The Sunny Boys: Beach Sounds

Italy’s #1 Beach Boys tribute band

The Sunny Boys are Italy’s leading Beach Boys tribute band, and given the quality of their playing and singing, they could easily compete with their stateside brethren. Their televised appearances, covering Beach Boys songs alongside voluptuous Italian dancers, can be found on YouTube, and now their debut album has received a U.S. digital download release. The production sound is more modern and clean than you’d expect on a classic Beach Boys record, and though the harmonies are heavily influenced by the Wilson brothers (and in turn by the Four Freshmen), the melodies are often more bubblegum and power pop (check out the great intro to “Fun Fun Fun”) than classic ‘60s beach rock. The lead vocals have a nasal tone that variously suggests Mike Love, Gary Lewis and Kasnetz-Katz mainstay, Joey Levine. This is a finely crafted album, and the exuberance of the group’s live performances transfers well to the studio, particularly in the spot-on falsettos. Group leader Gianluca Leone has added ten original songs to the Sunny Boys’ repertoire, including the “Kokomo” homage, “Mahalo.” You can hear the influences of their native Italy interwoven with the harmonies of Jan and Dean in “Full Throttle,” and the thrill of racing down the Italian Alps substitutes perfectly for the roar of a drag strip in the clever “Freerider.” The band’s originals don’t quite stand up to the Brian Wilson classics they cover on stage, but they’re infused with enough of the original group’s magic to bring a smile to your face. [©2011 hyperbolium dot com]

The Sunny Boys’ Home Page (Original Italian | Google English)
The Sunny Boys’ MySpace Page

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