The Beach Boys

Skewed heavily–and rightfully–toward the Beach Boys' first seven years, Hawthorne, CA offers up charmingly rough early demos ("Surfin'", "Surfin' USA", "Little Deuce Coupe"), edited session highlights, backing tracks ("Fun, Fun, Fun", "Salt Lake City", "Good Vibrations", "Be with Me", "Sail On Sailor"), spectacular a cappella versions ("Kiss Me Baby", "Can't Wait Too Long", "Add Some"), alternate takes ("The Little Girl I Once Knew" with an a cappella break, "Time to Get Alone", "Break Away") and some modern stereo remixes and edits that add revealing details ("Dance, Dance, Dance", "Heroes and Villains", "Vegetables", "Time to Get Alone"). The crucial latter contributions of Carl and Dennis Wilson and Al Jardine are also showcased on "Let the Wind Blow", "A Time to Live in Dreams" and "Cotton Fields", respectively. The dialogue adds some minor perspective but, as always, it's music that carries the day. Hawthorne, CA is a must for collectors and a concise, insightful introduction to a true American musical institution. –Jerry McCulley

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."

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.

The Beach Boys Après avoir démarré leur carrière comme le groupe surf le plus populaire du pays, en 1966 the Beach Boys sont devenus le groupe pop le plus célèbre d'Amérique, le seul à avoir pu rivaliser (pendant une courte période) avec le succès universel de the Beatles. Dès leurs débuts en 1961 avec "Surfin," ils créent les harmonies vocales les plus complexes et les plus belles qu'on ait jamais entendues chez un groupe pop. Ils se distinguent aussi en étant l'un des groupes les mieux produits des années 60, l'illustration en est le succès de Pet Sounds et "Good Vibrations" en 1966. Leur travail d'après 1966 est souvent dénigré, mais il faut reconnaître qu'ils ont continué à produire de la bonne musique jusque dans les années 1970 et même au-delà.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1965 release of the Beach Boys' top 10 album "Party!", group members have overseen this remixed, remastered and expanded edition, "Beach Boys' Party! Uncovered And Unplugged", which removes the overdubbed party sounds from the 12-track original album's mix and adds 69 more songs and dialogue tracks culled from all of the band's Party! recording sessions.

A compilation of 46 outtakes, alternate versions and live recordings. Comprised of recordings from live shows at Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, California (December 1963) and the BBC Playhouse Theatre, London (November 1964), as well as studio session outtakes, Keep an Eye on Summer - The Beach Boys Sessions 1964 is a snapshot of the Beach Boys in the early 1960s.

Surfin' Safari Review by Richie Unterberger
The Beach Boys' debut album, recorded in an era in which little was expected of rock groups in the way of strong LP-length statements, is mostly thin and awkward in both the songwriting and production departments. The title track, their first true smash, is great, as is its flip side ("409"), which was not only a hit in its own right, but was the first vocal hot rod classic. "Surfin'," their debut single (and small national hit), is also good, and one of the few Beach Boys tracks that could be said to have a garage-like quality. Unfortunately, most of the other cuts (most of which are group originals) are substandard ditties, as Brian Wilson had a way to go before honing his compositional genius. It does, however, afford a glimpse of the group as they sounded when they were a true band in the studio, before most of their parts were played by session musicians. Two of the better cuts, "The Shift" and the instrumental "Moon Dawg," have a grittier-than-usual surf rock base that would flower on 1963 hits like "Surfin' U.S.A."[Surfin' Safari/Surfin' U.S.A, a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Surfin' U.S.A. onto one disc, with the addition of three rare bonus cuts from the same era.]