All Summer Long (album)
Regarded as their first artistically unified collection of songs, as well as one of the first true concept albums, it marked the Beach Boys' first LP that was not focused on themes of cars or surfing.Instead, the songs are semi-autobiographical and relate to the experiences of a typical Southern Californian teenager, a theme encapsulated by the title track, "All Summer Long", and the often-imitated front cover, a modernist style photo collage depicting the band members fraternizing with young women on a beach.Heralding the album era, All Summer Long reached number 4 in the US during a 49-week chart stay and yielded one single, "I Get Around", the band's first number-one hit in the US, cementing the group's sustainability in a market then dominated by British acts.[12] Mike Love recalled, "To varying degrees, all of us in the Beach Boys were rattled, but most of all Brian [Wilson], who saw the Beatles as a challenge to his emerging position as a leader in pop music."[14] His 1991 memoir, Wouldn't It Be Nice, states that he had "suddenly felt unhip [...] as if we looked more like golf caddies than rock and roll stars" and considered scrapping Shut Down Volume 2.[15] After discussing the matter with Love, they concluded that competing with the Beatles in terms of public image was a pointless pursuit, leading them to concentrate their efforts on trying to outdo their rivals in the recording studio.[21][nb 2] According to music historian Keith Badman, Wilson had been disappointed by the simplicity, reliance on filler, and overall rushed quality of Shut Down Volume 2, and endeavored for All Summer Long to be a more refined and sophisticated effort.[27] Biographer Mark Dillon states that the album generally projects "a whole season of teenaged good times" with the exception of "a couple of numbers that threaten to kill the buzz", listing "We'll Run Away" and "Wendy".[48] Stebbins cited the line "the sun in her hair / the warmth of the air", sung by Dennis, as "[o]ne of the most perfect uses of [his] sexy voice", and the closing block harmonies as "one of the group's finest moments".[50] Although the plot centered on the Beatles, the film featured scenes in which the Beach Boys lip sync to this song, "Little Honda", and the Surfin' U.S.A. track "Lonely Sea".[39] The song gives the listener advice on how to enter a drive-in theater without paying for admission, among other things, and climaxes with a line alluding to contraception ("If you say you watched the movie, you're a couple of liars / And remember, only you can prevent forest fires").As such, it came closer than anything previously available to disclosing the Boys' taut tête-à-tête (Mike jesting edgily about throwing Brian across the room) as tensions in their relentless studio regime escalated.[56] Dillon wrote in 2012 that the All Summer Long cover art remained "much imitated to this day",[28] although Kieghtley notes that the design was itself heavily indebted to the work of visual artist Piet Mondrian.[58] Music historian Luis Sanchez comments, Unlike earlier album covers, Brian, Mike, Carl, Dennis, and Al look like a group of young men more at ease in their beach surroundings without the conspicuous surfboard or hot rod in the picture.[66] On September 21, Capitol issued the extended play record Four by the Beach Boys, a truncated version of All Summer Long that consisted of "Little Honda", "Hushabye", "Don't Back Down", and "Wendy".[69] This was the band's first extensive tour, as their prior public appearances had been limited by the scholastic obligations of one or more members (Carl Wilson, the final hold-out in the group, graduated from high school that June).[61] Two days later, the band concluded their tour with a performance at the Memorial Auditorium in Worcester, Massachusetts, however, the show was cancelled after 15 minutes due to fan bedlam that had surrounded the venue.'"[14] In October, recordings from the band's August 1 performance at the Civil Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento, California were released as the live album Beach Boys Concert – their first LP to top the national charts."[75] AllMusic reviewer Richie Unterberger wrote that All Summer Long was the band's best album of the early 1960s, though he lamented the inclusion of "disposable filler" in the form of "Our Favorite Recording Sessions" and "Do You Remember?".[77] Icons of Rock co-editor Scott Schinder praised All Summer Long as an improvement over their previous LP and "the most consistent and satisfying Beach Boys album to date", affording highlights to the title track, "I Get Around", "Wendy", and "Don't Back Down".[84] Mark Dillon opined that Wilson "took a Beach Boys album to new heights" and successfully "held his own against the Beatles", with "Our Favorite Recording Sessions" being the only weak track.[85] Luis Sanchez, author of the 33⅓ book about Smile, wrote of All Summer Long, "None of the group's previous albums come close to the unity of vision and feeling they show here. [...]"[57] In the estimation of music historian Larry Starr, Wilson had entered "a period of aggressive experimentation" by mid-1964, and, by raising his creative ambitions with the Beach Boys, had established a successful career model that would itself be followed by the Beatles and other British Invasion acts throughout 1965 and 1966."[89] Subsequent to this album, the Beach Boys rarely recorded songs about cars or surfing, but continued to be stereotyped as a group who exclusively sang about such subject matter.
Studio albumthe Beach BoysWesternTeen poprock and rollCapitolProducerBrian WilsonShut Down Volume 2Four by the Beach BoysBeach Boys ConcertSurfin' U.S.A.SinglesI Get AroundCapitol Recordsconcept albumsSouthern CalifornianAll Summer LongmodernistBeatlemaniaBritish Invasionthe BeatlesDrive-InDon't Back Downthe MysticsHushabyealbum eraLittle Hondathe HondellsGirls on the Beach1965 film of the same namePhil SpectorThe Beach Boys Today!Pet SoundsMurry WilsonI Want to Hold Your HandFun, Fun, Funthe Four SeasonsMike LoveAl JardineDennis WilsonCarl WilsonBrian [Wilson]golf caddiesFred VailWestern StudioSunset BoulevardUnited Western Recordersfillersound collageWe'll Run AwayDavid Leafpiccoloxylophonethe title trackStudio musiciansJon Stebbinstrue stereoFriendsKeep an Eye on Summer – The Beach Boys Sessions 1964Peter Ames CarlinfalsettoPhilip LambertHondasMarilyn RovellGeorge LucasAmerican Graffiticover songdoo-wopDoc PomusMort ShumanGary UsherDenny's DrumsCan I Get a WitnessMarvin Gayehis second-born childDo You Remember?rock 'n' rollLittle RichardChuck BerryElvis PresleyBob & SheriSurfer Girlblock harmoniesParamount PicturesThe Girls on the Beachlip syncLonely SeaCulver City, Californiadrive-in theatercontraceptiononly you can prevent forest firesDon WasTimothy White'Cassius' Love vs. 'Sonny' WilsonMalibu, CaliforniaSurfin' SafariPiet MondrianThe Ed Sullivan ShowRecord Retailerextended playWorcester, MassachusettsSacramento, CaliforniaLive in Sacramento 1964Paul McCartneyJohn LennonbeatfulPeggy LiptonTeen SetAllMusicBlenderEncyclopedia of Popular MusicMusicHoundThe Rolling Stone Album GuideRichie UnterbergerJohn ToblerCapitol TowerLarry StarrThe Warmth of the Sun[Phil] SpectorI Am Brian Wilsonaudio véritéLittle Deuce CoupeBe True to Your SchoolAll Dressed Up for Schoolsongwriting credits lawsuit