Mistakes in two-fer booklets

[Steve Mayo]

sometimes the answer is a simple..oops..people are human. i pointed out a couple of mistakes in the good vibrations box set book to david leaf (chart positions) and his reply was a simple.."s h i t".  and yes, it does happen... 

[guitarfool2002]

Mistakes do happen, obviously. It's amazing how many mistakes are found in various box sets, reissues, etc. No one is perfect. However, it makes one wonder about the machinery behind the scenes that has situations where fans catch these mistakes instantly upon the release of these sets yet groups of editors, managers, lawyers, historians, etc who are actually paid to do this sort of thing don't catch them in the early stages of the project and correct them.

I could see it with a newspaper, on a very tight schedule where perhaps one copy editor and maybe even the editor-in-chief *might* catch the obvious errors. But considering any historical reissue project or box set release with blatant factual errors (not typos or grammar issues), I'd think the standards should be higher with all the stages of the process. Not that it really matters at all, I'm just commenting on it.

[Andrew G. Doe]

sometimes the answer is a simple..oops..people are human. i pointed out a couple of mistakes in the good vibrations box set book to david leaf (chart positions) and his reply was a simple.."s h i t".  and yes, it does happen...  

David's funny like that: when Made In USA came out I questioned his stating that MIU came out in 1977. He looked at me as if I was an idiot and said "because it did ?"  So I showed him the sleeve. "Sh*t".

[metal flake paint]

IIRC the saxophone sound is actually a droning accordion, possibly played by Brian.

Well, I'd never heard about that. That's really interesting to me. Anyone can shed some more light on it ?

The very end of the o/d session bears this out. By the way, the guys really groove on "Memphis Beach" (as it was then slated), during the sessions. Carl and Al are on guitar and bass respectively, plugged directly into the board, while Dennis, on drums, and Brian, on piano, are out in the studio with Brian counting off. The lead guitar was o/dubbed by Carl as was the accordion, possibly by Brian, possibly someone else. There's also a tambourine being played live (i.e. not o/dubbed). Not sure if it's placed on the high-hat of Dennis's kit (was that usual practice?) or it's being played by an unidentified person (Hal, Mike, Ron Swallow, Terry..?)

[GuyOnTheBeach]

I don't have it to hand but I swear that the booklet for 15 Big Ones/Love You says that Mona was written as a collaboration with Phil Spector.

[Rocker]

IIRC the saxophone sound is actually a droning accordion, possibly played by Brian.

Well, I'd never heard about that. That's really interesting to me. Anyone can shed some more light on it ?

The very end of the o/d session bears this out. By the way, the guys really groove on "Memphis Beach" (as it was then slated), during the sessions. Carl and Al are on guitar and bass respectively, plugged directly into the board, while Dennis, on drums, and Brian, on piano, are out in the studio with Brian counting off. The lead guitar was o/dubbed by Carl as was the accordion, possibly by Brian, possibly someone else. There's also a tambourine being played live (i.e. not o/dubbed). Not sure if it's placed on the high-hat of Dennis's kit (was that usual practice?) or it's being played by an unidentified person (Hal, Mike, Ron Swallow, Terry..?)

Thank you for the infos ! The band sounds really good and tight on that track. That's why I believed the things written in the booklet until I heard some parts of the sessions were Brian clearly was talking form the studio floor and Dennis was being complimented by Chuck Britz (?). In fact it is this which gave me the idea to this thread.

Mistakes do happen, obviously. It's amazing how many mistakes are found in various box sets, reissues, etc. No one is perfect. However, it makes one wonder about the machinery behind the scenes that has situations where fans catch these mistakes instantly upon the release of these sets yet groups of editors, managers, lawyers, historians, etc who are actually paid to do this sort of thing don't catch them in the early stages of the project and correct them.

It seems that usually the company doesn't give a damn. You always can find even wrong takes (!) of songs on Presley boxsets (or even simple CDs). On the other hand, the Beach Boys aren't dead and Carl was still alive in 1990. We know that Mike wanted to write an essay which caused the Pet Sounds Box to being released later than planned.

