Summer in Paradise is the twenty-seventh studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys,released on August 3,1992,by Brother Records. Produced by Terry Melcher,it is the only album not to feature any new contributions from Brian Wilson,and has been regarded as the band's critical and commercial low point,failing to chart in either the US or UK and receiving almost unanimously negative reviews. In North America,it was the group's first album to be released only on CD and cassette,with a rare vinyl pressing released only in South Korea. The Beach Boys did not record another album of predominately original material until That's Why God Made the Radio in 2012. Summer in Paradise was left out of Capitol's Beach Boys CD reissue campaign of 2000 to 2001,as well as all other reissues for most of the group's discography. Both it and its predecessor,Still Cruisin',are currently out of print. Summer in Paradise,along with Still Cruisin,were pulled from later re-releases due to poor public reception.
The conceptual idea behind the album's title song,co-written by Mike Love,was environmental protection,but the album was designed,in Love's words,to create,"the quintessential soundtrack of summer." With the exception of a new version of their 1970 track "Forever" and the new composition "Strange Things Happen",each song on the album deals thematically with the summer season. Of the album's twelve tracks,two songs are covers ("Hot Fun in the Summertime",originally by Sly &the Family Stone,and "Remember (Walking in the Sand)",originally by The Shangri-Las);two are new versions of older Beach Boys songs ("Surfin'" and "Forever",the latter with a vocal by John Stamos);one combines a classic song ("One Summer Night",originally by The Danleers) with a new Bruce Johnston song ("Slow Summer Dancin'");and one takes an old song ("Under the Boardwalk," originally by The Drifters) and adds new lyrics. The rest are original songs,all containing both titular and lyrical references to summer and/or surfing,with the exception of the Transcendental Meditation-influenced "Strange Things Happen". The quasi-rap song "Summer of Love" was originally intended to be a duet with Bart Simpson for a planned Simpsons movie,but the Simpsons' producers turned down the offer.[1] The song was instead used in an episode of Baywatch. Stamos performed the song "Forever" on several episodes of his sitcom Full House.
Production
Summer in Paradise was one of the first albums to be recorded using the Pro Tools digital audio workstation,via a Beta version on a Macintosh Quadra computer. Musically,it continued in the vein of previous albums The Beach Boys and Still Cruisin' in its use of electronic instrumentation. The entire rhythm section was electronic on most songs,with all the drum parts being programmed (although not credited as such),and most of the bass parts were also synthesized.[citation needed] Former Beach Boys collaborator Van Dyke Parks played accordion on two tracks,and producer Terry Melcher contributed keyboard parts,with Al Jardine's son Adam singing backup vocals on the title track. Touring musician Adrian Baker sang backup but other regular members of the contemporary Beach Boys' touring band did not contribute to the album. Mike Love and Melcher were the main composers on the album,with Johnston being the only other member to contribute a new song. Jardine had allegedly been "suspended" from the band prior to the album's recording,supposedly because of a dispute about content;[1] however,he returned during the sessions to sing lead vocals on two of the album's songs and contributed to the partial rerecording of tracks for the UK issue on EMI.
Different versions of six tracks appeared on the album's 1993 release in the United Kingdom. This included completely re-recorded and partially rewritten versions of "Island Fever" and "Summer in Paradise",the latter of which featured new lead vocals from Roger McGuinn on one verse. Carl Wilson's vocals on "Island Fever" had also been replaced with vocals by Al Jardine. "Strange Things Happen","Remember (Walking in the Sand)","Under the Boardwalk",and "Forever" were remixed and shortened,though the bridge of The Drifters' original version of "Under the Boardwalk" was recorded and added to the track's mix.
Packaging
The artwork featured on the cover of this release,as well as the similar pieces that feature throughout the package,were painted by fellow Californian artist Robert Lyn Nelson. The original US front sleeve features the painting "Elements of the Universe",while the album gatefold includes further Nelson works,notably "Ring of Life" (used for the alternate UK pressing),"Embraced By the Sea",and "Amethyst Dawn at Kipahulu". The album packaging art direction and design by Spencer Drate with Judith Salavetz using the artwork of Robert Lyn Nelson on the multi-panels and CD disc.
