ALBUM REVIEW: The Beach Boys - All Summer Long

    When Brian Wilson and Co. returned to the studio, things had changed in the Beach Boys life - in the midst of their album Shut Down Volume 2 finishing production, The British Invasion begun, and with it the decline in popularity of The Beach Boys. The Beatles had, very quickly, stolen the limelight away from America's Band, and Brian Wilson was just as frazzled with the group's ability to create music; Brian Wilson thus ordained that he was going to do his best to outdo the group in the studio, as him and cousin Mike Love ultimately determined that challenging their public image was a fruitless endeavor. Brian's efforts to out-do The Beatles can certainly be heard on this album, and to be honest he does a damn-good job at pushing to catch up. All Summer Long not only yielded the group's first number one hit with "I Get Around," but it's a coherent body of artistic work - The compositions of Mike and Brian continue to mature beyond cars and girls, and Brian's aspirations to be the next Phil Spector are more than met with this confident, bold, joyous LP. An excellent pop album.

    Immediate first compliments - the production improvements between Shut Down and this release are almost night and day. While Shut Down was a bright, well produced LP, All Summer Long carries an even greater sheen, with Brian not being afraid to experiment with new sounds and instruments. The influence of Phil Spector's wall of sound is not lost on Brian, least of all because there's sleigh bells on a few songs (the key to the Spector sound, of course) - Brian's approach to production creates a sound that is more whole and punching, really like a symphony of rock instruments. Highlights like the bold opening track, complete with woodblocks and flues, showcase a new desire from the group to experiment with new instruments and sounds. Other moments play like the natural next evolution of the group's style - "Girls on the Beach" is often compared to "Surfer Girl," but I think that "Girls on the Beach" is undoubtedly more matured in its structure and sound; I love Dennis' singing on the bridge. Other examples of the group's evolution show in moments like "We'll Run Away" and "Wendy," both songs that stray away from superficial love into a far more deep and eternal portrayal of love on the former, and the end of a relationship on the latter.

    Another major strength of the album is that, being a pop album, it's stacked with hits. "I'll Get Around" was the group's first number one, a fast-paced rocker about the group's newfound success, easily standing up as one of the group's best pop songs they've ever recorded - an immediately catchy hook, and without the best harmony lines on any of their rockers up to this point. The album was also boosted the previously mentioned "Wendy," the title track, as well as the song "Little Honda," which is a more-than-enjoyable enough number about a Honda motorbike - nothing Earth-shattering in comparison to massive steps forward like "We'll Run Away" and "Girls on the Beach," but a fine enough pop song. Every now and then there's a little bit of filler, albeit still some quality filler - "Do You Remember" is an impassioned tribute to the rock and rollers of the 1950s, with particular mention to Chuck Berry (who would've guessed). The only real weak moments I'd low-light on this release is the semi-boring instrumental that is "Carl's Big Chance," the throwaway sketch "Our Favorite Recording Session," and, what is possibly controversial, the closer "Don't Back Down." I've never liked Brian's singing on that song - feels too whiny.

    In terms of the group's catalog up to this point, All Summer Long is the group's first truly coherent artistic statement - the group realizing their full potential following the advancements they made on works like Surfer Girl and Shut Down Volume 2. It shows Brian stepping up to explore his own creativity with new sounds and ideas to much great success. It's a confident, matured pop album that was more than capable of holding its own against the biggest amount of incoming Brits since 1812 - just excellent.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to All Summer Long.