Yes, "My Solution" is hilarious.  I keep finding more things to laugh at!

I love that Brian chose the word "damsel."  Cracks me up!

And then you contrast the comedy with utterly terrifying bridge!  Whoa!

Love the production, too.  Brian was really mastering the synth, wasn't he?   That repeating synth sound "CHUGGA-CHugga-Chugga-chugga" is great.  And the sound of tapping glass as if someone is playing music on test tubes and vials.  Was anyone else is the rock world using the synth like this at this time?  I don't really know, but it does seem early to me for effects of this type.


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Well, as stated before, I haven't got the 5 CD set because ImportCDs told me they didn't have it.  But now someone is saying they got their copy from them!?  I hope I get mine soon!

In the meantime I did receive the 4 LP set from BeachBoys.com and got to read the booklet.  A very nice read.  And lots of great pictures.  
I've got two questions, though...

1)  On page 17, a picture of the tape box has "Games Two Can Play" and "Add Some Music", and an untitled song at the end of the tape.  What song is that?   I guess only Mark, Alan, or Howie could answer that, but I thought I'd ask.

2)  On page 35, the second page of the lyrics to "Surf's Up" we get the lines for the tag...

A children's song have you listened as they play
Their song is love and the children know the way
The Father
His care is done all the children carry on

My question....  WHAT?!   I haven't listened to the a capella version of the tag but are these lyrics on there?  My guess would be no.  And it looks as if the third line "The Father" is not completed.  I'm guessing it was supposed to have as many words/syllables as the first line, sung to the same melody, and the fourth line would be sung to the same melody as the second line.

Very interesting stuff!

Also, I love that someone drew ocean waves on the tape box of "Cool, Cool Water."  

Love and merci,
Dan Lega


PS --  Spoiler Alert for anyone else who wants to try...


...Here's my attempt at a finished third line...  


A children's song have you listened as they play
Their song is love and the children know the way
The Father knows someday he will be gone
His care is done all the children carry on

Anyone else while listening to Dennis' "run, run, river run" portion think, wow, the backing track is essentially the main vamp for "Heroes & Villains!" 


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

So nice to finally get the original "Loop De Loop Flip Flop Flyin' in an Airplane!"

I missed the sound of the plane buzzing the barn and the clucking of chickens, though.  Was that added by Alan in his remake/remix however many years ago it was?  I'd like to crib together a version that has this version plus the new spoken intro Alan added and the buzzing plane/clucking chickens effects.

"Loop De Loop" and "My Solution" were the two known things that I was really looking forward to in this set.  So glad to finally get them officially!


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

WOW!  WOW!  WOW!
Just listened to the track and backing vocals version of "My Solution"!
I love this just as much as the full version!   Sublime!  Exquisite!  A true masterpiece!

Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Why are "Walkin'" and "Where Is She" on this set?  They're already on the one of the previous digital releases.  So why choose these for an encore presentation?  

Just to be clear, this is not a complaint, I just want to know what the reasoning behind it was.

They're both apparently new mixes, but I'm not hearing anything different in them.  Anyone hear something different?


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

As mentioned above, I haven't received my box set yet, so I just started to listen to some of it on YouTube...

...and, oh my... My Solution!  I've always loved the one bootlegged version I've heard and was eagerly awaiting to hear a clean copy, and it did not disappoint.  In fact, it surpassed my expectations! 

"I... must've... had to... leave the... room...for a bit" always cracks me up!

But the biggest surprise was the new(?) bridge!  I don't remember ever hearing that before!  And, boy, that is some frightening music!  Almost terrifying.  Nearly gave me chills.  Genius!

I'm so glad to finally hear this song in great quality! 


Also, "Seasons In The Sun" is better than I remember their version being. 

Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Hi all, I had a set pre-ordered through ImportCDs months ago, but got a message a few days ago that my order was cancelled. On the product page I see the set is now listed as 'Back Order'. Did anyone receive their set through them?

I'm in the US.  I ordered from ImportCDs, too, and sent them a message asking if they could tell me when I could expect it.  I just checked my email and I, too, received a reply that said they don't have copies of it and so it is on backorder -- which means it could take 45 days to get to me!

What the f**k did Capitol do to screw up the distribution of this set?  I wish Howie, Mark, or Alan would come here and try to explain to us why orders have been cancelled by Amazon in the UK and by ImportCDs in the US!  Even with all the delays they still couldn't get the product out!  This is sad.  Just so sad.

Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Hi Mr. Desper,

Thanks for replying here! 

In my case, the reason I like to hear remixes is that Brian Wilson's and The Beach Boy's productions have SO MUCH in them, and all of it is incredibly interesting, yet not everything makes it to the final mix, as some parts are not mixed in and others are so multi-layered it's hard to tell exactly what is going on.  So, I always find it extremely exciting and welcome to hear something new in a Beach Boy song, such as a beautiful counterpoint never heard before as their productions are full of overwhelming genius.  And... without access to the original multi-track tapes or session tapes, if the only way to hear a "new" snippet of musical beauty is by a remix, then, yeah, let me hear a remix.

But, yeah, let me hear the original, too!  So you're saying if the original master tapes were used and run through your matrix and mixed to CD and LP, then we could hear the original intent of the album without having to buy any special equipment, i.e. your matrix add-on?  It seems so simple!  And everyone with a modern amp has Spatializer settings on it, so I don't understand why record executives act like they're afraid of releasing something that has a Spatializer-type effect on it.  Seems very weird and backward to me.

I'm really sorry you weren't contacted to give your input into the box set.  It will definitely be missed.  But Mark and Alan have done great things before, and we're all hoping, and expecting, they hit another home run this time! 

You keep mentioning being able to hear the original intent of the album by getting your book.  But it's not available at this time, is it?  Please let us know when we'll be able to listen to it again!

Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Two points...

Number one:  The thing is, the original mixes of "Sunflower" and "Surf's Up" are NOT readily available for purchase.  You need to hunt for ORIGINAL pressings of the records to hear them.  And how easy is that to do?  Stephen Desper says every subsequent re-release of each album was not a copy of the original mix.  So, heck, I'm not sure I ever heard the original releases of those albums.  Now my guess is that I have, because I got into the Beach Boys shortly after the album "Surf's Up" came out, so the LP copies I have may be original -- but they're in storage right now, so I can't check them to make sure.  So, maybe I have heard them, and maybe I haven't?

Now, having said that, I'm all for well done remixes, which may upset Mr. Desper.  BUT... shouldn't we also have the right to hear Mr. Desper's and the Beach Boys' original mix, too?  The original mix should be as easy to buy as any remix.  Mr. Desper has been fighting for 50 years to get his original mixes back into the ears of the fans.  And when the company is spending money on putting out a box set, including a possible remix of the albums, then why not spend a little more money and try to restore the original mix while you're at it?  Seems like a no-brainer to me.  I mean, yeah, they did a stereo remix of "Pet Sounds", but they also restored the original mono mix.  So do both here, too!  Why not?  Especially as they were the first albums to have been run through an early version of the Spatializer!  That's pretty historic to me!

Number two:  With all this talk of the original mix being only available on the first pressing of the records I was wondering if there was a way to truly replicate that pressing?  Then I began to imagine some company doing a laser scan of an original disc -- couldn't that bring back the original mix?!  And with the laser scan, couldn't you then go in and look for the tiniest imperfections in the original printing of the disc and smooth out the occasional pops so that it would be near pristine?  And then you can do two things: converting/manufacturing that scan you could make a new pressing of the record, and, you can also make a digital version to play.  I wish I were a modern day Thomas Edison!

PS -- By the way, we don't have confirmation that remixes of the albums will be a part of the box set, do we?  I know it's probably a good guess that they will be, but I don't recall ever hearing that they would be.

Love and merci,   
Dan Lega

On YouTube there's an interview with Brian from 1974 that I don't think I'd ever heard before.  I post it here because Brian mentions writing some songs with Roger McGuinn, and I'm hoping Howie, Mark, and Alan can find them and put them on an upcoming boxed set!   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVdj_AC60ls&t=16s

Okay, I've done some calculating.  The set is supposed to be five CD's.  So with about 80 minutes per CD, that adds up to 400 minutes.

And I just tallied all the times on the tracklist above and the total comes out to be about 263 minutes and 20 seconds.

So that leaves 135+ minutes left over.  So we could easily be missing 2 hours and 10+ minutes of music from the set!  That's a lot of material that could be very revelatory!

So, okay, I'm feeling a little better about the prospects for this set.  Thanks again, Howie, for keeping us updated.


PS -- Of course a question many have been asking: is the set going to include remixes of the albums?  I don't know how long each album is, but we would have to subtract those running lengths from the total above.  I, for one, hope that they don't include remixes of the albums in the set, because I want more room for unreleased material, sessions, and backing and vocal tracks.  Of course it would be nice if they would rerelease the albums separately with new mixes!


