The American International Pictures film Beach Blanket Bingo barely had enough songs to make up an entire soundtrack. Nevertheless, Capitol Records executives opted to go ahead and release the record “as is,” with just 5 tracks per side, making it the shortest of the Beach Party soundtracks.

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The album opens up with the lone Usher-Christian composition, ‘Cycle Set,’ which is a passable biker number unfortunately tainted by a poor mix. The call-and-answer ‘I Think, You Think’ is exasperating, while Ms. Loren shows off her powerful alto voice in the despondent, ‘It Only Hurts When I Cry.’ ‘These Are the Good Times’ is reminiscent of the early days of rock and roll, sung and arranged in a country-rockabilly style. The rocking ‘I’ll Never Change Him’ attempts to kick the album back into gear and concludes the first side. ‘Fly Boy’ is rather peculiar, with an odd premise and lyrics that seem awkward for everyone involved, while ‘New Love’ boasts a twangy Dwayne Eddy-styled guitar. The maddening, ‘I Am My Ideal’ (‘Follow the Leader’ in the film) plods along like a middle school marching band, complete with corny backing vocals.  Interestingly, the music executives at Capitol elected to place the title song as the penultimate track on the album, which is, expectantly, the disc’s highest point. A brief instrumental by the ever-helpful Mike Curb, entitled ‘Freeway,' closes the album.

  

With half of its’ tracks clocking in at less than two minutes, Beach Blanket Bingo is one of the shortest albums in the surf-rock genre. While the material may be lacking in quality, Donna Loren handles the songs surprisingly well with as much heart and charisma as one possibly can. Still, there's not quite enough fuel to get this release to the beach and back...