First off, this is not to be confused with a remastered and expanded version of this compilation that was released later on in 2022. This is the real deal, however. The Beach Boys had released various compilations over the years but had never really released a single disc compilation that made sense for people to purchase and listen to. Selling millions of copies globally, this ought to be an interesting listen. Most of the group’s hits are present on this album as well. The album was issued on 10 June 2003 and was put together with recordings from 1962 to 1988 with The Beach Boys. The Beach Boys have had a rotating lineup over the years, but Brian Wilson is the genius and brains behind the group. The album was issued on EMI/Capitol Records. Let’s take a listen to this compilation, and we shall hear if it is any good.

1. California Girls is not to be confused with Katy Perry’s own California Gurls 2010 hit. It begins with some pleasant keyboard melodies and a ton of lively instrumentation. Brian Wilson is such a musical genius from the go. It launches into a fantastic and upbeat song with a great and pleasant listening experience throughout. A little tongue-in-cheek with the lyrical references throughout, but nonetheless a fantastic song to listen to. A short, lovely and sweet tune about the girls from the USA state of California. A fun and awesome listen throughout. Very pleasant and listenable throughout. Solidly worth a listen, and a great starting point for this compilation. Fantastic.

2. I Get Around begins with some simple and interesting harmony-based singing, and launches into a really glorious-sounding tune. This is about getting busy around town in a car and with one’s best friends. A really awesome and sweet tune, The Beach Boys were brilliant with their vocal harmonies and instrumentation to match. A really fantastic and pleasant listen, Brian Wilson obviously has a huge musical brain and melodic sensibility that very few can match. A great listen. It fades out at the end.

3. Surfin’ Safari is an awesome song about launching oneself into a mission to surf. A brilliant and catchy tune from way back in the 1960s, this sounds youthful, innocent and above all, excellent to listen to. A short and catchy two-minute-long song that is very, very groovy. It has a Fender guitar solo, which is magnificent as well. Very cool, and worth listening to. A real winner of a tune. Cool, calm and clever, The Beach Boys knew how to make solid Pop/Rock tunes. Awesome.

4. Surfin’ U.S.A. begins with some sweet guitars and launches into an absolutely sublime tune about the sun and surf-based lifestyle that has been a feature of coastal USA, this is magical and purely brilliant. No doubt that Brian Wilson was an absolute genius at making The Beach Boys come alive musically, and they all shine through here. The melodic chanting throughout is fantastic, and it is followed by an organ solo, and then a guitar solo. A nice tune to listen to, through and through. Top notch.

5. Fun, Fun, Fun begins with some Fender Surf Rock guitar playing and quickly launches into a sweet and awesome tune that is very recognisable and super enjoyable to listen to. This is a really awesome and glorious song that has some wicked, cool and very 1960s vibes to it all. A really great listening experience about spending one’s youth being romantic with a lady of choice, this is really awesome music. A fantastic tune to hear. The chanting at the end is infectious.

6. Surfer Girl is a laidback and lush-sounding ballad with clean guitars and other sweet instrumentation. This is a song of romantic dedication that sounds really awesome and fantastic throughout. For a two-minute-long song, this is a sublime and sweet listen. A fantastic song to listen to, the musical talent of The Beach Boys shines through, primarily in their singing and performances on these songs. A genuinely cool tune to listen to, with a key change throughout. A very solidly awesome and loveable tune, with irresistable singing throughout. Very nice. Awesome to hear.

7. Don’t Worry Baby begins with some pounding drums and launches into a very lovely and sweet tune with some great vocal harmonies. The singing by The Beach Boys is absolutely fantastic on this song, and this is a song about some of the emotions one can experience in a relationship. It has some decent lyrics about relationship issues throughout, although there are hints of darkness throughout. There is a minimalist guitar part as a solo section of this song before this wraps up nicely with the final verses, which sound like the audio equivalent of ear candy. Another fantastic song with a nice fade-out.

8. Little Deuce Coupe is a very short tune with some soaring harmonies and singing against an old-school Rock Music backing. A really sweet and fantastic listen, this has a great and interesting set of lyrics about a car from decades ago. A bit strange lyrically, but it’s okay to listen to such a song from another era. Nonetheless, this does sound very fantastic.

9. Shut Down begins with some straight-up confrontational lyrics about man vs man problems in the world of life. A cool and interesting listen, with some gorgeous singing and fine instrumentation, this is another winner with Fender Jazzmaster-styled guitar and saxophone as well. A very enjoyable song to listen to, although the intention of the lyrics isn’t 100% clear. Cool to listen to, all the same.

