The end of 2011 has witnessed two very different “rock” bands announce reunion tours and new albums. While some will obviously gravitate towards the dark side and the reunion of one of heavy metal’s most influential bands, Black Sabbath, others in the music world are just as stoked for the sunny lyrics and genius of Brian Wilson getting back together with the original Beach Boys. Brian and The Beach Boys have been touring as separate entities since 1998, but in 2012 it’s all coming back together again under the sun for 50 tour dates!
The Beach Boys- a sound that many of us California-born children were raised listening to. If you’ve seen Brian Wilson over the past 10 years, his musical genius is as evident as ever. The Beach Boys on the other hand, while incorporating the second most famous member of the original group and a founding member, Al Jardine, along with other founders and contributors Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and David Marks, were more of a county fair type of act. With numerous lawsuits and nasty exchanges in the press over the past 10 years, it seemed as if a true Beach Boys reunion would never happen. There were rumors over the past few months that it could all be coming together again, but nothing official was announced until recently. The tour will kickoff at the New Orleans Jazz Fest in late April, and will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the band. To coincide with the historic year, 50 tour dates are being planned. Brian Wilson commented on the tour recently, saying:
“This anniversary is special to me because I miss the boys. It will be a thrill for me to make a new record and be on stage with them again.”
The early cover art for the new album Celebration
Things started to get on track for the reunion tour when earlier this year, the Beach Boys went back into the studio to re-record their classic track “Do It Again”. The success of this re-recording led to talks about a new album and a possible tour. The band decided later this year to go for it, and are planning a new record called Celebration to be released on Capitol Records.
Al Jardine reflected on the recoding of “Do It Again” and the decision to record a new album:
“It sounded so good we just decided to continue. There are some new things that Brian has come up with that are really remarkable. ‘Do It Again’ was done in an afternoon. These songs will take a little more putting our heads together.”
We’ll have more on the reunion tour and new album as it is announced. For now, get those classic Beach Boys albums out and if you are really one of the sunshine children along the coast, you’ll want to make plans to be in New Orleans for the monumental first tour date.
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