GENRE | High School High
LABEL | Double You Productions
Will C. wasn’t yet born in 1978, but really, any genuine historical context would just diminish the way it exists in his mind and on Almost Summer ’78, which falls somewhere in between American Graffiti’s bygone teenage innocence and a vintage fat Brian Wilson acid trip. The latter’s influence looms large over the LP, but things start more on the Mike Love side, notably on the catchy, kitschy title track and “It’s OK,” with it’s bright, Beach Boys-esque sum-sum-summertime vocal harmonies bouncing along behind the ballpark organ chords. For Wilson, see the tender aspirations (“We could be happy alone in a tent…”) of “Open Your Window,” or the slightly psychedelic “Album Tag Song,” which drops an acoustic vocal solo in between the cascading piano beat on either side. Granted, at times he’s too enamored with his influences, veering into imitation on “Had to Phone Ya,” and his first foray into singing has it’s share of growing pains. But the included instrumentals help songs like “She Was A Lady” find new life a second time around.
