''The Best Day Ever'' is the fourth soundtrack by the voice cast members of ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

''. Written by

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in '' ...

and musician and producer Andy Paley, it features musical cameos 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 Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop music, pop composition, ex ...

, Tommy Ramone, Flaco Jiménez, and others. ''The Best Day Ever'' album was released on September 12, 2006 to positive reviews from critics.

Production

The album ''The Best Day Ever'' was written by

SpongeBob ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character ...

's voice actor, Tom Kenny, and producer Andy Paley. Featuring 27 tracks, it was influenced by the 1960s pop music. The record's numerous skits refer to a freeform

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

called WH₂O. Kenny's inspiration for the song "My Tighty Whiteys" was "underwear humor". Kenny said "Underwear humor is always a surefire laugh-getter with kids ..Just seeing a character that odd wearing really prosaic, normal, Kmart, three-to-a-pack underwear is a funny drawing ..We thought it was funny to make a really lush, beautiful love song to his underwear." In addition to the cast,

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

NRBQ NRBQ is an American rock band founded by Terry Adams (piano), Steve Ferguson (guitar) and Joey Spampinato (bass). Originally the "New Rhythm and Blues Quintet", the group was formed around 1965. Adams disbanded it for a time, and the group re ...

's Al Anderson, Joey Spampinato, Tom Ardolino, and Terry Adams, and Tommy Ramone of the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

were musical guest artists. Kenny said, on the musical cameos, that "We thought they would spread some magic dust on it. And although this is just a weird little cartoon record, I didn't want to have today's equivalent of

Kajagoogoo Kajagoogoo were a British new wave band, best known for their 1983 hit single "Too Shy", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, and the Top 10 in numerous other countries. History Beginnings (1978–1982) Formed in Leighton Buzzar ...

or Men Without Hats on it." He opined that "the people we got" are "kind of timeless." Other musicians who contributed to the album were Dave Allen, Don Allen, Mandy Barnett,

Jerry Blavat Gerald Joseph "Jerry" Blavat (born July 3, 1940), also known as "The Geator with the Heater" and "The Big Boss with the Hot Sauce," is an American disc jockey and performer who has been a major influence in promoting oldies music on the radio. A P ...

, Mike Bolger,

Corky Hale Corky Hale (born July 3, 1936) is an American jazz harpist, pianist, flutist, and vocalist. She has been a theater producer, political activist, restaurateur, and the owner of the Corky Hale women's clothing store in Los Angeles, California. Ear ...

, Lisa Hammon, Flaco Jiménez, James King, Tommy Morgan, Jillinda Palmer,

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944 in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including country, bluegrass, p ...

Nino Tempo Nino Tempo (born Antonino LoTempio; January 6, 1935) is an American musician, singer, and actor. He was a duet partner with his older sister April Stevens as well as the frontman for a 1970s funk band, 5th Ave. Sax. Career Antonino LoTempio w ...

, Mike Uhler, and Jeremy Wakefield. Brian Wilson provided

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

for the song "Doin' the Krabby Patty". Originally, Kenny and Paley were working on a "Brian Wilson-esque" song with "Brian Wilson-esque" background vocals on it. Kenny said "and at the last minute, we had this opportunity to reach out to him and ask if he'd do it ..But Brian's people said he was going on to Hawaii the next day with his wife and kids, and then going on the road." Eventually, Kenny got a call from Wilson saying that "I loved the idea."

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

's guitarist

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

performed the guitar in the song "You Will Obey". Kenny said "One of our hidden Easter eggs that hopefully more than three people in the world will get is during the guitar solo when Plankton says 'Take it, James', which was what Elvis said in every one of those concert movies."

Reception

The album received mostly positive reviews.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

gave the album a score of 4 out of 5. In his review for the IGN, Spence D. gave the album a 7/10 score rating it as "good". He said, "parents who grew up in the late '50s and '60s will get a kick out of the musical tributes to the music of those eras and perhaps listen along with their kids during a family fun time extravaganza."

Geoffrey Himes Geoffrey Himes is an American music critic who has written weekly for ''the Washington Post'' since 1977. He also wrote for '' No Depression'' as a contributing editor in its first print era in the late 1990s to the early 2000s and has written for ...

of the ''

Baltimore City Paper ''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the paper in 2014 from Ti ...

'' said "How do little kids respond to this record? I wouldn't know; there aren't any little kids in my house. You don't have to be a parent to enjoy the killer hooks and lush harmonies on this disc. All you need is the courage to ignore the raised eyebrows of your friends." Kerwin So of

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

gave the album a score of 4/5. However, So claimed that the album is full of consumerism and said "Parents need to know that although the physical packaging of this CD contains a lot of advertisements for other SpongeBob products, the songs themselves contain very positive content and steer clear of commercialism." Chris Willman of the ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' opined that the album is " not quite a teenage symphony to God." He called the song "My Tighty Whiteys" "the most obvious nod to the '' Pet Sounds'' sound." According to him, " hetwo of the best songs are garage-rock anthems" which includes "Under My Rock" and "You Will Obey". Willman said that Plankton's performance in the latter "sounds like a little like

Eric Burdon Eric Victor Burdon (born 11 May 1941) is an English singer. He was previously the lead vocalist of R&B and rock band the Animals and funk band War. He is regarded as one of the British Invasion's most distinctive singers with his deep, pow ...

, from

the Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

, turned fascist." He gave it an "A−" rating and recommended it for ages "4 to... 94!" In a 2014 review, '' The A.V. Club'' ranked ''The Best Day Ever'' album 3 in their list of "13 novelty albums recorded by TV characters". The publication called it "a charming throwback" when "TV character novelty albums have faded away in recent years."

Track listing

Chart positions

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best Day Ever, The 2006 soundtrack albums SpongeBob SquarePants albums Television animation soundtracks Albums produced by Andy Paley