pieces of pop, and I feel they would have become more popular if they hadn't been overshadowed by the aforementioned singles.
So, while in my opinion that string of 4 songs is probably one of strongest sequence of 4 songs ever put in a record, on par with "Pet Sounds", the rest of the album is not that impressive.
I also quite like the starter track, "The Girl from New York City", and "Salt Lake City". Judging by the amount of plays they have on Spotify, it seems that "Then I Kissed Her" (a cover) and "You're So Good to Me" are more popular than those other 2, but I don't really like them. Also, even considering it's meant to be a joke, the inclusion of "I'm Bugged at My Ol' Man" just seems a bit forced to me and the instrumental "Summer Means New Love" is a bit lackluster, definitely not on the same level as the instrumental songs Brian Wilson would later compose for "Pet Sounds" ("Let's Go Away for Awhile" and the eponymous track).
The party-time music, while fun, was a throwback to the Beach Boys old material... It was definitely out of sync with what I wanted to do. I was headed in a much different direction, and whether the Beach Boys liked it or not, I was taking them with me. - Brian Wilson on Beach Boys Party!
I got it in the mail one morning
There was no return address
Just my name in gold leaf on the front...
But it said..
You Are invited! - The Dismemberment Plan
Capital needed product. Something for the Moms & Dads to put under the Christmas tree. The problem was they'd already done a Christmas album AND a Live album just the year before. Capital suggested a “Greatest Hits” album, but The Boys were having none of that. “We are NOT washed up! We’re on a roll,” they collectively proclaimed in my imagination. So one of the Beach Boys - no one remembers who - had the ingenious idea of a party album. For the low, low price of $3.98 (what a mono LP cost back in 1965) you too were invited to hang out with the Beach Boys for one magical night.
And you know what? Beach Boys Party! totally works! It’s loose, fun and feels spontaneous. Just how a party should be. [Although according to legend, there was actually nothing spontaneous or loose about the sessions themselves. It's all sleight of hand! But it's always more fun just to go along with the trick! 😈 ]
The Ranking: A fun, loose and infectious P-A-R-T-Y! And honestly, the perfect Christmas gift for any die-hard Beach Boys fan. Pretty much an impossible album to rank since it really belongs in a category all of its own. It's fan service way before that term was even coined. And it's perfect at that. It has an effervescent and disarming charm. They irreverently cover their own material while doing bang-up jobs covering their rivals - The Beatles. This is pretty much what I thought all these early Beach Boys albums would sound like, and ,while this is clearly just stocking stuffer, it’s charming AF and far more enjoyable & lovable than the abysmal Shut Down, Vol. 2.
After reading up about Party! and giving it a listen, it supported something I've been thinking these past few albums...The Beach Boys were very much influenced by the times and by Capitol Records. What an album was supposed to be (or could be) changed a ton between 1962-65, right in line with The Beach Boys' career. The mindset early on prioritized singles, with albums being an afterthought. Thus deep cuts on albums ranged from same-style but not a single, instrumentals, covers of other popular artists of the time, and sometimes breaking the 4th wall and recording pointless chatter in the studio. At the same time, record labels had a lot of influence. I feel like the whole 1962-65 period of Beach Boys was about playing see-saw between the old-school and the new-school mindset. The Beach Boys early albums featured a lot of cover songs, filler tracks that sounded much like their summer-time singles but weren't released as such, and gave Capitol Records material simply because Capitol Records wanted them to. While The Beach Boys were gradually coming into their own as artists and concept album-creators with Surfer Girl, All Summer Long, and Today!, in between those we had Little Deuce Coupe, which recycled 4 songs from earlier albums and 8 new mostly uninspired songs. Why? I reckon to appease Capitol Records. We also had the Christmas album. And Summer Days and Summer Nights!, which was a product of Capitol's pressure on them to back away from the underselling Today!, and return to a easily marketable summer-time vibe. Some of this creative back-and-forth was on Capitol's shoulders, but some of it also rests on Brian Wilson and the band. Part of them wanted to record the Christmas album and Summer Days and Summer Nights. Maybe in late-1965 Brian still wasn't ready for his next artistic statement, a bigger bolder follow-up to Today! However, Capitol Records wanted a new release for the holidays, just like the year before with the Christmas album. Instead of creating conflict, the band obliged with Beach Boys Party!
