The Beach Boys – 鈥楾hat蘑菇视频 Why God Made the Radio鈥�
Having been a huge fan of the Beach Boys, I was a little nervous when I first learned that the band was getting back together to record a new album and tour. After all, 50 years have passed since the boys of summer made their debut in 1962 with “Surfin’ Safari.” The last time I saw the band perform, they were merely an oldies band cashing another paycheck.
I first fell in love the with California band after purchasing “Endless Summer” in 1974. At the time, classics like “Surfer Girl,” “Catch a Wave,” “California Girls” and “All Summer Long,” turned this Pennsylvania youngster into a California wannabe, dreaming of daily indulgences of sun, sand and surf. Every week after buying that first album, I would take my allowance and ride my bike to the local Hills department store to purchase yet another Beach Boys album. I performed this ritual for three years until I had them all. Later as an adult, I would secure the rest of the band’s catalog.
To mark the band’s 50th anniversary, surviving members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and original guitarist David Marks reunited to deliver the band’s 29th studio album. “That’s Why God Make the Radio” is a beautifully sentimental collection of Brian Wilson-penned arrangements that harkens back to the band’s glory days. I must confess that I got a little teary-eyed listening to the beautiful chorus of “Shelter,” It transported me back to the days of “Don’t Worry Baby.”
After half a century, the group’s harmonies are lush and full of life with Wilson masterfully directing the production as only he can. From “Isn’t It Time” with the contagious energy of “It’s OK,” and from “15 Big Ones” to Al Jardine delivering a sweet nostalgic touch on “From There to Back Again” and on “Daybreak Over the Ocean” with Love supplying a tropical “Kokomo” vibe, the band has successfully recaptured memories of summers past. The final two reflective tracks are more traces of Wilson’s simplistic genius.
After 35 years, I have a little more “allowance” to spend on yet another album by the Beach Boys. I’m glad to say that it was money well spent.