Released on Hannah Barbara Records to coincide with the film of the same name, A Swingin' Summer is a strange collection of songs from a largely forgotten installment in the Beach Party genre.

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The album opens up with the Righteous Brothers' signature hit, 'Justine' - presumably the main draw for 60s record buyers. 'Nitro' is a rather bland 60s instro. Carol Connors' 'Swingin' Summer' is a sweet little number that was also released as a single the same year. A phantom unlisted track - 'Theme From A Summer Place' makes its first of two appearances here. 'Out to the Lunch' is an uninspiring jam session from the faceless Swingers. Raquel Welch sings 'I'm Ready to Groove' - a poorly conceived track obviously placed into the film for narrative purposes. The Swingers return for 'Filet of Soul, ' which is honestly a bit of fun with its calypso beat. The album's best track is a 'live' version of the rare 'Red Hot Roadster' featuring the Rip-Chords, who did briefly appear in the film. Though a vocal version did appear in the film, Tom Jones' 'It's Not Unusual' gets an instrumental makeover here. 'You Can't Fight Sydney Hall' is little more than a corny underscore lifted from the film's soundtrack. 'Penny the Poo' is about as odd as the title suggests. 'Arrow Head Rock' is filler, and the album closes with the second (and this time credited) appearance of 'Theme from A Summer Place.'

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A Swingin' Summer is pretty dull and not very 'swingy.' The eight instrumental tracks are nothing but filler to pad out the album. Strip those away, and what's left are a few third-rate songs, a 'live' version of a Righteous Brothers' classic, a Carol Conners single, and one really solid Rip-Chords number.