Producers include: Brian Wilson, Murry Wilson, Nik Venet, Steve Levine, The Beachboys.

Recorded between 1962 & 1988.

Includes liner notes by Anthony DeCurtis.

Personnel: Carl Wilson (vocals, guitar); Dennis Wilson (vocals, drums); Dean Torrence, Alan Jardine, Mike Love , Brian Wilson (vocals); David Marks (guitar).

Audio Remixer: Mark Linett.

Liner Note Author: Anthony DeCurtis.

Recording information: 1962-1985.

After gaining control of the Beach Boys' entire catalog (including all the band's post-1969 material), Capitol released two-fers covering their out of print '70s records and a Brian Wilson-selected compilation titled Classics, then later, a hits compilation -- the longest single-disc American collection ever seen. With all but five tracks coming from their 1962-1969 peak, and every one a Top 40 hit, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys is also the best, a worthy digital-age successor to previous classics like Endless Summer and Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. Though the songs don't appear in chronological order, the compilers improved the concept of a hits compilation by bunching the disc into minisets -- one of classic adolescence songs ("Be True to Your School," "When I Grow Up [To Be a Man]," "In My Room"), one of surfing songs ("Surfin' Safari," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Surfer Girl"), one of frat-boy classics ("Dance, Dance, Dance," "Barbara Ann"), and another including selections from their masterpiece Pet Sounds ("God Only Knows," "Sloop John B.," "Wouldn't It Be Nice"). Nearly any compilation on an important artist can be argued, but it's the rare one that covers as many bases and leaves out so few classics as this one. [One year after the disc's original issue, Sights and Sounds of Summer followed, with the original CD bolstered by a ten-track DVD program. The DVD includes four songs from the group's 1964 appearance on The T.A.M.I. Show (excellent performances complicated by a wind tunnel of screaming girls) -- plus one song from The Lost Concert, the surreal promo videos for "Sloop John B." and Pet Sounds (the latter is a montage of songs), and both performances from the Beach Boys' 1968 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.] ~ John Bush

After gaining control of the Beach Boys' entire catalog (including all the band's post-1969 material), Capitol released two-fers covering their out of print '70s records and a Brian Wilson-selected compilation titled Classics, then later, this hits compilation -- the longest single-disc American collection ever seen. With all but five tracks coming from their 1962-1969 peak, and every one a Top 40 hit, Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys is also the best, a worthy digital-age successor to previous classics like Endless Summer and Greatest Hits, Vol. 1. Though the songs don't appear in chronological order, the compilers improved the concept of a hits compilation by bunching the disc into minisets -- one of classic adolescence songs ("Be True to Your School," "When I Grow Up [To Be a Man]," "In My Room"), one of surfing songs ("Surfin' Safari," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Surfer Girl"), one of frat-boy classics ("Dance, Dance, Dance," "Barbara Ann"), and another including selections from their masterpiece Pet Sounds ("God Only Knows," "Sloop John B.," "Wouldn't It Be Nice"). Nearly any compilation on an important artist can be argued, but it's the rare one that covers as many bases and leaves out so few classics as Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys. ~ John Bush

Capitol's three-disc Beach Boys Holiday Gift Pack set combines the 2003 release Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of the Beach Boys with The Warmth of the Sun, released in 2006. Thankfully, this set doesn't repeat songs and, in most cases, stereo and alternate remixes are used. The third disc is a DVD including Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story, with archival footage and unseen television performances, plus five bonus video clips and seven DVD 5.1 Surround audio mixes. ~ Al Campbell

This collection perfectly captures on a single disc the career arc of one of America's most important pop groups. Stuffing 30 songs into a small space, SOUNDS OF SUMMER checks in with these West Coast sunshine pop wizards at each phase of their development. There's the early chicks-and-cars, Chuck Berry-influenced material ("I Get Around," "Little Deuce Coupe"), the surf songs on which the Beach Boys' early reputation is based (the genre's national anthem "Surfin' Safari," the surprisingly transcendent "Surfer Girl"), and more.

Of course the celebrated "teenage symphonies to God" era is covered nicely, with such untouchable moments as "God Only Knows," "Good Vibrations," and "Wouldn't It Be Nice." The fact that the band didn't dry up and blow away after the 1960s is not lost on SOUNDS OF SUMMER either, as witnessed by the inclusion of Chuck Berry cover "Rock and Roll Music" and the latter-day summer-fun hit "Kokomo."

One of the few acts to simultaneously challenge and inspire the Beatles, the Beach Boys continued making wonderful music long after the 1960s drew to a close. SIGHTS & SOUNDS OF SUMMER is the first single-disc hits package to comprehensively cover the Boys' entire career. Organized thematically rather than chronologically, the collection explores both the group's sun-soaked California teenage fantasies ("Surfin' Safari," "Little Deuce Coupe") and Brian Wilson's later, increasingly introspective and sophisticated pieces ("God Only Knows," "Heroes and Villains"). In addition, there is a healthy amount of running time devoted to the group's harder-edged, band-oriented '70s experiments ("Good Timin'") and '80s revivalist hits ("Kokomo"). One of the few best-of CDs that can boast 30 tracks of uniformly great music, SIGHTS & SOUNDS OF SUMMER will satisfy both nostalgia hounds and Beach Boys neophytes curious about why this ostensibly innocuous West Coast band is counted among pop music's greatest groups.