The Beach Boys are one of the few mandatory “things” in music. If they wouldn’t be formed back in 61 somebody should be “invented” them. Many things in music would be different without Mike Love, Brian Wilson and Al Jardine. They gained popularity across the United States for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting the Southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, chosen for the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1998 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, The Beach Boys are one of the greatest rock and roll bands while their 1966 release, “Pet Sounds”, frequently rank among critics’ lists of the greatest albums and “Good Vibrations” as the greatest singles of all time. Paul McCartney named “Pet Sounds” one of his favorite albums of all time and has frequently said that it was the inspiration behind the Beatles’ album, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Rolling Stone magazine listed The Beach Boys at number 12 on their 2004 list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time,” the highest ranking for an American Rock & Roll band.
Initially rising to become the most popular surf rock band in the U.S. during the early 1960s, the band with a legacy of 82 singles, 28 studio albums and 4 live recordings, The Beach Boys… still cruisin’.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MNz-anSZR8&w=540&h=435]
Still Cruisin’ is the twenty-sixth studio album by The Beach Boys, Released on August 28, 1989, 22 years ago.
Track list:
01. “Still Cruisin'” (from Lethal Weapon 2)
02. “Somewhere Near Japan”
03. “Island Girl”
04. “In My Car”
05. “Kokomo” (from Cocktail)
06. “Wipe Out”
07. “Make It Big” (from Troop Beverly Hills)
08. “I Get Around” (from Good Morning Vietnam)
09. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (from The Big Chill)
10. “California Girls” (from Soul Man)
“Kokomo” was released as a single from the “Cocktail” film soundtrack and gave the Beach Boys their first number-one hit in the U.S. since 1966’s “Good Vibrations”. The band decided to put together an album of recent and classic songs that had been heard in recent films. Riding on the coattails of “Kokomo”, “Still Cruisin'” went gold in the U.S., and gave The Beach Boys their best chart showing since 1976.
This is a perfect record to discover The Beach Boys by those who lived on some other planet the last few decades, and a perfect summer album. Perhaps the best summer album. Go for it!
