The Smiley Smile Message Board

I found the two fer brother records 70's vinyl reissue of "Wild Honey" and "20/20" and basically my question is, are they using the same masters as used on the original Capitol Vinyl? basically if I buy it will it be as if I bought the capitol versions as far as sound goes? thanks.. ;D

As a vinyl nut, to my ears, these two-fers sound much superior to the original issues.... Though this could be due to the original album issues I own being in lesser physical condition than the two-fers. It might be a simple as those limited issue two-fer discs simply as being more recent vintage and were never played as much.

I'd avoid it.  Wild Honey is that weird bass/treble fake stereo version, not the real mono.  You want the green label Capitol reissues for those two albums.  Best sounding releases by far and they can found cheap (even still sealed).

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Ebay, musicstack, gemm, discogs, etc.  Here are the catalog numbers to look for: http://www.bsnpubs.com/capitol/16000/capitol16000.html.  Sealed records can be quickly identified by the green "A Capitol Value" sticker on the front.  Good luck.

I just picked up the twofer in question over the weekend and to my ears 20/20 sounds phenomenal compared to other masters I've heard...

I have the Friends/Wild Honey twofer 1975 reissue:

http://www.discogs.com/Beach-Boys-Wild-Honey-Friends/release/3770674 (http://www.discogs.com/Beach-Boys-Wild-Honey-Friends/release/3770674)

Just twiddled the balance controls. I had no idea this version of WH is fake stereo!  :'(

How do the vinyl heads rate this version of Friends though?

Thanks for the info, Avantodd.

So is this the version you're referrring to, released in 1980?:

http://www.discogs.com/Beach-Boys-Wild-Honey/release/1489415 (http://www.discogs.com/Beach-Boys-Wild-Honey/release/1489415)

How does it compare with the an original pressing?

That's the one.  From my experience, 60's Capitol vinyl is pretty compressed and kind of muddy - not terrible but nothing great either.  I can't imagine Wild Honey ever sounding better than the green label pressing.

Thanks for that.

So is the 1980 reissue of Friends from the same series also potentially the best sounding version on vinyl?:

http://www.discogs.com/Beach-Boys-Friends/release/3442451 (http://www.discogs.com/Beach-Boys-Friends/release/3442451)

Another poster here described a mastering fault with the fade of Transcendental Meditation on the original pressing. My Capitol twofer copy of Friends also has this mastering fault but perhaps the 1980 green label one doesn't?

In my experience, the 1968 original Friends beats the green label.  I did a shootout with Anna Lee and the original had more presence and definition.  The other green labels are definitive except for Pet Sounds (go with the Warners press).

I would go for the green label over an original personally.  The green labels of Party through 20/20 are all stunning and highly recommended (though with Pet Sounds it's a coin toss whether WIBN will be in mono or duophonic on any given copy).

Capitol pressings never really sound great in my opinion, but they do have a cool vibe. I think the orig. 60s rainbows sound 'right' for the classic material ... they do have a rolled-off high end though. The early '80s reissues sound 'better' but lose a little of the 'meat' of the originals I think ... probably partially due to being mastered more cleanly, and on more modern tape decks. 'Rarities' for example, sounds really great ... but I remember reading somewhere that it was mastered from some early digital VHS-type format. Not sure if the 1980s reissues are all-analog or not. They are possibly sent through a digital delay in any case (common since the later '70s) ... so we cannot be certain that these pressing are all analog, if that matters to anyone.

The Reprise stuff is probably the sweet spot, but they did use the fake stereo masters for SS & WH. I still think these probably sound better than any of the Capitol pressings ... though I agree the orig. Capitol 'Friends' sounds perfect.

I noticed randomly listening to 'Sunshine Dream' earlier that it used the mono 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' ... wonder if this was from the NY tape copy or the orig ... it sounded very good. Funny cuz the 1980 'Pet Sounds' green label reissue uses the Duophonic master for that track.

To address the original question, they did seem to use the same tape masters, but the EQ, etc. when cutting the LP sounds different.

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Again, not all copies have the duophonic WIBN.  My green label is mono.  Presumably it comes down to where the record was pressed.

interesting. do you know if the source was the NY copy or orig. LA tape?

I assume that a mono WIBN would be an east coast pressing (copy) and a duophonic would be a west coast (master), but that's just a guess on my part.  I have no idea how to id which plant pressed it.

edit: Ok, I did some googling and it appears this one was pressed in Jacksonville, Illinois.  I'm betting the copies with the duophonic track were from the L.A. plant.  Can anyone confirm?