The Warmth of the Sun

The Beach Boys

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 22, 2007)
• Original Release Date: May 22, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000FC2FUG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,495 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In a sense, The Warmth of the Sun is to 2004's double-platinum Sounds of Summer as 1975's Spirit of America was to the previous year's chart-topping Endless Summer. Both Summer compilations feature the obvious hits, and their followups collect less famous--though still worthy--tracks like "Hawaii," "409," and "Little Honda." But the 21st-century collections are sequenced by the Beach Boys themselves, and that means this volume's songs are second-tier in fame only. The casual fan whose curiosity was piqued by Sounds of Summer and picks this up for "All Summer Long" will be captivated by Brian Wilson's stops on the road to Pet Sounds ("Kiss Me Baby," "Please Let Me Wonder," "Let Him Run Wild," "The Little Girl I Once Knew"), moved by the father-son collaboration "Break Away" (in many ways the Beach Boys' farewell to the '60s), and floored by a string of five songs from the early '70s--a few of which had their genesis in the ill-fated Smile project--that are a perfect showcase for the maturity the group, especially Brian and Carl, managed to attain less than a decade after penning "Pom Pom Play Girl" ("Surf's Up," "Feel Flows," "All This Is That," "'Til I Die," "Sail On, Sailor"). Taken together, these two volumes provide an extraordinary portrait of a band attempting to straddle popularity and artistic vision, spotlighting each facet just long enough to make you want more. (Collectors note: many of these songs appear in new stereo remixes--they may not be the original Brian Wilson productions as he heard them, but being able to distinctly make out the vibraphone in "Let Him Run Wild" is worth it.) --Benjamin Lukoff

Product Description

The Warmth Of The Sun, a new collection of 28 career-spanning tracks, hand-selected and sequenced by The Beach Boys themselves. The Warmth Of The Sun traces the iconic band's creative arc in a sun-up to sundown musical journey that goes beyond the beach, presenting a broad view of the rich musical legacy of America's band. The perfect complement and companion to Sounds Of Summer. This new collection delves deeper into The Beach Boys' musical legacy with hits like "Sail On, Sailor" "The Little Girl I Once Knew" and "Feel Flows." Within The Warmth Of The Sun's three decade-spanning tracklist, much of the Beach Boys' most accomplished work is featured. Compiled and sequenced by The Beach Boys' Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love, and Brian Wilson, The Warmth Of The Sun showcases the broad scope of their recorded history. The journey takes us from the surf to the streets, and all with The Beach Boys' unparalleled trademark harmonies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW - What A Sound - New Mixes (and Surprises, Too), May 23, 2007

By	Bill Anthony "billjbfan" (North Texas United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"THE WARMTH OF THE SUN" has new/FIRST TIME STEREO mixes of All Summer Long, You're So Good To Me, Then I Kissed Her, Please Let Me Wonder, and Let Him Run Wild (all hard-core Beach Boys Classics); plus the stereo mix of Kiss Me Baby (which has only appeared on the Endless Harmony CD), and a new stereo remix of Wendy. The songs are annotated in detail, with many unseen photos of the boys, but there are no liner notes or essay.

SURPRISES:
"Why Do Fools Fall In Love" is annotated as the original 1964 mono single mix (b-side of Fun, Fun, Fun); it's a different/better sounding mono mix, with a very different intro (no drum beat to start, with some piano & percussion sounds under the vocals). Very nice. Never before on CD!

"Cool, Cool Water" is annotated as the 1970 single version, and is in fact 1:40 shorter than the album version from Sunflower. The first 1:20 of the album version was excised, plus another 20 seconds edited out to create this stereo single version. This version had been released on the long out-of-print Ten Years Of Harmony LP/CD.

"California Dreamin" is annotated as the original 1986 stereo mix from "Made In The USA", but it is not; this version has wind, rain and thunder sounds before the guitar intro fades in. Never before on CD!

INTERESTING NOTES:
"Breakaway" is annotated as "alternate mix". It is in fact the "alternate version" that was released on the incredible "Hawthorne,CA" CD in 2001, although the studio chatter has been trimmed off the beginning. [FYI: this 2001 alternate stereo mix has Brian singing lead on the first verse instead of Carl, and additional/more complex vocals on the ending section, although it comes from the same basic master as the original mix. It also runs about 10 seconds longer, and to me the mix sounds much better]

The closing title track "Warmth Of The Sun" appears in it's mono single mix, although it's in stereo on the original LP and CD of Shut Down Vol 2, Endless Summer, etc. A surprising choice in this context.

BOTTOM LINE:
This is a beautiful companion to "Sounds Of Summer", the 30 song compilation from 2003, which itself had 2 new stereo mixes (and 5 stereo mixes which had only recently been released on various sets).
Both are great as casual compilations and collector's treasures.

Thank You producer/engineer Mark Linett and Capitol /EMI !
and of course Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al & Bruce !

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars + 1/2 stars...Why Did They Leave Off 'Caroline, No'?, May 24, 2007

By	Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As other reviewers have noted, THE WARMTH OF THE SUN makes an excellent companion volume to 2003's superb SOUNDS OF SUMMER. Between 1962 and 1988, the Beach Boys charted 33 singles on Billboard's Top 40 (34 if you count 1981's "The Beach Boy Medley"). Thirty of those singles appeared on SOUNDS OF SUMMER. That left only "The Little Girl I Once Knew," "Caroline, No" and "It's O.K." for this new release. Inexplicably, "Caroline, No" is not included here. [In fact, there are no tracks from 1967's ground-breaking PET SOUNDS.]

So with only a handful of singles and well known album tracks, the 28 tracks found on THE WARMTH OF THE SUN enable the compilers to plumb deeper into the Beach Boys' catalog. Tracks range from 1962's "409" (the b-side to "Surfin' Safari" taken from their Capitol debut) to 1986's cover of the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'" (which features some terrific 12-string guitar playing from Roger McGuinn).

This latest collection was compiled and sequenced by surviving group members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine and Bruce Johnston. While Wilson wrote or co-wrote most of these songs (including three tracks from the minor classic LP ALL SUMMER LONG), Johnston wrote the gorgeous "Disney Girls (1957)" and Jardine composed the lush "California Saga (On My Way to Sunny Californ-i-a)" which went Top 40 in the U.K. in 1973.

[Note: New stereo mixes are included for the following songs: "All Summer Long," "You're So Good to Me," "Then I Kissed Her," "Please Let Me Wonder," "Let Him Run Wild" and "Wendy."]

While the Beach Boys only reached the Top 10 twice after 1966's "Good Vibrations," this compilation shows that they were still an artistically viable band decades after their commercial heyday. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great compilation!, May 22, 2007

By	Cobra642 (Colorado, USA) - See all my reviews

This is the CD you hand to your friends when you're trying to explain the Brian Wilson and Beach Boys magical music that was ignored by FM radio in the late 60's and early70's, or forgotten from the British Invasion era. No new ground is plowed here, but this is a good sample of the excellent music that ALL the Beach Boys were producing in that period. This is especially evident in the earlier BW studio work (ie. Let Him Run Wild) and the the latter post-Smile work, sans Brian. And it even includes some excellent liner notes and pictures...