Barnyard Mistake in Pressing of Smile Sessions CD?

[AllIWannaDo]

Yup, I'm a regular Mike Love, ain't I just ?  Big bad bully, harassing the poor helpless poster who cries because the discs are unlistenable. Know something ?

Don't care.  

Like I said, if the 'problems' were on a par with the glitch in Incantations, which sounded just like a skip, then I'd be more sympathetic but, as has been demonstrated by several other posters, they're all but, or totally, inaudible, even when listening 'seriously'. More disturbingly to me, the poster hasn't made any other comment. Nothing positive. Me, I'm inclining towards the notion that it's Cohen using an alias.  

Man, why edit your post to add that titbit - just leave it will ya, totally unnecessary and makes you look a bitch slighting someone cause
'hasn't made any other comment. Nothing positive. Me, I'm inclining towards the notion that it's Cohen using an alias.  '

have a word with yourself please and chill out, pathetic mate, i respect your comments but that is a low one and just fans the flames, it adds nothing positive at all to anyone, least of all you!

i used to read this site for good info, good fun, and minimal c*ck jockeys, sadly the latter is coming out alot in the last few days.
think i've said my piece a few times so will refrain, hope that goes for a few on eitherside of the fence on this topic

sheesh....

[Andrew G. Doe]

Yup, I'm a regular Mike Love, ain't I just ?  Big bad bully, harassing the poor helpless poster who cries because the discs are unlistenable. Know something ?

Don't care.  

Like I said, if the 'problems' were on a par with the glitch in Incantations, which sounded just like a skip, then I'd be more sympathetic but, as has been demonstrated by several other posters, they're all but, or totally, inaudible, even when listening 'seriously'. More disturbingly to me, the poster hasn't made any other comment. Nothing positive. Me, I'm inclining towards the notion that it's Cohen using an alias.  

Man, why edit your post to add that titbit - just leave it will ya, totally unnecessary and makes you look a bitch slighting someone cause
'hasn't made any other comment. Nothing positive. Me, I'm inclining towards the notion that it's Cohen using an alias.  '

have a word with yourself please and chill out, pathetic mate, i respect your comments but that is a low one and just fans the flames, it adds nothing positive at all to anyone, least of all you!

i used to read this site for good info, good fun, and minimal clock jockeys, sadly the latter is coming out alot in the last few days.
think i've said my piece a few times so will refrain, hope that goes for a few on eitherside of the fence on this topic

sheesh....

It's part of my rugged charm.

[Wirestone]

The thing that bothered me was simply that the original posts were made before most folks in the U.S. -- one of the biggest markets for this release -- had a chance to buy the box. And you then had replies from people talking about being scared of what they'd find on the set.

Passion is cool. But when you begin to drive people away from buying the lovingly prepared issue of an album we've waited 45 years for -- surely it's easy to see why some of us react strongly to that. Consequences or consistency be damned.

[richardsnow]

I don't hear any of the "errors"  I can hear hiss n the trumpet on look but I can hear it on the bootlegs too.  It was recorded on analogue tape you know!

Edit on CE sounds the same as the 20/20 version to me.  Some of BW edits back in the day,aren't that hot.  Horrible one in the middle of "I'd love just once to see you"

[Mike's Beard]

"I can hear imperfections,"
"I can hear imperfections"
"The hiss on Cabin Essence won't go away, ohhh well"
"I can hear imperfections"
"Minor inaudible imperfections,"
"Gonna go on the Smiley Board and bitch about it all day!"

Seriously all I can make out is great music.

[SMiLE Brian]

"I can hear imperfections,"
"I can hear imperfections"
"The hiss on Cabin Essence won't go away, ohhh well"
"I can hear imperfections"
"Minor inaudible imperfections,"
"Gonna go on the Smiley Board and bitch about it all day!"

Seriously all I can make out is great music.

Same here, is something wrong with me with?

