The endless summer keeps rolling along for these timeless music icons. They lost two-thirds of the Wilson brothers (Dennis and Carl, R.I.P), as well as a good amount of respectability ("Kokomo", John Stamos serving as the band's drummer, the realization that Mike Love is a big dick) along the way, but with Brian Wilson back at the helm the Beach Boys seem to have righted their ship. The course has been reset for more vocal harmony and pop awesomeness. Most of the album is culled from previously written songs, sounding like a cross between the Sunflower and Love You records with a decidedly nostalgic vibe, and all the surviving original members are on board. There's no doubt that this record sounds like what you'd expect to hear from a crew of 60 year old musicians, but for Beach Boys fans like me, songs like "That's Why God Made the Radio", "Spring Vacation", Isn't It Time", and "The Private Life of Bill and Sue" with the awesome, yet typical Brian Wilson-type opening refrain, "The private life of Bill and Sue/ Can you dig what I'm telling you?", really hit the spot. A lot of musicians talk about making mellow, AOR records, as if it's an act of kitsch, but the Beach Boys live it, and continue to perfect it.
Buy this record if you dig what they're telling you.
www.thebeachboys.com
No comments:
Post a Comment