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Post by beachboystalkmatt on Jul 7, 2023 16:19:09 GMT
Hello friends! Please join us this Tuesday as we break down the Beach Boys 1980 album Keepin’ the Summer Alive. Greg and I love the album. Hope you will join us as Greg will play through the album as we discuss each track.
What are your thoughts on the album?
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 7, 2023 17:34:40 GMT
What are your thoughts on the album? I think it's pretty mediocre. What's worse, as is unfortunately true of every album since Pet Sounds, it's pretty easy to see some very realistic changes that would have improved it significantly.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Jul 7, 2023 20:37:42 GMT
My favorite album of all time is Wild Honey! It's numero uno in the catalog as far as I'm concerned.
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 7, 2023 20:50:14 GMT
My favorite album of all time is Wild Honey! It's numero uno in the catalog as far as I'm concerned. I like it--increaasingly so over time!--but I still lump it in with albums I feel could have been better.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Jul 7, 2023 21:36:19 GMT
Please join us this Tuesday as we break down the Beach Boys 1980 album Keepin’ the Summer Alive. What are your thoughts on the album?
Since you asked...
- Keepin' The Summer Alive has been consistently criticized by Beach Boys' fans, the general listening public (by those who even heard it), and by me. However, I sometimes think I've been a little too rough on it. It's not THAT bad, but as Kapitan posted above, it could've been much better.
- My biggest complaint with the album is only 10 songs from a group with 6 songwriters. Oh, and one song was a cover.
- I had no problem with the band wanting to go with a "summer"-themed album. The group hadn't really done that since the popularity of Endless Summer. Yes, there were certain songs, but not entire albums. Some people will cite M.I.U. Album, but that wasn't very summer-y, especially Side 2. 15 Big Ones had more of a summer feeling. So, with a title of Keepin' The Summer Alive, you would expect a lot of summer songs. Where were they? Why wasn't "Goin' To The Beach" finished and included?
- While Dennis was experiencing serious personal and professional problems in 1979-80, he was definitely around, especially with live performances. I'm thinking of The Midnight Special (in 1979), American Bandstand, and the HBO-televised July 4th concert in 1980. Actually, he was much more prevalent live in 1981 when Carl temporarily left the band. To most fans, Dennis (who shaved his beard) was still a functioning member of the band. So, why didn't Keepin' The Summer Alive feature any Dennis Wilson songs? Just one? Maybe the 11th or 12th song? He was sorely missed on that album.
- Bruce Johnston's production was very questionable. He did clean up things, and he added a bit of slickness. Maybe too much slickness.
- Carl Wilson is the star of Keepin' The Summer Alive. His singing was spectacular. He was peaking vocally and he actually contributed two of the better songs on the album with the title track and "Livin' With A Heartache".
- There are some good songs on Keepin' The Summer Alive including the title track, "Some Of Your Love", "Goin' On", "Livin With A Heartache", and "Santa Ana Winds". And I don't care what anybody says - "Sunshine" is a great song!
- Why, just why, did they resurrect "When Girls Get Together" for this album, emphasis on this. Again, they couldn't come up with a NEW song that they had to pull this song out of mothballs?!
- For an alternate Keepin' The Summer Alive, I added three songs, deleted one, and re-sequenced the album. More music, more summer, more rock & roll, some Dennis, better flow:
Keepin' The Summer Alive
Side 1 1. Keepin' The Summer Alive
2. School Days 3. Some Of Your Love 4. Oh Darlin' 5. Goin' To The Beach
6. Sunshine
Side 2 1. It's A Beautiful Day 2. Santa Ana Winds 3. Love Remember Me 4. Livin' With A Heartache 5. Goin' On 6. Endless Harmony
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Post by lonelysummer on Jul 8, 2023 0:03:16 GMT
I agree with the Sheriff for the most part, although the cover of School Days is very limp, and I don't care too much for Sunshine, but I do think his track list is better than what we got. The main problem with the album is the production. It lacks energy. The disco HCTN has more energy than anything on this album! Yes, I would have enjoyed having at least one Dennis song on the album; and the Beach Boys never recorded it, but I love another song Randy Bachman wrote with Carl, What's Your Hurry Darlin'. Randy's band Ironhorse recorded it. It's a Beautiful Day is a nice tune that would have helped this album.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Jul 8, 2023 3:50:48 GMT
I think I posted in the wrong thread above, but the sentiment still holds. That being said, I am very fond of KTSA, probably a lot more than most fans. The title track rocks (Carl!), especially the live version. And "Goin' On" is a total gem. I would have loved for a couple of Dennis' songs to have made the album, but he was largely absent, alas.
I agree that "Goin' to the Beach" and "It's a Beautiful Day" would make great additions to the track lineup.
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