Beginning their career as the most popular surf band in the nation, the Beach Boys finally emerged by 1966 as America's preeminent pop group, the only act able to challenge (for a brief time) the overarching success of the Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community. From their 1961 debut with the regional hit "Surfin'," the three Wilson brothers – Brian, Dennis, and Carl – plus cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine constructed the most intricate, gorgeous harmonies ever heard from a pop band. With Brian's studio proficiency growing by leaps and bounds during the mid-'60s, the Beach Boys also proved one of the best-produced groups of the '60s, exemplified by their 1966 peak with the Pet Sounds LP and the number one single "Good Vibrations." Though Brian's escalating drug use and obsessive desire to trump the Beatles (by recording the perfect LP statement) eventually led to a nervous breakdown after he heard Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group soldiered on long into the '70s and '80s, with Brian only an inconsistent participant.

The fourth studio album from the Ventures, 1961's Colorful Ventures was the first in a long line of releases the band built around album title themes. Here the theme is colors, and so listeners get such songs as "Blue Moon," "Yellow Jacket," "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White," and so on. Conceptual themes aside, the album featured more of the group's recognizable instrumental rock & roll, surf rock, and country twang.

15 sizzlin’ surf guitar cuts recorded at the crest of the genre! Brothers Richard and Thomas Frost, more known for their work as Powder, shred through these surf-rockin’ standards – all tucked away until now!

Mastered by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, most from the original master tapes or best sources available. The best pre-1965 Beach Boys album featured their brilliant number one single "I Get Around," as well as other standout cuts in the beautifully sad "Wendy," "Little Honda" (one of their best hot rod tunes, covered by the Hondells for a hit), and their remake of the late-'50s doo wop classic "Hushabye." The nostalgic "All Summer Long," another great production, seemed (whether intentionally or not) like a sort of farewell to the frivolous California beach culture that had supplied the lyrical grist for most of their music up to this point, with a longing, regretful chorus that was totally at odds with the bouncy arrangement.

The Beach Boys' third and fifth albums make a good pairing on one CD, different as they are in content and origins. Surfer Girl was the album on which the group's and Brian Wilson's sound blossomed, and it did so on several levels. The title track was the first song that Brian ever wrote, and it's lucky that he saved it for this stage in their history, for it features surprising elegant and lush harmonies. The usual assumption is that, because of Wilson's hearing loss in one ear, the group's records work best in mono, but on this, their second album in stereo, the mixing makes inventive use of the two-channel separation, even on "Surfer Girl" (which, as a single in those days, would have been conceived in mono from the get-go).

32 Tracks. The Ventures, The Shadows, John Barry Seven, The Fentones, The Dakotas, Sandy Nelson, The Cannons, The Cougars, Norrie Paramor, The Packabeats, The Piltdown Men, B. Bumble & The Stingers, The Nu-Notes, Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra, The Federals and many more.

The Beach Boys Beginning their career as the most popular surf band in the nation, the Beach Boys finally emerged by 1966 as America's preeminent pop group, the only act able to challenge (for a brief time) the overarching success of the Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community. From their 1961 debut with the regional hit "Surfin'," the three Wilson brothers – Brian, Dennis, and Carl – plus cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine constructed the most intricate, gorgeous harmonies ever heard from a pop band.

In the five years that have elapsed since the release of Alvvays’ second album, Antisocialites, and their long-awaited third, Blue Rev, the Toronto-via-PEI band had to deal with every possible roadblock a band could face: lineup changes, demo thefts, gear-destroying basement floods—and that was before the pandemic.

Not the first but definitely the most popular rock instrumental combo, the Ventures scored several hit singles during the 1960s – most notably "Walk-Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O" – but made their name in the growing album market, covering hits of the day and organizing thematically linked LPs. Almost 40 Ventures' albums charted, and 17 hit the Top 40. And though the group's popularity in America virtually disappeared by the 1970s, their enormous contribution to pop culture was far from over; the Ventures soon became one of the most popular world-wide groups, with dozens of albums recorded especially for the Japanese and European markets.

