By The Beach Boys, 2007

The Warmth Of The Sun, a new collection of 28 career-spanning tracks, hand-selected and sequenced by The Beach Boys themselves. The Warmth Of The Sun traces the iconic band's creative arc in a sun-up to sundown musical journey that goes beyond the beach, presenting a broad view of the rich musical legacy of America's band. The perfect complement and companion to Sounds Of Summer.

This new collection delves deeper into The Beach Boys' musical legacy with hits like "Sail On, Sailor" "The Little Girl I Once Knew" and "Feel Flows." Within The Warmth Of The Sun's three decade-spanning tracklist, much of the Beach Boys' most accomplished work is featured. Compiled and sequenced by The Beach Boys' Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love, and Brian Wilson, The Warmth Of The Sun showcases the broad scope of their recorded history. The journey takes us from the surf to the streets, and all with The Beach Boys' unparalleled trademark harmonies.In a sense, The Warmth of the Sun is to 2004's double-platinum Sounds of Summer as 1975's Spirit of America was to the previous year's chart-topping Endless Summer.

Both Summer compilations feature the obvious hits, and their followups collect less famous--though still worthy--tracks like "Hawaii," "409," and "Little Honda." But the 21st-century collections are sequenced by the Beach Boys themselves, and that means this volume's songs are second-tier in fame only. The casual fan whose curiosity was piqued by Sounds of Summer and picks this up for "All Summer Long" will be captivated by Brian Wilson's stops on the road to Pet Sounds ("Kiss Me Baby," "Please Let Me Wonder," "Let Him Run Wild," "The Little Girl I Once Knew"), moved by the father-son collaboration "Break Away" (in many ways the Beach Boys' farewell to the '60s), and floored by a string of five songs from the early '70s--a few of which had their genesis in the ill-fated Smile project--that are a perfect showcase for the maturity the group, especially Brian and Carl, managed to attain less than a decade after penning "Pom Pom Play Girl" ("Surf's Up," "Feel Flows," "All This Is That," "'Til I Die," "Sail On, Sailor"). Taken together, these two volumes provide an extraordinary portrait of a band attempting to straddle popularity and artistic vision, spotlighting each facet just long enough to make you want more.

(Collectors note: many of these songs appear in new stereo remixes--they may not be the original Brian Wilson productions as he heard them, but being able to distinctly make out the vibraphone in "Let Him Run Wild" is worth it.) --Benjamin Lukoff

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