Mark Connelly

Side A contents:

Side B contents:

Comments:

New England winters can be long, cold, and nasty. Many of us dream about tropical islands, a few actually get to travel to them. When summer finally does arrive, it's time to celebrate. Music suggesting the Caribbean, Mexico, Polynesia, Africa, and other warm places is often the perfect background for parties at the beach, in a park, or in one's own backyard.

Side A of the tape "gets tropical" with tunes that navigate the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. It wouldn't be complete without a stop at Key West with legendary beach-bum Jimmy Buffett.

Side B goes into the nostalgia of past summers closer to home - the whole experience of beaches, amusement park rides, baseball, drive-in movies, fireworks, ice-cream stands, and classic cars.

If you lived near Boston in the 1950's and 1960's, you'll think of Revere Beach and Paragon Park - Nantasket (and maybe even the Totem Pole - Norumbega Park if you're a real old timer). Several of the tape's '60s tunes (such as "Temptation") are ones I remember blasting out of radios at Revere Beach when I was a kid. New Yorkers recall Coney Island, Jones Beach, Palisades Park, and the Jersey shore. The rest of the world has Blackpool, Brighton Beach, and other fun spots too numerous to mention.

The last day of school in late June was the event most eagerly anticipated by kids. The summer experience of the early '60s was epitomized by the California sound: surfing and hot-rod groups with their flashy style of guitar playing. Then, in the '70s, Bruce Springsteen brought the New Jersey beach and amusement park perspective to the landscape of summer music.

Driving, both to get to the shore and just for fun, has long been an important part of summer. Several cuts on Side B are high-speed driving tunes of the first order. When you're on the highway, the radio is often your best friend. "Roadrunner", the mid-'70s hit by Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, is the ultimate tribute to driving and cranking the tunes ... and with a local spin to it for me as well.

Summer is too short, so enjoy it when it's here.