The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've have a copy of Capitol lp R-233593 titled American Summer, a double album released around 1975.
I've rarely seen this album in my collecting career and it is nearly always left out of event he best discographies.

It would seem to be part of a trilogy of releases that wopuld include Endless Summer and Spirit of America.

Anyone care to comment? 

(AGD?)

Can you share the track listing?

1. Dance Dance Dacne
2. Break Away
3. Long Tall Texan
4. The little Girl I Once Knew
5. Do You Wanna Dance
6. Spirit Of America
7. Pom Pom Play Girl
8. Summer Means New Love
9. 409
10. We'll Run Away
11. Do You Remember
12. This Car Of Mine
13. Please Let Me Wonder
14. And Your Dream Comes True
15. Shut Down Part II
16. Barbara Ann
17. Keep an Eye On Summer
18. She Knows Me Too Well
19. Cherry Cherry Coupe
20. When I Grow Up

Completing the trilogy of Capitol Best Of collections was "Sunshine Dream" in 1982.

"American Summer" is a record club release (RCA Music Service) from December 1975.

(http://i26.tinypic.com/15g5so5.jpg)

I'll have to actually look at the record tonight.  Its a decent package and I have read that it is relatively rare to find.

I recall it having a decent value in the Goldmine books etc.

Wow, someone put Long Tall Texan on a compilation? That's possibly the worst thing they ever did...in the sixties.

Guess what? I have seen a vinyl compilation that seems to consist of one track from about twelve 60's BB albums but the track chosen would usually be about the third weakest on the entire album! I can't think what the point of the compilation might be, but I remember it contained "How She boogalooed it", "Summertime Blues" and "Boogie Woodie". Actually I like all those songs, but it's still a strange set of choices.

Hard to judge the actual rarity of an item, but I see these showing up in the used record bin at my local used book store not infrequently. Or maybe it's just one copy that doesn't sell?

It's really not too rare as the Beach Boys in 74-76 were selling large volume. I see it cheep quite a bit.

I have one just like that, and it adds the entire TODAY album to make it a double.  It's some kind of a European release, with some oddball pix as artwork...

Wow, someone put Long Tall Texan on a compilation? That's possibly the worst thing they ever did...in the sixties.

And in the nineties!

That song was also on "Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2" in 1967...

But then again, "Louie Louie" was on volume 1, "Frosty The Snowman" on volume 3 and "409" was on volume 2 AND volume 3, while "Be True To Your School" (US #6), "Do You Wanna Dance" (US #12), "Wouldn't It Be Nice" (US #8) and "Sloop John B." (US #3) weren't on any of the 3... So I wonder what the person who compiled these albums was on...

That is truly weird. Does that mean a song from "Today" is on there twice? I think there was one from "Today" on the album but I can't remember which. I'd like to see the track listing again. I remember seeing the single album, just called "The Beach Boys" possibly, very cheap in many used record shops in Britain.

Another quite remarkable compilation:

"Summertime Blues" (Sears):
Heads You Win Tails I Lose
Honky Tonk
Chug-A-Lug
Coo-Coo Clock (that's how it's spelled)
Summertime Blues
Misirlou
Lana
Ten Little Indians
Farmer's Daughter
Finder Keepers
Moon Dawg

11 tracks from Surfin' Safari and Surfin' USA and no hit singles... And a cover photo from the same photo session as the one on the 20/20 cover.

A few months back I picked up what appears to be a cheap BB compilation on vinyl that has no date on it. Its called High Water. The front cover is a black and white picture of water washing up on sand, and the photo from 20/20 is used in the gatefold. It was released by Pickwick Records.
Tracklisting:
Disc 1:
Good Vibrations
Dance Dance Dance
409
The Little Girl I Once Knew
Girl Don't Tell Me
God Only Knows
Heroes and Villains
She Knows Me Too Well
Darlin'

Disc 2:
The label on the record sleeve says "Wow! Great Concert." I believe this might be a cheap reprint of the Beach Boys Concert.
Fun Fun Fun
Little Deuce Coupe
Long Tall Texan
In My Room
Monster Mash
Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow
Little Old Lady From Pasadena
Graduation Day
I Get Around

Domenic Priore mentions Pickwick Records in his 2005 book about SMiLE as a cheap reissue label run by Capitol which put out the BBs Capitol-era music after they had left Capitol for Warner's.

I have that one. It's one of the first Beach Boys albums I've ever owned.

Pickwick also has ties to RCA once they bought their Camden budget label in 1975. A series of Elvis records were put out on the label.

Here's a hypothetical compilation. It doesn't exist (as far as I know). But it's not that much stranger than some of them that apparently do exist (all 1700 or whatever).
It's a little skimpy in running time, but that isn't unusual. A little unbalanced betweeen the two sides, but again when has that mattered?, and the choice of tracks is at least different.

Side One

Bull session with the "Big Daddy"
Our favorite recording sessions
I'm bugged at my ol' man
Auld Lang Syne [original, with voiceover]
I'd better get back in bed

Side Two

Whistle in
Carl's big chance
Denny's drum [that's how its spelled on the label and sleeve]
Winds of change
Goin' south
White Christmas

high water was out this time of the year in 1974. i was in college then and remember reading a magazine article about the group and it mentioned the "beach boys in concert" was doing well and was in the top 30 and was doing well on college campuses. then the article mentioned the "high water" release and said it topped the budget charts (article words). i do remember seeing a lot of copies for it back in 1974.. at least in lexington, ky.

Wow, The Beach Boys doing well on college campuses?! I wish that were the case today. I'm sure quite a few music-loving college kids bought BWPS, or are at least aware of it, but even among my music-loving college friends, the Beach Boys are an afterthought. Gotta thank Mike Love and "Kokomo" for that.

When I was in college about five years ago a lot of casual music fans had Pet Sounds.

I'd agree: Pet Sounds and Smile-era Beach Boys have been relatively common among indie-music sorts of college kids, as that era was so frequently mentioned as an influence on those indie bands from 95ish onward. I mean, they didn't compete in popularity with the horrible garbage that a lot of average college kids listen to, but those who are into digging a little deeper tended to come across this stuff, in my experience.

I loved the Pickwick Label!!

When i was really getting into the Beach Boys in the early to mid 70s Capital in Australia had ceased doing any of the Beach Boys albums - it was impossible to find anything - even/especially Pet Sounds - Pickwick and second hand record stores introduced me to the Beach Boys.  In Oz we also had a budget label called Axis and they had apretty good compilation. Then came the In Concert album - wonderful stuff ...  :smokin

It wasn't until after Endless Summer had gone mega huge that Capital Australia re-released the old 60s albums in the twofers.