The Beach Boys

Also premiering on Friday is the Disney+ original documentary The Beach Boys directed by Frank Marshall & Thom Zimny about the legendary band that revolutionized pop music, and the iconic sound they created that personified the California dream. Capitol/UMe will release a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the movie on May 24. Check back on this page for the full album details and to learn more about the documentary, which traces the band from humble family beginnings and features new interviews with The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, David Marks & others and which will be available to stream exclusively on Disney+.

Also premiering on Friday is the Disney+ original documentary The Beach Boys directed by Frank Marshall & Thom Zimny about the legendary band that revolutionized pop music, and the iconic sound they created that personified the California dream. Capitol/UMe will release a soundtrack album featuring the songs from the movie on May 24. Check back on this page for the full album details and to learn more about the documentary, which traces the band from humble family beginnings and features new interviews with The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, David Marks & others and which will be available to stream exclusively on Disney+.

Beach Boys' Christmas Album features the Beach Boys performing a variety of holiday favorites. Most of the featured songs are well-known, some of the more popular being "Frosty the Snowman," "White Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," among others. Furthermore, there are four songs composed by the Beach Boys — "Little Saint Nick," "Man With All the Toys," "Santa's Beard," and "Merry Christmas, Baby" — which begin the album. This mix of favorites and originals makes this a balanced holiday album that should please both Beach Boys admirers and those unfamiliar with the group. ~ Jason Birchmeier

The Warmth of the Sun is designed to serve as a companion piece to 2003's Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys, and as such, it is perfect. While that earlier volume contained most of the Beach Boys' biggest hits, the cornerstones of the catalog such as "I Get Around," "Surfer Girl," "California Girls," and "Fun, Fun, Fun," the follow-up is, in its own way, just as strong and just as enjoyable. In fact, while listening to it, a fan might wonder why the compilers in 2003 didn't just make Sounds of Summer a double album, include all of this material as well, and be done with it. Certainly, songs like "Catch a Wave," "409," "Surf's Up," "Wendy," and, of course, the title track are every bit as essential to a basic Beach Boys collection as any given track on the previous set. But The Warmth of the Sun not only stands tall by itself, some hardcore fans might prefer it, as some of the tunes on the first collection are so overexposed that there is little desire to ever hear them again. Gems included in this sequel, such as "You're So Good to Me," "Let Him Run Wild," "'Til I Die," "The Little Girl I Once Knew," and "Disney Girls (1957)" don't exactly have the high profile of "Help Me, Rhonda" or "Barbara Ann," but that's why it's so refreshing to listen to this set list: some of these great songs have been so neglected ("Friends," "Please Let Me Wonder," and "Kiss Me, Baby," for example) that they sound almost like lost hits in this context. Even the lack of material from Pet Sounds is a relief – while that album is indeed one of the greatest ever recorded by anyone, and while "Caroline, No" should have been included on one volume or the other (it's not), anyone who needs to experience the Pet Sounds material should just buy that album anyway. There are by now literally dozens of Beach Boys comps available in as many configurations, but The Warmth of the Sun is one of the most enjoyable pure listening experiences among them.

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.

Released in conjunction with the Beach Boys documentary Endless Harmony, this rarities collection contains previously unreleased Beach Boys songs, rehearsals, demos, alternate takes, and live performances. It certainly wasn't an album for casual fans, but Beach Boys obsessives found a treasure trove of stuff to drool over, including previously unheard Brian Wilson compositions like "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" and "Sail Plane Song," as well as a demo of "Heroes and Villains" on which Wilson abruptly shifts to snatches of material intended for the never-released Smile project. The later tracks on the album were given over to contributions from the other Beach Boys, and these included Mike Love's "Brian's Back" (from 1978 sessions for a solo album he never released) and two previously unheard Dennis Wilson songs, one of which was the lovely "Barbara."

Beach Boys' Christmas Album features the Beach Boys performing a variety of holiday favorites. Most of the featured songs are well-known, some of the more popular being "Frosty the Snowman," "White Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," among others. Furthermore, there are four songs composed by the Beach Boys — "Little Saint Nick," "Man With All the Toys," "Santa's Beard," and "Merry Christmas, Baby" — which begin the album. This mix of favorites and originals makes this a balanced holiday album that should please both Beach Boys admirers and those unfamiliar with the group. ~ Jason Birchmeier

The Warmth of the Sun is designed to serve as a companion piece to 2003's Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys, and as such, it is perfect. While that earlier volume contained most of the Beach Boys' biggest hits, the cornerstones of the catalog such as "I Get Around," "Surfer Girl," "California Girls," and "Fun, Fun, Fun," the follow-up is, in its own way, just as strong and just as enjoyable. In fact, while listening to it, a fan might wonder why the compilers in 2003 didn't just make Sounds of Summer a double album, include all of this material as well, and be done with it. Certainly, songs like "Catch a Wave," "409," "Surf's Up," "Wendy," and, of course, the title track are every bit as essential to a basic Beach Boys collection as any given track on the previous set. But The Warmth of the Sun not only stands tall by itself, some hardcore fans might prefer it, as some of the tunes on the first collection are so overexposed that there is little desire to ever hear them again. Gems included in this sequel, such as "You're So Good to Me," "Let Him Run Wild," "'Til I Die," "The Little Girl I Once Knew," and "Disney Girls (1957)" don't exactly have the high profile of "Help Me, Rhonda" or "Barbara Ann," but that's why it's so refreshing to listen to this set list: some of these great songs have been so neglected ("Friends," "Please Let Me Wonder," and "Kiss Me, Baby," for example) that they sound almost like lost hits in this context. Even the lack of material from Pet Sounds is a relief – while that album is indeed one of the greatest ever recorded by anyone, and while "Caroline, No" should have been included on one volume or the other (it's not), anyone who needs to experience the Pet Sounds material should just buy that album anyway. There are by now literally dozens of Beach Boys comps available in as many configurations, but The Warmth of the Sun is one of the most enjoyable pure listening experiences among them.

The Beach Boys 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.