The Smiley Smile Message Board

I've seen it implied here that the book in the box set isn't very informative, so is there any reason I should buy the physical cd set as opposed to just downloading the tracks I don't have already?

The booklet and packaging would be the only reason I'd buy it. Not that I've bought it, but if I had the money to spend/waste/whatever, I'd buy it because the booklet looks nifty. It looks like an old style high school yearbook. However, if a person isn't from the United States, I don't know if that look would resonate.

One misdated photo aside, the booklet isn't too shabby. I'm guessing folk were bitching about the lack of a sessionography, but there's an online one in the works. Until that turns up - and as c-man is doing it, it's going to be outstanding - you'll have to make do with this:

Shows & sessions 1961-2000 (http://www.esquarterly.com/bellagio/gigs.html)

Ian & I are currently expanding it to include not only shows up to date, but also upgrading the existing info. Actually, he's doing the research, I'm just putting it online for you.  ;D

Thanks to both of you.

Also you can visit our Beach Boys Spain web page where you can find almost all of the shows by The BBs, Brian, Al, Mike and Carl with setlists, from 1990 to date.

http://thebeachboysspain.com/index.php/gigs

Wow, this is really cool! I like the format.

So I guess the answer is, no, I don't need the physical box set. That's fine, I can't really afford it anyway. Been listening to it on spotify, enjoying the stuff that is new to me. Up until recently, I was always a guy that needed the physical product, but it's just getting to expensive to keep up on all this stuff.

ONK!!  wrong answer.  the booklet is great!  pics and everything you're missing

I really like the yearbook, but it's not worth breaking the bank over.

I was kinda disappointed by the representation of everything past 1965.

Worth it if only for that double page spread of ads.

Booklet?  I wouldn't call MiC a booklet.  It's a high-end, hardcover, coffee-table book -- a weighty photo album or "deluxe yearbook."  And yes, it's definitely worth getting (if the price was $50 less, but that's another topic).  I really enjoy the photos.  I love boxsets that make the book the actual box.  A lot less fuss.

I don't think I'd be happy with just a digital download of MiC.  While overpriced, the entire box is very nice.  Perfect?  No.  But it's the nicest treatment the band's got (besides the SMiLE Sessions).

It looks nice, but there is little content other than photos.

Exactly. The booklet with the 1993 GV box is so much better in that respect.

Yes, it could use a discography.  But I don't need (or expect) a book, book.  A reader book.  The basics -- we know.  So it would have to be super-uber detailed for it to approach "definitive" in the reading department for us.  Which, I'd rather have as an actual "reader" book (that I can take into the bathroom) not as my boxset liners.  I want a visual aid wth the music for the boxset.  And for the price -- I want big photos, on nice stock -- nicely produced.  And a lot of them.

Plus, most of the band comments are nice and are new to me.  So, I have no problem, it's cool.  It's a great visual, stunner while playing the discs.  Like holding an 12x12 LP while listening to the album -- but with A LOT more to look at.

The book is fine.    :p

I didn't buy it either, although I tried to and failed on release date, and am kind of glad of that in the end.  Just one more thing to clutter up the house with, making sure to keep it in absolutely perfect nick, an approach to things I can't be bothered with anymore.

Okay, that's the impression I had gotten earlier. Going to pass on this cd set, there's other stuff I need to spend my money on - rent, phone bill, auto insurance, groceries...

I'm really glad I didn't buy this. Would have just ended up in a corner gathering dust along with most other box sets.

I would feel differently if it was 5-6 discs of unreleased stuff. I might have been persuaded if the book was a comprehensive history, but that book - The Beach Boys In Concert - will suffice quite nicely.

Mark L has been kind enough to encode these CDs in HDCD format (he often does) - so with a little know how you can listen to these amazing songs and the live selections in the  ticklishly delicious High Def glory they deserve.

The sonic benefit of HDCD encoding has been debated for some time. It definitely isn't "hi rez" in the way that SACD or Blu-Ray audio (or most hi rez downloads) are.

Some engineers have even argued having HDCD in the chain of the mastering process actually hinders more than helps.

I have a player that decodes HDCD and I never noticed much other than it being louder when enabled.

finally got my copy of mic today.    the booklet is a real gift to the longtime hardcore fan.  even the graphics on the CDs are a treat.  A nd, I really like the sequencing and the audio quality so far.    the price is down now, no excuse not to have this unless you are quite strapped for cash.

How much did you pay for it?

The booklet is far from useless in one respect: it stops the discs from falling on the floor.

Not if you sling it against the wall while in a stupor it don't :lol