Promotion
"Hot Fun in the Summertime" was packaged with "Summer of Love" as the first and only commercial single released in promotion of the album,in July 1992. "Forever" was released as a promotional single to radio stations in the United States later in the year. The single provided three different mixes of the track:"AC Mix," "CHR Mix" and "CD Mix." The "CHR mix" was remixed by John Stamos and Gary Griffin and is a unique remix which differs from the US and UK album versions.[2] Stamos helped give the album further promotion during the 1993 season of his hit television show,Full House;a poster for the album and CD are frequently shown in the studio where he hosts his daily radio show. Additionally,"Summer of Love" was also released as a promotional single in the United States in 1995,to tie in with the band's appearance on Baywatch that year.[3]
Summer in Paradise was received very poorly commercially and critically. Described by Blender as a "train wreck",the album is the only Beach Boys studio album that failed to make Billboard's Top Pop Albums chart;it reportedly sold fewer than 1000 copies on its release,making it the Beach Boys album with by far the poorest commercial sales performance. The poor sales of the US release reportedly contributed to independent distributor Navarre becoming bankrupt.[9] Navarre and EMI each only issued one print run of the album on CD. It has been out of print since its initial release and has since become a collectors' item. A large number of unsold copies of the album were unloaded when the QVC network bundled them with the Good Vibrations:Thirty Years of the Beach Boys CD box set in 1993.
Andrew G. Doe and John Tobler,authors of The Complete Guide to the Music of The Beach Boys,described Summer in Paradise as,"the absolute nadir of their recording career."[10] In an online interview,Doe said he had to listen to the album three times while writing the book,"which has probably scarred me for life."[11] William Ruhlmann of Allmusic said the band had deteriorated under Love's leadership to become "a pointless parody of themselves" by "writing bad new songs [and] recording bad covers of old songs".[4]
Legacy
While the album's title track is the only song from the album that has remained a concert staple of the band,"Under the Boardwalk" and the new version of "Surfin'" have also been performed,and "Summer of Love" and "Strange Things Happen" were each played on one occasion in the 1990s.[citation needed] For two decades,Summer in Paradise was the Beach Boys' last album of predominately original material. An interim album,Stars and Stripes Vol. 1,was a compilation of Beach Boys classics performed by country music stars,released in 1996. It featured all the surviving original Beach Boys and was Carl Wilson's last album with the band before his passing in 1998. In June 2012,the album That's Why God Made the Radio was released,featuring all-new material from the surviving members.
Bruce & Terry was an American rock music duo from Los Angeles that was active from 1963 to 1965. Consisting of Columbia Records staff producers Bruce Johnston and Terry Melcher, the pair recorded under a variety of names, and most notably with the band the Rip Chords. After 1965, Johnston and Melcher reduced their collaborations together, but both producers continued to occasionally contribute to tracks by the Beach Boys, including on the albums Pet Sounds (1966), Still Cruisin' (1989), and Summer in Paradise (1992).
Bruce Arthur Johnston is an American singer, musician, and songwriter who is a member of the Beach Boys. He also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher and composed the 1975 Barry Manilow hit, "I Write the Songs".
Alan Charles Jardine is an American musician who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist, background vocalist, and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965), "Then I Kissed Her" (1965), "Cottonfields" (1970), and a cover of the Del-Vikings’ "Come Go with Me" (1981). His song "Lady Lynda" was also a UK top 10 hit for the group in 1978. Other Beach Boys songs that feature Jardine on lead include "I Know There's an Answer" (1966), “Vegetables" (1967), a cover of Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” (1978), and "From There to Back Again" (2012).
Surfin' Safari is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released October 1, 1962 on Capitol Records. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was Brian Wilson with his father Murry who contributed substantially to the album's production; Brian also wrote or co-wrote nine of its 12 tracks. The album reached number 32 in the US during a chart stay of 37 weeks.
Surfer Girl is the third studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released September 16, 1963 on Capitol Records. It is largely a collection of surf songs. The LP reached number 7 in the U.S. and number 13 in the UK. Lead single "Surfer Girl", backed with "Little Deuce Coupe", was also a top 10 hit.
