Post-release MIC >>ALL<< of MIC discussion thread (not just the tracks!)

[37!ws]

Well, I guess my thoughts are as follows. But first, to address the typical whininess that is smileysmile.net:

"This is a ripoff because it has everything that's on 50 Big Ones!"
Oh, STFU.

Why on earth did you even buy that compilation? IT WAS NOT FOR YOU. Did you also complain that the three Best Of volumes made you re-buy songs you already had (including "409" on TWO of those volumes? Did you also get excited when you saw For All Seasons, Wow! Great Concert! and the "ook op een" records in the stores, only to get pissed off because they're ripping you off?

Yet did you buy original 1966 mono, original 1966 Duophonic, 1986 green-label budget reissue, So Tough twofer, the 1988 Japan CD reissue, the 1990 Capitol CD reissue, the 1993 DCC gold disc CD reissue, the latest MFSL gold disc CD reissue, the 1999 mono/stereo twofer CD, the corrected 2001 mono/stereo twofer CD, the 2006 mono/stereo vinyl twofer, the 2006 "fuzzy box" CD reissue, and the 2012 CD reissue of Pet Sounds with nary a complaint but being proud of building up your Pet Sounds collection? (Bonus points if you have the "ook op een" version.)

"I have to tread through all this redundancy to get to the (take your pick, depending on how you look at it: 1, 22, 65, 47, 32, 89, or whatever) unreleased tracks!"
Much as I suspected, there's actually a lot more unreleased stuff on here than we've been led to believe, in a subtle way. It helps if you actually LISTEN to it.

"They expect me to pay $____ for six CDs?! You kidding me?!"
Unfortunately, you can't get just the CDs. If you want this set, you also have to get the packaging, which is extremely well put together...in look and feel of a high school yearbook, complete with actual yearbook photos, "in memoriam" kinda stuff, tons of pictures you have NOT seen before (including the one next to the "My Philosophy" essay which, at quick glance, gives you a freakout because you think it's that early '80s picture of Brian naked at the hotel room desk) and faux (and possibly vrai!) advertisements from businesses associated with the Beach Boys. Also included is a list of every known living being that performed on or was on the crew of any Beach Boys songs -- and I mean LITERALLY, as Louie and Banana are listed in the credits with everybody else. (And I know of at least one or two people on this board who probably have versions in which every goshdarn name is David Marks.) The graphics on the CDs sure beat those weird inserts in the Good Vibrations box.

Speaking of which...

"WTF? I already have the GV box!"
Yes, but:

1) That came out in 1993, likely actually put together closer to 1991. What you have is mastering done 20 years ago.

2) From what I can tell, each of the six CDs in Made In California is jam packed; they squeezed every second they could out of those. How long are the five CDs in GV??? 70 minutes maybe??

3) Let me repeat: GV came out in 1993. TWENTY years ago. Just to put it in perspective, I was 18 years old when I bought that. Yup, an 18-year-old fan. Guess what: there are fans RIGHT NOW that are that age or close to it; someone I know personally was literally a BABY when GV came out. I'm sure Capitol isn't counting on fans that young to have their own copies of GV.

"Blondie is given the shaft!"
What, no love for Ricky?

Well...keep in mind Ricky was only a part of the band for two years, and the one hit he sang lead on, he sang because Dennis was too antsy to record a complete vocal. And said hit is included on the set, as is a soundboard recording from a 1972 concert of him singing "Wild Honey." If you don't like it, have Stebbins write a book about him. (Actually, Jon, regardless, please write a book about him! I'll read it! And do one about Carl while you're at it! Seems we surprisingly don't know much about him...) But really, what more do you need? He's in the pictures, he's on the recordings.

"Adult/Child is virtually ignored!"
Yup, it is. But so is Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys and Add Some Music, so what's your point? They can only put so much without having to break into another CD and having to charge even more for it...plus, you want some stuff for another Endless Harmony type release that will hopefully happen down the line. Also, ever think that maybe there was a reason that only one track from that unreleased album appears? Perhaps the same reason "Let Him Run Wild" wasn't included on Good Vibrations? Ask Brian and the other guys what wonderful times those were during the recording of Adult/Child. I'm SURE they'd love to revisit that time.

"What about 'Chasin' The Sky?'"
It's a cover. Licensing issues. They probably had to limit it to the most important covers, rather than those to satisfy the bloodlusty fans, to keep costs from going beyond what they were.

Really, this is a great set. In terms of comprehensiveness, it blows away Good Vibrations. In terms of sound quality, it blows away most of the other Beach Boys recordings that are out there, period. In terms of variety, it blows away Good Vibrations. In terms of visual appeal, it blows away Good Vibrations.