[drbeachboy]

I want to cry when I see edits like this going into the first chorus of CE:



Look at that. It's horrible! That pop is almost as loud as the music!

Things like this don't ruin it for me, but it's upsetting to see easily avoidable errors peppered throughout such an important release. It sounds unprofessional.

Even if you ignore all the random hiss and digital glitches, what about the speed issue on the H&V stereo mix, or the out of place vocals in the second chorus of CE, or the vocals missing on the Barnyard session? These are BIG mistakes. How could they have been overlooked? Do you think Mark is giggling about those?

I wish you'd stop acting like such a childish bully and deal with it. If you had just ignored this thread we probably wouldn't even be talking about it anymore. We're all happy about this release, but it's a dick move to gang up on anyone who has issues with maybe 1% of it.

Not disagreeing with you, but I generally do not watch my music, I listen to it. Now I've listened to Cabin Essence since the Mojo 45 release and I have yet to hear hiss or this horrible pop under normal listening conditions. I have records with worse issues than this. Those headphones are gonna make you deaf.

[Andrew G. Doe]

OK, here's the true gen on the Amazing Disappearing Barnyard Backing Vocals.

Basically, it was an editorial decision. There were mixes of that with Brian's backing vocals and and mixes without, and in the end it was decided it would be nicer to put a spotlight on the track since most people - that is, us -  have heard it with the vocals.  Also, there was an acetate from the original "Heroes" session - verse track on one side, and "Barnyard" with animal sounds but no other vocals on the track - and so it seemed that's what Brian ended up with at the end of that session.  Based on that, the assumption is the the backing vocals were added at a later session. Seems the review streams were sourced from a pre-final set of masters.

Also, the high-pitched whine on "Da Da" ?  That's on the original tape, and while it could have been filtered out, that would have compromised the sonics of what remained. So, not an unforgivable error, but a 1967 tape artefact.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Yup, I'm a regular Mike Love, ain't I just ?  Big bad bully, harassing the poor helpless poster who cries because the discs are unlistenable. Know something ?

Don't care. 

haha - good bit of perspective...
i havent said it's unlistenable, quite the opposite, i know some have but hey let it be, Lets move on, accepct whats there, some people are p1ssed about it, some hear it an are abit dissapointed to but STILL think its a FANDABIDOSY boxset

   

Though it's interesting to note possible glitches, and things that don't sound as great as we'd hoped (I'm in Great Shape),
let's keep in mind that:

A) Mark, Alan and the team put in a zillion hours and I'd bet my bippy they've done the best possible job with what they had.
B) Smile was never finished. Mixing/matching what was there (acetates, demos.....) does not make for seamless editing.
C) Compared to the good, and crappy, boots of Smile I've listened to over the years, I'm SOOOOOOOOO grateful to have this release.
D) Even standard iPOD headphones suffice for a great listening experience.

[space_cadet]

Are the review streams still up? Could someone rip Barnyard? I'd really love a clean Barnyard with the woo-woo's and no dodgy fly-ins. It's probably my favourite piece from the whole sessions.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Are the review streams still up? Could someone rip Barnyard? I'd really love a clean Barnyard with the woo-woo's and no dodgy fly-ins. It's probably my favourite piece from the whole sessions.

Like I explained some time ago, they're watermarked. Individually.

[monicker]

This is an ultra condensed version of the post that follows.

I would like to invite those who have been so dismissive of what i’ve been saying to listen to this side by side comparison of the edit in Wind Chimes: http://snd.sc/twdPuL

Keep in mind that i folded down the stereo piano break (from disc 4), so it will sound slightly different to the true mono from disc 1. I’m just saying this so that the folded down mono doesn’t in anyway distract from the edit, which is the point of this exercise.

If you don’t hear any difference in the quality of the EDIT then you are very fortunate and i envy you. But consider this: don’t ever go into the field of professional audio, please. And don’t scoff at others for having a sharper ear and caring more about things sounding NICE.

