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Post by The Cincinnati Kid on Jan 1, 2019 20:45:12 GMT -5
Released in 1965, this album would turn out to be the band's last "fun in the sun" album until 1980's Keepin' the Summer Alive. It was well received critically and commercially, reaching #2 in the US. Featured on the album was the chart topping hit Help Me, Rhonda, as well as the classic California Girls. Attachments:
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Post by Beach Boys Fan on Jan 2, 2019 6:37:19 GMT -5
It can't be anything less than 10. The best sunshiney album. It beats Today with 2 fists' punch. When you hear it track-by-track, you sit there thinking when will it get inferior. It's that good. Even less popular songs don't bring the album down. It's really cool music-wise. Cool without being artsy/ psychedelic/ baroque/ hip lyrics-laden. SD(SN) should be praised by many.
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Post by kds on Jan 2, 2019 10:34:01 GMT -5
9/10 for SDSN.
I've seen fans say that this album is a step backwards from Today, but I think Today and SDSN make good brother / sister albums. The only really weak track is the darkly comical I'm Bugged at My Old Man.
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Post by filledeplage on Jan 2, 2019 11:08:06 GMT -5
Gave it a 10! BB mojo at it's best!
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Post by drbeachboy (Dirk) on Jan 2, 2019 11:08:44 GMT -5
I gave it a 9 as well, but ending it the with the three songs that they used just zaps all of the excitement from that which I just experienced prior. The album just peters out.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2019 12:50:14 GMT -5
6
I would say this was a MASSIVE step down from Today. We see a return to the intrusive filler which its predecessor had largely done away with. We see recycled singles. We've lost the cohesiveness that Today and All Summer Long had, following them up with this mish mash of scattered hits and, again, filler. Are most of the individual songs good? Yes, but Im grading the album as a whole. And with SD, I dont feel like Im listening to an album so much as an inconsistent compilation.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 17:00:25 GMT -5
6 I would say this was a MASSIVE step down from Today. We see a return to the intrusive filler which its predecessor had largely done away with. We see recycled singles. We've lost the cohesiveness that Today and All Summer Long had, following them up with this mish mash of scattered hits and, again, filler. Are most of the individual songs good? Yes, but Im grading the album as a whole. And with SD, I dont feel like Im listening to an album so much as an inconsistent compilation. I'm pretty well with you on this, C. I don't know if I'd say massive. But no way is it an advance on Today!. "Bugged" is forgettable, not to say downright embarrassing. (I'd place "Recording Sessions" and "Bull Session" higher in terms of appropriateness.) I hate jumping tracks on albums but I have to make an exception here. I'd rate Summer Days... higher in the mish-mash stakes than 20/20, which at least has a sort of patchwork quilt quality to it. SD is an uneasy listen--which is a shame because many of those songs (almost all of them) are so damn good. Seven's my limit.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 17:42:25 GMT -5
My mother sent me this album when it was released. I loved it. I was three months shy of turning 12. I had all their albums and I loved Summer Days. But even back then,I thought that maybe, toward the end of Side 2, they had run out of ideas or were in a hurry. Sumer Means New Love didn't do anything for me. I got tired of Bugged after a while. And, And Your Dream Comes True seemed sappy.
And though And Your Dream Comes True is sung to the melody of Baa Baa Black Sheep, you can view the sentiment of the song as being hung on a placeholder melody. It would finally find its home in Wouldn't It Be Nice.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 18:20:37 GMT -5
9/10 for SDSN, an *almost* perfect album.
The album opens super strong with Girl from NYC, then stops me in my tracks with Amusement Parks - the one song on this album that I just can't make myself love, no matter how hard I try. The subject matter is fine, and I don't even mind the laughing. It's that organ. It grates on my ears.
But once that's over, the rest of the album sparkles and shines and glistens. The boys perfected the summer vibe before SDSN, but here it's just so consistently spectacular. Right up until "Bugged".
Now, I'm probably one of the few who actually really likes "Bugged". Brian's melodramatic put-on singing is hilarious. I do think it detracts from the album somewhat, but I'm also glad to have it, so I guess I'm pretty ambivalent about its presence on here.