Of course, I could do without yet another incarnation of "'Good Vibrations,' take one." "We're ROLLIN'!"  I would have easily sacrificed that for just one take of the 1976 version of "Hey Little Tomboy" so those of you whining about Adult/Child being ignored would shaddap.

[Charles LePage @ ComicList]

I think they should have included a LOT more songs from 1980-2012.   They could have given that period an entire CD instead of part of one.  Though, I don't know what I have left off to make room for other songs.

[Nicko1234]

Well, I guess my thoughts are as follows. But first, to address the typical whininess that is smileysmile.net:

"This is a ripoff because it has everything that's on 50 Big Ones!"
Oh, STFU.

Why on earth did you even buy that compilation? IT WAS NOT FOR YOU. Did you also complain that the three Best Of volumes made you re-buy songs you already had (including "409" on TWO of those volumes? Did you also get excited when you saw For All Seasons, Wow! Great Concert! and the "ook op een" records in the stores, only to get pissed off because they're ripping you off?


"They expect me to pay $____ for six CDs?! You kidding me?!"
Unfortunately, you can't get just the CDs. If you want this set, you also have to get the packaging, which is extremely well put together...in look and feel of a high school yearbook, complete with actual yearbook photos, "in memoriam" kinda stuff, tons of pictures you have NOT seen before (including the one next to the "My Philosophy" essay which, at quick glance, gives you a freakout because you think it's that early '80s picture of Brian naked at the hotel room desk) and faux (and possibly vrai!) advertisements from businesses associated with the Beach Boys. Also included is a list of every known living being that performed on or was on the crew of any Beach Boys songs -- and I mean LITERALLY, as Louie and Banana are listed in the credits with everybody else. (And I know of at least one or two people on this board who probably have versions in which every goshdarn name is David Marks.) The graphics on the CDs sure beat those weird inserts in the Good Vibrations box.

I can understand these comments up to a point...

But how much exactly do you think the packaging cost to produce? MiC is currently $132 on Amazon which is $60, $70 or $80 more than many other recent box sets.

And while the price on Amazon isn't entirely Capitol's fault, it does not exactly fit together well with the assertion from so many that this is also targeted at the casual fan. How many casual fans would not have purchased 50 Big Ones for $20 but will order this for $130?

It will be interesting to find out how well this sells...

[drbeachboy]

Well, I guess my thoughts are as follows. But first, to address the typical whininess that is smileysmile.net:

"This is a ripoff because it has everything that's on 50 Big Ones!"
Oh, STFU.

Why on earth did you even buy that compilation? IT WAS NOT FOR YOU. Did you also complain that the three Best Of volumes made you re-buy songs you already had (including "409" on TWO of those volumes? Did you also get excited when you saw For All Seasons, Wow! Great Concert! and the "ook op een" records in the stores, only to get pissed off because they're ripping you off?


"They expect me to pay $____ for six CDs?! You kidding me?!"
Unfortunately, you can't get just the CDs. If you want this set, you also have to get the packaging, which is extremely well put together...in look and feel of a high school yearbook, complete with actual yearbook photos, "in memoriam" kinda stuff, tons of pictures you have NOT seen before (including the one next to the "My Philosophy" essay which, at quick glance, gives you a freakout because you think it's that early '80s picture of Brian naked at the hotel room desk) and faux (and possibly vrai!) advertisements from businesses associated with the Beach Boys. Also included is a list of every known living being that performed on or was on the crew of any Beach Boys songs -- and I mean LITERALLY, as Louie and Banana are listed in the credits with everybody else. (And I know of at least one or two people on this board who probably have versions in which every goshdarn name is David Marks.) The graphics on the CDs sure beat those weird inserts in the Good Vibrations box.

I can understand these comments up to a point...

But how much exactly do you think the packaging cost to produce? MiC is currently $132 on Amazon which is $60, $70 or $80 more than many other recent box sets.

And while the price on Amazon isn't entirely Capitol's fault, it does not exactly fit together well with the assertion from so many that this is also targeted at the casual fan. How many casual fans would not have purchased 50 Big Ones for $20 but will order this for $130?

It will be interesting to find out how well this sells...

The MSRP of $149.99 I believe would come from UMe/Capitol. Amazon or whoever can adjust their price from there. Makes me wonder what the wholesale price was due to Amazon only reducing down $20.

[Dave Modny]

I have to say...and being that they look so real...


10 years from now, I've gotta wonder how many people will be selling the box on eBay as "autographed by 5 members of The Beach Boys!"? 

