Of all the things the world is crying out for right now, a new Beach Boys compilation must be pretty far down the list. Nevertheless, the powers that be have found a new way of conjuring one up ­ in this case by persuading the wayward genius of the group, Brian Wilson, to select his 20 personal favourite tracks. Some of his choices are predictable ('God Only Knows', 'California Girls') while others are distinctly on the obscure side ('Busy Doin' Nothin'', the previously unreleased 'California Feelin'). The result is an album that falls between two stools: fans will already own virtually everything here, while those who just want all the hits on a single CD will find their needs much better served by almost any other collection. Of course, it goes without saying that most of the music here is absolutely superb ­ but the awkwardness of the concept makes it a dubious purchase all the same.

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