1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow Explained

1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow
Type:compilation
Artist:the Beach Boys
Cover:1967 Sunshine Tomorrow.jpg
Border:yes
Recorded:June 1967 – 1970
Genre:
Label:Capitol
Producer:The Beach Boys
Chronology:The Beach Boys
Prev Title:Graduation Day 1966
Prev Year:2016
Next Title:The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Next Year:2018

1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow is an expanded reissue of the 1967 album Wild Honey by American rock band the Beach Boys. It was released by Capitol Records on June 30, 2017 and consists largely of previously unreleased material that the group had produced after abandoning Smile in mid-1967. Included is the first ever complete stereo mix of Wild Honey, live performances, outtakes, session highlights, and additional material sourced from Smiley Smile (1967) and the unreleased live effort Lei'd in Hawaii, both of which immediately preceded the Wild Honey sessions.[1]

On December 8, 2017, the reissue was followed with two digital-exclusive compilations: 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow 2: The Studio Sessions and 1967 – Live Sunshine. They include more than 100 tracks that had been left off the original release.[2] In 2018, the set was followed with .

Background

See main article: Wild Honey (album).

See also: Smiley Smile and Lei'd in Hawaii. The album, which focuses on the Beach Boys' post-Smile 1967 recordings, includes a new stereo mix of Wild Honey produced by compilers Mark Linett and Alan Boyd.[3] The mix was also made available as a separate vinyl release.[4] The title derives from the Wild Honey track "Let the Wind Blow", which contains the couplet "take away their sorrows, give them sunshine tomorrow."

Critical reception

AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the album "feels like a gift: it bolsters the argument that the period following Pet Sounds and Smile was no less creative than that golden age. ... Wild Honey appropriately takes center stage on this project, with a vivid new stereo mix." Pitchforks said that it "finds them firing in all creative directions at once for a brief, beautiful moment just as their wave started to recede. ... the magic of Sunshine Tomorrow is that the Beach Boys are all of these at once: chaotic and relaxed, naive and sophisticated, pop-oriented and intimate. Brian is both present and slipping away." Music journalist Tim Sommer believed the new stereo mix transformed Wild Honey from a "flat and peculiar ... afterthought of Smiley Smile" to a "deep and delightful, human, rollicking, humming and rolling [album]."[5]

Pastes Robert Ham surmised that the "objective, it seems, is to inspire a collective reappraisal of a period in the band’s career when they were still respected critically and beloved commercially, but struggling creatively ... 1967 succeeds in that humble goal but just barely." Steve Marinucci from AXS characterized the original albums as "confusing", and that "there's little here to recommend to casual listeners, though certainly Beach Boys diehards will be attracted to it."[6]

Track listing

Disc one

All subsequent tracks were previously unreleased.[1]

Sequels

These two companion albums were issued on December 8, 2017 as digital exclusives.[2]

1967 – Live Sunshine

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rock Cellar Magazine Staff. Beach Boys to Release '1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow' Set on 6/30, Full of Rare Material. Rock Cellar Magazine. May 23, 2017. May 23, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170809213118/http://www.rockcellarmagazine.com/2017/05/23/beach-boys-1967-sunshine-tomorrow-wild-honey-album-rare-recordings-brian-wilson/#sthash.0Fa5IiqF.dpbs. August 9, 2017. dead.
  2. Reed. Ryan. Beach Boys Unearth Rare Studio, Live Tracks for New 'Sunshine' Sets. Rolling Stone. December 8, 2017.
  3. Blistein. Jon. Beach Boys Unearth Rare Songs for 'Sunshine Tomorrow' Set. Rolling Stone. May 23, 2017.
  4. Web site: Bonner. Michael. Beach Boys announce Wild Honey and Smiley Smile rarities compilation. Uncut. May 24, 2017.
  5. News: Sommer. Tim. Tim Sommer. A Brilliant New Compilation Captures The Beach Boys' Most Pivotal Year. LA Weekly. July 7, 2017. July 7, 2017. May 30, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180530121445/http://www.laweekly.com/music/new-beach-boys-compilation-1967-sunshine-tomorrow-features-a-wild-honey-stereo-mix-and-more-8404851. dead.
  6. Web site: Marinucci. Steve. Review: The Beach Boys' '1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow' is as confusing as the original albums. July 3, 2017.