Beach Party, Vol. 2

• Artist: Various Artists
• Release Date: September 16, 2003
• Type: Collection (various artists)
• Genre: Rhythm & Blues

Review

First, a word about what "beach music" is not, at least in regard to this collection: It is not surf music, or anything by the Beach Boys, or Frankie Avalon, or Dick Dale. Beach music, in the context of Beach Party, Vol. 2, is a vague mix of R & B, soul, and disco that is prevalent in the Carolinas, and features a relaxed four/four shuffle rhythm (but then so does half of Western pop music). Like Louisiana's swamp pop genre, beach music ends up being anything a practitioner of beach music might play, the way anything Otis Redding sang became soul. Definitions aside, this collection of beach music is a dancer's delight. The opening track, "Losing My Baby," by the Memphis All-Stars, sounds like a lost jump blues classic, and sets the tone for the wonderful music to follow. Another highlight is the Motown-sounding "Going Back to Carolina" by Smith No Luggage (featuring Californian Joe Bean Esposito). Big John Thompson does a version of the Eagles' "Heartache Tonight" that clarifies the song's inherent R & B roots, and ends up proving the point: beach music is whatever music is being played in the beach music bars and clubs of North and South Carolina. Now get up and dance. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi

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