P.S. I'm not an audiophile by any stretch of the imagination.

[monicker]

I don't expect more than two people to read this because it is ridiculously long, but so be it.

I feel the need to clarify things that i have said because i will not be made a fool as a result of people misreading, misquoting, distorting, and exaggerating my words. Some of you make me out to be borderline deranged and i won't allow that. Lots of people apparently have severe reading comprehension problems, exhibit cognitive dissonance, and are really good at employing ad hominem and straw man arguments. All while operating under the mentality that this set is above criticism. Critiquing a professional public figure’s work, and evaluating and appreciating the extent of what Capitol has offered us as a product are not mutually exclusive. And critiquing one’s work ≠ being ungrateful for the product.

I want to pose this: say we were instead discussing a period film that is set in Victorian times. The costumes and set design are impeccable, beautifully done, historically accurate, true example of masterwork in every sense...and then you see that one of the main characters is visibly wearing Nike sneakers. I know, i know, this happens in Hollywood films quite often. But now imagine that it keeps happening in every other scene. Would that not absolutely baffle the hell out of you, not to mention frustrate you? Would that not take you out of the film experience? Would you not wish that someone more capable and attentive to details had been chosen to handle that aspect of the job? Would you not feel compelled to voice your criticisms? Now imagine that even though you clearly see the sneakers in every shot, people are condescendingly dismissing your opinion all together and saying that they can’t see the sneakers, so either they’re not visible or it must not matter or you’re making it up. Oh, and you're ungrateful for all the other work that was put into the film. In addition, you're not a fan of the film, and you're just being pedantic. These arguments that “most” people don’t hear these mistakes doesn’t hold up, it’s a weak argument. The mistakes are there and they’re the result of careless, unprofessional work. And those who cannot hear this stuff are the last ones who should be declaring themselves as arbiters of professional-quality work. How about not ridiculing me because i’d like to hear professional work from professionals?

Regarding a lot of these responses that i’ve read, i have not mentioned one single thing about aesthetic/editorial subjective decisions that whoever--be it Linett, Boyd, Brian Wilson, or some Capitol employee--made, such as the BWPS sequence or which version/take of songs were used or fly-ins (except when they produce awful artefacts). Nor have i expressed any complaints about not adhering to previous bootleg mixes/sequences. I know when to argue tastes and when to argue quality of work. The bulk of the issues (plenty more than what i mentioned in the original post, including, yes, the sped-up H&V chorus of the stereo mix) comes from the quality of the edits (to be crystal clear: not the aesthetic or musical value of the edits). That is the big one. That is where i think an extra pair of ears or two would have absolutely elevated this otherwise amazing project into the stratosphere. But what we have here is baffling in how basic, obvious, and easily avoidable these editing mistakes are. This is actually the sloppiest editing work i’ve heard on any major release album. And it confuses and surprises me as to how this could have happened. That is why i said anything in the first place. And i don’t think it’s out of line to question it or call attention to it. I strongly and sincerely believe that a professional should absolutely not under any circumstances be letting so many of these things slide. As someone has already pointed out, whether you realize it or not, minute things like these, that are transparent to most people, shape the way we ALL perceive a recording, and in many cases are what allow us to enjoy a recording without overthinking it. Where’s the threshold of awareness? At some point, if those mistakes became more and more noticeable, more people with worse hearing would notice. And then what? Then it would be okay to be critical? Professional engineers and audio editors should never ever work to meet the lowest common denominator or the standards of those with subpar hearing. On the contrary. And this release, more than any other that i can think of, deserved the best possible treatment.

