BRIAN WILSON
Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – c. June 11, 2025) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel
approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the 20th century. His best-known work is distinguished for its high production values, complex harmonies and orchestrations, vocal layering, and introspective or ingenuous themes. Wilson was also known for his versatile vocal range. He faced lifelong struggles with mental illness.
The Beach Boys were an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's
original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by their vocal harmonies, adolescent-oriented lyrics, and musical ingenuity, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. The group drew on the music of older pop vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound. Under Brian's direction, they often incorporated classical or jazz elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
Beginning their career as the most popular surf band in the nation, the Beach Boys finally emerged by
1966 as America's preeminent pop group, the only act able to challenge (for a brief time) the overarching success of the Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community. From their 1961 debut with the regional hit "Surfin'," the three Wilson brothers -- Brian, Dennis, and Carl -- plus cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine constructed the most intricate, gorgeous harmonies ever heard from a pop band.
With Brian's studio proficiency growing by leaps and bounds during the mid-'60s, the Beach Boys also
proved one of the best-produced groups of the '60s, exemplified by their 1966 peak with the Pet Sounds LP and the number one single "Good Vibrations." Though Brian's escalating drug use and obsessive desire to trump the Beatles (by recording the perfect LP statement) eventually led to a nervous breakdown after he heard Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group soldiered on long into the '70s and '80s, with Brian only an inconsistent participant.
After gaining control of the Beach Boys' entire catalog (including all the band's post-1969 material),
Capitol released two-fers covering their out of print '70s records and a Brian Wilson-selected compilation titled Classics, then later, this hits compilation -- the longest single-disc American collection ever seen. With all but five tracks coming from their 1962-1969 peak, and every one a Top 40 hit, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys is also the best, a worthy digital-age successor to previous classics like Endless Summer and Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.
Though the songs don't appear in chronological order, the compilers improved the concept of a hits compilation by bunching the disc into minisets -- one of classic adolescence songs ("Be True to Your
School," "When I Grow Up [To Be a Man]," "In My Room"), one of surfing songs ("Surfin' Safari," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Surfer Girl"), one of frat-boy classics ("Dance, Dance, Dance," "Barbara Ann"), and another including selections from their masterpiece Pet Sounds ("God Only Knows," "Sloop John B.," "Wouldn't It Be Nice"). Nearly any compilation on an important artist can be argued, but it's the rare one that covers as many bases and leaves out so few classics as Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys.
The Beach Boys – The Very Best Of The Beach Boys (Sounds Of Summer)
Label:Capitol Records – B0034981-02, UMe – B0034981-02
Format: 3 x CD, Compilation, Stereo, 60th Anniversary Expanded Edition
Country: US
Released: Jun 17, 2022
Genre: Rock, Pop
Style: Surf, Rock & Roll, Pop Rock, Psychedelic Rock
CD1.
