The endless summer of the Beach Boys has reached the 55 year mark. Created in 1962, it still beckons – even several generations later – to a life that is just beyond the horizon.
The Beach Boys 67: Sunshine Tomorrow is the latest entry into the band’s lexicon of music. It is a album for Beach Boys devotees, gathering studio tracks, alternate versions of songs, live performances, rehearsals, and a few oddities from 1967. The two CDs contain a generous 67 tracks. It may not be an album you want to pop in the car stereo while driving down the highway, but it does fill in a lot of gaps in the their musical journey.
The centerpiece of the release is a stereo mix of the Wild Honey album. Remixing an album in stereo can be tricky, especially given the age of the original tapes, but here the channels are just about perfectly balanced.
I have always found Wild Honey to be more interesting than enjoyable. Brian Wilson was moving away from their sunshine pop material, making that disc about as experimental as he would ever get; as such, it is a unique album in their catalogue. Afterward, the band quickly reversed direction and settled into a rock/pop hybrid sound. Still, Wild Honey is worth the journey and in many ways fares better in the musical world of today.
The album is populated by a number of interesting inclusions. There are live versions of “Wild Honey” and Country Air” from a November, 1967 concert. It is interesting to hear the band tackle technically difficult material. When the Beach Boys sings hit songs by other artists, they rarely get them right, but they do provide a unique perspective. “Game Of Love,” “The Letter,” and “With A Little Help From My Friends” add little to their legacy but find them covering songs like thousands of other American bands.
Other highlights include an a capella version of “Surfer Girl,” a rehearsal of “Heroes And Villains,” plus the 1967 version of “Surf’s Up.”
Whether or not you want to acquire this release will depend upon how invested you are in the Beach Boys. If you need everything by the band, then The Beach Boys 67: Sunshine Tomorrow is a treasure trove. If you just want to experience the eternal summer, then any of their compilation albums will do just fine.
