Hi there. I’m new on the board and was hoping you guys could answer some questions on completing my BB collection.
I've been buying the BB back catalogue over the past three years or so and now own all the Capitol/Brother re-issues up to 15 Big Ones/Love You (Minus the live albums). I also have Endless Harmony Soundtrack and Hawthorne CA, and am going to treat myself to the Good Vibrations box set for Christmas.
I was wondering where to go from here, I don’t much feel like touching anything after 1977, but I'm sure there are still songs from the early 70s that I don't have. Are there any key bootlegs and live shows that I should try to track down? And if so, where can I start to look? eBay just seems to have official releases.
Also, seeing as the Good Vibrations set wasn't re-mastered in 2001 along with the rest of the catalogue, how does its sound quality hold up to the rest of the re-issued collection?
Thank for your help!
Welcome to the Smiley Smile board.
In terms of where to go it is all based on opinion but I would get the MIU Album/L.A. (Light Album) two-fer. At first you will be dissapointed with a lot of the material but hopefully eventually youll realise that it doesn't all suck too bad as there is a couple of good songs on the two albums such as "My Diane", "Good Timin'", "Angel Come Home", "Baby Blue" etc.. I mean those are some nice songs and some of the other stuff aint too bad either but there is some real rubbish such as the ten minute disco remake of "Here Comes The Night". Most of the rest is mediocre and it took me a while to get used to it and appreciate it. It's hard going from Pet Sounds, Sunflower, Friends etc.. to hearing some of the stuff on MIU.
I would also get the Keeping The Summer Alive/The Beach Boys two-fer. The production sucks but the songs aint all bad. Once again the material is mostly mediocre but there is still some good tracks on there such as "Goin' On", "Santa Ana Winds", "Where I Belong" etc.. Of course everything is based on taste and you might hate all of the songs but I still recommend getting them in case you might like them. If you can stand 15 Big Ones you can stand any of the albums I mentioned.
And finally if you are a fan of Kokomo etc.. then I recommend getting Still Cruisin' (now out of print - but you can find it on eBay etc..) and if you are a fan of Mike Love, John Stamos, really crappy production & really crappy songs then I recommend Summer In Paradise (out of print too - see eBay).
If you are a fan of live albums then I would recommend the Concert/Live In London two-fer. Live In London is my favourite live album but most people like In Concert (ie: not the same as Concert) which I would also get if I was you.
In terms of bootlegs. There is PLENTY of material that is available. I would try and track down the Smile Sessions mainly. Again it all depends on what you like if you like live albums there is WAY too many concerts circulating out there but I'm not the person to ask about that. If you like hearing the recordings sessions (if you are REALLY a nerd) then try and track down the Unsurpassed Masters bootleg series. Plus there is lots of outtakes scattered over various bootlegs but I'll leave others to recommend what is good in terms of those.
The Good Vibrations Box Set sounds fine from what I remember. Of course if you don't already know it contains over 30 minutes of SMiLE material (if you don't know what SMiLE is please look it up). plus some really cool unreleased songs like "Still I Dream of It", "It's Over Now" etc..
Also I don't know if you have any of them but there is some really good solo albums by some of the band members. "Pacific Ocean Blue" by Dennis Wilson is by far the best of them but it is by far the most sought after as it has been out of print for years and is extremely rare and goes for plenty of money on eBay. But if you can somehow see a good deal for it then I would recommend you get it straight away. Brian Wilson's solo albums are all available on CD and I would recommend his debut self-titled album, Imagination and SMiLE. I personally think Orange Crate Art is pretty good too (some people hate it) and I think most of his solo albums have something good to offer (the worst probably being Getting In Over My Head). Carl Wilson's two solo albums are now both out of print but they aren't too great. They have some nice songs on them but overall they aren't the best. Mike Love's solo album is by far the worst out of the original members solo albums but that too is out print but if you see it for anything more than $2 don't buy it in my opinion!!
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