Classic Beach Boys songs are the perfect soundtrack for a fun summer day; for young, beautiful people to check out other young beautiful people; for drinking on the beach until sundown and then in a bar until sunrise.
‘Radio’ is the perfect soundtrack for a nice, relaxing evening on the beach after a lifetime of hard work.
It’s retirement rock.
“Summer’s gone/I’m gonna sit and watch the waves/We laugh, we cry/We live then die/And dream about our yesterday” reflects the closing track, “Summer’s Gone.”
Though the So Cal language and feel is still there in the lyrics and beach-bum drum beats, the high energy that fueled such hits as “I Get Around” and “Good Vibrations” is sadly, yet mercifully, absent.
The last few songs on the album demonstrate a fitting evolution for the band. Talk of drinking all night and cruisin’ for girls is suddenly replaced with thoughtful reflections on the glory days. “Remember those nights we spent/Little did we know how the time will fly,” they croon on ‘Isn’t it Time,’ the third and easily the catchiest track on the album.
There are a few attempts to replicate the carefree surfing songs, but it’s hard to imagine men in their 60s and 70s “cruisin’ around, diggin’ the scene” like they insist in the title track. And the attempt to connect with pop culture by commenting on reality TV in “The Private Life of Bill and Sue” comes off as bizarre and decidedly out of touch.
The smooth vocal harmonies and doo-wop sounds that define the band are plentiful, inspiring a certain nostalgia that made me spend hours listening to their greatest hits playlist on YouTube.
The slower tempo of “Radio” was fitting, but still disappointing. When this generation thinks of the Beach Boys — if they do at all — they want to hear “California Girls,” not “In My Room.”
Still, listening to those instantly recognizable voices made me want to pull my mom’s old albums off the shelf and dust them off.
Maybe this is how they hope to about “spreading the love and sunshine to a whole new generation,” a laudable goal they put forth in the title track.
“Radio” could never hope to do that. There were only a handful of comments about the release on Twitter.
“Just listened to the new #BeachBoys w/Brian Wilson,” Paul Kinsman tweeted. “It ain’t Pet Sounds.”
Most of the people using the Beach Boys’ hashtag weren’t even aware the band had released a new album. They were all from people heading to, or at the beach, just hoping for some good-time music.
“To be honest I haven’t heard much about it,” tweeted Amy Elliott, adding, “but I’ll gladly check it out.”