[Jon Stebbins]

What is even more interesting is that "Memphis Beach" or "Carl's Big Chance" is not an anomaly by any means. Most of the All Summer Long LP...probably 90% or more is the Beach Boys on the instruments, other than sax and piccolo etc... The guitars are Carl, the drums are usually Dennis, the bass is usually Al, and the piano or organ is usually Brian. There are maybe two or two and a half exceptions. One thing that always kills me about those two-fer notes is where Leaf points out that the "demo" for "Dance Dance Dance" sounds different because it features the Beach Boys on instruments, as if they were all replaced on the record, but the record features Carl and Al on guitar, Dennis on drums, and Brian on bass with some session players adding percussion and augmentation on bass/guitar. The core Beach Boys are the band on that great record, and so many more great records that too many people assume are not them. The two-fer liner notes really perpetuated that myth and it sucks. Also Peter Buck crediting Brian as lead vocalist on "Mona" when its Dennis, and as stated here Brian taking credit for "I Can Hear Music" when he wasn't on it, and a bunch more ugly errors. Grumble.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I don't have it to hand but I swear that the booklet for 15 Big Ones/Love You says that Mona was written as a collaboration with Phil Spector.

It's rude to swear, especially when you're wrong about it. 

Lyric mention PS - that's all.

[SMiLE Brian]

What is even more interesting is that "Memphis Beach" or "Carl's Big Chance" is not an anomaly by any means. Most of the All Summer Long LP...probably 90% or more is the Beach Boys on the instruments, other than sax and piccolo etc... The guitars are Carl, the drums are usually Dennis, the bass is usually Al, and the piano or organ is usually Brian. There are maybe two or two and a half exceptions. One thing that always kills me about those two-fer notes is where Leaf points out that the "demo" for "Dance Dance Dance" sounds different because it features the Beach Boys on instruments, as if they were all replaced on the record, but the record features Carl and Al on guitar, Dennis on drums, and Brian on bass with some session players adding percussion and augmentation on bass/guitar. The core Beach Boys are the band on that great record, and so many more great records that too many people assume are not them. The two-fer liner notes really perpetuated that myth and it sucks. Also Peter Buck crediting Brian as lead vocalist on "Mona" when its Dennis, and as stated here Brian taking credit for "I Can Hear Music" when he wasn't on it, and a bunch more ugly errors. Grumble.

The Beach Boy's epic TAMI show appearance definitely proved that the band played on the studio version because they knew the song well and made it rock to new heights. That show was Dennis Wilson's finest hour on the drum kit.

[Shady]

May god bless the men behind the upcoming smile booklet  

They are gonna need it

[c-man]

May god bless the men behind the upcoming smile booklet  

They are gonna need it

[Shady]

May god bless the men behind the upcoming smile booklet  

They are gonna need it

 

[Rocker]

What is even more interesting is that "Memphis Beach" or "Carl's Big Chance" is not an anomaly by any means. Most of the All Summer Long LP...probably 90% or more is the Beach Boys on the instruments, other than sax and piccolo etc... The guitars are Carl, the drums are usually Dennis, the bass is usually Al, and the piano or organ is usually Brian. There are maybe two or two and a half exceptions. One thing that always kills me about those two-fer notes is where Leaf points out that the "demo" for "Dance Dance Dance" sounds different because it features the Beach Boys on instruments, as if they were all replaced on the record, but the record features Carl and Al on guitar, Dennis on drums, and Brian on bass with some session players adding percussion and augmentation on bass/guitar. The core Beach Boys are the band on that great record, and so many more great records that too many people assume are not them. The two-fer liner notes really perpetuated that myth and it sucks. Also Peter Buck crediting Brian as lead vocalist on "Mona" when its Dennis, and as stated here Brian taking credit for "I Can Hear Music" when he wasn't on it, and a bunch more ugly errors. Grumble.

