With all the “I’m in”/”I’m out” talk over the last year or so, I’m not sure anybody thought they would see the day when a new Beach Boys song, featuring the surviving members, would be released.
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys. photo by Ros O'Gorman
Today, the title track from the upcoming album That’s Why God Made the Radio became available as a digital download. Featuring Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and David Marks, the tracks has a very classic Beach Boys sound lending hope that this could be a landmark album for the group.
That’s Why God Made The Radio will be the band’s 29th studio album (including 2011’s The SMiLE Sessions), the first in decades to feature all of the band’s surviving original members. Produced by Brian Wilson and executive produced by Mike Love, the album’s 11 new songs illustrate The Beach Boys’ unique and evocative West Coast story with the band’s timeless signature sound.
“Radio was my whole education,” says Brian Wilson. “Chuck Berry, Rosemary Clooney, The Four Freshmen, Phil Spector, Little Richard … To hear ‘That’s Why God Made The Radio’ on the radio would be a thrill beyond belief, it really would. It would be a thrill beyond belief.”
“I got a lot of my appreciation for all of the creativity in the world, in terms of music, through the radio,” says Mike Love. “For all of us who grew up in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and beyond, the radio has played such a huge, important part in our lives. When we were kids, we’d sneak out of the house and go and sit in Brian’s car and listen to the local radio stations on his car radio.”
“We’ve come full circle,” says Al Jardine. “Sharing our memories and our present in the studio has been really remarkable. I can especially feel it when we’re all singing around the mic together, because we all hear each other and we really lock in.”
“We have reunited as a band, but we never ‘un-reunited’ as friends,” says Bruce Johnston. “To be back in the studio with these guys is like a prayer that’s been answered and I am thrilled to be sharing it with everybody.”
“This is more like a family reunion than anything,” says David Marks. “When we’re together, we get along great. The chemistry always works the same as the last time we were together, and the five of us become a single element.”
The track list for the album (although sequencing has not been announced):
That’s Why God Made the Radio
Think About The Days
Isn’t It Time
Spring Vacation
Private Life Of Bill And Sue
Shelter
Daybreak Over The Ocean
Beaches In Mind
Strange World
My Life Suite
Summer’s Gone
Look for the Beach Boys on QVC on Wednesday, May 16 from 7 to 8 PM ET where they will unveil the full album and take questions. The QVC special edition will also include a bonus disk.
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