Length 33:10 | Label Brother/Caribou/CBS | |
Released March 24, 1980 (1980-03-24) Recorded November 1979–February 1980 Studio Criteria Studios, FL
Bachman Studio, WA
Brian Wilson's home studio, CA
United Western Recorders, CA Genre Rock and roll, pop rock, country rock | ||
Keepin' the Summer Alive is the 24th studio album by American rock band The Beach Boys, released on March 24, 1980 on Brother, Caribou and CBS Records. Produced by band member Bruce Johnston, following aborted attempts to have founding member Brian Wilson return to his former role, the album is the last with founding drummer Dennis Wilson, who would drown in December 1983. The album also features the Eagles' guitarist Joe Walsh on the opening track "Keepin' the Summer Alive".
Contents
The album peaked at #75 in the U.S. and #54 in the UK.
Background and recording
After the band's previous album, L.A. (Light Album) (1979), failed to live up to commercial and critical expectations, the executives at CBS expected Brian Wilson's full involvement, and thus, there was an attempt to lure him back into his former role of producer.
Wilson and vocalist Mike Love quickly composed new material, and in July 1979, The Beach Boys convened at Western Studio in Los Angeles — the studio where most of the band's 1960s material had been produced by Brian — to begin work on a new studio album. Dennis Wilson, at odds with the rest of the group, abandoned the initial recording sessions, taking no further part in the album. These recording sessions were also stalled by Brian Wilson's desire to record only cover songs of rock n' roll tracks; one of these, Chuck Berry's "School Days", appears on the album's final track listing.
The band subsequently halted the sessions, and regrouped with Bruce Johnston taking complete control of the album's production, and placing the songs within a contemporary-sounding context. The album was recorded at regular backing band member Daryl Dragon's Rumbo Recorders in San Fernando, and Al Jardine's recording studio in his Big Sur barn. The resulting album included a mixture of brand new songs alongside older songs that had not been released up until that point. Of the new songs, "Keepin' the Summer Alive" and "Livin' with a Heartache" were written by Carl Wilson and Randy Bachman (of The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive). Bachman recorded "Keepin' the Summer Alive" with his short-lived band Union on their eponymous album released a year later. The rest of the new songs, "Oh Darlin'", "Some of Your Love", "Goin' On" and "Sunshine" were written by Mike Love and Brian Wilson.
The older songs date back to 1969 ("When Girls Get Together"), 1972 ("Endless Harmony", the only track on the album where Dennis can be heard) and 1978 ("Santa Ana Winds").
Release
Keepin' the Summer Alive (Brother/Caribou/CBS JZ 36283) reached #75 in the U.S. during a chart stay of 6 weeks. It reached #54 in the UK.
Keepin' the Summer Alive is now paired on CD with The Beach Boys.