01. California Girls (1965) (2001 Stereo Mix)
02. I Get Around (1964) (2021 Stereo Mix)
03. Surfin' Safari (1962) (2021 Stereo Mix)
04. Surfin' U.S.A. (1963) (2021 Stereo Mix)
05. Fun, Fun, Fun (1964) (2013 Stereo Mix)
06. Surfer Girl (1963) (2021 Stereo Mix)
07. Don't Worry Baby (1964) (2021 Stereo Mix)
08. Little Deuce Coupe (1963)
09. Shut Down (1963) (2021 Stereo Mix)
10. Help Me, Rhonda (1965) (2021 Stereo Mix)
11. Be True To Your School (Single Version) (1963) (Mono)
12 .When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) (1964) (2021 Stereo Mix)
13. In My Room (1963) (2021 Stereo Mix)
14. God Only Knows (1966) (1996 Stereo Mix)
15. Sloop John B (1966) (1996 Stereo Mix)
16. Wouldn't It Be Nice (1966) (2013 Stereo Mix)
17. Getcha Back (1985)
18. Come Go With Me (1978)
19. Rock And Roll Music (1976) (2013 Stereo Mix)
20. Dance, Dance, Dance (1964) (2021 Stereo Mix)
21. Barbara Ann (1965) (2021 Stereo Mix)
22. Do You Wanna Dance? (1965) (2021 Stereo Mix)
23. Heroes And Villains (1967) (2017 Stereo Mix)
24. Good Timin' (1979)
25. Kokomo (1988)
26. Do It Again (1968) (2021 Stereo Mix)
27. Wild Honey (1967) (2021 Stereo Mix)
28. Darlin' (1967) (2021 Stereo Mix)
29. I Can Hear Music (1969)
30. Good Vibrations (1966) (2021 Stereo Mix)
01. All Summer Long (1964) (2012 Stereo Mix)
02. Good To My Baby (1965) (2012 Stereo Mix)
03. This Whole World (1970)
04. All I Wanna Do (1970)
05. Disney Girls (1971)
06. Kiss Me, Baby (1965) (2012 Stereo Mix)
07. Let the Wind Blow (1967) (2017 Stereo Mix)
08. Forever (1970)
09. Sail On Sailor (1972)
10. Long Promised Road (1971)
11. Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song) (1970) (2020 Stereo Mix)
12. Pom Pom Play Girl (1964)
13. Wind Chimes ("Smile" Version) (1966) (2013 Stereo Mix)
14. I Went To Sleep (1968)
15. Farmer's Daughter (1963)
16. Let Us Go On This Way (1977) (2021 Mix)
17. You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone (1972) (2021 Mix)
18. The Night Was So Young (1977)
19. Marcella (1972) (2021 Mix)
20. You're So Good To Me (1965) (2012 Stereo Mix)
21. Aren't You Glad (1976) (2017 Stereo Mix)
22. Baby Blue (1979) (2021 Mix)
23. It's About Time (1970)
24. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock) (2021 Stereo Mix)
25. Surf's Up (1971)
01. Add Some Music To Your Day (1970)
02. It's OK (1976) (Alternate Mix)
03. Goin' On (1980)
04. San Miguel (1969) (2021 Mix)
05. The Warmth Of The Sun (1964) (2013 Stereo Mix)
06. Everyone's In Love With You (1976)
07. All This Is That (1972)
08. California Saga (On My Way To Sunny Californ-i-a) (1972)
09. Feel Flows (1971)
10. Wendy (1964) (2013 Stereo Mix)
11. Girl Don't Tell Me (1965) (2012 Stereo Mix)
12. Let Him Run Wild (1965) (2007 Stereo Mix)
13. All I Want To Do (Alternate Take) (1968) (2021 Mix)
14. Susie Cincinnati (1970) (2021 Mix)
15. Vegetables (1967) (2012 Stereo Mix)
16. Time To Get Alone (1968)
17. Where I Belong (1985)
18. I Just Wasn't Made For These Times (1966) (1996 Stereo Mix)
19. Little Bird (1968)
20. Til I Die (1971)
21. (Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again (1971) (2019 Mix)
22. Friends (1968)
23. Devoted To You (Unplugged Version) (1965) (2021 Stereo Mix)
24. Can't Wait Too Long (1968) (2021 Mix)
25. California Feelin' (1978) (2021 Mix)
Thanks Kostas beautiful music for uncertain times
ReplyDeleteSome thoughts on cancelling in the present day. Today canceling has become a way of denousecing actracizing and strictly excluding other opinions. Canceling today is the epitome of poor communication and laziness in discourse. Everyone cancels as if there were a predefined good and evil, whereby of course the person being canceled believes they are on the right side and wants to avoid getting into uncomfortable thinking situations.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh! Does this ever bring back memories! Many thanks!
ReplyDeleteBrian
This is a great , comprehensive collection of classics and some lesser knowns. Thanks for sharing. Brian was the master of melody, harmony and counterpoint.
ReplyDelete