[the professor]

unless you are poor and struggling, don't complain about the price. In LA it's just the cost of 2 sushi dinner dates or one date in a nice Italian place compared to 7 hours of music that you can listen to for the rest of your life?  No complaints about price: eat rice and beans for 2 weeks as I have.

random favorites of the Professor: Runaway; studio setup for Surfers rule; Dadorunrun; plus everything else I never heard before and everything else I never heard so pristine and sharp in remastering and production.

CD sounds better than the Rhapsody transfer to sandisc. Must be a technical reason for that that I just don't know: CD's are just better.
 

[bgas]

I have to say...and being that they look so real...


10 years from now, I've gotta wonder how many people will be selling the box on eBay as "autographed by 5 members of The Beach Boys!"? 

Why Wait?

[jeffcdo]

Overall I am pleased with the box and happy to see the inclusion of several tracks I have not heard before.  I have the same problem here as I did with the 2012 remasters, specifically, everything sounds a bit too harsh and flat.  I'm sure to get some disagreement, but to my ears the Beatles remasters sounded revelatory.  The latest batch of Beach Boys remasters sound "bright" but not "full."  It's not enough for me to be a dealbreaker.  Oddly enough, I don't notice it as much on the SMiLE Sessions.

[Wirestone]

I'm sure to get some disagreement, but to my ears the Beatles remasters sounded revelatory.

Apparently, all the Beatles fans hate 'em.

See, I think it all has to do with familiarity. We know the BB catalogue, and we know how we want it to sound. Other groups, we're sometimes more open to a reinterpreted sound world.

[jeffcdo]

See, I think it all has to do with familiarity. We know the BB catalogue, and we know how we want it to sound. Other groups, we're sometimes more open to a reinterpreted sound world.

Seems to me it's just the opposite.  The greater the familiarity, the more likely one is to hear the differences across various reissues/remasters.

[Matt Bielewicz]

See, I think it all has to do with familiarity. We know the BB catalogue, and we know how we want it to sound. Other groups, we're sometimes more open to a reinterpreted sound world.

Seems to me it's just the opposite.  The greater the familiarity, the more likely one is to hear the differences across various reissues/remasters.

Jeff, isn't Wirestone's point actually *the same* one you're making?

I think Wirestone's point is exactly why, for example, some people are put out that DLYW on TSS no longer has the warpy tape section ('but I liked that, I thought it was an interesting creative choice...') or that the TSS session mixes sound 'less dark and scary' than the murky, bass-boosted bootlegs we were all listening to for years, or why people hear the 'new' You've Lost That Loving Feeling on MiC and think it sounds 'less powerful' than the bootleg where the EQ was all screwy and so the bass was up way higher than it should have been.

Or, to pick a less contentious example, it explains why everyone is complaining that Soul Searching and You're Still A Mystery are now too slow, just because the crappy cassette-sourced boots ran fast. We now have the songs running at the correct, originally intended speed.

These things were messed up, but we got used to them in that form. But that doesn't mean they were right like that.

Just because it turns out we had rose-tinted shades on for years, doesn't mean the sky really is green...

[jeffcdo]

I see your point(s), but my comment was addressing to the overall sound of the 2012 remasters and the new box.   I'm more than happy to have speed corrections, draggy tapes fixed, etc.  With MIC I find it hard to believe that over the course of the Beach Boys entire career from beginning to present day, their music was "supposed to" sound somewhat flat and treble-y.  Like I said it's not a dealbreaker for me, just a disappointment.    Exactly the same as my reaction to the 2012 remasters, which I still listen to of course.

[37!ws]

I'm sure to get some disagreement, but to my ears the Beatles remasters sounded revelatory.

Apparently, all the Beatles fans hate 'em.

See, I think it all has to do with familiarity. We know the BB catalogue, and we know how we want it to sound. Other groups, we're sometimes more open to a reinterpreted sound world.

I'm a Beatles fan (more so than a BB/BW fan, actually) and I LOVE 'em, although most of the monos sound dull, but that's down to the actual mixing rather than the remastering; their mono stuff wasn't done as well as Brian's.

[Banana]

I was hoping for a cleaned up, remastered version of "Drip Drop" and maybe "Life Is For the Living"!

[humanoidboogie]

I think it's a very good box set. It's probably worth it for "My Love Lives On" alone. At the risk of sounding like someone over at the mullet forum, I'm a bit disappointed by the jacked up treble. The price is probably OK for a six CD/book set, but for comparison, the Nilsson RCA Albums Collection box is 17 discs and $99.

[Eric Aniversario]

Does anyone know why the tracks in disc one are not in chronological order?

[37!ws]

Might be because the compilers thought it flowed better, I dunno. Same reason disc 4 of GV starts with "Sail On, Sailor" rather than a So Tough track.