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 6 weeks,[1] and number 54 in the UK. It is the group's last album recorded with Dennis Wilson, who drowned in 1983.

Keepin' the Summer Alive
Studio album by
The Beach Boys
ReleasedMarch 24, 1980 (1980-03-24)
Recorded1969 – February 14, 1980
Studio
Genre
Length33:10
LabelBrother/Caribou/CBS
ProducerBruce Johnston
The Beach Boys chronology
L.A. (Light Album)
(1979)		 Keepin' the Summer Alive
(1980)		 Ten Years of Harmony
(1981)
Singles from Keepin' the Summer Alive
  1. "Goin' On" / "Endless Harmony"
    Released: March 11, 1980
  2. "Livin' with a Heartache" / "Santa Ana Winds"
    Released: May 20, 1980

The album included new material alongside several older songs that had not been released up until that point. Two of the new songs were written by Carl Wilson and Randy Bachman, the title track and "Livin' with a Heartache". The latter was released as a single alongside "Goin' On", written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love. Brian wrote or co-wrote five of the other seven tracks.

Background and recording

After the band's previous album, L.A. (Light Album) (1979), failed to live up to commercial expectations, the executives at CBS expected another album as soon as possible.[2] 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 Wilson — to begin work on a new studio album. The album was also recorded at various other studios, including regular backing band member Daryl Dragon's Rumbo Recorders in San Fernando, and Al Jardine's recording studio in his Big Sur barn. Working titles included Cousins, Friends and Brothers and Can't Wait Till Summer.[1]

The group wanted Brian to return as their producer and felt that he would be more comfortable recording at the familiar studio environment of Western. They were briefly successful, as Carl Wilson said, "Brian got hot for about three days in the studio. He was singing like a bird. All the protection he usually runs just dropped; he came out of himself, he was right there in the room."[2] Dennis Wilson, at odds with the rest of the group, abandoned the initial recording sessions, taking no further part in the album. The sessions were also stalled by Brian'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.[1]

In late August, Carl collaborated with Randy Bachman on the writing of four songs, two of which were included on the record, "Keepin' the Summer Alive" and "Livin' with a Heartache". Bachman declined an invitation to co-produce the album because he was struggling with personal issues.[1] He later released his own version of "Keepin' the Summer Alive" with his short-lived band Union on their eponymous 1980 album.

In October 1979, the band reconvened with Bruce Johnston taking complete control of the album's production. The resulting album included a mixture of brand new songs alongside older songs that had not been released up until that point.[1] 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"). Sessions wrapped on February 14, 1980.[1] The outtake "Goin' to the Beach" was later released on the 2013 compilation Made in California.[3]

In 2013, Johnston expressed dissatisfaction with the production of the title track, which he perceived as being weaker-sounding due to Carl's intervention.[3]

Critical reception
Retrospective professional reviews
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Blender[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
MusicHound2/5[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Rob Theakston referred to Keepin' the Summer Alive as "the low point" in the band's discography: "Ripe with mindless throwaways and lifeless filler ... The two exceptions to the rule reside in the title track and the closing 'Endless Harmony.'"[4] In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), the album is cited as an "abysmal" entry in "a string of inconsequential records" that had not abated since 1978's M.I.U. Album.[8]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Keepin' the Summer Alive"Carl Wilson, Randy BachmanCarl Wilson3:43
2."Oh Darlin'"Brian Wilson, Mike LoveC. Wilson and Mike Love3:52
3."Some of Your Love"B. Wilson, LoveLove and C. Wilson2:36
4."Livin' with a Heartache"C. Wilson, BachmanC. Wilson4:06
5."School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)"Chuck BerryAl Jardine2:52
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Goin' On"B. Wilson, LoveLove, C. Wilson and Brian Wilson3:00
2."Sunshine"B. Wilson, LoveLove, B. Wilson and C. Wilson2:52
3."When Girls Get Together"B. Wilson, LoveLove and B. Wilson3:31
4."Santa Ana Winds"B. Wilson, Al JardineJardine, Love and C. Wilson3:14
5."Endless Harmony"Bruce JohnstonBruce Johnston and C. Wilson3:10
Total length:33:10

Personnel

Adapted from 2000 liner notes.[1]

The Beach Boys

Additional musicians

Arrangements

Technical personnel

  • Bruce Johnston – producer
  • Steve Desper – chief engineer, mixing
  • Chuck Leary – engineer
  • Chuck Britz – engineer
  • Rodney Pearson – engineer
  • Brian Behrns – second engineer
Artwork
  • John Alvin – illustration
  • Tony Lane – art direction
  • Gary Nichamin – photography

Charts
Chart (1980) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 Albums[1] 75
UK Top 40 Album Chart[9] 54

References
  1. Bachman, Randy; Doe, Andrew (2000). Keepin’ the Summer Alive/The Beach Boys (booklet). The Beach Boys. California: Capitol Records. p. 2.
  2. Gaines, Steven (1986). Heroes and Villains: The True Story of The Beach Boys. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 337. ISBN 0306806479.
  3. Sharp, Ken (September 2013). "Bruce Johnston On the Beach Boys' Enduring Legacy (Interview)". Archived from the original on September 30, 2013.
  4. Keepin' the Summer Alive at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-17.
  5. Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys Keepin the Summer Alive/The Beach Boys". Blender. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  6. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  7. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 84. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  8. Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 46. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. "keeping the summer alive | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.

Further reading
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