The ironic thing is that editing digitally, what with being able to zoom in to the individual samples of an audio clip, allows for such ridiculously precise work, yet music that was edited over 40 years ago with razor blades and sticky tape proves to be of a higher caliber work (in terms of edits) when compared to what is presented here. One need not look any further for evidence of this than the 20/20 mix of Cabinessence. Listen to the transition between verse and chorus. Hear any clicks/pops that are a direct result of working with nonlinear computer editing? Furthermore, and what’s saddest about all this, is that a lot of fan mixes don’t exhibit the same careless edits that the official SMILE SESSIONS do. The fidelity here is mind blowing, yes, but what happened to the details? The worse thing about it is that the music of Smile is so dependent on, you guessed it...editing. Editing in relation to Smile is inherent to the music itself. I don’t need to tell any of you this. And it’s about the end result and the effect that it has on the listening experience, not the fact that these mistakes add up to a few seconds here and there--that is a completely ridiculous leap of logic.

There has been some throwing around here of the term “obvious" edits. An obvious edit ≠ a bad edit. An obvious edit can be made well just as it can be made poorly. Obvious edits are often intended to be obvious for effect. Obvious edits are great, what’s not are sloppy ones. Take Hitchcock’s Psycho. The famous shower scene with Janet Leigh getting stabbed. Chalk full of obvious edits. There is something close to 100 edits in a one minute sequence. They’re all incredibly obvious because they’re supposed to be. Now imagine that in between every cut, there was one blank frame that the editor missed, producing a very quick flash in between every single cut. THAT would be poor, careless, sloppy editing (unless, of course, the intended effect was to create epileptic-like flashes) and i am willing to bet my life’s savings that Linett and Boyd did not intend to have audible clicks and pops in between many of the sections of music.

I know there are a few people on this board who work with audio and digital audio editing and know exactly what i’m talking about and know that these mistakes are totally amateur level. And what is so frustrating is that a Smile box set finally comes out, with a lot of care and attention to details in other areas of the project, but then the most glaring, basic audio considerations are ignored. Being a registered member here, i would think it goes without say that i am as thrilled as anyone about the idea of a Smile box set. I, too, never thought it would happen. I have literally been counting down the days in anticipation of enjoying the hell out of this music. I am overjoyed that this moment has come, that the master tapes have been used, that the music sounds so clean and hi-fi, that the set is so exhaustive, that new things have been found, etc. And all of those reasons are exactly why it pains and frustrates me to see these glaring, inexcusable errors that really, really should have been caught by SOMEONE along the way. Some of which, by the way, simply cannot be resolved by rolling your own. How do you roll your own when the mistakes appear within the sections of music like in Cabinessence?

Many have also misunderstood or misconstrued the comments about hiss. I did not say or imply anywhere that the issue is about the simple presence of hiss or hiss not matching. The issue with the choruses of Cabinessence is that, if anything, it sounds more like some sort of noise reduction was accidently and momentarily turned on totally at random, and it actually slightly colors the overall sound quality of the recording in that section. It's as if a filter suddenly and randomly comes on and then off. If that’s not distracting to you, good for you, honestly. If this is a vintage BW edit, i think it's a dodgy call to use it. Even though the rest of this mix of Cabinessence has never sounded better than before, these anomalies make the choruses unusable. In the case of Look and the entrance of the trumpet. Listen to it on the mono mix on disc 1 and then listen to the sessions. The hiss anomaly that happens in the disc 1 version only happens in that version, it’s not in the sessions. If this is not Mark’s work but rather a vintage mono mix, then, of course, i blame Brian Wilson, who we all know was pretty sloppy. So hiss alone is not the issue. I have no problem with tape hiss. Nor would i be in the right to criticize the work because there is tape hiss, that’s absurd and it’s even more absurd that people misconstrued that. Weird filters or misuse of NR in random spots, however, is something else entirely. I don’t care about gear or about what exactly Mark and Alan used or didn’t use or what exactly is going on in something like the chorus of Cabinessence. What i care about is simply whether or not it sounds good, and some of these things don’t. I could say this a hundred times and still get the same dismissive, canned responses that ignore what i’ve said: i am listening to the music, not the signal path.

