The Smiley Smile Message Board

Hey folks,
I wasn't able to purchase many of those albums except Smiley Smile and Surfs Up... So I was wondering, for those who were able to purchase those and listened closely (on headphones perhaps?) if anyone could post their thoughts, reviews, and insights on what they thought of those releases...any of the albums really...I'd love to hear about how each individual album/track sounded compared to other audio such as vinyl releases, twofers, and what not.

Thanks in advance!

The best stereo sound, IMO, come from Smiley Smile and, even more so, Party. The stereo mixes on Today and Summer Days, with a couple of exceptions (especially those that had been released on previous compilations) could have been better. I was hoping for a more natural, wider '60s stereo sound. On my car speakers, many of the tracks sound messy, at least in terms of stereo separation. On headphones, they sound somewhat better, but not like natural stereo.
I'm not a fan of the stereo mix of Shut Down Vol. 2 as mastered in 2012. Sounds harsh to me, and I didn't like the quality of the opening sound of The Warmth of the Sun.

I'll be as brief as I can be...

Today! and Summer Days... -- stereo mixes = just weird. VERY drenched in reverb; whether that was added during the stereo mixing or it it always was there from the start and the stereo separation just highlights it, I don't know, but the reverb is very distracting, bordering on unlistenable. There are some exceptions, though -- "Help Me, Rhonda" sounds fantastic in stereo...I never liked that song, but I do like the stereo version.

There are a couple of errors...the mono "Stoked" comes in a bit late, making Mike say "To-o-o-o-o-o-oked." (I compared it to my original mono pressing vinyl just to be sure it's not a glitch from way back -- it's not; the song is completely intact on my mono vinyl.) The mono "Please Let Me Wonder" is weird -- it plays back kind of slow, and for some reason it's louder in one channel than the other.

I concur that Party! and Smiley Smile sound really good in stereo -- in fact, on SS, close your eyes and you'll feel like you're in the room with the guys.

What really stands out, though, despite the errors: the mono Today! and Summer Days... Except for the "Please Let Me Wonder" problems, they sound absolutely fantastic.

I have to agree that Today! and Summer Days have some serious oddities on the stereo mixes.  Some of the songs sound pretty good, while others just don't sound right.  Today! has this bizarre characteristic of starting out so-so, and then getting better with each song.  Do You Wanna Dance sounds very duophonic to me, Good to My Baby sounds a little better, and so on.  Dance, Dance, Dance is where I start to really take notice in a good way, as the mix sounds more natural, and I have to say that it sounds a lot better than on the Hawthorne disc released years ago.  I don't know if it was remixed again for the stereo Today! or if it is just the mastering, but somehow it sounds better.  Not so loud and "in yer face"! 

Interesting thing, if you don't already know, they did some sort of false double tracking on Brian's vocal on She Knows Me Too Well (since the doubled vox track was apparently done on mixdown) and it sounds ok.  Then, on In the Back of My Mind they went ahead and used a single track of Dennis's vocal in places, initially causing some debate among fans as to whether that was the right thing to do.  IMO, they did ok there, as (with all due respect) I always felt the double tracking was a bit sloppy. 

Summer Days is also quite hit and miss also.  I can't really cite any standout tracks at the moment.  Overall I'd say they are generally....ok.

As stated earlier, Smiley Smile seems to be the overall winner among the stereo remixes.  It appears to be the most consistent and cohesive in the set.  Unfortunately, I'm just not a fan of the album, and I have tried soooo hard!  Great sound though!

One more note:  Sunflower is worth getting, because it does sound better than the twofer issue.  Not earthshattering in any way, but I found it to sound more open and there's a certain warmth to it.

There's also some static on the top end, unfortunately.

I'm not hearing that.  I must be getting old!  :old

It's pretty clear to me on "This Whole World", especially on headphones.

there's also a thread here somewhere I believe, where Steve Desper said for sunflower or surfs up?? albums?...
earlier or master mix tapes were found and used for the sunflower and surfs up vinyl rereleases and the 2012 reissues.....

RickB

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,17569.msg453971.html#msg453971 (http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,17569.msg453971.html#msg453971)

yeah Alan! that's the link.....

it was Alan Boyd and Mark Linett's comments......

I did hear the sonic difference particularly in a few of the songs on sunflower....maybe not as much on surf's up....

but worth checking out if your into the clean clearer sonic sound.....

RickB

Do You Wanna Dance? Has Fake Double Tracking as well, because  only a Single Dennis Lead Vocal could be found.

These are some great insights and reviews! I appreciate it highly! Continue, I love reading all this. If anyone knows of a good site or message board to read more reviews and opinions on this topic, let me know.

The stereo smiley is a vital alternative listening experience and really good fun. You'll not believe your ears the first time you play it. The mono today an summer nights sound great but I'm not that interested in the stereo mixes. The mono surfer girl is a must buy as is all summer long. Just bought sunflower this week and i think it is a real sonic upgrade. Will buy surfs up next week and hope the same applies.

like sunflower, certain tunes really stand out in fidelity more than others..... amazing how much cleaner and clearer the audio is, and how much
more you hear in songs you've heard a million times!

RickB

I reviewed some of the different stereo remixes from the m/s releases comparing them to previous/other stereo remixes here:

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,15004.msg343439.html#msg343439