The Beach Boys Beginning their career as the most popular surf band in the nation, the Beach Boys finally emerged by 1966 as America's preeminent pop group, the only act able to challenge (for a brief time) the overarching success of the Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community. From their 1961 debut with the regional hit "Surfin'," the three Wilson brothers – Brian, Dennis, and Carl – plus cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine constructed the most intricate, gorgeous harmonies ever heard from a pop band. With Brian's studio proficiency growing by leaps and bounds during the mid-'60s, the Beach Boys also proved one of the best-produced groups of the '60s, exemplified by their 1966 peak with the Pet Sounds LP and the number one single "Good Vibrations." Though Brian's escalating drug use and obsessive desire to trump the Beatles (by recording the perfect LP statement) eventually led to a nervous breakdown after he heard Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group soldiered on long into the '70s and '80s, with Brian only an inconsistent participant.

The Warmth of the Sun is designed to serve as a companion piece to 2003's Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys, and as such, it is perfect. While that earlier volume contained most of the Beach Boys' biggest hits, the cornerstones of the catalog such as "I Get Around," "Surfer Girl," "California Girls," and "Fun, Fun, Fun," the follow-up is, in its own way, just as strong and just as enjoyable. In fact, while listening to it, a fan might wonder why the compilers in 2003 didn't just make Sounds of Summer a double album, include all of this material as well, and be done with it. Certainly, songs like "Catch a Wave," "409," "Surf's Up," "Wendy," and, of course, the title track are every bit as essential to a basic Beach Boys collection as any given track on the previous set. But The Warmth of the Sun not only stands tall by itself, some hardcore fans might prefer it, as some of the tunes on the first collection are so overexposed that there is little desire to ever hear them again. Gems included in this sequel, such as "You're So Good to Me," "Let Him Run Wild," "'Til I Die," "The Little Girl I Once Knew," and "Disney Girls (1957)" don't exactly have the high profile of "Help Me, Rhonda" or "Barbara Ann," but that's why it's so refreshing to listen to this set list: some of these great songs have been so neglected ("Friends," "Please Let Me Wonder," and "Kiss Me, Baby," for example) that they sound almost like lost hits in this context. Even the lack of material from Pet Sounds is a relief – while that album is indeed one of the greatest ever recorded by anyone, and while "Caroline, No" should have been included on one volume or the other (it's not), anyone who needs to experience the Pet Sounds material should just buy that album anyway. There are by now literally dozens of Beach Boys comps available in as many configurations, but The Warmth of the Sun is one of the most enjoyable pure listening experiences among them.

Beach Boys' Christmas Album features the Beach Boys performing a variety of holiday favorites. Most of the featured songs are well-known, some of the more popular being "Frosty the Snowman," "White Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," among others. Furthermore, there are four songs composed by the Beach Boys — "Little Saint Nick," "Man With All the Toys," "Santa's Beard," and "Merry Christmas, Baby" — which begin the album. This mix of favorites and originals makes this a balanced holiday album that should please both Beach Boys admirers and those unfamiliar with the group. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Martin writes: My first memory of "The Fab Four" was in early 1964. I was 5 years old.
The Beatles were performing at the London Palladium. No, I wasn’t there. But thanks to the little black and white television set in our front room, I had my introduction to Beatlemania. Our family was living in Rochford, Essex, near Southend-On-Sea and the mouth of the River Thames. A mere 40 miles east of London and all this excitement. I can remember saying to my dad, “Why all the screaming? It’s hard to hear the music.” My dad smiled. The song I remember from that performance is “All My Loving” which would have been fairly new back then. They were so exciting and played with such enthusiasm. It’s a memory that has stayed with me all these years. Here Comes The Sun is my take on some of their songs – with the guitar doing the singing. Oh, and by the way, I also wrote a song called “Abbey Road” to close out this album. My tribute. I hope that I’ve done them justice. The CD comes with bonus tracks compared to the download.

The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band, formed in 1958 in Tacoma, Washington, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar in the United States and across the world during the 1960s. Their first wide-release single, "Walk, Don't Run", brought international fame to the group, and is often cited as one of the top songs ever recorded for guitar. In the 1960s and early 1970s, 38 of the band's albums charted in the US, ranking them as the 6th best album chart performer during the 1960s, and the band had 14 singles in the Billboard Hot 100. With over 100 million records sold, the Ventures are the best-selling instrumental band of all time.

This 6CD collection includes every studio title recorded by the group from their very first efforts in early 1959, right up to the very end of 1966. It features 31 tracks in mono not previously available on CD & 3 tracks which are released in stereo for the very first time.