The a capella And Your Dream Comes True is a gorgeous way to end the album. It's like a little teaser that there will be more amazingness to come... and holy moly, was it the truth.
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Post by drbeachboy (Dirk) on Jan 15, 2019 18:27:03 GMT -5
I have to say, it is a good thing that Brian never went full on with using humor in his albums. Many people over the years talked about wishing he had gone that route, but from what I see and read on the boards, no one appreciates his humor. Hardly anyone likes the spoken word stuff and even the humorous songs like “Bugged...” receives a bad rap. I appreciate I’m Bugged At My Ol’ Man, mainly because I grew up with a father, along with the fathers of a few friends, who wouldn’t think twice about pulling some of the same shit as the father in this song. While hitting close to home, I understood the humor and from where Brian was coming from.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 19:16:39 GMT -5
9/10 for SDSN, an *almost* perfect album. The album opens super strong with Girl from NYC, then stops me in my tracks with Amusement Parks - the one song on this album that I just can't make myself love, no matter how hard I try. The subject matter is fine, and I don't even mind the laughing. It's that organ. It grates on my ears. But once that's over, the rest of the album sparkles and shines and glistens. The boys perfected the summer vibe before SDSN, but here it's just so consistently spectacular. Right up until "Bugged". Now, I'm probably one of the few who actually really likes "Bugged". Brian's melodramatic put-on singing is hilarious. I do think it detracts from the album somewhat, but I'm also glad to have it, so I guess I'm pretty ambivalent about its presence on here. The a capella And Your Dream Comes True is a gorgeous way to end the album. It's like a little teaser that there will be more amazingness to come... and holy moly, was it the truth. Ya know, I was finally going to get around to commenting on this album today, and I see you've posted my review for me! I wholeheartedly agree re: the strong start with Girl from NYC, a truly underrated rocker, imo. I also agree about Amusement Parks USA, which is the true step back if there is one here. I don't mind the organ so much; it's the forced laugh that gets me. Is it my imagination or does it seem a bit subdued in the stereo mix? It helps. Then I Kissed Her is harmless enough. I really enjoy the backing vocals that are prominent towards the end. From this song right on to the end of the album is a sequence that is among the Boys' greatest run of songs. And hey, everyone.... I like "I'm Bugged at My Old Man"!!! I don't know why it gets so much flack. I gave this album a 10, weeks ago. This might be an album I would buy for a first time listener (along with All Summer Long). |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2019 22:15:26 GMT -5
I have to say, it is a good thing that Brian never went full on with using humor in his albums. Many people over the years talked about wishing he had gone that route, but from what I see and read on the boards, no one appreciates his humor. Hardly anyone likes the spoken word stuff and even the humorous songs like “Bugged...” receives a bad rap. I appreciate I’m Bugged At My Ol’ Man, mainly because I grew up with a father, along with the fathers of a few friends, who wouldn’t think twice about pulling the the same shit as the father in this song. While hitting close to home, I understood the humor and from where Brian was coming from. I love Brian's humor, but sometimes it doesn't fit well with the album itself. It's all about the presentation and context. For example, with Mt Vernon they wisely kept the comedy separate from the album itself. With SMiLE, humor was a core component of the entire project and (I believe) was meant to serve as overdubs or quick easter egg hidden tracks on the ends of each side. The problem with its application on SDSN is that it's intrusive. Instead of a separate collection or tasteful overdubs of tracks it shares thematic connections with, it just sits there. It stops the album's momentum dead in its tracks for no real reason. It feels like filler rather than a stylistic choice. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 21, 2019 13:29:47 GMT -5
