''Endless Harmony Soundtrack'' is an anthology album of previously unheard material by
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
, originally released by
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
in August 1998. Named for
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
's song on the 1980 album ''
Keepin' the Summer Alive
''Keepin' the Summer Alive'' is the 24th studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released March 24, 1980 on Brother, Caribou and CBS Records. Produced by Bruce Johnston, the album peaked at number 75 in the US, during a chart stay of ...
'', it was designed as a tie-in with the band's
biographical documentary of the same name. The soundtrack was re-issued in March 2000 with some remixing and different artwork (European pressings retained the original mixes), while the original 1998 edition (with the orange/yellow cover) went out of print shortly thereafter.
Background
The ''Endless Harmony'' project was undertaken shortly after the death of founding member
Carl Wilson
Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...
, who died of lung cancer in February 1998. At this point,
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
decided that the band was officially finished and disassociated himself from any further group activity. At odds with
Mike Love
Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...
for continuing after Carl's passing,
Al Jardine
Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rho ...
did the same. Both Love and
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
(with their accompanying concert act) continued to perform live as The Beach Boys until all five surviving members reunited for their 50th anniversary in 2012.
The ''Endless Harmony Soundtrack'' itself is patterned like
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' ''
Anthology
In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.
In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
'' albums, with alternate versions and live renditions of songs, as well as previously unreleased ones. Spanning from a stereo remix of 1963's "
Surfer Girl
''Surfer Girl'' is the third album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released September 16, 1963 on Capitol Records. The album reached number 7 in the US during a chart stay of 56 weeks. This was the first album by the group for which B ...
" to the completion of the unreleased 1969 recording "Loop de Loop (Flip Flop Flyin' in an Aeroplane)", the album also includes a brief snippet of both Brian Wilson and
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...
routining three ''
Smile
A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile.
Among humans, a smile expresses ...
'' songs in 1966.
''Endless Harmony Soundtrack'' never charted in the U.S. or the UK. Although the album was not a commercial success, it did encourage
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
to issue a more comprehensive archival package in ''
Hawthorne, CA'', released in May 2001.
Track listing
All tracks written by
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
and
Mike Love
Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...
, unless otherwise noted.
#"
Soulful Old Man Sunshine
"Soulful Old Man Sunshine" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was recorded during the sessions for their 1970 album ''Sunflower''. It was written by Brian Wilson, Rick Henn (former leader of the Murry Wilson-spearheaded Sunr ...
" (Writing session excerpt) (Brian Wilson,
Rick Henn) – 0:42
#"Soulful Old Man Sunshine" (B. Wilson, Henn) – 3:25
#"Radio Concert Promo 1" – 0:15
#* ''The version on later pressings and the revised 2000 edition features a different promo from
Dennis Wilson
Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...
, which matches the one mentioned in the booklet.''
#"
Medley:
Surfin' Safari
''Surfin' Safari'' is the debut album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released October 1, 1962 on Capitol Records. The official production credit went to Nick Venet, though it was Brian Wilson with his father Murry who contributed ...
/
Fun, Fun, Fun
"Fun, Fun, Fun" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1964 album ''Shut Down Volume 2''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was released as a single in February, backed with " Why Do Fools Fall in Love". "Fun, Fun, ...
/
Shut Down/
Little Deuce Coupe
''Little Deuce Coupe'' is the fourth album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released October 7, 1963 on Capitol Records. It reached number 4 in the US during a chart stay of 46 weeks, and was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA ...
/
Surfin' U.S.A.
"Surfin' U.S.A." is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys, credited to Chuck Berry and Brian Wilson. It is a rewritten version of Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" set to new lyrics penned by Wilson and an uncredited Mike Love. The song w ...
" (Live) (B. Wilson, Mike Love,
Roger Christian,
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
) – 3:33
#* ''Recorded on 22 October 1966 in Michigan''
#"
Surfer Girl
''Surfer Girl'' is the third album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released September 16, 1963 on Capitol Records. The album reached number 7 in the US during a chart stay of 56 weeks. This was the first album by the group for which B ...
" (Binaural
mix) (B. Wilson) – 2:27
#* ''The version on the revised 2000 edition of the album is more of an
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
mix''
#"
Help Me, Rhonda
"Help Me, Rhonda" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, appearing first on their 1965 album ''The Beach Boys Today!'' (where it was spelled "Help Me, Ronda") and subsequently in re-recorded form on the following 1965 album ''Summer Day ...
" (Alternate
single version) – 2:50
#"
Kiss Me, Baby
"Kiss Me, Baby" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album ''The Beach Boys Today!''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, it was issued as the B-side of the group's " Help Me, Rhonda" single on April 5.
Overview
...
" (
Stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
) – 2:42
#* ''The version on the revised 2000 edition is a redone mix by Mark Linett, as opposed to Andrew Sandoval.''
#"
California Girls
"California Girls" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1965 album, ''Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)''. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the lyrics detail an appreciation for women across the world and a wish th ...
" (Stereo remix) – 2:44
#* ''The version on the 1998 edition, also redone by Mark Linett features slightly out-of-sync vocals. This specific "updated stereo mix" has since appeared on most Beach Boys compilations issued since 2001.''
#"
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record c ...
