Search - Various Artists :: Stars & Stripes 1

Not what it could have been

Greg Brady | Capital City | 03/28/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This had the capacity to be something good. I have a great affection for country music and would have been fascinated by hearing how country musicians would interpret the classic Beach Boys songs in their milieu. The problem is that for the most part this does NOT happen. Instead, you have fairly rock/pop arrangements with country singers doing the lead and the Beach Boys as backup.



There are exceptions: Willie Nelson uses authentic country instrumentation (his acoustic, harmonica, fiddle, pedal steel) to make "Warmth of the Sun" sound Western and gives it a tender interpretation. He emphasizes the words with his halting style and gave me new appreciation for the lyric. T. Graham Brown's voice is a good "mesh" with the group making "Help Me Rhonda" work but the arrangement doesn't really do much interesting with it. "409" is re-invented as rockabilly by Junior Brown and it works very well with a great guitar solo. My only quibble here is that Junior's baritone tends to clash with the Beach Boy falsetto. Colin Raye's "Sloop John B." takes the tune into two step territory. Raye gives an impassioned performance though at times it's oversung.



Lowest points are "Long Tall Texan" which was never more than a novelty song when first done by the Beach Boys and not worth the time of a re-interpretation. "I Get Around"'s handclaps and quite a bit of the Boys harmonies are mixed into oblivion on the Sawyer Brown rendition. James House sounds like a low-rent Elvis on what is quite simply a horrible vocal for "Little Deuce Coupe".



And the question begs to be asked: If the CD is supposed to be country singers joining the band, why on earth is adult contemporary belter Kathy Troccoli here?!?!



BOTTOM LINE: The concept was great, but the arrangements aren't great and as a result it ends up being uninspired. It fails as a tribute album and as a country all-star album. Only get it if you're a completist of either the Beach Boys or Willie Nelson."

Stars and Stripes Review

M. Liriano | Houston, TX | 12/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great CD of The Beach Boys music. The Beach Boys provide back-up vocals while various country artists sing lead vocals. Anyone who likes The Beach Boys and/or country singers like Vince Gill, Lorrie Morgan, Willie Nelson or Steve Warner will enjoy this CD.



But for those of you who are looking for Volume 2... stop looking. Volume 2 was never released due to low volume of sales for Volume 1. That's just a shame.



My dad bought this when it first came out and loved it. I was fortunate enough to find a like new copy without too much effort. He absolutely loves this CD. I have provided a website address below where you can listen to samples of the different songs on the CD (courtesy of Tower Records). My favorites are "Don't Worry Baby" with Lorrie Morgan and "I Can Hear Music" with Kathy Troccoli, although all of the songs are great. Enjoy!

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