I love Brian's humor, but sometimes it doesn't fit well with the album itself. It's all about the presentation and context. For example, with Mt Vernon they wisely kept the comedy separate from the album itself. With SMiLE, humor was a core component of the entire project and (I believe) was meant to serve as overdubs or quick easter egg hidden tracks on the ends of each side. The problem with its application on SDSN is that it's intrusive. Instead of a separate collection or tasteful overdubs of tracks it shares thematic connections with, it just sits there. It stops the album's momentum dead in its tracks for no real reason. It feels like filler rather than a stylistic choice. I'll go along with the rest as well.  To think that wonderful, well-thought-out reviews like these just vanished when PSF died.  |
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Post by Will/P.P. on Jan 23, 2019 18:37:39 GMT -5
I have to say, it is a good thing that Brian never went full on with using humor in his albums. Many people over the years talked about wishing he had gone that route, but from what I see and read on the boards, no one appreciates his humor. Hardly anyone likes the spoken word stuff and even the humorous songs like “Bugged...” receives a bad rap. I appreciate I’m Bugged At My Ol’ Man, mainly because I grew up with a father, along with the fathers of a few friends, who wouldn’t think twice about pulling some of the same shit as the father in this song. While hitting close to home, I understood the humor and from where Brian was coming from. Great post! I give this album a 10. I find no real flaws. |
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Post by aquarius on Mar 19, 2019 12:10:08 GMT -5
Better produced than Today, but badly sequenced, I think. 9/10
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Post by Jason (The Real Beach Boy) on Mar 28, 2019 11:18:01 GMT -5
9.5. General consensus argues that this is a step down from Today, but is it really? I only hear more of that Brian inventiveness in the arrangements and vocals and some of the album tracks are among their best. Sad that it never received its own copyright extension-style release.
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Post by dauber on Jul 8, 2020 10:56:00 GMT -5
This is in response to the post saying the reviews used to be more insightful during the PSF days. I thought I copied my review from there to here, but I didn't. Here ya go!
To me, this is Brian's next big step in production toward Pet Sounds. Overall the album for me is much better than The Beach Boys Today!, having no true filler. Every one of these songs works, and in a way, the progression of the songs actually is all about a summer day. "The Girl From New York City" -- the fade-in intro feels like the sun rising on a hot, summer day, while the rest of the song is the perfect soundtrack to getting out of bed, having a quick breakfast, showering, and heading out to the beach. Lost opportunity: toward the end, during *one* iteration of the chorus, drop out all the instruments, and have them come back with a drum fill from Hal on the next iteration. And folks, the lyrics are: "California guys all got their eyes on that girl from New York City." Oh, man, and listen to that bass line in the chorus. Killer! "Amusement Parks USA" -- and your summer day continues with a trip to the amusement park. I love everything about this song (except Mike's pronunciation of "mirrors"). Amazing production. Sly little carnival barking from Hal. And sadly, it has become a memorial as most of those places no longer exist. "Then I Kissed Her" -- while you're out you might as well tell your buddies about your date last night, right? There isn't a Spector production alive that Brian can't blow out of the water, and this proves it. Great vocals from Al. "Salt Lake City" -- the summer day theme would have been slightly more coherent if this came after "Amusement Parks USA," IMHO, but still...this is a perfect fit on this album. Most of the lyrics are very generic: all you need to do is replace "Salt Lake City" with the name of another place, and replaced "The Lagoon" with other local popular haunts and change the next line or two to make it rhyme, and change "western" as necessary. I wonder if perhaps the intention was to record different versions for different locales (cf. "High School USA"). "Girl Don't Tell Me" -- And now we get a peek into how a summer day is going for the kid brother. Still fits in with the summer theme. Brian himself confirmed that it was inspired by John Lennon -- no surprise, as it has "Ticket To Ride" written all over it. And yeah, I know about Brian's liner notes about how he was happy to have finally written a song that Carl dug singing. That doesn't mean this was Carl's first lead vocal -- that would be "Summertime Blues," a song Brian did not write. And there's "Louie, Louie" -- another song Brian didn't write. And, of course, "Pom, Pom Playgirl" -- which Brian wrote, but can you imagine being thrilled to sing it? "Help Me, Rhonda" -- I prefer the