Album: “Endless Harmony”

Description

The re-release of this CD features new packaging but contains the same tracks as the original. All tracks are previously unreleased except for "Surfer Girl" and "Endless Harmony." The Beach Boys include: Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, Mike Love, Blondie Chaplin, Ricky Fataar (vocals, various instruments). Additional personnel includes: Ron Altbach (vocals); Jerry Donahue (guitar); Rick Henn, Daryl Dragon (piano); Carlos Munoz (keyboards); Van Dyke Parks (sound effects). Producers include: Brian Wilson, Rick Henn, The Beach Boys, Bruce Johnson, Carl Wilson. Compilation producer: Alan Boyd. Recorded in 1963-1980. Includes liner notes by Brad Elliott. Digitally remastered by Dan Hirsch (DigiPrep). The aptly titled ENDLESS HARMONY is a delightful, at times even giddy hybrid--equal parts "best of", "unplugged" recording, live album, and rarities collection--by that most American of groups, The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson penned some of pop music's biggest hits as well as producing the band in his own lush and tasteful interpretation of Phil Spector's "wall of sound." Many of these deep, luxurious tunes ("God Only Knows," "California Girls," "Darlin'," "Help Me Rhonda," and the pocket symphony "Good Vibrations") are included here in alternate versions. For a glimpse into the Beach Boys' hectic days of early touring there is a five-song medley of their surfin' smashes taken from a campus concert. A peek behind the scenes into the band's creative process is afforded with demos and snippets of "Break Away," "Heroes and Villains," and "I'm in Great Shape," the latter two tunes originally slated for release on the most famous rock album that never was, SMILE. The Beach Boys are a world unto themselves, firmly rooted in pop music tradition but at their best, virtually inimitable. Yet their world is an embracing one, and ENDLESS HARMONY is evidence of the group's good humor, boundless ambition, and timeless quality.