Beach Boys singer Mike Love’s penchant for surf, sun and summer romance is rife on his fourth solo album, a collage of covers, originals, and remakes of Beach Boys classics preaching the Californian dream that the 78-year-old still holds dear.
Nostalgia runs rampant on these 12 tracks, which include covers of Here Comes The Sun and Rockaway Beach. A soft jazz rendition of Girl from Ipanema is Love’s best attempt at an untouchable Sixties classic (he makes quite a few).
Remakes of Surfin’, Surfin’ Safari and It’s OK (featuring Hanson) boast layered vocal harmonies and bright keys but lack the knee-tapping chutzpah of the collective Beach Boys.
California Beach, a rare original song, opens with a quintessential Love lyric: “Where surfers are surfing and dancers are dancing/ You’re sure to find a honey that you’ll love romancing”. Ick.
