071 - Beach Boys - Still Cruisin' (1989) (with Jon Sasor)

Jukebox Zeroes

As with most acts who experienced their greatest triumphs in the 1960s and 1970s, the Beach Boys stumbled embarrassingly and ungracefully into the 1980s and beyond. The lushly orchestrated and deeply emotional chamber pop of Brian Wilson was long in the rear view mirror, as the group's former lead songwriter and arranger found himself detached further and further from the rest of the Beach Boys, undergoing infamous and controversial psychological therapy.
Away from Wilson's leadership, band vocalist and frequent song co-writer Mike Love would steer the group further towards singularly commercial ventures. To this day the Beach Boys exist as little more than an oldies nostalgia act, but for a brief moment in the 1980s the band would experience cultural relevancy again, by way of their #1 single "Kokomo", which was written for the soundtrack to the Tom Cruise romantic comedy Cocktail. Its success would lead to its inclusion on Still Cruisin', an album released in 1989 that presented itself as a new studio release, but was made up primarily of songs previously released on film soundtracks, including tracks that had been recorded as far back as the 1960s.
Though Still Cruisin' was a modest commercial success on the back of "Kokomo", critics were unimpressed with the conceit and even less so with the meager new songs written for it, and saw through its facade as little more than a naked cash-in. But what do WE think about it? That's what we're going to find out on this episode of Jukebox Zeroes. Join Lilz and Patrick as they cap off Season 4 with return guest Jon Sasor, and a listen to Still Cruisin', a hollow shell of a Beach Boys record that has Mike Love's commercially-focused stink all over it.
Oh, and Patrick sorts out his vampire business. Or does he...
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