" (Live) – 3:40
#* ''Recorded in
rehearsal
A rehearsal is an activity in the performing arts that occurs as preparation for a performance in music, theatre, dance and related arts, such as opera, musical theatre and film production. It is undertaken as a form of practising, to ensure t ...
on 8 December 1968 in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
''
#"
Heroes and Villains
"Heroes and Villains" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1967 album ''Smiley Smile'' and their unfinished ''Smile'' project. Written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Wilson envisioned the song as an Old West-themed ...
" (
Demo
Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to:
Music and film
*Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release
* ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes
* ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...
) (B. Wilson,
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...
) – 2:27
#*''Recorded on 4 November 1966, this run through for Los Angeles DJ "Humble" Harve features, in addition to "Heroes and Villains", the fragments "I'm in Great Shape" and "Barnyard"''
#"Heroes and Villains" (Live) (B. Wilson, Parks) – 3:40
#* ''
Outtake
An outtake is a portion of a work (usually a film or music recording) that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DV ...
from the 1973 live album''
The Beach Boys in Concert
#"
God Only Knows
"God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album ''Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typica ...
" (Live) (B. Wilson,
Tony Asher
Anthony D. Asher (born May 2, 1939) is an English-American songwriter and advertising copywriter who is best known for his collaborations with Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) and Roger Nichols in the 1960s. Asher co-wrote eight songs on the B ...
) – 2:45
#* ''Actually a live-in-the-studio recording in September 1967''
#"Radio Concert Promo 2" – 0:15
#"
Darlin'" (Live) – 2:26
#* ''Recorded on 21 June 1980 at
Knebworth
Knebworth is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Hert ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
''
#"
Wonderful/Don't Worry Bill" (B. Wilson, Parks,
Ricky Fataar
Ricky Fataar (born 5 September 1952) is a South African-English multi-instrumentalist of Cape Malay descent, who has performed as both a drummer and a guitarist. He gained fame as an actor in ''The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash'', a spoof on t ...
,
Blondie Chaplin
Terrence William "Blondie" Chaplin (born 7 July 1951) is a South African singer and guitarist from Durban, where he played in the band the Flames in the mid to late 1960s. From 1972 to 1973, he was a member of the Beach Boys and contributed t ...
, Steve Fataar, Brother Fataar) – 5:52
#* ''A medley of ''Smiles "Wonderful" and a song released by
The Flame (also known as "The Flames") called "Don't Worry Bill" recorded on 23 November 1972 at
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
''
#"
Do It Again" (Early version) – 2:30
#"
Break Away" (Demo) (B. Wilson, Reggie Dunbar) – 2:38
#* ''"Reggie Dunbar" is a pseudonym for
Murry Wilson
Murry Gage Wilson (July 2, 1917 – June 4, 1973) was an American songwriter, talent manager, record producer, and music publisher, best known as the father of the Beach Boys' Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson. After the band's formation in 1 ...
''
#"
Sail Plane Song
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...
" (B. Wilson,
Carl Wilson
Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...
) – 2:12
#"
Loop de Loop (Flip Flop Flyin' in an Aeroplane)
"Loop de Loop (Flip Flop Flyin' in an Aeroplane)" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was written by Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, and Carl Wilson. It was originally recorded between the late 1960s and 1970s. In 1998, Jardine finish ...
" (B. Wilson, C. Wilson,
Al Jardine
Alan Charles Jardine (born September 3, 1942) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best known as the band's rhythm guitarist and for occasionally singing lead vocals on singles such as "Help Me, Rho ...
) – 2:56
#* ''Recording begun in March 1969, finished by Al Jardine in July 1998''
#"Barbara" (
Dennis Wilson
Dennis Carl Wilson (December 4, 1944 – December 28, 1983) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He is best remembered as their drummer and as the middle brother of bandmates Brian and Carl Wilson. ...
) – 2:58
#"
'Til I Die
"Til I Die" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1971 album '' Surf's Up'', subsequently issued as the B-side of the single " Long Promised Road". With autobiographical lyrics about death and hopelessness, it is one of the fe ...
" (Alternate mix) (B. Wilson) – 4:52
#"
Long Promised Road" (Live) (C. Wilson,
Jack Rieley
John Frank Rieley III (November 24, 1942 – April 17, 2015) was an American record producer, songwriter, and disc jockey who managed the Beach Boys between mid-1970 and late 1973. He is credited with guiding them back to popular acclaim and was ...
) – 4:17
#* ''Recorded on 23 November 1972 at Carnegie Hall in New York City''
#"
All Alone" (
Carli Muñoz
Carli Muñoz, better known as Carli Munoz (full name: Carlos C. Muñoz; born October 16, 1948), is a self-taught Puerto Rican jazz and rock pianist, best known for touring with the Beach Boys in the 1970s.
Biography
Although born and raised in Sa ...
) – 3:36
#"
Brian's Back" (Love) – 4:07
#* Written in response to Brian Wilson's 1976 return to the public eye''
#"
Endless Harmony" (
Bruce Johnston
Bruce Arthur Johnston (born Benjamin Baldwin; June 27, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who is a member of the Beach Boys. Johnston also collaborated on many records with Terry Melcher (his bandmate in Bru ...
) – 3:10
#* ''The version on the revised 2000 edition features a hidden a cappella sample of "Kiss Me, Baby" after the song ends, extending the length to 3:29''
Sources
*''Endless Harmony Soundtrack'' CD booklet notes, Brad Elliott, c. 2000.
*
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
References
{{Authority control
1998 compilation albums
The Beach Boys compilation albums
Capitol Records compilation albums
Compilation albums published posthumously