The Smiley Smile Message Board

So, today I got in the mail what I thought was the deluxe edition of No Pier Pressure, with the bonus tracks(L&M and the 1975 ITBOMM). The front of the cd booklet has the word "Deluxe" printed near the bottom of the album cover, and the cd itself has "Deluxe" on it. But it's the standard 16 track disc with no bonus cuts whatsoever. They aren't even on the cd as hidden uncredited tracks. What's the deal? What's "Deluxe" about it?

There was a 'standard' version that only had about 10 songs.  It's just a marketing thing.

So how do you make sure you end up getting the version you want?

The version you were after is exclusive to Target in the US.

http://www.target.com/p/brian-wilson-no-pier-pressure-target-exclusive/-/A-17254322

Thanks for the info. I guess I'm going to end up looking for another copy then.

You could get it on Amazon in the UK - for a while at least.

Standard version = 13 tracks
Deluxe version = 16 tracks
Target Deluxe version = 18 tracks

Yup. Target Deluxe version was also available on Amazon UK.

...and also in various stores over here in the UK. What I mean is, the 18-track disc that was only available from Target in the US was on wider general retail release here. That's how I got my 18-track version: in a traditional record shop in the UK.

Quite apart from the contents of NPP as an album, which I enjoyed for the most part, I hated the 'Deluxe Edition' thing. It's becoming a bugbear of mine with music releases, actually. A 'deluxe edition' to me should have some... well, *luxurious* aspect to it (it's in the name, guys...!). It's a nice big well-made box o' goodies with a beautifully printed colour edition book, a couple of lithographs, lots of rare extra tracks and photos, high production values... whereas increasingly, it seems that the record industry thinks a 'deluxe edition' is a CD same as all the others with a couple of extra tracks in a cruddy standard-issue plastic jewel case.

No Pier Pressure is a case in point. The so-called 'Target Deluxe Edition' was, IMO, pretty much what the album should have been. The ordinary non-Target Deluxe Edition was the standard album bewilderingly shorn of a couple of really good tracks, and the so-called Standard Edition was like a cut-down promo sampler that misses some of the really good stuff out!

The odd thing is that the Beach Boys CAN do this stuff — just look at the SMiLE Sessions box or MiC. THAT's what I call a deluxe set — assembled with love, and with careful knowledge of exactly what it is that will get prospective buyers of the set excited (well, in the case of the SMiLE Sessions set, with the exception of the bewildering million-dollar 'built-in light' versions, and the gazillion-dollar surfboard version, that is... sheeesh).

For a real humdinger, look at the Rufus Wainwright 'House of Rufus' thing or Jellyfish's 'Fan Club' box from a few years back. They are serious 'luxury' releases truly deserving of the name. NPP... not so much...!

I know — this is very much a first-world problem! But it still PS's me awf...

Yes, to clarify, I believe the 18-track version was only "exclusive" to Target stores in the US. It was offered in other territories (Canada, UK and/or other parts of Europe) at other retailers, and I don't believe it was exclusive to any one retailer in any other territories.

If you're a recording completest, the main deal would be to get the '75 "In the Back of My Mind" demo, as the version of "Love and Mercy" is simply the decade-old "Walking Down the Path of Life/Love and Mercy" single with the first half edited out.

More specifically:

Standard version...
Deluxe...
Target exclusive/non US deluxe

1. This Beautiful Day
2. Runaway Dancer [featuring Sebu Simonian]
3. What Ever Happened [featuring Al Jardine and David Marks]
4. On The Island [featuring She & Him]
5. Half Moon Bay [featuring Mark Isham]
6. Our Special Love [featuring Peter Hollens]
7. The Right Time [featuring Al Jardine and David Marks]
8. Guess You Had To Be There [featuring Kacey Musgraves]
9. Don't Worry
10. Somewhere Quiet
11. I'm Feeling Sad
12. Tell Me Why [featuring Al Jardine]
13. Sail Away [featuring Blondie Chaplin and Al Jardine]
14. One Kind Of Love
15. Saturday Night [featuring Nate Ruess]
16. The Last Song
17. In The Back Of My Mind
18. Love And Mercy

 

Personally, I'm just happy the deluxe version was released right away rather than the standard 13 track edition being released in April, and followed by the 16 track edition later on down the line, forcing fans to buy the album again for the extra songs. 

This practice seems to have fallen by the wayside side CDs don't sell quite as well as they used to.  But, in was very common about a decade ago. 

I got the FULL version with ALL of the tracks at Wallmart in Canada. :hat

Funny you mention that.  The Walley World that I frequent in the US only had the standard 13 track edition.  I had Target hold a copy for me on the release date.