Track Listing

1. Mike Love Introduces Surfin'
2. 3701 W 119th St Hawthorne CA - The Surfin' Rehearsal
3. Happy Birthday Four Freshmen
4. Mike On Brian's Harmonies
5. Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring
6. Surfin' USA
7. Surfin' USA
8. Carl Wilson Radio Promo
9. Shut Down
10. Little Deuce Coupe
11. Murry Wilson Directs A Radio Promo
12. Fun Fun Fun
13. Brian Message To Rog
14. Dance Dance Dance
15. Kiss Me Baby
16. Good To My Baby
17. Chuck Britz On Brian In The Studio
18. Salt Lake City
19. Salt Lake City
20. Wish That He Could Stay
21. And Your Dream Comes True
22. Carol K
23. Little Girl I Once Knew
24. Alan And Dennis Introduce Barbara Ann
25. Barbara Ann - Beach Boys & Dean Torrence
26. Barbara Ann
27. Mike On The Everly Brothers
28. Devoted To You
29. Dennis Thanks Everybody
30. In The Back Of My Mind
31. Can't Wait Too Long
32. Dennis Introduces Carl
33. Good Vibrations
34. Good Vibrations
35. Heroes And Villains
36. Vegetables Promo
37. Vegetables
38. You're With Me Tonight
39. Lonely Days
40. Bruce On Wild Honey
41. Let The Wind Blow
42. I Went To Sleep
43. Time To Get Alone
44. Alan And Brian Talk About Dennis
45. Time To Live In Dreams
46. Be With Me
47. Dennis Introduces Cotton Fields
48. Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song)
49. Alan And Carl On Break Away
50. Break Away
51. Add Some Music To Your Day
52. Dennis Wilson
53. Forever
54. Sail On Sailor
55. Old Man River
56. Carl Wilson
57. Lord's Prayer
58. Carl Wilson

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #75560 in Music
• Released on: 2001-05-21
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Double CD
• Running time: 121 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Skewed heavily--and rightfully--toward the Beach Boys' first seven years, Hawthorne, CA offers up charmingly rough early demos ("Surfin'", "Surfin' USA", "Little Deuce Coupe"), edited session highlights, backing tracks ("Fun, Fun, Fun", "Salt Lake City", "Good Vibrations", "Be with Me", "Sail On Sailor"), spectacular a cappella versions ("Kiss Me Baby", "Can't Wait Too Long", "Add Some"), alternate takes ("The Little Girl I Once Knew" with an a cappella break, "Time to Get Alone", "Break Away") and some modern stereo remixes and edits that add revealing details ("Dance, Dance, Dance", "Heroes and Villains", "Vegetables", "Time to Get Alone"). The crucial latter contributions of Carl and Dennis Wilson and Al Jardine are also showcased on "Let the Wind Blow", "A Time to Live in Dreams" and "Cotton Fields", respectively. The dialogue adds some minor perspective but, as always, it's music that carries the day. Hawthorne, CA is a must for collectors and a concise, insightful introduction to a true American musical institution. --Jerry McCulley

CD Description
This intriguing documentary-style look behind the scenes atthe Beach Boys' songs as works-in-progress includes commentary from the band themselves, who discuss Brian Wilson's composition and production techniques and pay tribute to DennisWilson, who drowned in 1983. There are excerpts from rehearsal tapes from all periods of the band's effective existence, unreleased outtakes of songs like "A Time to Live in Dreams" and "The Little Girl I Once Knew", and oddities like the band's birthday tribute to one of their biggest influences, the Four Freshmen. There's also a rare chance to hear the Beach Boys performing the classic "Old Man River", as well as their breathtaking interpretation of "The Lord's Prayer".

Customer Reviews

Heart and Soul
This album contains a generous selection of tracks from the mighty Beach Boys archives. Not everything here is essential. Early demo's are interesting but little more. The seemingly endless radio spots and band introductions are annoying after a while but wait...

...there are some great moments here. Especially the previously unheard Dennis Wilson song 'A Time To Live In Dreams' showing exactly how deep and underrated his talents were. It's a great song and truly moving especially when he sings '...forgive your brother...' in amongst the sound of heartbreak. The stereo version of 'Heroes And Villains' brings to life some of the musical sections that Brian stiched together and acapella versions of two 'Sunflower' songs really do melt the heart. Truly wonderful singing reminding us, as if it were needed, that here is the greatest vocal harmony group of all time.

A great purchase for all Beach Boy fanatics. For those merely curious it's better to start with 'Pet Sounds' or 'Sunflower' but this should hardly dissapoint in any case.

Great (for completists like myself)
I heard most of this record recently on a listening post and as always the Beach Boys harmonies sound astonishing through head phones.

Well here it is the latest in a long line of outtakes scraped from the depths of Capitol's vaults following on from Endless Harmony a few years back and it's not too bad. Collectors like myself often look forward to Smile album outtakes appearing on collections like these and thankfully there are a few choice cuts such as a hilarious radio spot introducing Vegetables. There is also an extended mix of Vegetables.

Personally a highlight is the Smile album outtake Your with me tonight vocal segment which sounds astonishing. There is plenty on offer here for the Beach Boy enthusiast however I would urge non enthusiasts to invest in Pet Souunds or any of the recently re-released 2-fer albums before this.

A brilliant musical pastiche of the Beach Boys
Without doubt this is the best compilation ever to have been put together on the Beach Boys....or anyone else. It combines out takes, alternate takes and unreleased material with spoken word snippets (long enough to be interesting and not too long to prevent repeated listenings). It takes you on a journey through the consumate skills of Brian Wilson and the rest of the band. If you want to understand what it is that excites people about the Beach Boys just give it a listen. It is not just for completists....it will convert people.