earlier version myself, and really don't understand why Brian felt the need to re-record it, but hey, whatever; it got Al Jardine a lead vocal on a #1 single. And I'm realizing how this makes up an interesting trilogy: "Then I Kissed Her" -- the story of how a date (or series of dates) went; "Girl, Don't Tell Me" -- another guy's dating experience; and "Help Me, Rhonda" -- relationship problems by the same guy who earlier told the story of a series of dates that ended up with a possible engagement. (Hmm...we never did find out whether she said yes, did we?) I never cared for the SD(ASN!!) version of "Help Me, Rhonda" -- except 1) some time in the '90s at a family gathering when my uncle took a bunch of us out on his speedboat and he popped the Best of the Beach Boys Vol. 2 cassette into the player...it sounded really cool while zooming across a large lake, and 2) the new stereo mix on the 2012 CD...wow, definitely gives the song new life! "California Girls" -- arguably the Beach Boys' anthem in every conceivable way: the marvelous backing track, the intricate vocal harmonies, the lyrics...if this doesn't get your synaesthesia overloading (personally, I can't help but see a blue sky upon those first notes, panning down to a body of water whose other side you can't see when the other instruments kick in, and then a layer of sand when the rest of the intro is over)....wow. If it's true that Brian was tripping when he wrote this tune, then he needs to consider another hit. "Let Him Run Wild" -- interesting B-side, I must say. I was disappointed with the stereo mix; it lost some oomph and the EQ sucks on it. (Would love to hear a stereo vocals-only version, though.) Apparently Brian wrote this when he heard Murry was cheating on Audree, which makes me think...who on earth would want to have an affair with him, and why? "You're So Good To Me" -- what's not to love about this track? If Brian and Mike were Holland-Dozier-Holland, this is what the Four Tops could have sounded like. "Summer Means New Love" -- you can hear the sunset on this beautiful tune. You can possibly see yourself driving your first car toward the sunset with your date. "I'm Bugged At My Old Man" -- amazing that this is the only real blues the Beach Boys ever did (unless you count "Student Demonstration Time"). I can imagine this: It's night. It's summer. You get home from your date or your day out with your buddies or whatever. Your dad gives you a hard time: You forgot to take out the garbage. Why are you home so late? Did you put gas in that car? You are not leaving this house tomorrow until you mow the lawn and clean the gutter. Perhaps you get grounded. So you go to your room and grumble about your father. "And Your Dream Comes True" -- we cut to your date -- perhaps the same one you kissed, whose folks you met, and to whom you proposed -- who misses you already. "One more summer and your dream comes true" -- does that mean she said yes? And that a date is set? Genius. Pure genius. Brian, I know you're not reading this, but I don't care: thank you. Now about that album cover...seriously?? They couldn't reschedule the shoot for when Al -- who sang lead on two songs on side 1 (one of them being a #1 hit single) -- was feeling better? Or use another photograph? C'mon, man! |
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Post by Hydra on Sept 9, 2020 20:44:27 GMT -5
One of the best early Beach Boys albums! Opens up with one of my favourite Beach Boys songs, The Girl From New York City which is a fantastic opener with a cool rocking guitar!, Amusement Parks USA is a great track with a cool look at where Brian was going with his production, Then I Kisses Her, Salt Lake City and Girl Don't Tell Me are great middle parts to the album and keep it going along nicely. But the standout tracks are easily California Girls, Help Me Rhonda and Let Him Run Wild.
Track Ratings
1. The Girl From New York City 9/10
2. Amusement Parka USA 8/10
3. Then I Kissed Her 8/10
4. Salt Lake City 7/10
5. Girl Don't Tell Me 7/10
6. Help Me Rhonda 10/10
7. California Girls 10/10
8. Let Him Run Wild 10/10
9. You're So Good To Me 9/10
10. Summer Means New Love 7/10
11. I'm Bugged At My Ol Man 3/10
12. And You're Dreams Come True 6/10
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Post by Moon Dawg on Oct 10, 2020 17:22:15 GMT -5
It's a very good LP, but tracks like "Amusement Parks USA" are a tad corny in the context of their time. Yes, hip is transitory, but one could imagine such thematic concerns being viewed as anachronisms with Dylan, the Byrds, and the Stones all hitting the Top 10 in the summer of 1965. It's no accident Brian found a new collaborator for the next studio LP. And the one after that.