Keepin' the Summer Alive is the 24th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 24, 1980, on Brother, Caribou and CBS Records. Produced by Bruce Johnston, the album peaked at number 75 in the US, during a chart stay of 6 weeks, and number 54 in the UK. It is the group's last album recorded with Dennis Wilson, who drowned in 1983, although he only appears on one song.
The Beach Boys is the 25th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 10, 1985. Produced by Steve Levine, the album is the band's first after the drowning of founding member Dennis Wilson. It was also the band's first album to be recorded digitally and the last released by James William Guercio's Caribou Records. The record sold poorly, charting at number 52 in the U.S. and number 60 in the UK.
Still Cruisin' is the twenty-sixth studio album by the Beach Boys, their thirty-fifth official album, and their last release of the 1980s. It is also the last album of new material released during a brief return to Capitol Records.
"Forever" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. It was written by Dennis Wilson and Gregg Jakobson. Dennis sang lead vocal. His brother Brian assisted with the arrangement.
"Wake the World" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1968 album Friends. It was written by Brian Wilson and Al Jardine about getting up in the morning for work. In addition to appearing on Friends, "Wake the World" was released as B-side to "Do It Again" in July 1968. The song has since appeared multiple times on the band's live setlists and has been described as a cult favorite.
"Our Sweet Love" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1970 album Sunflower. Written by Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, and Al Jardine, "Our Sweet Love" features a lush sound that has been compared to the band's work on Pet Sounds. Brian Wilson originally left the song unfinished, resulting in the band completing it for Sunflower. Carl Wilson sings the song's lead vocal.
"Still Cruisin'" is a song written by Mike Love and Terry Melcher for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1989 album Still Cruisin' and reached number 11 in Austria, number 28 in Australia and number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Somewhere Near Japan" is a song written for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1989 album Still Cruisin'.
Made in U.S.A. is a 1986 double vinyl album compilation of some of The Beach Boys' biggest successes. Released by their original record label, Capitol Records, it marked a brief return to the label, with whom The Beach Boys released one further album, 1989's Still Cruisin'.
The Very Best of the Beach Boys is a compilation album released by the American rock and roll band the Beach Boys. The album was released by EMI in 2001 and features 30 of their greatest hits digitally remastered. It is the first compilation of the Beach Boys that makes a full retrospective of their career. Other compilations had already been released throughout the years, but only focusing on certain time periods of the band, or focusing on their complete career, but with several volumes.
Summer Days is the ninth studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 5, 1965, on Capitol. The band's previous album, The Beach Boys Today!, represented a departure for the group through its abandonment of themes related to surfing, cars, and teenage love, but it sold below Capitol's expectations. In response, the label pressured the group to produce bigger hits. Summer Days thus returned the band's music to simpler themes for one last album, with Brian Wilson combining Capitol's commercial demands with his artistic calling.
The 50th Anniversary Reunion Tour was a 2012 world concert tour by the American rock band the Beach Boys. The tour marked the first time since 1982 that founding member Brian Wilson had consistently performed on a full tour with the band. The tour also marked the first time that the Beach Boys had played at the Hollywood Bowl since 1967, having sold it out both times.
Live – The 50th Anniversary Tour is a live album by the Beach Boys released on May 21, 2013. The album was recorded during the band's 50th anniversary reunion tour.
A Postcard from California is the debut solo studio album by American musician and co-founder of the Beach Boys, Al Jardine. For the album, Jardine recruited several music icons including several former Beach Boys bandmates, Brian Wilson, Mike Love, David Marks, Bruce Johnston, and Carl Wilson, as well as Glen Campbell, America, Steve Miller, Flea, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young's David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Neil Young. The album also contains several unreleased Beach Boys songs, including "Don't Fight the Sea", "Lookin' Down the Coast", "California Feelin'", and "And I Always Will." "Don't Fight the Sea" includes parts of a Beach Boys' recording, while "Lookin' Down the Coast", "California Feelin'", and "And I Always Will" are re-recordings. "Tidepool Interlude" features a spoken word piece written by former Beach Boys collaborator Stephen Kalinich and performed by actor Alec Baldwin.
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