Amazon (and iTunes!!!) samples are up

[Summertime Blooz]

Need I say more?

[Runaways]

start talkin peeps!

[Kirk]

Al sounds awesome on "From There to Back Again"

[EgoHanger1966]

Strange World has the Pet Sounds sound!

[EgoHanger1966]

Initial thoughts.... (of course, from 30 second samples, these are a bit skewed!)

Isn't It Time has a strong melody.
Bill and Sue - the vocal sounds curiously like BW circa '98. Was this REALLY written for the new album?
Shelter is pretty good!
Daybreak is in a nice position, breaks up the Brian tracks and it's a mellow vocal.
Beaches has a bit of bass harmonica,
Not blown away by From There or Paciic....at all. Maybe you have to hear the whole tracks.
Summer's Gone is a beauty.

[Kirk]

"Isn't It Time" sounds very MIU-y to me ... and I mean that in a good, Wontcha Come Out Tonight/Pitter Patter sort of way.

[Wirestone]

"Isn't It Time" sounds very MIU-y to me ... and I mean that in a good, Wontcha Come Out Tonight/Pitter Patter sort of way.

Some rockin' Al chorus vocals will do that!

[Loaf]

Initial thoughts: if this is the final BBs album, it will be a strong finish. A much more fitting epitaph than SIP.

Genuinely excited now

[STE]

No no no, I refuse to listen!! Leave me alone!!

 

[Andrew G. Doe]

No-one noticed that "TWGMTR" is a slightly different mix ?

[Wrightfan]

Loving what I'm hearing.

Absolutely amazing how great Al sounds at his age. Brian sounds damn good as well.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Not blown away by From There or Paciic....at all. Maybe you have to hear the whole tracks.

Yes... they've not chosen the best parts. The entirety of "FTTBA" is stunning. STUN. NING.

[seltaeb1012002]

No-one noticed that "TWGMTR" is a slightly different mix ?

That's the only sample I checked. Hard to tell in low quality. Snare sounds possibly a little chunkier. Is that an added acoustic guitar?

[Wirestone]

Brian is singing falsetto on several tunes, from the sound of it. Ah, JT, you know my weakness ...

[Kirk]

Some rockin' Al chorus vocals will do that!

Exactly. One reason I love MIU and "You're Still a Mystery" is the interplay between Al and Brian (and Mike, often). Al doesn't get enough credit for the different textures of voice he has.

[seltaeb1012002]

Brian is singing falsetto on several tunes, from the sound of it. Ah, JT, you know my weakness ...

HELL YEAH! 

[37!ws]

Heard "Spring Vacation" from that Dutch radio thingy...all I can say is...it's the lyrics of the song "Looking Back With Love" set to a backing track better than it would ever deserve.

[Summertime Blooz]

The samples that stand out for me are From There To Back Again, Isn't It Time, and Summer's Gone. The only sample that I don't think offered any promise was Beaches In Mind. I really believe, from listening to this small sampling, that the album will be a wonderful treat for most Beach Boys fans.

[pixletwin]

I found enough in each of those samples that I liked - Even Daybreak. I am going to love this album.

[Andrew G. Doe]

No-one noticed that "TWGMTR" is a slightly different mix ?

That's the only sample I checked. Hard to tell in low quality. Snare sounds possibly a little chunkier. Is that an added acoustic guitar?

Keyboard overdub, to these ears.

[southbay]

Beaches in Mind--I wanted to hear Al's whistling.... Dang.

[Menace Wilson]

Do we know to what extent BW was involved in writing these tunes, if at all?  AGD?

[Runaways]

Do we know to what extent BW was involved in writing these tunes, if at all?  AGD?

i think when brian says he wrote a lot of them in 98 with JT, then i believe it

[Fro]

Do we know to what extent BW was involved in writing these tunes, if at all?  AGD?

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=That%27s_Why_God_Made_the_Radio&oldid=492612718

Brian is credited on every song except "Daybreak" (which Mike Love wrote alone).  Same for Joe Thomas.

[Melt Away]

Wow. Sorta iffy in the middle but this is going to be one amazing album!

I really dig "Think About The Days", "Isn't It Time" (YEAH AL!), "Spring Vacation" I don't know why but I actually like this one, "The Private Life of Bill and Sue" The quirky BW instrumentation in the beginning is awesome, "Shelter" would be better if one of the real BB's did Foskett's part, "Pacific Coast Highway" Brian's voice makes this for me and "Summer's Gone" made me shut my eyes and it took me somewhere else for 29 seconds, only the the BB's.

The title track of course is good too but that's been covered elsewhere although it does sound like a new mix. "Daybreak Over The Ocean"(hard to tell if Mike's going for the psychedelic vibe or the cocktails in paradise vibe), "Beaches In Mind"(good beginning, lame chorus), "Strange World" (meh) and "From There To Back Again" aren't unlistenable to me but I don't feel like they are as strong as the others. But we'll only really know until we hear the full tracks because a Dave guitar solo or BW falsetto we didn't hear in these clips could easily elevate any one of these tracks.

I can't wait to get my best pair of studio headphones and the biggest joint I can roll for this record. Long overdue but soon will be time for the BB fanatics to receive the album they deserve. I'd love to see another record if they can do it. I know they have the material, it's just the whole age and time thing. Anyway, sounds like a great album. I hope this gets some national airplay even though I hate popular radio.