I have not suggested to anyone how they should listen to and enjoy music. The comment “any serious listening should be done with a pair of good quality studio headphones” was made to avoid the potential flood of people posting that they can’t hear anything (because they’re listening on damn ear buds and/or laptop speakers). You never know with people’s listening habits these days. I mean, people watch films on their phones for christ’s sake. I am not TRYING to listen for mistakes. It’s ridiculous that people don’t realize that this is 100% involuntary. I don’t try to feel hungry or thirsty, i don’t try to feel a mosquito biting my arm. With zero effort, by simply listening, these things pop out easily. They are, to me, and i shudder to think that i am alone, incredibly distracting. They completely take me out of the moment/music when they occur. And as i said, these oversights are to be found all over this release. I do not need to put the music very loudly or damage my system or damage my hearing to hear this stuff. I can hear all of the stuff i cited (with the exception of the Dada noise, which by the way, i stand corrected on calling that something new) on laptop speakers not even at full volume.  

Maybe i have failed to convey this, but what i find the most frustrating about all of this is that the producers went 95% of the way on this monumental release, but then in the last 5% completely dropped the ball. Sure, i’ll get over it, and it goes without say that there are countless bigger problems in the world. But if someone had caught these things before the discs got sent to mastering, i think a lot of you would be grateful just knowing that, at least from a technical standpoint, they made sure to cover all their bases. But because criticism is coming after the product has been pressed and put on the shelves, it’s now sacrilege, ungrateful, petty, or whatever other meaningless copout accusation. I’ll admit i didn’t first present my findings in a neutral manner; it was coming from being shocked and it was an impassioned post because, uh, i am really passionate about this music and this release, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't legitimate criticism, and nobody is above criticism. I am a fan of this music and of this band, and i refuse to sit by idly while anyone suggests that i'm not or that i'm some sort of a lesser fan because of my criticisms of the work that has been presented to us.

I have no desire whatsoever to ruin people’s enjoyment of the music. I would have to be a rather fukked up person to derive pleasure from that sort of thing. If i somehow have ruined anyone’s experience, i sincerely apologize. What i HAD hoped for, as unrealistic as it may be, was to see if enough people had issues with this stuff so that we could maybe possibly try to get corrected files from Capitol. I know that sounds farfetched. But it would be my sincere hope that if and after this stuff is brought to the attention of Linett and Boyd, that they would exhibit more care and attention to detail on the next project. Constructive criticism, people. Maybe the re-issue of The Smile Sessions in ten, twenty years will fix these things.    By the way, i am extremely thankful for the role that the producers played in convincing Capitol to make this release so exhaustive. That is nothing short of a miracle.

I'm going to shut the hell up now. I have a lot of Smile sessions to go enjoy. Ciao.

[space_cadet]

Are the review streams still up? Could someone rip Barnyard? I'd really love a clean Barnyard with the woo-woo's and no dodgy fly-ins. It's probably my favourite piece from the whole sessions.

Like I explained some time ago, they're watermarked. Individually.

Do you think they'd really care now the box is out? It's officially unavailable and looks like it never will be, so it would simply be another Smile bootleg. Someone's got to rip it or it'll be lost forever, and surely it's only a matter of days before they take the stream down now. I don't care about a watermark, I'm hardly going to share it. I'd just love to hear it. Whenever I like. Forever.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Are the review streams still up? Could someone rip Barnyard? I'd really love a clean Barnyard with the woo-woo's and no dodgy fly-ins. It's probably my favourite piece from the whole sessions.

Like I explained some time ago, they're watermarked. Individually.

Do you think they'd really care now the box is out? It's officially unavailable and looks like it never will be, so it would simply be another Smile bootleg. Someone's got to rip it or it'll be lost forever, and surely it's only a matter of days before they take the stream down now. I don't care about a watermark, I'm hardly going to share it. I'd just love to hear it. Whenever I like. Forever.

