ALBUM: Summer Means Fun (1982, 2 records)
MVC Rating: 3.5/$$
Well it is summer, and here’s a summer album. The compilation is full of songs that you thought the Beach Boys did. And in many cases they did — just not here. For example, ‘Help Me Rhonda’ a song written by and performed by the Beach Boys and is represented here by a version from Johnny Rivers.
This ‘Hot Rod and Surf’ music on this album has lots of covers from lots of bands you probably never heard of:
Besides the Hot Doggers, there’s the Rip Chords (with 9 songs on the album), and Jan and Dean who have an obscure original called “Like Summer Rain.
The liner notes offer the key:
“The majority of the material comes from the very creative minds of two legendary California rockers named Bruce Johnston (who later joined the Beach Boys and was a long time member), and Terry Melcher (producer for the Byrds and Paul Revere and the Raiders).
So, many are covers but they are well done by a couple of guys close to the originals.
Melcher has been credited with helping to shape the sound of 1960s surf music in California, according to several sources cited by Wikipedia.
The music sound is swell but after listening to four album sides, they start sounding alike. In fact, in some cases I think they just change the chorus a bit and — voila — another song. Some, like ‘Hey Little Cobra,’ are unabashedly formulaic.
Later in his career, Johnston wrote ‘I Write the Songs,’ a monster hit for Barry Manilow.
Among the artists and the songs: Bruce & Terry on the title song ‘Summer Means Fun; The Hot Doggers, Surfing Safari; The RIp-Chords, ‘Hey Little Cobra.’ and Flash Cadilac and the Continental Kids, ‘Pipeline; and the ‘ Hot-Doggers, ‘Beach Girl.’