New Beach Boys 2012 Remasters!

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I've listened to the new stereo mix of "Summer Days...and Summer Nights" through high quality headphones(Sennheiser HD-650), and I have this to report:

1.There are no static crackles. Yes, there are occasional distortions(on "Amusement Parks U.S.A." & "California Girls"), but remember, these are 1965 recordings.

2.The "extraction mix" of "Girl Don't Tell Me" is passable and inoffensive. On the other hand, the "extraction mix" of "Help Me Rhonda" has an unsteady stereo image. I would not advise listening to it through headphones.

3. I would not trust the information in the booklet, which suggests that the only new stereo mixes are for those songs which didn't have a previous Mark Linett stereo mix. The stereo mix of "You're So Good to Me" is new, with wider stereo separation than the mix on the compilation CD "The Warmth of The Sun". One of the risks inherent in repeatedly playing a now 45 year old multitrack, is that bits of oxide(the tape's coating) will fall off. The tape drop-out at 0:58(slightly audible in the previous mix) has grown more audible, and a new, more serious drop-out occurs at 0:59.....a drop out that wasn't present in Mark Linett's previous stereo mix.

I'll report later on "Today" & "Smiley Smile".

I have the exact same model and make of headphones as you do, coincidentally enough. (Senn 650). Everyone has a different set of ears, so I guess there's no wrong or right, but since you're giving out reviews, I strongly disagree with some of the stuff you wrote.

-There are no static crackles, but there are static pops and clicks on Let Him Run Wild and You're So Good To Me. They aren't overpowering, but they are noticeable because they aren't on any of the other tracks.

-As for "occasional distortions", on Amusement Parks USA, I'd have figured with your pessimistic take on, well, everything, you'd have ripped it a new one! The whole thing is kinda distorted and grungy, and it's damn near mono. Did you notice there was hardly any separation? Compare it to Salt Lake City, it's like night and day. California Girls sounds like one of the out-of-sync versions found on the Endless Harmony comp.

-You're right in saying Girl Don't Tell Me fares better than Rhonda, but it's just the lesser of two evils. Girl Don't Tell Me still sounds wonky.

Today! fares a bit better, and Smiley is a whole lot better....

I think Amusement Parks somehow had the track recorded straight to mono or something, or the three-track is missing.  In any case--not much you can do there.  Are the vocals pretty squared, too? 

Again, I don't understand why they would prefer extraction mixes to just pure remixes off the tape.  Missing elements are OK--these are remixes, a new way to hear the tracks, not replicas of the mono.  At least that was the philosophy in the Pet Sounds box liner notes.  I wish they'd offer non-extraction based remixes too.

The lead vocals aren't spot-on center, but they aren't very wide at all, it's almost near mono. The spoken bits in the interlude by Hal Blaine, Brian etc, those are panned wide stereo.

I understand there are limitations - but in this case I don't get why it needs to be that way - Girl From NYC has a pretty much centered backing track with wide stereo vocals.

It would be nice if Mark were willing to talk about some of these decisions.  I don't fault him for it, but I'd love to hear his process and what he's trying to accomplish with each track.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

"Amusement Parks U.S.A." had two multitrack "Stages", and the unofficial mix released by "Sea of Tunes" was mixed from only the first multitrack stage. After transfer to a 2nd multitrack tape, the vocals were re-recorded and some of the lyrics were changed. It is those re-recorded vocals that are heard in the original 1965 mono mix.

As for the nasty drop-out at 0:59 in the new stereo mix of "You're So Good to Me", at least we've got Mark Linett's previous stereo mix(on "The Warmth of The Sun") which was mixed before the tape damage occurred.      

I'd nevertheless be curious what the current status of the Amusement Park multis are.  I'm well aware of the history.

And again, I doubt Mark mixed You're So Good to Me from tape the second time.  He would already have it in digital format.  Unless that got corrupted or something he would not need to and would most likely be loathe to play the tape again.

[PhilCohen]

As for "The Girl From New York City", it was perhaps the only song on "Summer Days...and Summer Nights!" that didn't require multitrack to multitrack reductions. It was completed on 3 tracks; 2 tracks of vocals & 1 track of instruments. Not surprisingly, Mark Linett puts the instrumental track in the center(just like "Sea of Tunes" did), and Linett's mix, while slightly superior in sound quality, is not significantly different (in stereo image) versus the unofficial mix.

[PhilCohen]

"Amusement Parks U.S.A." had two multitrack "Stages", and the unofficial mix released by "Sea of Tunes" was mixed from only the first multitrack stage. After transfer to a 2nd multitrack tape, the vocals were re-recorded and some of the lyrics were changed. It is those re-recorded vocals that are heard in the original 1965 mono mix.

As for the nasty drop-out at 0:59 in the new stereo mix of "You're So Good to Me", at least we've got Mark Linett's previous stereo mix(on "The Warmth of The Sun") which was mixed before the tape damage occurred.      

