Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
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| Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) | ||||
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| Studio album by The Beach Boys | ||||
| Released | 28 June 1965 | |||
| Recorded | 26 February - 24 May 1965 | |||
| Genre | Rock, Pop, Surf rock, Sunshine pop, Baroque pop | |||
| Length | 26:42 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Brian Wilson | |||
| Professional reviews | ||||
| The Beach Boys chronology | ||||
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Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) is the ninth studio album by The Beach Boys and their second in 1965. As a follow-up to The Beach Boys Today!, the successor certainly had its progressive moments, but it was also weighed down by its adherence to the tried and true "formula" of sun, summer and fun.
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) hit #2 in the US during a chart stay of 33 weeks. It reached #4 in the UK in the summer of 1966. The album was eventually rereleased on CD, paired with The Beach Boys Today! as well as bonus tracks from that period.
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[edit] History
After the dramatic and highly sophisticated shift in style on Side 2 of The Beach Boys Today!, leader Brian Wilson reportedly was questioned by Mike Love and Capitol Records as to what his musical intentions were, and encouraged to make more "Beach Boys"-type music for the next release. It was clear that the band was, at this point, stereotyped as a happy "fun in the sun" band that sang about the beach, girls and good times. While on the surface Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) appeared to be a throwback to the carefree ideals of All Summer Long, Brian Wilson had carefully woven intricate music tracks beneath the lighthearted words of "Amusement Parks U.S.A." and "Salt Lake City". He also devised a successful instrumental with strings ("Summer Means New Love") and even composed a symphonic intro to their new—and sensational—US #3 hit single "California Girls" (that intro being Brian's personal favorite of his entire songwriting career). In hindsight, it's clear that Wilson was building towards what would become Pet Sounds the following year.
Of the many highlights on the album, "The Girl From New York City" was a response to "The Boy From New York City", a hit by The Ad-Libs earlier that year, and "Then I Kissed Her" was Brian's attempt to beat his hero Phil Spector at his own game. A successful recording (and an unlikely Top 5 UK hit in 1967), it was Al Jardine's second lead vocal on the album. The first was a re-recording of a The Beach Boys Today! track which was now called "Help Me, Rhonda" and was recently The Beach Boys' second US #1 hit. "Girl Don't Tell Me", with Carl on lead, featured none other than the five Beach Boys themselves on instruments (in lieu of the usual session musicians), playing a track that was deliberately modeled after The Beatles' "Ticket To Ride"[citation needed]. Besides "California Girls", the other major progression on Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) was "Let Him Run Wild"—a gorgeous Burt Bacharach-styled track.
Of course there had to be a little silliness on the album, and it was saved almost to the end with the tongue-in-cheek "I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man", a none-too-subtle poke at the Wilsons' father Murry, who had been fired from his post as manager the previous year, though he did still occasionally show up to either support or badger Brian in the studio.
Aside all of that, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) proved to be Bruce Johnston's first appearance on a Beach Boys album. As Brian's stage replacement, he was not an "official" member yet, but Brian Wilson appreciated Johnston's skills enough to have him contribute vocally. Bruce would often accompany the group on photo shoots, but he was prohibited from having those pictures published due to a preexisting contract with Columbia Records. His face would not grace the cover of a Beach Boys' album until Friends in 1968. (Along with Johnston, Al Jardine is also missing from the Summer Days cover photo depicting the group on a sailboat; he had to miss the shoot due to illness.)
The album proved to be another gold-selling success in the US, where it hit #2 (behind The Rolling Stones's Out of Our Heads) and the following year, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) would reach #4 in the UK.
In the early 1980s, as part of Capitol Records' reissue series of their Beach Boys albums, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) was retitled California Girls and had two tracks removed: "Amusement Parks, USA" and "I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man."
[edit] Track listing
All songs by Brian Wilson/Mike Love, except where noted.
[edit] Side one
- "The Girl from New York City" – 1:54
- Features Mike Love on lead vocals
- "Amusement Parks U.S.A." – 2:29
- Features Mike Love and Brian Wilson on lead vocals
- "Then I Kissed Her" (Phil Spector/Ellie Greenwich/Jeff Barry) – 2:15
- Features Al Jardine on lead vocals
- "Salt Lake City" – 2:00
- Features Mike Love and Brian Wilson on lead vocals
- "Girl Don't Tell Me" (Brian Wilson) – 2:19
- Features Carl Wilson on lead vocals
- "Help Me, Rhonda" – 2:46
- Features Al Jardine on lead vocals
[edit] Side two
- "California Girls" – 2:38
- Features Mike Love on lead vocals
- "Let Him Run Wild" – 2:20
- Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
- "You're So Good to Me" – 2:14
- Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals
- "Summer Means New Love" (Brian Wilson) – 1:59
- Instrumental
- "I'm Bugged at My Ol' Man" (Brian Wilson) – 2:17
- Features Brian Wilson on lead vocals (shown as "Too Embarrassed" on back cover)
- "And Your Dream Comes True" – 1:04
- Features group vocals
[edit] Singles
- "Help Me, Rhonda" b/w "Kiss Me Baby" (from The Beach Boys Today!) (Capitol 5395), 5 April 1965 US #1; UK #27
- "California Girls" b/w "Let Him Run Wild (Capitol 5464), 12 July 1965 US #3; UK #26
[edit] Sources
- The Beach Boys Today!/Summer Days (and Summer Nights!!) CD booklet notes, David Leaf, c.1990.
- "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and the Southern California Experience", Timothy White, c. 1994.
- "Wouldn't It Be Nice - My Own Story", Brian Wilson and Todd Gold, c. 1991.
- "Top Pop Singles 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
- "Top Pop Albums 1955-2001", Joel Whitburn, c. 2002.
- Allmusic.com
[edit] External links
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