This two-on-one CD reissue offers a pair of "firsts" -- the group's first concept album (in the
Sinatra sense of the term, referring to an LP built on a specific theme or subject) and their first long-player to overlap with the
British Invasion. The interesting thing about the group's albums up to
All Summer Long, including
Little Deuce Coupe, was that they were among the better albums of their period; perhaps not quiet as strong as the best of
Elvis Presley's non-
soundtrack releases, but competitive with them and equal or superior to the work of
the Four Seasons,
Chuck Berry, or
Bo Diddley from that time.
Little Deuce Coupe's baker's dozen of car songs shows considerable inspiration on
Brian Wilson's part -- cars, like girls, were something he knew and liked, where surfing was personally alien to him as a pastime. The sound, ranging from
Four Freshmen-inspired harmony showcases (
"A Young Man Is Gone") to romantic
doo wop (
"Car Crazy Cutie") and rocking anthems to fast cars (
"Spirit of America"), speed (
"I Get Around"), and school spirit (
"Be True to Your School").
All Summer Long is a more sophisticated album that comes from more than a year later, resplendent in ethereal harmonies, unusual tempo and key changes, and a richer set of songs overall, including a ravishing cover of
"Hushabye" and one of the great musical representations of summer ever heard, in
"All Summer Long." This was to be the last album that the group would make as a largely self-contained unit, with the five members -- as opposed to a brace of session musicians -- at the core of the sound, and it has a simple, urgent immediacy that their subsequent LPs, though more finely crafted, sacrificed to some extent. The bonus cuts include the superior single version of
"Be True to Your School," alternate takes of
"Little Honda" and
"Don't Back Down," and one previously unissued cut, the surprisingly lusty
"All Dressed Up for School," which failed to make it onto
All Summer Long. This pairing of albums was first issued on CD in 1991 and upgraded in early 2001 -- the latter is superior to any prior CD of either album or the material contained within. ~ Bruce Eder
![Morrison Hotel [50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0603497847600_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Morrison Hotel [50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition]")
![Ultimate Hits [Deluxe Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602557618440_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Ultimate Hits [Deluxe Edition]")
![Wembley or Bust [Live at Wembley Stadium]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0889854922023_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Wembley or Bust [Live at Wembley Stadium]")
