Search - Disney :: Disney's Beach Party

A 'Micksed' bag

C. L. Wilson | Central San Joaquin Valley, CA | 06/16/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Having just visited Disney's California Adventure, I was looking for those great instrumental versions of Beach Boys tunes they play in the park. Unfortunately, this isn't it. On the plus side, it's a pretty slick tribute album, if you can get past the goofy (and Mickey and Minnie) voiceovers between the cuts and over some of the instrumental breaks. Mark Linett, no stranger to Beach Boys fans, did the mixing, engineering, and co-produced, along with Fred Mollin, whose Blue Sea Band gets points for the faithful recreation of the California sound. Personally, I could've done without the female 'Kids Chorus', whose only worthwhile contribution was as the cheerleaders on Be True To Your School. Another caveat to Beach Boys purists: they've Disneyfied the lyrics here and there. In I Get Around, for instance, "we've never missed yet with the girls we meet" becomes "...the kids we meet" and "went to the dance lookin' for romance" in Barbara Ann is now "...when you gave a glance". As Goofy would say, "Garsh!" (If the Beach Boys have to be cleaned up, let's hope the good folks at Disney have the decency to leave the Beatles' canon alone...!)"