I don't even know what to call this. It's a "studio album" in the sense it was recorded in one, but it sounds like the band playing live at a house party, with background chatter, cheering, and laughter being heard. We also hear the band talking in between songs. They sometimes make mistakes on the songs they're covering, to make it sound "live." And in the old-school mindset, this album is entirely cover songs, acoustic versions of The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and other contemporary artists. I guess it's an ok listen. It's a unique idea. But it doesn't really feel like a Beach Boys project. They didn't make acoustic recordings before, now it's a whole album's worth. By this stage, their releases were mostly absent of cover songs, now it's a whole album's worth. Beach Boys Party! seems a bit odd without context. But reflecting on what I mentioned above about the creative see-saw and making Capitol happy, it makes sense. Both the band and the label wanted this album, and they got it. Yet, it's the complete opposite of the groundbreaking Today!, released earlier that year. So, I'd call Party! the last drama-free, make-it-for-the-sake-of-making-it album. There are a few pleasant-sounding covers of great songs (You've Got to Hide Your Love Away, The Times They Are A Changin). There's also a recording of Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones that didn't make it on the album. It's on YouTube for those interested.
Anyway, my full ranking of The Beach Boys studio albums 1962-65
1. Today! (and nothing below comes close) 2. Surfer Girl
3. Surfin' Safari 4. All Summer Long
5. Surfin' USA
6. Summer Days and Summer Nights! 7. Beach Boys Party!
8. Little Deuce Coupe
9. Shut Down Vol. 2
10. Beach Boys Christmas Album
• = great album
• = pretty good album
• = enjoyably ok, nothing special
• = not very good, or not my thing _________________ on such a winter's day
Come close, close your eyes and be still
Don't talk, take my hand and listen to my heart beat
Listen, listen, listen… Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Listen. Really, really listen. Because... if you listen close enough, you can hear these songs breathe. There's a palpable breath and space to them.
Vulnerability was Brian’s superpower. Maybe not with his wife, but with us. Via his studio, via his songs, he was able to share his inner space. And Brian desperately wanted to share. Despite all the fancy ornamentation and meticulous arrangements, there’s nothing fake here. Nothing plastic. Everything here is one person trying with all his might to make a connection.
And, it's amazing that all these years later, these song still breathe. These songs still live. And so will Brian. You did it, Brian. You really and truly did it.
The Ranking: I love The Beatles. Worship them, really. BUT, With the Beatles their was a distance between the listener and the band. A palpable veneer that sepearated you from them. They were cooler than you. And they let you know it. Brian had no such arrogance. He just wanted to share. And besides the genius of the music, that is the magic of Pet Sounds. There was no such distance. Pet sounds was intimate. Tender. Real. Which makes it my #1 album of all of 1966. Suck it Revolver! 🤣 >
Sorry for the delay, might I still review "Party!" ?
Man, I have to say Capitol Records really loved including exclamation marks (!) in album titles back then 😁
It's quite a pleasant album to listen to without giving too much thought about what is happening. I didn't know most of the tracks beforehand and most of them didn't stick out for me. I was really surprised when only recently I found out the album wasn't really recorded during a party! I think they did a great job conveying that environment though, as it has a very easy-going vibe to it.
The highlights for me are the Beatles' cover of "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" and "Barbara Ann", which I think ended up becoming the most popular version of that song. Definitely an album for die-hard fans only.
Rank 'Em: The Beach Boys
1. Summer Days (and Sumer Nights!!) [1965]
2. Party! [1965]
Fallen a couple of albums behind (things a bit hectic away from here). Beach Boys Party! was difficult to rank due to the amount of covers, fun in places but didn't really connect with it. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away was fairly decent. Ranking this towards the bottom so far, but maybe needs another listen to appreciate it more. For Pet Sounds, no surprise that I'm ranking it top in their discography so far (by quite some distance). An amazing album which I still come back to. .
1. Pet Sounds (1966)
2. The Beach Boys Today! (1965)
3. Surfin’ Safari (1962)
4. Surfin' USA (1963)
5. Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) (1965)
6. All Summer Long (1964)
7. Little Deuce Coupe (1963)
8. Surfer Girl (1963)
9. Beach Boys Party! (1965)
10. Shut Down Vol. 2 (1964)
Sorry for the delay, might I still review "Party!"