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

   Wha'?   

Very cool.  But c'mon... you've got to explain why you chose that number of extra tracks, and why you put the blank spots where you put them!   

I just wonder...Who are their target audience? Old fans or new - or both? Why not release the whole shebang while we're still alive!!?? Why not please the long-time fans instead of future generations who don't have a clue who the Beach Boys were? We've grown up together, enjoyed and supported the boys for - I believe many of us - 50 years or more. We've longed for new releases, we had some great moments, sometimes disappointed, but we're still here for the boys! And we've spent thousands of dollars and we're still prepared to spend more... Am I being selfish thinking that way? But when we, the long-time fans are dead it's too late....

Hear Ye!  Hear Ye!


On another note, is there anyone else besides me who's not exactly bowled over with the snippets and the "song list" that was unearthed?  I mean, yes, the snippets sound great, and will be revelatory.  And I think "Loop De Loop" and "My Solution" are both genius.  But I also think there are a lot of Beach Boy super fans who don't like those two songs very much.  So where are all the things Howie said were going to make people think differently about the Beach Boys?  "I Just Got My Pay" and "Carnival/Over The Waves" certainly aren't going to do it.   Have some of you heard most of the new Dennis songs that are going to be on it?  Are they going to make people think differently about the Beach Boys?  I mean, in my mind, many Dennis songs do have the power to do that.  So hopefully they'll be a revelation!  I just hope there are a lot of other songs we've never heard (and were completed, or nearly completed) to add to the box that help to change people's minds about the Boys.

And there's still FIVE MONTHS before it comes out!  AAAAAAARGH!  That is just way too long!  Please, someone, speed it up!  Get it out sooner!


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

I'm pretty sure everything else I've read about "Do It Again" says that Mike came up with the lyrical idea of the song, brought it to Brian, and together they worked out the song, with Brian writing the music.  I don't think there is any reason to overcomplicate it.  I don't think either Brian or Mike have told exactly how it went down.  And unless they do I don't know what speculating is going to accomplish.


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Somebody asked if The Beach Boys were ever filmed as The Beatles were for Get Back.  Well...  David Oppenheim filmed the Boys during The SMiLE sessions!  What a shame that the complete footage has never been found!  Or even the sound recordings!

Someone else asked why Capitol hasn't put out any teasers for Feel Flows.  Well... in the newly released video for "Little Saint Nick" there is an Easter Egg with "Feel Flows" written on a surfboard!


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

I'm dying for a release of the Concert in Central Park!  That's probably my Holy Grail in the concert area.

I'm also super-super-stoked for finally getting a real release of "My Solution"!  I love that track.  It's both hilarious and genius!

I didn't watch Brian on Facebook, but I doubt the reason he said he didn't know anything about it is not because of Mike, but because of either...

1)  He didn't recognize the name of the box set.  Maybe if they had described it as a box set with Sunflower and Surf's Up albums on it he might have known what they were talking about?

2)  It's been months upon months, and almost certainly more than a year (or two?) since he was asked to give an interview for the box set, so maybe he's forgotten about it mostly, and maybe someone else has been doing most of the legal finagling for him on whether it should come out or not?

Also, I heard from a reliable source that the box set is going to be 5 discs only.  So my speculation that it would be more than that  is not going to be fulfilled.  Darn it!


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Why can't it be sooner?  I find it depressing that we still have to wait that long for it.

Alright, maybe lots of "fanfare" had been planned before last February, but since the release date had been derailed none of the fanfare was put forth.  Still, how much fanfare do you need for this?  Especially in this day and age when brick and mortar shops are almost all but gone?  Do we really need 7 or 8 months of anticipation for it to come out?  Didn't someone say the Elvis and Elton John box sets were only announced a few months in advance?  Why can't this come out in December or January; or February at the latest?

You're conflating "announced" with "already in production." Pressing and printing physical box sets takes time, and when you're under a global pandemic, things slow down even more. Everyone has to be in agreement before production gets to go forward. If you want someone to blame, it's whoever slowed down the decision making process and dragged their feet in signing off (cough cough Mike cough).

My understanding was the set was already finalized and it only needed to be manufactured.  So now that we have the go ahead and nothing apparently is going to be changed, just send the specs to the manufacturers and get it made!  How long can that take?  Okay, yes, with the pandemic it probably will take longer than usual.  And I guess there could be changes that are going to be made, but if Howie says it's "thriving" and "nobody will be disappointed" I took that to mean nothing was changed.

