All Summer Long (album)


All Summer Long is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Beach Boys, released on July 13, 1964. It rose to number 4 in the US during a 49-week chart stay, and was certified gold by the RIAA. Lead single "I Get Around" was issued in May and became the band's first number one hit in the U.S. The album also had a UK Top 10 debut with a number peak.

Background

It was the first LP the group recorded since the British Invasion, and the last where their music reveled in California beach culture until the 1968 single "Do It Again". Only one song explicitly references surfing: "Don't Back Down"; there are no hot rod songs at all for the first time, since "Little Honda" is about a motorcycle.
"Drive-In" was recorded shortly after the release of Little Deuce Coupe in October 1963. Beginning in February 1964, Bandleader Brian Wilson engaged in a rigorous period of songwriting, emerging some weeks afterwards with songs including "I Get Around", "All Summer Long", "Wendy" and "Girls on the Beach".
That April, during the recording sessions of "I Get Around" and "Little Honda", Brian relieved his father Murry Wilson of his managerial duties after three years. An attempt at reconciliation on Murry's part, much of it captured on the tapes for the 1965 recording sessions of "Help Me, Rhonda", cemented the break. In an interview with Hit Parader, Brian later recalled, "We love the family thing – y'know: three brothers, a cousin and a friend is a really beautiful way to have a group – but the extra generation can become a hang-up."

Artwork

Photography was credited to both Kenneth Veeder and George Jerman but it remains unclear as to who took the color pictures in the montage on the front of the sleeve, or the black and white studio shots on the reverse. The location for the shoot was once again Paradise Cove, north of Malibu, the same location used for the Surfin' Safari sleeve. However, whilst it appears that all five band members were present for the session only Love and the Wilson brothers were photographed on the sand ; Jardine was unable to participate in the session due to illness, and his images were added later.
On first pressings of the LP, the song "Don't Back Down" is misprinted as "Don't Break Down" on the front cover. This version of the LP sleeve also has the song titles printed in the same mustard-colored ink as the album title. Subsequent printings with the typo corrected have the song titles printed in black.

Reception

The album has received very positive reviews from critics. Biographer Jon Stebbins commented that "The Beach Boys were still a garage band playing most of the instruments, but the production and vocal arrangements were getting more sophisticated... The album represents Brian on the cusp of greatness, with all of the potential for greater things still ahead of him."

''The Girls on the Beach''

The Beach Boys were later featured in the 1965 film The Girls on the Beach, performing "Girls on the Beach", "Lonely Sea", and "Little Honda". Their appearance was filmed in April 1964, a month before All Summer Long was completed.

Track listing

Partial credits courtesy of session archivist Craig Slowinski. They are amalgamated from all tracks except "We'll Run Away", "Do You Remember?", "Drive-In", and "Our Favorite Recording Sessions'.
The Beach Boys
Session musicians and technical staff
Weekly charts
YearChartPosition
1964US Billboard 200 Albums Chart4

Singles
YearSingleChartPosition
1964"I Get Around"US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart1
1964"Little Honda"US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart65
1964"Wendy"US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart44