Background
After "Kokomo" (when released as a single from the Cocktail film soundtrack) gave the Beach Boys their first number-one hit in the U.S. since 1966's "Good Vibrations", the band decided to put together an album of recent and classic songs. The classic songs included had been heard in recent films. The songs "Still Cruisin'", "Somewhere Near Japan" and "Island Girl" were recorded for the album by the touring Beach Boys band as well as studio musicians and producer Terry Melcher. Due to his ongoing relationship with Dr. Eugene Landy, Brian Wilson's lone contribution to this album was "In My Car", a song credited as being co-written by Landy and girlfriend Alexandra Morgan. However, as subsequent court cases have seen Landy's name removed from other period songs, such as those on Wilson's 1988 album, these credits may be negated. "Kokomo" was a recent single, as was "Wipe Out", a duet with American rap group the Fat Boys. (The song was originally to be recorded with Run-DMC, but Mike Love apparently struck a deal with the other group.) Make It Big was recorded for the film Troop Beverly Hills, and the remaining three songs- "I Get Around", "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "California Girls" – were the 'classic' recordings, ones from the group's earlier period, that had been used in recent films.
Mike Love said of the album: "The theme of that album was to have been songs that have been in movies. It was basically a repackage. But then it got watered down with politics, meaning Brian's Dr. Landy forcing a song called "In My Car," which was never in a movie, and a song by Jardine, which ultimately ended up on the album, called "Island Girl," which was never in a movie either. So to me the concept was a little bit diluted there politically."
Riding on the coattails of "Kokomo", Still Cruisin' went gold in the U.S., and gave The Beach Boys their best chart showing since 1976. During Capitol's Beach Boys re-issue campaign in 2000 and 2001 however, Still Cruisin' was left behind and allowed to go out of print. The album is available to download though on iTunes and other music downloading sites.
Read more about this topic: Still Cruisin'
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