Disco de The Beach Boys: “The Warmth Of The Sun”

As other reviewers have noted, THE WARMTH OF THE SUN makes an excellent companion volume to 2003's superb SOUNDS OF SUMMER. Between 1962 and 1988, the Beach Boys charted 33 singles on Billboard's Top 40 (34 if you count 1981's "The Beach Boy Medley"). Thirty of those singles appeared on SOUNDS OF SUMMER. That left only "The Little Girl I Once Knew," "Caroline, No" and "It's O.K." for this new release. Inexplicably, "Caroline, No" is not included here. [In fact, there are no tracks from 1967's ground-breaking PET SOUNDS.]

So with only a handful of singles and well known album tracks, the 28 tracks found on THE WARMTH OF THE SUN enable the compilers to plumb deeper into the Beach Boys' catalog. Tracks range from 1962's "409" (the b-side to "Surfin' Safari" taken from their Capitol debut) to 1986's cover of the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'" (which features some terrific 12-string guitar playing from Roger McGuinn).

This latest collection was compiled and sequenced by surviving group members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston. While Wilson wrote or co-wrote most of these songs (including three tracks from the minor classic LP ALL SUMMER LONG), Johnston wrote the gorgeous "Disney Girls (1957)" and Jardine composed the lush "California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" which went Top 40 in the U.K. in 1973.

[Note: New stereo mixes are included for the following songs: "All Summer Long," "You're So Good to Me," "Then I Kissed Her," "Please Let Me Wonder," "Let Him Run Wild" and "Wendy."]

While the Beach Boys only reached the Top 10 twice after 1966's "Good Vibrations," this compilation shows that they were still an artistically viable band decades after their commercial heyday. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

If you are a Beach Boy afficianado or "fanatic", then you know these songs. If you are not into the Beach Boys that much, then you might not know several of these songs - but you should learn them and add them to your repertoire.

Brian Wilson and the Beachboys collaborating again. Brian did his own album(s), DVD, and was gigging with other musicians. The Beachboys have been gigging without Brian. As a Beachboy's fan, I think it's great they got back together. This weekend was classic, wooden boats all over Lake Arrowhead. I bet they had fun there, at Brian's house, cruising in his "California Girls" speedboat, as they met discussing this retrospective. Between this release, and the Stone's "Bigger Bang" 4 DVD set, this is going to be a great summer for classic rock. I would agree with most, that the band's best material came before 1970, but I also liked "Surf's Up" from the early 70's. Since the Stone's are still writing good songs, perhaps the Beachboy's could too? I will especially enjoy hearing a remix of "Wendy" because a beautiful girl with the same name was once a true love of mine. Please, don't tell my wife! LOL.

WOW IT'S GREAT TO SEE THIS CD. FIRST, THE SOUND IS THE BEST I EVER HARD. JUST LISTEN TO TO EACH SONGS. YOU CAN HEAR HOW THE BEACH BOYS MUSIC CHANGE THROUGH THE YEARS. THE BEACH BOYS REALLY WORKED HARD TO KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES. OVER ALL, THIS IS A MUST HAVE CD FOR ALL THOSE BEACH BOYS FANS,AND NEW ONES TOO. GREAT JOB CAPITAL RECORDS

I'm not a huge Beach Boys fan, owning only The Sounds of Summer compilation and Pet Sounds, so I'm guessing this disc is designed for someone like me. I like the band, but I don't want to own everything they've done.

This set covers the pre-Pet Sounds era well and shows off Brian Wilson's production and composing ability in songs such as "Let Him Run Wild" and "The Warmth of the Sun," but it also makes a case for the Boys in the 70s through songs like "It's Ok" and the fantastic ballad "Forever" by Dennis Wilson.

There are some goofy inclusions like the cover version of "California Dremaing" which sounds stuck in the mid-80s when it was recorded. More often that not, this set shows that the Boys had great songs before and after Pet Sounds. The before most people know, but most people wrote the Beach Boys off in the 70s and by the 80s it does seem like they were pretty much bankrupt creatively.

Having said that, this disc shows the creativity and beauty of a band sometimes remembered only for songs about California girls and surfing. There's much more to the band than that.