Good Vibrations in stereo?

[The Heartical Don]

...yesterday I was staring at the Sounds Of Summer CD and I wondered: is it technically possible to re-mix GV (the official one) in stereo, much in the same way that Heroes and Villains got the treatment? Or am I already firmly entering iconoclastic territory here? 

[lance]

I don't think it is. I think the tapes with the vocals on them have been lost. So the backing track can be done in stereo--and has been, but the other one hasn't. I think there are plenty of non-official stereo mixes, though. Not quite sure how it works.

[Wrightfan]

The stereo backing track was just officially released about a year or two ago (as part of the 40th anniversary CD and mp3 reissue of Good Vibrations) but the multi-track vocals are gone.

I guess you could lay the Smiley Smile version over the backing track but I can't imagine it sounding that good.

[pixletwin]

I heard somewhere that Melodyne just created a tape separation technology where it may be possible to isolate each separate voice and instrument so that  a true stereo mix would be possible.

Anyone heard of this new program?

[Jonas]

re: Melodyne

Its been talked about for about a year now, I look forward to seeing if its really true!

[The Shift]

On the  Radio 2 doc that broadcast last night (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00d3l3w) George Martin recounted the time he met Brian and had the eight tracks for Good Vibes and another set up on a board so he could talk to Brian about them.
Surely the vocals would be part of that eight track?

[Andrew G. Doe]

No - no-one's seen hair nor hide of the vocal multitrack tape since Brian dubbed it down into mono in late summer 1966. GM must be talking about the instrumental tape. Or misremembering. In the Rhythm Of Life documentary, he and Brian were filmed remixing "GOK" from the original tapes - I'm thinking that if "GV" was there, that would have made much better TV.

[Bicyclerider]

A synch up of the "alternate" rarities GV and the released single has been done to create a stereo mix.

It's not very good.

The missing vocal multitrack is one of the greatest missing pieces in the Beach Boys tape vaults (along with the SMile vocal multitracks, of course).

[Andrew G. Doe]

It's almost certainly lost forever - Bruce reckons it could well have been dumped during a 'spring clean' of the Columbia storage facility in early 1967.

[sockittome]

I've heard a few "unofficial" stereo synch-ups that come close, and several that don't.  I have yet to hear the one that will replace the original mono mix.   

[Shane]

Ever heard the version on Anne Wallace's old site?  She had a sync-up between the stereo backing track and the vocals that was nothing short of professional quality... you'd never know anything was "tampered with". 

Her sync of Brian's piano demo of "Surf's Up" to that song's backing track was also excellent.

[king of anglia]

Here's the isolated vocals from Good Vibrations:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k7aa2t

It is possible to make a stereo version using these vocals and the stereo backing track from the Good Vibrations boxset, but only the chorus is stereo and only the cello and theramin.

Anyone know if any bootlegs have stereo versions of the sections used in the final version?

[Andreas]

Here's the isolated vocals from Good Vibrations:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k7aa2t

It is possible to make a stereo version using these vocals and the stereo backing track from the Good Vibrations boxset, but only the chorus is stereo and only the cello and theramin.

Anyone know if any bootlegs have stereo versions of the sections used in the final version?

The backing track is in real stereo on the Good Vibrations CD single from 2006. The mastering is not to my taste, though.

[sockittome]

Here's the isolated vocals from Good Vibrations:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/k7aa2t

It is possible to make a stereo version using these vocals and the stereo backing track from the Good Vibrations boxset, but only the chorus is stereo and only the cello and theramin.

Anyone know if any bootlegs have stereo versions of the sections used in the final version?

The backing track is in real stereo on the Good Vibrations CD single from 2006. The mastering is not to my taste, though.

Just out of curiosity, what doesn't work for you on that mix?  My only nitpick would be that some of the edits are pretty rough, but then again that seems to be an issue with every version of GV (including the official release).