I'd nevertheless be curious what the current status of the Amusement Park multis are.  I'm well aware of the history.

And again, I doubt Mark mixed You're So Good to Me from tape the second time.  He would already have it in digital format.  Unless that got corrupted or something he would not need to and would most likely be loathe to play the tape again.

Then what is your theory concerning the new drop-out?

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I'd have to hear it.  I'm not saying it's not drop out, only that it seems unlikely given Mark's working methods.  Maybe he thought the first remix was bad because of the transfer and felt the tape could survive another go, I really don't know!

[PhilCohen]

I'd have to hear it.  I'm not saying it's not drop out, only that it seems unlikely given Mark's working methods.  Maybe he thought the first remix was bad because of the transfer and felt the tape could survive another go, I really don't know!

Actually, after repeated listenings(through headphones), I'm now convinced that the stereo remix of "You're So Good to Me", as heard on the new "Summer Days...and Summer Nights" Japanese mono/stereo reissue, and the stereo remix heard on "The Warmth of The Sun" are, in fact the exact same Mark Linett remix, and that the drop-out at 0:59 on the Japanese disc is a digital drop-out introduced during mastering. It's probably too late to correct it before the U.S.A. release.

[sockittome]

Question for Phil:  Does this possibly new remix of YSGTM have the ghost "la-la-la's" on the instrumental part like the original mono?  I remember that Mark mixed those out (since it was obviously an error) in his stereo remix for the WOTS comp.  I also remember that some folks here were kinda put off by that. 

Is it possible Mr. Linett may have remixed it again to restore those ghost backing vocals?

Just a thought....

[drbeachboy]

And I do wish they weren't going with these extractions.  They seem unnecessary to me.

If they are advertising mono/stereo, the average record buyer will expect a stereo track. There are plenty of mono mixes to fall back on if you/we don't like it, even on the new disc itself.

Right--but you do a stereo mix without adding extractions from the mono.

Well, when they decide to release Wild Honey, I would hate not to have the organ break like on Stack -o-Tracks. The same with Help Me Rhonda, I would be disappointed not having the piano and lead guitar on the bridge. I'd rather have what we are getting than Capitol releasing the Duophonic mixes.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

And I do wish they weren't going with these extractions.  They seem unnecessary to me.

If they are advertising mono/stereo, the average record buyer will expect a stereo track. There are plenty of mono mixes to fall back on if you/we don't like it, even on the new disc itself.

Right--but you do a stereo mix without adding extractions from the mono.

Well, when they decide to release Wild Honey, I would hate not to have the organ break like on Stack -o-Tracks. The same with Help Me Rhonda, I would be disappointed not having the piano and lead guitar on the bridge. I'd rather have what we are getting than Capitol releasing the Duophonic mixes.

But missing the missing elements is worse to you than wonky digitally extracted stuff?  That's fine, but I feel precisely the opposite way.

[PhilCohen]

Question for Phil:  Does this possibly new remix of YSGTM have the ghost "la-la-la's" on the instrumental part like the original mono?  I remember that Mark mixed those out (since it was obviously an error) in his stereo remix for the WOTS comp.  I also remember that some folks here were kinda put off by that.  

Is it possible Mr. Linett may have remixed it again to restore those ghost backing vocals?

Just a thought....

If you're refering to the barely audible vocals present on the mono mix between 1:42-1:45, they're absent on Mark Linett's stereo remix.(on the Japan "Summer Days" mono + stereo disc)

[drbeachboy]

And I do wish they weren't going with these extractions.  They seem unnecessary to me.

If they are advertising mono/stereo, the average record buyer will expect a stereo track. There are plenty of mono mixes to fall back on if you/we don't like it, even on the new disc itself.

Right--but you do a stereo mix without adding extractions from the mono.

Well, when they decide to release Wild Honey, I would hate not to have the organ break like on Stack -o-Tracks. The same with Help Me Rhonda, I would be disappointed not having the piano and lead guitar on the bridge. I'd rather have what we are getting than Capitol releasing the Duophonic mixes.

But missing the missing elements is worse to you than wonky digitally extracted stuff?  That's fine, but I feel precisely the opposite way.

We will agree to disagree. Though, I am saying this without hearing them yet. I may fall to your side upon hearing them. I should have 3 of them tomorrow. I'll get back to you this weekend.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

And I do wish they weren't going with these extractions.  They seem unnecessary to me.

If they are advertising mono/stereo, the average record buyer will expect a stereo track. There are plenty of mono mixes to fall back on if you/we don't like it, even on the new disc itself.

Right--but you do a stereo mix without adding extractions from the mono.

Well, when they decide to release Wild Honey, I would hate not to have the organ break like on Stack -o-Tracks. The same with Help Me Rhonda, I would be disappointed not having the piano and lead guitar on the bridge. I'd rather have what we are getting than Capitol releasing the Duophonic mixes.

