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THE BEACH BOYS ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

• 17th May 2018

The Beach Boys have announced a new album, ‘The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’, to be released on 8 June by Universal/UMC.

The album pairs The Beach Boys’ original vocal performances with new symphonic arrangements, newly recorded by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios. The album is produced by Don Reedman and Nick Patrick, who were at the helm for the hugely successful albums A Love So Beautiful: Roy Orbison with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and The Wonder of You: Elvis Presley with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Available now for pre-order in digital, CD, and 180-gram 2LP vinyl LP formats (2LP vinyl to be released 17 August), ‘The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’ spans decades of timeless Beach Boys hits and favourites across its 17 tracks.

Fun, Fun, Fun is available now for streaming and for immediate download with the digital album pre-order. ‘The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’ can be pre-ordered.

Beach Boys co-founder Brian Wilson said: “I always knew the vocal arrangements I did back in the 1960s would lend themselves perfectly for a symphony and there is no better one in the world than the Royal Philharmonic. I am both proud and humbled by what they have created using our songs and I hope everyone falls in love with it like I have.”

Beach Boys co-founder Mike Love said: “This album is one of a kind. I think the fact that the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has accompanied The Beach Boys with these great arrangements is just a phenomenal thing. It’s a whole other dimension to our music.”

The Beach Boys’ Al Jardine said: “Don Reedman and Nick Patrick did a terrific job on this. I can’t imagine having more fun than taking some of these great songs and putting them into this perspective. They did a beautiful job of arranging the music around the original vocals, which I think is a terrific idea. It makes the music feel new all over again!”

The Beach Boys’ Bruce Johnston said: “When I listened to the album, I realised that the new arrangements performed by the orchestra didn’t add the wrong kind of weight. They just added the beautiful fairy dust of the orchestra to what we already recorded. It’s another interpretation of us without losing the groundwork of us. I really like it.”

The Beach Boys will also be performing at Hampton Court Palace Festival on 15 and 16 June 2018, which are the band’s only UK concerts on their summer tour this year.

On 8 and 9 March 2018, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra convened in Studio 2 at Universal Music Group’s Abbey Road Studios in London, the storied room where The Beatles, Pink Floyd, and other legendary artists have recorded some of the world’s most cherished music. There, they recorded new orchestral arrangements to complement The Beach Boys’ classic vocal harmonies from the legendary group’s original recordings. Conducted by Steve Sidwell and Sally Herbert, who also wrote several of the album’s new symphonic arrangements, the orchestra dove into The Beach Boys classics, including the new album’s earliest hit, 1964’s Fun, Fun, Fun, and its most recent hit, 1988’s Kokomo.

The album also features the orchestra’s new turns on the signature classics Good Vibrations, California Girls, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, God Only Knows, Sloop John B, Help Me, Rhonda, In My Room, Disney Girls, and several more. The resulting album, The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra honours The Beach Boys’ artistry and innovation in an inspired new way with the group’s first album collaboration with a full orchestra.

‘The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’ co-producer Nick Patrick said: “I’m a complete and utter fan of The Beach Boys and the way their music makes you feel. The Beach Boys’ music is so multi-layered; you can experience it on so many levels. You’ve got the obvious harmonies, which are amazing. But what we found making this record is when you dig down into the arrangements, they’re extraordinary. They’re fresh, new, complex, beautiful and constructed in a completely original way.”

‘The Beach Boys with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra’ co-producer Don Reedman said: “To be able to make this record, it’s a great honour. The feeling you get, listening to the original recordings and the performances, and then to be able to put our expression into their recordings through our arrangements and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is an absolute thrill.”

The Beach Boys With The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra [CD; Digital; 2LP Vinyl]
1. California Suite
2. California Girls
3. Wouldn’t It Be Nice
4. Fun, Fun, Fun
5. Don’t Worry Baby
6. God Only Knows
7. Sloop John B
8. Heroes And Villains
9. Disney Girls
10. Here Today
11. In My Room
12. Kokomo
13. The Warmth Of The Sun
14. Darlin’
15. Help Me, Rhonda
16. You Still Believe In Me
17. Good Vibrations