See, that's where I wanted to get with my first posting. It sucks, when you always hear (even in Beach Boys fandom) that they more or less stopped playing on their records after Surfin' USA. That myth is so widespreaded that you also read this in all music magazines. That's why I think there should be a major book release (or something to that effect) about the role the boys played on their records instrumentally and vocally. Maybe even the kind of instruments they used. As mentioned, C-man's site is a great way to start.

Would you happen to know any author who has an interest in the Beach Boys and maybe already has written two or three books about them ?

[Jon Stebbins]

What is even more interesting is that "Memphis Beach" or "Carl's Big Chance" is not an anomaly by any means. Most of the All Summer Long LP...probably 90% or more is the Beach Boys on the instruments, other than sax and piccolo etc... The guitars are Carl, the drums are usually Dennis, the bass is usually Al, and the piano or organ is usually Brian. There are maybe two or two and a half exceptions. One thing that always kills me about those two-fer notes is where Leaf points out that the "demo" for "Dance Dance Dance" sounds different because it features the Beach Boys on instruments, as if they were all replaced on the record, but the record features Carl and Al on guitar, Dennis on drums, and Brian on bass with some session players adding percussion and augmentation on bass/guitar. The core Beach Boys are the band on that great record, and so many more great records that too many people assume are not them. The two-fer liner notes really perpetuated that myth and it sucks. Also Peter Buck crediting Brian as lead vocalist on "Mona" when its Dennis, and as stated here Brian taking credit for "I Can Hear Music" when he wasn't on it, and a bunch more ugly errors. Grumble.

See, that's where I wanted to get with my first posting. It sucks, when you always hear (even in Beach Boys fandom) that they more or less stopped playing on their records after Surfin' USA. That myth is so widespreaded that you also read this in all music magazines. That's why I think there should be a major book release (or something to that effect) about the role the boys played on their records instrumentally and vocally. Maybe even the kind of instruments they used. As mentioned, C-man's site is a great way to start.

Would you happen to know any author who has an interest in the Beach Boys and maybe already has written two or three books about them ?

With a big assist from C-man we delve fairly deeply into this subject matter circa 1963 - 1965 in my upcoming book...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879309873/ref=pe_143810_20758230_snp_dp

[Rocker]

What is even more interesting is that "Memphis Beach" or "Carl's Big Chance" is not an anomaly by any means. Most of the All Summer Long LP...probably 90% or more is the Beach Boys on the instruments, other than sax and piccolo etc... The guitars are Carl, the drums are usually Dennis, the bass is usually Al, and the piano or organ is usually Brian. There are maybe two or two and a half exceptions. One thing that always kills me about those two-fer notes is where Leaf points out that the "demo" for "Dance Dance Dance" sounds different because it features the Beach Boys on instruments, as if they were all replaced on the record, but the record features Carl and Al on guitar, Dennis on drums, and Brian on bass with some session players adding percussion and augmentation on bass/guitar. The core Beach Boys are the band on that great record, and so many more great records that too many people assume are not them. The two-fer liner notes really perpetuated that myth and it sucks. Also Peter Buck crediting Brian as lead vocalist on "Mona" when its Dennis, and as stated here Brian taking credit for "I Can Hear Music" when he wasn't on it, and a bunch more ugly errors. Grumble.

See, that's where I wanted to get with my first posting. It sucks, when you always hear (even in Beach Boys fandom) that they more or less stopped playing on their records after Surfin' USA. That myth is so widespreaded that you also read this in all music magazines. That's why I think there should be a major book release (or something to that effect) about the role the boys played on their records instrumentally and vocally. Maybe even the kind of instruments they used. As mentioned, C-man's site is a great way to start.

Would you happen to know any author who has an interest in the Beach Boys and maybe already has written two or three books about them ?

With a big assist from C-man we delve fairly deeply into this subject matter circa 1963 - 1965 in my upcoming book...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879309873/ref=pe_143810_20758230_snp_dp

I was hoping for that ! Thanks for the heads up. Bring on september !