VARIOUS ARTISTS
Pickin' On The Beach Boys (CMH Records)
Reviewed by Ron Saranich

---

I love bluegrass music. I grew up listening to the Beach Boys in the 1950s. Like oil and water, somehow bluegrass and Beach Boys don't mix. Perhaps familiarity breeds higher expectations. Pickin' On The Beach Boys lacks the passion and enthusiasm of earlier Pickin' On efforts. I think it's because songs such as "Help Me Rhonda," "Surfin' U.S.A.," "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls" are deeply embedded in our collective consciousness in the Beach Boy versions. Hearing bluegrass interpretations of these songs is like watching cricket for the first time. It seems like baseball but hard to grasp the nuances. Same thing here, it seems like Beach Boys, but there's too much cognitive dissonance. Fans of the Beach Boys should by all means hear this music to see if you like the CD. Ditto die hard bluegrass aficionados. Others - go to your local record store and listen to Pickin' On The Beach Boys. I could be wrong in my judgement. After all, I hated disco.

© 2004 - Ron Saranich