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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
61 of 65 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And Your Dreams Come True,
By
This review is from: Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights) (Audio CD)
I grew up in a strict, no nonsense Italian household in rural Connecticut. You just can't get any farther from the warm California sunshine, surfing, and the quest for the California dream than that. Our family summertime treks to the beach consisted of my brother and me loaded into back seat of the family Chevy wagon on a bumpy trip to " Long Island Sound " filled with mirky, seaweed laden water and rocky( read: ouch ) beaches. But then one summer, out of the blue, a song issued from my small transistor AM radio. The song was " Surfin' Safari " and hence my dream of sunny California became closer to reality. I was no longer trapped in rural Connecticut. I was mesmerized by the song, and with maybe two quarters to my name, pedaled my way to the local department store and bought the 45 RPM record. The flip side was " 409 " and boy was I ever in heaven, having already been a full fledged greaser by age 12. I bought everything the boys of summer put out,the Surfin' Safari Album, Little Deuce Coupe, Surfer Girl, Concert, and Surfin U.S.A. What struck me profoundly were the harmonies and the melodies, which in my young mind made every other record put out by others seem amateurish and rudimentary in comparison. And the themes of the songs were right up my alley. Four decades later I feel the same way. By the time the Today album and Summer Days and Summer Nights album were released, I was in high school, and these songs took on new meanings to me, ( READ: Girl Crazy ). My father was a tyrant at times, he'd scream and yell at my brother and me, and would make me " go to my room " ( to study ) whenever my report card came- I always brought home poor grades. It was from lack of interest in school, and my great interest in cars and girls that killed my grades. I prided myself in never bringing home a school book to study. I would really dread the last report card before summer- because he'd usually " ground " me to my room to study all summer long. ( no pun intended. ) I never understood this, because I had no books to study for summer. When I'd remind him of this fact, he'd scream and say, " Then you'll go to the library and find the books for next year and bring them home and study them! " So when I heard " I'm Bugged at My Old Man. " I felt a true allegiance to BIG BROTHER Brian. I felt that he knew some of the stuff I'd been going through. And I think that is what endures with respect to the Beach Boys and their music. Our relation ships, desires, fears, and longings are reflected in their music. More than once I've gotten shivers up my spine upon first hearing a new Beach Boys song,( that's what real harmony will do to you ) that's the kind of emotion it evokes. Just think of the turmoil we felt as teenagers. Who could we talk to? Who would listen and understand our deepest fears, our longing to be loved? You guessed it. Brian and the Boys. They were beyond hip as far as I was concerned, and while others turned their attention to the Rolling Stones, Jimmie Hendrix, and the British invasion groups ( especially the Beatles. ) my loyalty never wavered from " The Boys. " While everyone was cranking up " I wanna Hold your Hand " and " She Loves You ", I was cranking up " I get Around " and " When I Grow Up to Be a Man. " I often times wonder what my adolescent years would have been like if the Beach Boys never existed. We've been through a lot together, the Boys and me. They were there when I obtained my driver's license. They stood by me when I'd get a crush on a girl, ( and the subsequent heartache of unrequited love. ) They were there when my mom died of a heart attack at age 45 ( I was 17 ). And when my BIG brother Ted lost his battle with Cancer at age 27. They were there, holding me up, allowing the tears, and the pain, and the sorrow to issue from me, and then to be replaced by joyousness, the joyousness of being alive. They never failed me, those Boys of Summer. And they will not fail you. Regards, Tony
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I actually like this stuff better than "Pet Sounds",
By
This review is from: Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights) (Audio CD)
Like many Beach Boys fans who's full-on "discovery" of the band began when "Pet Sounds" was re-issued on CD in the early 90's(?), I found that album to be hard to beat - as far as Beach Boys ALBUMS are concerned. Being a Beatles fan, first and foremost, the whole "influence on Sgt. Peppers" thing took hold, and - like the afore-mentioned Bealtes LP - took on legendary status for me.
Yet, I KNEW there had to be more out there. Of course I had heard other Beach Boys songs on the radio, but mostly the slightly goofy "surf-themed" early stuff which I didn't really like all that much. So, when I found this 2-CD-in-1 collection of "Today/Summer Days (and Summer Nights)" several years ago, and saw a few of my non-Pet Sounds faves on it ("Help Me Rhonda" and "California Girls"), I figured it was worth a shot. It turned out that I got more than I had anticipated. The music the Beach Boys were recording right before "Pet Sounds" is my favorite stuff of theirs. These are two beautiful albums... full of fun-loving romps like "Do You Wanna Dance", "Good To My Baby", "Girl From New York City", "Salt Lake City", and gorgeous harmony-laden tracks like, "Kiss Me Baby", "Let Him Run Wild", "Please Let Me Wander", and "She Knows Me To Well".... as well as the more well-known "Help Me Rhonda" and "California Girls"... the latter of which I think is probably 2 of the most joyous minutes of music ever recorded. These two albums represent Brian Wilson at a point where he had grown tired of touring and began devoting all his energies to the studio. He'd not yet heard The Beatles' "Rubber Soul"... his music still had that California-surf feel going on, but it was getting more sophisticated. Incredible music that signalled the end of a certain era before a new, more uncertain, one began.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Darn my Dad!,
By
This review is from: Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights) (Audio CD)
This CD contains two (count 'em) Beach Boys albums from 1965. Both albums are great, with several hits like "Do You Wanna Dance", "When I Grow Up", "Dance, Dance, Dance", "Help Me, Rhonda" and "California Girls". And there are plenty of great songs that weren't hits, like "Please Let Me Wonder" and "Let Him Run Wild". And "I'm Bugged at My Ol' Man" is the funniest song the Beach Boys ever recorded. But the interview "Bull Session With the 'Big Daddy'" isn't something that most people will want to listen to more than once. Other than that obvious low point, Beach Boys fans should enjoy this CD a lot.
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