| Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by The Beach Boys | ||||
| Released | July 5, 1965 [1] | |||
| Recorded | February 26 - May 24, 1965 | |||
| Genre | Rock, surf rock, sunshine pop | |||
| Length | 26:42 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Brian Wilson | |||
| The Beach Boys chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
| Blender | [3] |
| warr.org | [4] |
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) is the ninth studio album by American rock band The Beach Boys and their second in 1965.
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) hit #2 in the US during a chart stay of 33 weeks. It reached #4 in the UK in the summer of 1966. The album was eventually rereleased on CD, paired with Today! as well as bonus tracks from that period.
Contents |
After the dramatic and highly sophisticated shift in style on Side 2 of Today!, leader Brian Wilson reportedly was questioned by Mike Love and Capitol Records as to what his musical intentions were, and encouraged to make more "Beach Boys-type music" for the next release. It was clear that the band was, at this point, stereotyped as a happy "fun in the sun" band that sang about the beach, girls and good times. While on the surface Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) appeared to be a throwback to the carefree ideals of All Summer Long, Brian Wilson had carefully woven intricate music tracks beneath the lighthearted words of "Amusement Parks USA" and "Salt Lake City". He also devised a successful instrumental with strings ("Summer Means New Love") and even composed a symphonic intro to their new, and sensational, US #3 hit single "California Girls" (that intro being Brian's personal favorite of his entire songwriting career). In hindsight, it's clear that Wilson was building towards what would become Pet Sounds the following year.
Of the many highlights on the album, "The Girl from New York City" was a response to "The Boy from New York City", a hit by The Ad Libs earlier that year, and "Then I Kissed Her" was Brian's attempt to beat his hero Phil Spector at his own game. A successful recording (and an unlikely Top 5 UK hit in 1967), it was Al Jardine's second lead vocal on the album. The first was a re-recording of a Today! track which was now called "Help Me, Rhonda" and was recently The Beach Boys' second US #1 hit. "Girl Don't Tell Me", with Carl on lead, featured none other than the five Beach Boys themselves on instruments (in lieu of the usual session musicians), playing a track that was deliberately modeled after The Beatles' "Ticket to Ride". Besides "California Girls", the other major progression on Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) was "Let Him Run Wild", a Burt Bacharach-style track.
Of course there had to be a little silliness on the album, and it was saved almost to the end with the tongue-in-cheek "I'm Bugged at My Ol' Man", a none-too-subtle poke at the Wilsons' father Murry, who had been fired from his post as manager the previous year, though he did still occasionally show up to either support, or badger, Brian in the studio.
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) also includes Bruce Johnston's first appearance on a Beach Boys album. As Brian's stage replacement, he was not an "official" member yet, but Brian Wilson appreciated Johnston's skills enough to have him contribute vocally. Bruce would often accompany the group on photo shoots, but he was prohibited from having those pictures published due to a preexisting contract with Columbia Records. His face would not grace the cover of a Beach Boys' album until Friends in 1968. (Along with Johnston, Al Jardine is also missing from the Summer Days cover photo depicting the group on a sailboat; he had to miss the shoot due to illness.[5])
The album proved to be another gold-selling success in the US, where it hit #2 (behind The Rolling Stones's Out of Our Heads) and the following year, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) would reach #4 in the UK.
In the early 1980s, as part of Capitol Records' reissue series of their Beach Boys albums, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) was retitled California Girls and had two tracks removed: "Amusement Parks, USA" and "I'm Bugged at My Ol' Man".
Brian has said via twitter and his facebook page that this is his favorite Beach Boys album.[6]
All songs written and composed by Brian Wilson/Mike Love, except where noted.
| Side one | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead Vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "The Girl from New York City" | Mike Love | 1:54 | ||||||
| 2. | "Amusement Parks U.S.A." | Love/Brian Wilson | 2:29 | ||||||
| 3. | "Then I Kissed Her" (Phil Spector/Ellie Greenwich/Jeff Barry) | Al Jardine | 2:15 | ||||||
| 4. | "Salt Lake City" | Love/B. Wilson | 2:00 | ||||||
| 5. | "Girl Don't Tell Me" (B. Wilson) | Carl Wilson | 2:19 | ||||||
| 6. | "Help Me, Rhonda" | Jardine | 2:46 | ||||||
| Side two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Lead Vocals | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "California Girls" | Love | 2:38 | ||||||
| 2. | "Let Him Run Wild" | B. Wilson | 2:20 | ||||||
| 3. | "You're So Good to Me" | B. Wilson | 2:14 | ||||||
| 4. | "Summer Means New Love" (B. Wilson) | instrumental | 1:59 | ||||||
| 5. | "I'm Bugged at My Ol' Man" (B. Wilson) | B. Wilson | 2:17 | ||||||
| 6. | "And Your Dream Comes True" | group | 1:04 | ||||||