10. Help Me, Rhonda launches straight into a confrontational song about dealing with a breakup at hand. A really strange tune to listen to lyrically, but matched by pleasant harmonies and a great Surf Rock vibe, this is a very worthwhile listen. A very awesome and sweet listen about doing the best to stop being in emotional pain. A very good and snappy number that makes perfect sense to listen to if you are in the worst of love-based circumstances. The instrumentation throughout is really fantastic as well. Good tune. Worth a listen.

11. Be True To Your School is a rather odd addition to this compilation. It is a weird listen as well, and is a tune about nothing really important in particular, unless you are under the age of 18. A weird listen, even if the music sounds nice and sweet on this recording. A good listen, but a very dated and weird one at hand. It just doesn’t make a huge deal of sense to have this thrown onto this compilation. It’s okay, but an odd one. The key change at the end is weird, too.

12. When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) is yet another strange addition to this compilation, although this is a better listen with harpsichord and other gorgeous bits and pieces of instrumentation throughout. This song is a rather strange listen that only makes sense if again, you are a child. Regardless, this is a good song, but just sounds really awkward musically throughout. A cool tune in many ways, although very, very dated by today’s standards musically.

13. In My Room begins with clean electric guitars, harps and other luscious instrumentation. This is a sweet and excellent tune about journeying back to one’s bedroom to retreat and do what one needs to do. A really fresh and unique take on using one’s spare time up well, this is a really sweet and enjoyable listening experience. Again, this is a bit of an odd addition to this compilation. Still, it sounds wonderful and consistent with the rest of the album. Good to hear.

14. God Only Knows is a lovely slice of music from the best album by The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds which was released in 1966. A sweet and lovely ballad that has some deep and emotional singing throughout, with some very rich and colourful orchestrated instrumentation throughout. A really great and excellent listen throughout, there are some sweet and tasty instrumentation changes throughout. A sweet and lovely ballad with some excellent singing and pleasant production throughout, this is a winner of a song. The extra vocals and orchestrated percussion do sound really brilliant. A fantastic song, period.

15. Sloop John B is an old Caribbean song covered by The Beach Boys. It has some sad and tragic lyrics about a holiday gone wrong. This sounds tragic, but is a beautiful piece of music that has some awesome and excellent sounds throughout. Having said that, this isn’t a particularly happy listen. A sad and terrible plotline set to fantastic music, this is a really good listen from start to finish, having said all that. The harmonies throughout are absolutely divine, and there are many sweet and tasty music parts to listen to. A good but depressing song.

16. Wouldn’t It Be Nice begins with some awesome glockenspiel sounds, before launching into a moody song about love and relationship issues throughout. Regardless, a really fine and entertaining listen that sounds like a time warp back to the late 1960s. A great song with some melancholy throughout, but regardless, a really cool and great listen. In any case, this music sounds very childlike and whimsical throughout. A good song that has colour, art and a great amount of attention to detail throughout. Nice to hear.

17. Getcha Back begins with some very robotic 1980s-sounding beats and launches into a good song that is less well-known by The Beach Boys. It sounds quite decent, but not as good as one would have expected from this compilation. It does sound quite quirky and groovy throughout. This is an extremely dated tune that doesn’t have a great deal of appeal. This compilation, therefore, clearly suffers from some quality control in terms of song choices. More textural than consistent musically, this is not as good as what one would have hoped to hear. A letdown, and worth skipping ahead, if you can.

18. Come Go With Me begins with some hummed harmonies, and finger clicks and launches into another good song with some strummed acoustic guitar. Again, this is short and sweet but is a fairly forgettable addition to this compilation. Regardless, this music is good but not a great selection on this compilation. Which is a shame, there is a great sense of a missed opportunity listening to this retrospective collection. Some sweet saxophone is in the second half of the song, and this tune sounds very nice indeed. A good but awkward pick, once again.

19. Rock And Roll Music is a cover done by The Beach Boys. It sounds very downtempo, sweet and quite textured with its gorgeous arrangements and singing. This is a better addition than the previous few tracks, and it sounds very Poppy. The Beach Boys excelled at some of the best harmonies that you will ever hear on record, and although elements of their music sound stuck in the 1960s, this is a good song which is a decent example of the better talents as a band. Not bad to hear.

20. Dance, Dance, Dance begins with some muted electric and acoustic guitars, launching into a youthful and exuberant tune about dancing to the radio after school with one’s lady by their side. A very cool listen that should remind one of their own childhood, this is a pleasant Beatlesque Rhythm and Blues-styled number that sounds really cool. A thoroughly enjoyable and listenable tune throughout, this is very catchy to listen to.

21. Barbara Ann begins with some awesome and melodic singing and launches into the song at hand. An extremely lively and catchy song about winning a girl of one’s fancy, this sounds incredibly lovely and sweet throughout. A great, great listen that has some extraordinary yelping and playing along, it is quite clear that The Beach Boys had a good time recording this song. A pleasant and catchy tune to listen to from start to finish.

