Isn't it time to limit the number of compilation albums?

[Smile4ever]

Any chance the Beach Boys finally settle down with the absurd amount of compilation albums that exist? Most of these should be taken out of print. Just keep the 2012 releases, Sounds of Summer, The Warmth of the Sun, Endless Summer and Spirit of America (for the sake of nostalgia), and two others at most. The amount of compilation albums is ridiculous.

Also, when did the band start releasing so many of these? Was it the 90s or earlier?

[halblaineisgood]

.

[Peter Reum]

One thing I like about The Beatles catalog is the limit on the number of reissues that have been done. The unification of the Beach Boys catalog with EMI was a step in the right direction. But record company staff is so sparse that reissues take 4 times as long as they did even 10 years ago. When you add in the Beach Boys' difficulty in reaching consensus on things, it really complicates catalog decisions. The Smile Box was a notable exception, in that everyone deferred to Brian on that  one. The fact that they got together to play this summer and agreed on a set list bodes well for Made in California.

[Smile4ever]

One thing I like about The Beatles catalog is the limit on the number of reissues that have been done.

Completely agree. Beach Boys need to follow this model and massively simplify everything.

[Smilin Ed H]

Yes.  But the limit should've started about 30 years ago.

[The Shift]

Weren't the three-volume Greatest Hits releases supposed to be the final, definitive Beach Boys compilations? That was around the years 1999/2000 – intriguingly, there have been precisely 2000 GHs releases since then.   

[Paulos]

I was bored once and trawled through Amazon to see how many variations of greatest hits and other random compilations and there must have been 40+ before I gave up. For example we have:

Best Of The Beach Boys Vol 1
Best Of The Beach Boys Vol 2
Best Of The Beach Boys Vol 3
Endless Summer
Spirit Of America
20 Golden Greats
Bug-In
Ten Years Harmony
Made In U.S.A.
Sunshine Dream
Absolute Best Vol 1
Absolute Best Vol 2
Perfect Harmony
Greatest Hits Volume 1
Greatest Hits Volume 2
Greatest Hits Volume 3 Best Of The Brother Years
Beach Boys Classics Selected By Brian Wilson
Very Best Of The Beach Boys
Sounds Of Summer
Platinum Collection
Warmth Of The Sun
Summer Love Songs
Beach Boys 'Zinepak
Greatest Hits
50 Big Ones
plus loads of other random as hell budget compilations

[Gertie J.]

yes, smurf!

[Matt Bielewicz]

To inject a harsh note of prosaic pragmatism into this thread... the thing is... they sell, these endless compilations. They. Sell.

Each time there's a new comp, we (the hardcore fans) go out and buy a few copies, and the general public, who see a new comp in the racks at their local filling station make a snap decision and grab one. So... they sell, in a way that the same OLD set of comps, if we were restricted to one or a couple that always remained the same, *wouldn't* sell. It's the novelty factor.

And while each new comp continues to sell in reasonable numbers, the record company will continue to release them and the Beach Boys (who benefit financially each time a new comp comes out) will continue to sanction their release.

The OP said 'isn't it time to limit the number of compilation albums'. But who, in the real world, is going to do that? It's like someone coming up to you and saying 'I'm going to release this thing on your behalf, it's all totally legal and no-one's getting hurt, and it'll sell, this thing, because they always do, and you're guaranteed multiple thousand dollars as a result'. Who's going to say no to that?

I actually agree with the OP, incidentally. Artistically, it would be the right thing to do. But commercially, it isn't, for any of those involved who have a real say over what comes out or doesn't, and so it's going to continue to happen, whether we like it or not!

[filledeplage]

I was bored once and trawled through Amazon to see how many variations of greatest hits and other random compilations and there must have been 40+ before I gave up. For example we have:

Best Of The Beach Boys Vol 1
Best Of The Beach Boys Vol 2
Best Of The Beach Boys Vol 3
Endless Summer
Spirit Of America
20 Golden Greats
Bug-In
Ten Years Harmony
Made In U.S.A.
Sunshine Dream
Absolute Best Vol 1
Absolute Best Vol 2
Perfect Harmony
Greatest Hits Volume 1
Greatest Hits Volume 2
Greatest Hits Volume 3 Best Of The Brother Years
Beach Boys Classics Selected By Brian Wilson
Very Best Of The Beach Boys
Sounds Of Summer
Platinum Collection
Warmth Of The Sun
Summer Love Songs
Beach Boys 'Zinepak
Greatest Hits
50 Big Ones
plus loads of other random as hell budget compilations

Paulos - that was a good list to look at. Thanks for your effort.  An upside of a compilation, I've found is that they are good introductions to the music, as gifts and often invite the listener to prod into where the respective hits, in terms of more themed work.  I guess I'm spoiled because Pet Sounds was my first BB album and I worked backwards adventurously from that point.  Of course the Best of Vol. 1, curiously timed, opened the door to the earlier work, so I could look back at great albums like Summer Days and Summer Nights, All Summer Long, etc. 

The other compilations such as the Boxed Set and Endless Harmony had tracks that did not appear on the LP's such as the undulating Til I Die, The Airplane, and alternate unreleased versions of other stuff, as well as in the Box Set, some SMiLE tracks. 

And, for the casual listener, it does provide a sort of a "survey course" as it were of the music and evolution of sophistication, and learning curve of the band.  The growth was enormous for all of them.  So, as much as people turn their noses up at the compilations, I think there is merit in exposing the music in however many menus that the public will respond to.

My next goal is to learn to use one of those USB turntables to convert the LP'S to mp3 (or whatever format) for iPhone iPad use.  Any suggestions for a baby boomer to do it easily, from this amazing group of experts would be greatly appreciated!