Assuming I had access to a stream and ripped it... I've learned the hard way over the last 35-odd years that not everyone is trustworthy in this regard. Plus, the trail would lead back to the nominated journalist, and that wouldn't do him, or his mag, any favors. It's called trust, and it's called journalistic responsibility.

[anazgnos]

Are the review streams still up? Could someone rip Barnyard? I'd really love a clean Barnyard with the woo-woo's and no dodgy fly-ins. It's probably my favourite piece from the whole sessions.

Like I explained some time ago, they're watermarked. Individually.

Do you think they'd really care now the box is out? It's officially unavailable and looks like it never will be, so it would simply be another Smile bootleg. Someone's got to rip it or it'll be lost forever, and surely it's only a matter of days before they take the stream down now. I don't care about a watermark, I'm hardly going to share it. I'd just love to hear it. Whenever I like. Forever.

If you're talking about somebody doing a lossy capture of what I assume was a lossy webstream, why not just content yourself with the existing bootlegs for that track?  

[space_cadet]

Are the review streams still up? Could someone rip Barnyard? I'd really love a clean Barnyard with the woo-woo's and no dodgy fly-ins. It's probably my favourite piece from the whole sessions.

Like I explained some time ago, they're watermarked. Individually.

Do you think they'd really care now the box is out? It's officially unavailable and looks like it never will be, so it would simply be another Smile bootleg. Someone's got to rip it or it'll be lost forever, and surely it's only a matter of days before they take the stream down now. I don't care about a watermark, I'm hardly going to share it. I'd just love to hear it. Whenever I like. Forever.

Assuming I had access to a stream and ripped it... I've learned the hard way over the last 35-odd years that not everyone is trustworthy in this regard. Plus, the trail would lead back to the nominated journalist, and that wouldn't do him, or his mag, any favors. It's called trust, and it's called journalistic responsibility.

Well, I'm not evil. I'd treat the song like my last spliff, i.e FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USE. I'm sorry that ridiculous legal paranoia will leave a truly magnificent piece of art lost forever. I just love Barnyard, as it should be. Not with shitty fly-ins or without the woo's! Personally, I think the woo-woo version was the intended version, with those demo lyrics scrapped. It just swings! Anyone out there with access to the stream, please rip it for the good of music, before they take it down. Time's running out!

[Austin]

I want to pose this: say we were instead discussing a period film that is set in Victorian times. The costumes and set design are impeccable, beautifully done, historically accurate, true example of masterwork in every sense...and then you see that one of the main characters is visibly wearing Nike sneakers. I know, i know, this happens in Hollywood films quite often. But now imagine that it keeps happening in every other scene. Would that not absolutely baffle the hell out of you, not to mention frustrate you?

I hear the difference. I just don't think it's as big a deal as you make it out to be.

And I don't think your comparison is fair. The aural equivalent of Nike shoes in a Victorian movie would be more like hearing half a second of "Good Vibrations" in the middle of "Wind Chimes". These errors are like seeing a small, flickering black spot in one frame of a movie -- visible? Of course, but hardly a major disruption.

[Loaf]

Some of this thread reminds me of what organised religion does to spirituality... 

[Jason]

Some of this thread reminds me of what organised religion does to spirituality... 

Make it negotiable in the case of illegal occupations?

[18thofMay]

I want to pose this: say we were instead discussing a period film that is set in Victorian times. The costumes and set design are impeccable, beautifully done, historically accurate, true example of masterwork in every sense...and then you see that one of the main characters is visibly wearing Nike sneakers. I know, i know, this happens in Hollywood films quite often. But now imagine that it keeps happening in every other scene. Would that not absolutely baffle the hell out of you, not to mention frustrate you?

I hear the difference. I just don't think it's as big a deal as you make it out to be.

And I don't think your comparison is fair. The aural equivalent of Nike shoes in a Victorian movie would be more like hearing half a second of "Good Vibrations" in the middle of "Wind Chimes". These errors are like seeing a small, flickering black spot in one frame of a movie -- visible? Of course, but hardly a major disruption.