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Post by dauber on Feb 26, 2022 11:46:10 GMT -5
Okay...so when the stereo version of the album came out in 2012, I complained about how it was drenched in reverb (but otherwise sounds fantastic).
Well...gave the stereo mix a loud listen yesterday. Good way to spend a work day when you work only half-days on Fridays. And I noticed something...because of editing, you can actually hear the reverb cut, especially on "And Your Dream Comes True." Which means...the reverb always was there; it wasn't added during the stereo mix! It's just much less noticeable in mono. My apologies to Mark and company! |
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Post by boogieboarder on Feb 27, 2022 13:34:47 GMT -5
I gave it a 9 as well, but ending it the with the three songs that they used just zaps all of the excitement from that which I just experienced prior. The album just peters out. I think Brian did an amazing job of writing, arranging, and recording a new album just a few months after The Beach Boys Today, with so many great songs on it. Brian even says on the back of the album that “We had an unbelievable hassle trying to finish up the songs, especially after a three week tour.” Of course there’s going to be filler. And it’s a good thing that the filler was saved until the last three songs, so unlike most Beach Boys albums, you can play the first 9 songs uninterrupted by anything approaching filler. As for those three filler songs, “Bugged” is zany and quirky, the instrumental is nice, and the short a cappella vocal is as good as any of their “Our Prayer” style short vocal pieces. A solid 10, if any of their albums are. |
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Post by drbeachboy (Dirk) on Feb 27, 2022 15:13:09 GMT -5
I gave it a 9 as well, but ending it the with the three songs that they used just zaps all of the excitement from that which I just experienced prior. The album just peters out. I think Brian did an amazing job of writing, arranging, and recording a new album just a few months after The Beach Boys Today, with so many great songs on it. Brian even says on the back of the album that “We had an unbelievable hassle trying to finish up the songs, especially after a three week tour.” Of course there’s going to be filler. And it’s a good thing that the filler was saved until the last three songs, so unlike most Beach Boys albums, you can play the first 9 songs uninterrupted by anything approaching filler. As for those three filler songs, “Bugged” is zany and quirky, the instrumental is nice, and the short a cappella vocal is as good as any of their “Our Prayer” style short vocal pieces. A solid 10, if any of their albums are. The three songs aren’t bad, but I would have sequenced the album differently. |
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Post by nts1drums on Mar 13, 2022 9:11:19 GMT -5
Favorite track: Salt Lake City
Least favorite: Amusement Parks USA
Song that surprised me the most: The Girl From New York City (Brian on bass and Hal Blaine on drums??? I would never have dreamt of that!!)
Gave it a 9. I’m pleasantly surprised by how good this album is. Several tracks warrant purchase alone, such as Salt Lake City, Girl Don’t Tell Me, Let Him Run Wild, You’re So Good To Me and ofc the hit singles Help Me Rhonda and California Girls.
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Post by jk on Dec 1, 2022 17:18:57 GMT -5
I recently learned that the conductor of the first decent amateur choir I worked with is in the process of decamping to a certain city in Utah to take up a teaching position there. So this is for him.
I'm playing the Stack-O-Tracks version of "Salt Lake City" because it has that great little intro (here in mono):
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Post by lonelysummer on Dec 1, 2022 22:32:57 GMT -5
I have to say, it is a good thing that Brian never went full on with using humor in his albums. Many people over the years talked about wishing he had gone that route, but from what I see and read on the boards, no one appreciates his humor. Hardly anyone likes the spoken word stuff and even the humorous songs like “Bugged...” receives a bad rap. I appreciate I’m Bugged At My Ol’ Man, mainly because I grew up with a father, along with the fathers of a few friends, who wouldn’t think twice about pulling some of the same shit as the father in this song. While hitting close to home, I understood the humor and from where Brian was coming from. Back in 1988, Brian said that if his solo album was a hit, it would revolutionize the shoe industry. |
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You're a great person BBF.'' - iluvleniloud about me and I.