22. Do You Wanna Dance? launches right into it with some glorious singing and harmonies, inviting ladies of the night to dance with one. A great and anthemic listen that sounds really cool and grand, this sounds really lovely and is a throwback to the 1960s youth culture that was emerging. A really great song to listen to. There is a sweet guitar solo in the second half before vocal parts return to conclude this tune. Very nice. A sweet listen.

23. Heroes And Villains is one of the most memorable songs by The Beach Boys. It has some late 1960s vibes to it, and describes the story of cowboys and guns, with a romantic twist to it all. It sounds quite hilarious in its own way and is a very bizarre listen from The Beach Boys. Regardless, cheesiness aside, this is a very good song to listen to from beginning to end. It is an interesting listen throughout, and it has some interesting musicianship and lyrics throughout. A wacky listen nonetheless, but certainly worth your time.

24. Good Timin’ launches into a rich and nicely made piece of music that has some sweet harmonies throughout. By this point of this compilation, it is fairly clear that there are a lot of filler tracks on this release, which is disappointing. This is decent enough to listen to but is not really worth much of a mention in the history of The Beach Boys. A good but rather pointless listen on this compilation. Also, this tune is very repetitive throughout.

25. Kokomo launches into a Latin-based beat piece and sounds rather pretentious for The Beach Boys. This quickly evolves into a Pop tune that doesn’t sound quite right to listen to. A weird and strange tune, this is something that would have been best left off this compilation. A weird listening experience, and some that you would rather forget after listening to it. Neither pleasant nor necessary, this is a step back for The Beach Boys. It just doesn’t sound really good, nor deserves a spot on this compilation. Rather awful, and a waste of time to listen to. There is a saxophone solo in the second half, which sounds rather neat. The rest of the tune is a joke, though. Just not needed here, a bit of a failure, to be frank.

26. Do It Again begins with some electronic beats and launches into a good song at hand, certainly better than some of the other selections on this compilation. An upbeat, promising and decent listening experience, The Beach Boys at times can deliver blissful Pop Music where needed. This is a better example of a good moment of The Beach Boys’ craft, with some nice guitar work thrown into it as well. A really sweet listen throughout.

27. Wild Honey begins with trippy keyboards and piano to match, followed by bongo beats. This launches into a better song than what has come before it. The singing is much better here as well, and the music and playing throughout do make a decent impression throughout. A dramatic, fine and interesting listen with some of the best-layered instrumentation that one can hear. In the second half are some keyboard solos that sound really fantastic, before call-and-response vocals emerge. A sweet and different tune, this has some interesting music and musicianship throughout. Very nice.

28. Darlin’ begins with some electronic sounds, beats and glorious harmonies that sound super sweet. This quickly launches into a very lovely song that sounds descriptively powerful and enjoyable, without electric guitars. This is a cool keyboard ballad that has youthful innocence and appeal throughout. A sugary sweet addition to this compilation, and something with a bit more listening appeal to it. Very nice to listen to.

29. I Can Hear Music begins with soothing harmonies and launches into a decent piece of music with acoustic guitars being strummed and other pretty instrumentation sounding good. A nice tune about the creation of music itself, this is very lovely and laidback, being quite tranquil as well. A very pleasant sort of listening experience which, although has commercial appeal, sounds a bit repetitive and at times, shrill. A good song nonetheless. It has a change in the second half which is very dramatic. This wraps up shortly afterwards with the chorus being repeated.

30. Good Vibrations is likely the biggest standout for The Beach Boys. It seems that they left the best for last on this compilation. It is a wonderful and dramatic piece of Pop Music nirvana, straight from 1967. It sounds ridiculously good for what this is, in any case. A song about youthful and innocent romance, and likely the attraction behind it (pheromones?). In any case, this tune is a sweet and lovely one and is an absolute winner from start to finish. Blissful harmonies are present in this tune, and it sounds extremely good to hear. It goes into a slower section of music in the second half, with an array of sweet instrumentation, which sounds really cool. Harmonies enter before we return back to the chorus to conclude with, alongside the harmonies. Sweet.

This is a very mixed-up compilation. To be fair, this is not the very best of The Beach Boys. Some of these songs easily could have been jettisoned from this release, and an hour of a mixed-up quality bag of tracks is not on, especially as Brian Wilson and his crew could have picked some better songs from here. It certainly has its moments, though, just not consistently through this release. Should you listen to this compilation? It’s best to start with the 1966 Pet Sounds album or the 2011 Smile Sessions release than this compilation. So it is probably a no for all involved.

Disappointing retrospective release.

5/10