Oh for sure. There aren't strict rules here. Any album pre-Pre Sounds is fair game right now. But maybe don't go too far ahead. Seems we all liked their cover of You've Got to Hide Your Love Away. Makes sense. For one it's a great song. Two, the original was already acoustic, so the Beach Boys version here sounded similar, and natural given the 'party' element.
However, while the Beach Boys were busy making Party!, The Beatles were busy making Rubber Soul. When Brian heard it, it proved to be the wake-up call he needed to get back to his creative mindset. He supposedly exclaimed "I'm gonna make the greatest album! The greatest rock album ever made!"
And at the time, he did. Where Pet Sounds stands today is up for debate, though many consider it in the GOAT discussion. But in May of 1966 when it first hit record stores, it was the best album ever made. Hands down. I've spoken at length about Pet Sounds in other spots of BEA, but it bears repeating. It blew away everything that came before it. In terms of how cohesively it flowed. In terms of how great the tracks are. In terms of how sophisticated the musical arrangements were. And as Repo described, how personal it all was. Brian wanted to share. He wanted to invite listeners into his world. He wanted to make them feel as he was feeling. And he accomplished it with lyrics and creative mixes of sounds and instruments. For example, "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", a song whose lyrics are about feeling isolated, uses the instrumentation to reinforce the feeling of isolation. The way the bass echoes, and the backing vocals are hard to distinguish, they feel like they're sounding from far away, hence the theme of isolation. Every song on Pet Sounds uses musical arrangements to enhance the theme of the song. It's brilliant. And by the time it's over, we feel like we know Brian Wilson personally. We share his doubts and vulnerabilities about the complexities of mature love, aging, and feeling alone. Sometimes it brings joy, other times it brings sadness, other times it's anxiety, and other times it's just about acceptance and finding inner peace. Brian, you said what you wanted to say, and blew our minds and ears in the process. You made the greatest album ever made.
Hurry, hurry, hurry, folks!
Step right up to the Beach Boys Circus,
the best little show in town.
Hurry, hurry, hurry,
it's only a dime folks.
One thin dime,
just one tenth of a dollar.
Come on in… ("Amusement Parks USA")
Brian Wilson needed an escape. A vacation. So, like most workaholics, he tried to create one for himself at work (i.e the studio) with Sumer Days (and Summer Nights!!) An album far, far away from the vulnerability and relationship worries of The Beach Boys Today!
It’s really important NOT to approach this album hoping for some plumb line between Today! and Pet Sounds. It’s not. It’s something very, very different. Again, the narrative that all these Beach Boys albums predating Pet Sounds are similar is wrong. Very, very wrong. And Summer Days is a completely different animal from Today! Just like Surfin’ Safari is different than Surfin’ USA which is different from Surfer Girl. You get the picture. Summer Days is a sideshow at a cartoonish carnival. An attempt to go back to their simpler days of summer fun and goofing off, not by recreating the past, but by projecting that past onto a funhouse mirror.
The Ranking: A psychedelic, mischievous, & playful romp. Is it sometimes absurd? Yes! But, it's that way on purpose. It is NOT by mistake that the title ends with not one, but TWO exclamation points. The deep baritones on "The Girl from New York City"? The cartoonish cackling on "Amusement Parks USA"? Just embrace the madness!! Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) is excessive, oftentimes goofy and most importantly, playful!! I’m going to keep coming back to that word - playful! Brian used this album to escape. This is him going down the rabbit hole. Something I think he was trying once again AFTER Pet Sounds with Smile, but by that point, he was too far gone.
I would even argue that THIS is the album that influenced The Beatles in the creation Sgt. Pepper'smore so than the oft remarked Pet Sounds. Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) is Brian’s freewheelin’ magical mystery tour!!
The Ranking: 😈😈😈😈
Rank 'Em: The Beach Boys
1. The Beach Boys Today! (1965) 😈😈😈😈😈
2. Surfin' USA (1963) 😈😈😈😈
3. Surfin’ Safari (1962) 😈😈😈😈
4. Surfer Girl (1963) 😈😈😈😈
5. Summer Days (and Sumer Nights!!) [1965]😈😈😈😈
6. All Summer Long (1964) 😈😈😈
7. Little Deuce Coup (1963) 🤬🤬 1/2
8. Shut Down, Vol. 2 (1964) 🤬🤬
Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.