But missing the missing elements is worse to you than wonky digitally extracted stuff?  That's fine, but I feel precisely the opposite way.

We will agree to disagree. Though, I am saying this without hearing them yet. I may fall to your side upon hearing them. I should have 3 of them tomorrow. I'll get back to you this weekend.

Yeah, I mean, I should probably listen to them first too.  But I'm skeptical.

[I. Spaceman]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

[runnersdialzero]

Wonky, phasey digital extraction mixes would be made more tolerable if a "mix what's still on the multitracks in stereo" mix sat alongside it somewhere on the same disc. Having just the former without the latter... eh, not a fan. I'll have to wait and hear them to judge, but heavy phasing from a "stereo for the sake of stereo" attempt is usually not a pleasant listen.

It should be a matter of judgement, really. If you can extract a guitar solo or something and place it into the multitrack without it being detectable or with minimal problems, throw it on there. If you have to dissect the entire song and there's phasing throughout, might want to just mix what's on the multitrack. If both mixes have about the same amount of pros and cons, use both. What's missing from "Rhonda", again? If it's just something during the bridge, it's a shame that it prevents us from hearing the rest of the song in proper stereo, something that'd be quite an experience, because they opted for the digital extraction method for the whole song instead.

Duophonic really shouldn't even come into the picture. Those will not be released and shouldn't be.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

That's a very good point.  So make extraction-less mixes available on itunes.  

[I. Spaceman]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

That's a very good point.  So make extraction-less mixes available on itunes.  

Sounds good to me.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

What's missing from "Rhonda", again? If it's just something during the bridge, it's a shame that it prevents us from hearing the rest of the song in proper stereo, something that'd be quite an experience, because they opted for the digital extraction method for the whole song instead.

Rhonda is like the poster child for this.  There's other stuff missing, guitar overdub throughout, I think, some percussion, but it's not truly critical to the overall sound.  The bridge solos are a big missing thing, certainly.  But that is such a magnificent production.  You get a little taste for it from the track mix from the UM.  But having a squeaky clean track with nice wide stereo vocals...whooee.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I mean, to actually be able to hear the saxes and the low Wurli interacting with stereo backing vocals.  Good lord.

[runnersdialzero]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

"Restoring" Mike was a horrible move, though. In the original, that's a fairly quiet, delicate section in the context of the song. Throwing a mono mix over top of the stereo mix results in this very messy, phasey doubled-sounding effect that is just dreadful to listen to and does the exact opposite of what Brian's arrangement for that section was meant to do.

[drbeachboy]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

According to Mike, that is what happened with WIBN. Radio started using the stereo mix once it was available. I think he lobbied hard to get his vocal placed back in on the stereo mix.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

According to Mike, that is what happened with WIBN. Radio started using the stereo mix once it was available. I think he lobbied hard to get his vocal placed back in on the stereo mix.

I think that's true, yeah.  But it is one of the most unholy sounding things.  Might as well run the thing through a flanger.

[PhilCohen]

Now that it is apparent that the Mark Linett stereo remix of "You're So Good to Me" on the "Summer Days" Japan mono/stereo disc and on "The Warmth of The Sun" CD are the same stereo remix, then the answer to drop-out problem on the Japan disc, is to make your own "corrected" CD-R taking the stereo "You're So Good to Me" from "The Warmth of The Sun".

[Wirestone]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

According to Mike, that is what happened with WIBN. Radio started using the stereo mix once it was available. I think he lobbied hard to get his vocal placed back in on the stereo mix.

I can attest to this being correct. Radio stations loved the stereo mix, and during the late 90s, the BW-bridge version of WIBN was becoming standard.

[drbeachboy]

The reason I vote for extractions is because once stereo mixes of these songs are made, they are invariably the ones that become the most popular and frequently heard. So if a version of Help Me Rhonda without key parts started showing up on the radio, soundtracks, hits comps, etc, that would be a bad thing. It was bad enough when Wouldn't It Be Nice started showing up on the radio with the Brian bridge.

According to Mike, that is what happened with WIBN. Radio started using the stereo mix once it was available. I think he lobbied hard to get his vocal placed back in on the stereo mix.

I think that's true, yeah.  But it is one of the most unholy sounding things.  Might as well run the thing through a flanger.

I am so happy that it doesn't bother my ears. You guys with golden ears. It must be awful not enjoying the music. Hearing Mike on the bridge doesn't sound that bad to me. I hear the change, but it doesn't sound as terrible to me as it does to you. That is one digital trick that doesn't bother me. The whole mono mix of WIBN is terrible. The Reprise LP reissue is the only release that sounds half way decent.

[Quzi]

So just for clarification purposes; there's still nowhere that the Smiley Smile, Today and Summer Days' new stereo mixes are downloadable on the internet as of the 17th of August, nearly a month after the initial release of these discs? Holy moly this is painful.