The first
Beach Boys album of the
1980s,
Keepin' The Summer Alive was a fair harbinger of what would follow - insipid attempts to go back to a 20-year-old formula, attempts to be 'contemporary' that were doomed to failure, and no
Dennis Wilson.
This is the last album to feature all 6 'classic'
Beach Boys members, and it only does that via its inclusion of the nearly ten year old
When Girls Get Together. Otherwise,
Dennis Wilson was totally absent, rightly feeling that the quality of the material left a lot to be desired.
Carl Wilson turns in his first truly bad songs (co written with
Randy Bachman),
Brian Wilson, other than on
Santa Ana Winds, clearly can't be bothered, there's a handful of duff covers, and
Bruce Johnston's self-regarding
Endless Harmony ('They're all cousins, friends and brothers, and they make their mamas cry... God bless America...') is the most sickly saccharine song he has ever inflicted (and this is the man who wrote
I Write The Songs!)
Amazingly, it was downhill from here...
Track listing:
- Keepin' The Summer Alive
- Oh Darlin'
- Some Of Your Love
- Livin' With A Heartache
- School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes The Bell)
- Goin' On
- Sunshine
- When Girls Get Together
- Santa Ana Winds
- Endless Harmony
The album is currently available on a
Capitol records twofer with
The Beach Boys '85
Band line-up for the album -
Brian Wilson,
Carl Wilson,
Dennis Wilson (allegedly),
Al Jardine,
Mike Love,
Bruce Johnston
Produced by
Bruce Johnston
Previous album -
LA (Light Album)
Next album -
The Beach Boys '85