1. The Beach Boys Today!
2. Summer Days (and Sumer Nights!!)
3. All Summer Long
4. Surfin' USA
5. Surfer Girl
6. Little Deuce Coup
and the other ones not ranked and that also includes Beach Boys' Party! which is a cover album of especially a lot of Beatles songs I really like but still doesn't feel as an album of theirs.
Come close, close your eyes and be still
Don't talk, take my hand and listen to my heart beat
Listen, listen, listen… Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Listen. Really, really listen. Because... if you listen close enough, you can hear these songs breathe. There's a palpable breath and space to them.
Vulnerability was Brian’s superpower. Maybe not with his wife, but with us. Via his studio, via his songs, he was able to share his inner space. And Brian desperately wanted to share. Despite all the fancy ornamentation and meticulous arrangements, there’s nothing fake here. Nothing plastic. Everything here is one person trying with all his might to make a connection.
And, it's amazing that all these years later, these song still breathe. These songs still live. And so will Brian. You did it, Brian. You really and truly did it.
The Ranking: I love The Beatles. Worship them, really. BUT, With the Beatles their was a distance between the listener and the band. A palpable veneer that sepearated you from them. They were cooler than you. And they let you know it. Brian had no such arrogance. He just wanted to share. And besides the genius of the music, that is the magic of Pet Sounds. There was no such distance. Pet sounds was intimate. Tender. Real. Which makes it my #1 album of all of 1966. Suck it Revolver! 🤣 >
And now the main course. Pet Sounds is one of the best ever albums full stop which would have been a real classic if it didn't contain a few weaker tracks like the title track and Let's Go Away For A While. But they however seem to be part of the album so the while album is definitely greater than the sum of the parts which is also part of a classic album. But then you have the three real highlights Sloop John B, Wouldn't It Be Nice and of course one of the best songs ever God Only Knows.
So without any doubt the best album of the Beach Boys especially since it's been released in 1966. Certainly up to now but it will be very hard to beat it: let's see...
And this is my ranking upto now:
1. Pet Sounds
2. The Beach Boys Today!
3. Summer Days (and Sumer Nights!!)
4. All Summer Long
5. Surfin' USA
6. Surfer Girl
7. Little Deuce Coup
and the other ones not ranked.
Only one remark left: I still think Revolver is better overall.
Come close, close your eyes and be still
Don't talk, take my hand and listen to my heart beat
Listen, listen, listen… Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)
Listen. Really, really listen. Because... if you listen close enough, you can hear these songs breathe. There's a palpable breath and space to them.
Vulnerability was Brian’s superpower. Maybe not with his wife, but with us. Via his studio, via his songs, he was able to share his inner space. And Brian desperately wanted to share. Despite all the fancy ornamentation and meticulous arrangements, there’s nothing fake here. Nothing plastic. Everything here is one person trying with all his might to make a connection.
And, it's amazing that all these years later, these song still breathe. These songs still live. And so will Brian. You did it, Brian. You really and truly did it.
The Ranking: I love The Beatles. Worship them, really. BUT, With the Beatles their was a distance between the listener and the band. A palpable veneer that sepearated you from them. They were cooler than you. And they let you know it. Brian had no such arrogance. He just wanted to share. And besides the genius of the music, that is the magic of Pet Sounds. There was no such distance. Pet sounds was intimate. Tender. Real. Which makes it my #1 album of all of 1966. Suck it Revolver! 🤣 >
One of my favorite albums ever. I bought it around 10 years ago, mostly out of a sense of duty to explore the most commonly considered "best albums ever" and I distinctly remember that I liked it on first listen, something which has seldom happened in my 33 years of existence.
What impresses me the most is that no matter how many more times I come back to it, it still sounds somewhat fresh to me, that's all credit to Brian Wilson's innovative production. This, plus the recording of "Good Vibrations" (which would be the next single after "Pet Sounds" was released) actually contributed to Brian Wilson's mental deterioration in the 70s, as he became convinced that there was no way he top that (did he do it in the end? With Smile perhaps?).
I love almost every song here. "God Only Knows" used to be my favorite but now it's "Wouldn't It Be Nice", it's just an amazing composition where Brian managed to put so many little details in just around 2:30 minutes of music. Heck, I even like the instrumental songs here. One of my top #5 records ever made.
Rank 'Em: The Beach Boys
1. Pet Sounds [1966]
2. Summer Days (and Sumer Nights!!) [1965]
3. Party! [1965]
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Repo
CA Dreamin
albummaster
dihansse
