Artist The Beach Boys | Release date 24 June 1974 | |
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Released June 24, 1974 (1974-06-24) Recorded April 1962 (1962-04)–June 1965 (1965-06) Length 46:50 (LP) / 51:09 (CD) Similar The Beach Boys albums, Rock music albums | ||
Surfin safari the beach boys 1962
Endless Summer is a compilation album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on June 24, 1974. A collection of hits from the band's 1962–65 period, Endless Summer was compiled by their old label Capitol Records while the Beach Boys were contracted with Reprise Records. Its unexpected success bore immediate consequences on the band's then-progressive musical direction.
Contents
Four months after release, the album reached #1, and reclaimed the band's commercial glory in the United States, spending 155 weeks on the Billboard album chart. It became the group's second chart-topping album in the US, being certified 3x platinum by the RIAA for shipping over three million copies in the US.
Background
In 1992, Mike Love noted, "They were going to do a Best Of The Beach Boys Volume Three in 19- , whatever the hell it was, and I came in there and went, "Wait a second, call it Endless Summer, instead of being Volume Three which sound nauseating to me. Endless Summer has a whole other vibe to it and sold several million copies just with the switch of the title. But then I'm a title guy anyway."
Artwork
Initial pressings of this album contained a poster depicting an airplane flying a Beach Boys banner. While the album is limited entirely to the band's sixties material, the cover artwork reflected the Beach Boys' seventies appearance. The artwork illustrator was Keith McConnell (who also did the artwork for their follow-ups, Spirit Of America and Sunshine Dream). With vegetation in the foreground, it also seems to evoke images of the band's late 1960s Smiley Smile album, although none of the songs on the original pressing are from Smiley Smile ("Good Vibrations" was added to the CD release of the album in 1987).
Releases
Although originally released as a double album (two LPs in a gatefold sleeve) in the USA, the album was released in the UK on a single LP with ten songs on each side.
The records were pressed with Sides 1 & 4 on one disc and Sides 2 & 3 on the other.
The cassette version differs slightly as to the sequence of tracks. Side 1 features all tracks from Sides 1 & 2 in the same order plus "I Get Around" from Side 3. Side 2 includes the remaining tracks from Sides 3 & 4 in the same order with the exception of "Girls on the Beach" and "Wendy" which were 'swapped'.
The song "Help Me, Ronda," the version from the album The Beach Boys Today!, which was the one included in this album, was retitled "Help Me, Rhonda," like the hit single version. It was featured as one of two Beach Boys tracks in a promotional-only various artists compilation album issued by Capitol records entitled The Greatest Music Ever Sold (Capitol SPRO-8511/8512), that was distributed to record stores during the 1976 Holiday season as part of Capitol's "Greatest Music Ever Sold" campaign, which promoted 15 "Best Of" albums released by the record label. The song was once again retitled "Help Me, Rhonda," for this compilation album. "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Spirit of America was the other Beach Boys song to be included.
Track listing
All songs written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, except where noted.
Songs
1Surfin' Safari2:06
2Surfer Girl2:15
3Catch a Wave2:15