Or a brief glimpse of a boom mike after you had re-watched it.. paused it.. rewound and paused again.
You can find flaws in EVERYTHING... If you look.. Some people are geared that way

[Micha]

IMHO, the different sonics of the verses compared to the chorusses and tag are the way they are because neither are new mixes from multitracks. I think the verses are from the 1969 mix for 20/20, and the rest are Dec. 1966 Brian test mixes - with quite different sonic characteristics because of different mixing equipment, maybe with different noise reduction.

[space_cadet]

Are the review streams still up? Could someone rip Barnyard? I'd really love a clean Barnyard with the woo-woo's and no dodgy fly-ins. It's probably my favourite piece from the whole sessions.

Like I explained some time ago, they're watermarked. Individually.

Do you think they'd really care now the box is out? It's officially unavailable and looks like it never will be, so it would simply be another Smile bootleg. Someone's got to rip it or it'll be lost forever, and surely it's only a matter of days before they take the stream down now. I don't care about a watermark, I'm hardly going to share it. I'd just love to hear it. Whenever I like. Forever.

If you're talking about somebody doing a lossy capture of what I assume was a lossy webstream, why not just content yourself with the existing bootlegs for that track?  

Well, I'm happy to do that, but it would be an enormous shame if the new remastered version went missing for good, as it will never ever be available again. I'm sure even the lossy review stream would be cleaner than the acetates we all know and love, and the shaker sounds immense on the new remix. Still, I have faith in the die-hards! Beach Boys fans care too much for magic, I'm sure it'll turn up eventually.

[puni puni]

If you don’t hear any difference in the quality of the EDIT then you are very fortunate and i envy you. But consider this: don’t ever go into the field of professional audio, please. And don’t scoff at others for having a sharper ear and caring more about things sounding NICE.

second one sounds better because it's quieter

after listening about five times, i heard a small click on the first one

[Dr. Tim]

One reason Monicker is so passionate is that his ears are such that the things he is hearing jump out at him, and those glitches get in the way, so he cannot stay silent.  I sympathize, and I do have studio ears.  I've heard glitches on some other CD projects I did and insisted they be fixed where no one else but me heard them.  But none of what he describes jump out at me here.   Some little things I do hear, now that he's pointed them out, but I have to listen out for them.  I am wondering if there may not be artifacts in the downsampling from 88.2 to 44.1?  (Shouldn't happen but who knows).  Or pressing errors in some of the CD plant runs?  So maybe another disc from another plant may sound different?  Not likely, should all be working from digital clones of the master files, but not impossible, and no one's going to buy several copies just to test the idea.  Are these glitches on the vinyl too?  By all rights they should be, if the same HDCD master was used to create the vinyl master.

As a listener I hear lots of other things, note them, but let them pass.  I can hear every dodgy tape splice on the mono Pet Sounds, esp. Wouldn't It Be Nice and God Only Knows, and there are a few.  On TSS, some things just had to be dealt with, like the one-beat dead space in Wind Chimes where the full band comes in.  They covered it with reverb to disguise it.  I will know it's there, heard it a hundred times playing the boot over the years and winced, but I don't care now, they did what they could.  The test is: will most people - digging this as a piece of music - notice these things?  Probably not, certainly if they're playing lossy downloads on mini-speakers or smart-phone earjacks.  Which is how most people do music these days.  Not like us crazy collectors. 

Mastering errors and strange noises on classic recordings can be found and many are catalogued by obsessives and audiophiles.  The Beatles catalog is rife with them.  Some of the best ears in the industry at the time made those records, and these glitches slipped through.  And now there are a few on TSS.   Don't think there can be a wholesale recall and injunction on further sales, though.  U2 got a court order to recall and destroy all copies of a parody LP by the indie band Negativland, it just drove up the price of the units already out in the market; I have my copy and I'm not giving it back to Island Records/UMG to pulp, court order or no.