So give it to me in a couple months!  Please?  Pretty please?  Pretty please with sugar on top?   


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

Also, I'm really glad that we have a tentative release date.  But May or June 2021?

Why can't it be sooner?  I find it depressing that we still have to wait that long for it.

I mean, wasn't it supposed to come out last February with almost no fanfare?  Why can't they put it out this year with no fanfare?

Alright, maybe lots of "fanfare" had been planned before last February, but since the release date had been derailed none of the fanfare was put forth.  Still, how much fanfare do you need for this?  Especially in this day and age when brick and mortar shops are almost all but gone?  Do we really need 7 or 8 months of anticipation for it to come out?  Didn't someone say the Elvis and Elton John box sets were only announced a few months in advance?  Why can't this come out in December or January; or February at the latest?


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

I loved hearing all the clips.

And I love the speculation of how this and many other things will fit into the box set.

I, for one, though, keep holding a thought in the back of my mind, namely this...

Remember... early in the year Endless Summer Quarterly said there was going to be a 5 disc set covering "Sunflower" and "Feel Flows"...  BUT... Howie came here and said the description in ESQ wasn't anywhere close to what the project really was!

So I keep hoping that there's a LOT MORE than 5 discs in this box set!  And for 5 discs (which is a lot!) to be off by "that" much it seems to me the set has to be at least 7 discs, and probably more!  Maybe even a video disc?

Just food for thought, that I'm surprised no one has really speculated on before!


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

I'd love to see a documentary of SOT, too.  But... we're not going to get that until the statute of limitations runs out, or whoever did it passes away.  (Or until they get nabbed by the authorities and then can tell their tale.)

I'm still waiting for the ultra complete SOT, where we get everything, not the cut up sessions we got!

Of course, it'd be even better if the Beach Boys would officially release every single piece of session tape they have!  And release it in multi-track format, all 2, 4, 8, or 16 tracks so that we can listen to each track separately if we want.

And, of course, thank you Howie for letting us know that "Feel Flows" is still on track.  I just wish we had a release date for it!!! 


Love and merci,
Dan Lega

That was brilliant!  I loved it.  I'd love to see more like this.

HeyJude said...  "Nobody has said the set has been blocked due to Dennis material."

Okay, now I'm even more confused. 

So none of the other Beach Boys are fighting (against Mike, from all hints) to keep all the Dennis material on the set?  They're all okay with dumping it to get the set released?  If so, that's very sad.

And the original issue of someone (Mike again from all hints) blocking the set because they have some "legitimate" concern in the Beach Boy world -- that has nothing to do with Feel Flows set, but is being used as a pawn to get what they want -- has that been resolved?

Okay, maybe I get it -- the original "legitimate" concert hasn't been resolved, and the box is still on hold.  And now Mike doesn't want the Dennis material on it, but the reasoning behind this has nothing to do with "legitimate" concern.

But it sure appears as if the Dennis material is being used by Mike as another pawn to get what he wants.  I guess the two issues could be totally unrelated -- but it seems a mighty far stretch to get there.   

I liked "TheTojo's" dream about a Beach Boy-less group touring under the Beach Boys name.  It could well be the case.

In the same vein, maybe Mike is finally tired of paying Brian, Alan, and Carl's estate a licensing fee whenever he tours as The Beach Boys?  Perhaps he's trying to get that fee reduced or cancelled?

Both scenarios certainly fit the mold of not having anything to do with the box set, but being a legitimate concern that someone, (that being Mike,) would like changed.


Love and merci,

Dan Lega

Hey HeyJude,

Didn't someone in this thread say the main thing holding up "Feel Flows" is an issue with credits?  Or did I dream that?

Now if that's the case, then the credit situation has to be worked out.  Or... the song, or songs, in question have to be excised from the set.

That brings us to speculation on why the credit situation is so hard to resolve.  I mean, are Mike or any other of the Beach Boys going to make more than a negligible amount by getting their names on some obscure track that is going to appear on this vanity/historical release?  Probably not.  So that should be easy to resolve.

However, if someone wants their credit changed on one or more of the main songs on the two albums, then perhaps they're asking for reimbursement of monies lost over the years?  Isn't that what Mike did before?  He sued and got Brian to pay him for royalties he was not paid over the years?

Am I getting close?


Love and merci,
Dan Lega