Music / Summer in Paradise

Cover art painted by Robert Lyn Nelson.

Way back when well our master plan
Was havin' fun fun fun as America's band
Well we came out rocking with Rhonda and Barbara Ann
Singing the surf and sand

— "Summer in Paradise"

Summer in Paradise is the twenty-seventh album in The Beach Boys' discography. It was released in 1992 on the band's own label Brother Records. Produced by Terry Melcher, who also produced part of their previous album Still Cruisin', the record was conceived as a Concept Album centering around frontman Mike Love's interest in ecology, incorporating the band's traditional Surf Rock image with songs centering around summer festivities and environmental protection; Love himself stated that he wanted the album to be "the quintessential soundtrack of summer." Outside of that main theme, there is also mention of transcendental meditation ("Strange Things Happen") which was a major influence on Mike's life. Most of the songs are written by Mike along with Terry Melcher (Bruce Johnston, as usual, contributes only one song and other Beach Boys Carl Wilson and Al Jardine were mostly session vocal performers). Jardine, who disliked the written material, was temporarily suspended from the band before joining back and finishing his vocal contributions on the album.

Love additionally intended the album to double as a Milestone Celebration for the Beach Boys' 30th anniversary, reflected in the large number of call backs, lyrical mythology gags, and re-recordings of prior Beach Boys songs. However, Brian Wilson was unable to get involved due to being under the ownership of his psychiatrist Eugene Landy, who disallowed him from working on any projects that didn't also feature him as well (the same reason why Brian wasn't involved in the recording of "Kokomo"); in the meantime, Wilson set to work on a planned sophomore solo album, Sweet Insanity, which was ultimately shelved. Because of all this, Summer in Paradise would be the band's sole album without Wilson on-board, as well as the band's last album of new material until That's Why God Made the Radio in 2012.

From a technical perspective, the album also stood out for being one of the first to be produced primarily with a digital audio workstation. Specifically, it was made using a beta version of Pro Tools, making the album the first to be put together with the software. Tying in with this, the album was also the band's first to not be available on vinyl (barring a rare South Korean LP), being released only on cassette and CD. Fitting its environmentalist message, the CD edition was packaged in an Ecopack, an early attempt at creating a green alternative to the all-polystyrene jewel case.

Summer in Paradise was supported by one single: "Hot Fun in the Summertime". The band's re-recording of "Forever" with John Stamos (credited to Jesse and the Rippers) would also be given a music video to support the album.

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Tracklist:

1. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" (3:29)
2. "Surfin'" (3:45)
3. "Summer of Love" (2:51)
4. "Island Fever" (3:27)
5. "Still Surfin'" (4:03)
6. "Slow Summer Dancin' (One Summer Night)" (3:23)
7. "Strange Things Happen" (4:42)
8. "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" (3:31)
9. "Lahaina Aloha" (3:44)
10. "Under the Boardwalk" (4:07)
11. "Summer in Paradise" (3:52)
12. "Forever" (3:05)

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Principal Members:

• Al Jardine - Vocals
• Bruce Johnston - Vocals, keyboards
• Mike Love - Vocals
• Carl Wilson - Vocals

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I can't wait for Summer cause it's gonna be a Summer of tropes!:

• Alternate Album Cover: Different cover paintings were made for the US and UK releases. The US release uses a daytime underwater scene (prominently showing a humpback whale), while the UK release uses an American flag and fireworks atop a tropical mountain range at sunset. Incidentally, the full painting for the UK cover is featured as a foldout poster in the US release.
• Broken Record: The outro of "Strange Things Happen" has the song's title being sung and looped ad nauseam over a slow guitar solo.
• Cover Version: Out of the 12 songs on the tracklist, 6 are covers. 2 by The Beach Boys ("Surfin'" and "Forever") and the rest by other artists:
  • Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun In The Summertime".
  • The Shangri-Las' "Remember (Walking in the Sand)".
  • The Danleers' "One Summer Night".
  • The Drifters' "Under The Boardwalk".
    • "Slow Summer Dancin'" is particular in the way it incorporates original material (written by Bruce Johnston) and "One Summer Night" as a chorus.
• Crystal Ball: "Strange Things Happen":
  Met a psychic reader
  With a crystal ball
• Design Student's Orgasm: Both the US and UK covers feature elaborate oceanic paintings that connect to the mix of Beach Boys call-backs and environmentalist themes.
• Eagleland: The album's cover... when it got released in the UK.
• Irony: The UK version of the album's cover features the American flag and fireworks in what looks like a Fourth of July setting, while the US version's cover looks more universal.
• Jungles Sound Like Kookaburras: "Island Fever" opens with a sample of kookaburra chatter to try and invoke a tropical atmosphere.
• The Not-Remix: The UK version of the album, while not being a complete rerecording of the original album, has some songs shortened and other songs having a different instrumentation or additional personnel.
• Performance Video: Each of the album's music videos primarily consist of the band performing in some way.
  • The music video for "Hot Fun in the Summertime" depicts the band performing in the streets of Brooklyn during a hot summer day.
  • The music video for "Summer of Love", shot as the opening to a 1995 guest appearance on Baywatch, sees the band perform throughout Malibu Pier; by this point, Brian Wilson had rejoined the band after settling his legal problems with Eugene Landy, and consequently appears in the video (despite not having contributed to the album).
  • The music video for "Forever" (credited to Jesse and the Rippers) features footage of John Stamos performing the track alongside the Beach Boys, both in a variety of setpieces and in a recording studio.
• Rearrange the Song: "Surfin'" and "Forever" were rerecorded for this album (with the latter having John Stamos singing Dennis Wilson's original lead vocals).
  • On the UK version of the album, many tracks were remixed such as the title track featuring Roger McGuinn singing the third chorus.
  • When "Summer in Paradise" is played live, Bruce would usually sing the third verse instead of Mike.
• Sequel Song: What "Still Surfin'" is to "Surfin'".
• Special Guest:
  • John Stamos (of Full House fame) was (and still is) an honorary member of the band, playing drums during some live shows. He sings lead vocals on "Forever" (which was already familiar with Full House's audience thanks to its appearances throughout the show).
  • The UK version of the album has Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds) singing a chorus on the title track.
  • Amongst the various sessions players on the album, Van Dyke Parks played accordion on two songs. His appearance is quite a surprise since Summer in Paradise was partially a Mike Love project and both men are known for their conflicted relationship during the recording of SMiLE.
    • In fact, Parks recalled a scene during the recording of the album where Mike would still ask him about the meaning behind the lyrics of Cabin-essence. Parks told him that he still didn't know and Mike offered him a flight back to LA paid with his credit card... which was disconnected when Parks tried to book the flight.
• Spiritual Successor: "Island Fever" is conspicuously designed as one to "Kokomo", sharing much of the same structure, themes, and arrangement choices. invoked
• Step Up to the Microphone: Bruce Johnston only wrote and sang lead vocals on one song ("Slow Summer Dancin'").
• Vocal Tag Team: "Island Fever" has Mike, Al and Carl sharing lead vocals.
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: "Summer Of Love" is the only track featuring Mike Love rapping (and it was originally conceived as a duet between him and Bart Simpson.

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