The Smiley Smile Message Board

No news lately, we'll take what we can get :lol

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We just need Brian to tweet about Candace Owens and they'll jump above Kanye again!

In seriousness - got to wonder how much this is connected to either the Sirius launch or the orchestral album buzz (probably the former more than the latter, since the latter isn't out yet.) Or maybe it's just summer and some boomers got the urge to listen to some surf tracks. Or it's summer and some gas stations and bigbox stores put their summer CDs front and center.

Man, you're right, no news at all and I'm sitting here genuinely contemplating the 193 spot on the Billboard charts...

I'm sure Mike will post on Facebook about how they're still above the Rolling Stones on the charts...not that I'd know, since he blocked me years ago.  :lol

Just how many copies a week you have to sell (physical copies) in the US Yo make it all the way to 193? In Finland that would be maybe 5-10 copies...

:lol

Billboard isn't based purely off sales anymore, let alone physical sales. It's also based off streaming services and subscription audio. Not sure if Youtube factors in.

Sounds of Summer is great! The cover art is on point, the title, and the track listing is really solid also, even if if slightly heavy on early hits.

Just replace "Kokomo", "Rock and Roll Music" and "Barbara Ann" with "You're So Good to Me", "The Warmth of The Sun", "It's OK" and "Little Honda" and this would be the best thing the Beach Boys ever put out (no deep tracks needed - this is Sounds of Summer after all and it should focus on the early hits!).

You're So Good to Me, Warmth of the Sun, It's OK, and Little Honda were all included on the companion collection to Sounds of Summer called Warmth of the Sun. 

Sounds of Summer gives you all the big hits.   Warmth of the Sun includes plenty of hits like the ones mentioned with some essential album tracks.   Combined, SOS and WOTS provide an excellent 58 track overview of The Beach Boys. 

I assume SOS is their biggest seller at this point?

I dunno. "Endless Summer" for better or worse was the go-to compilation from 1974 until probably at least 1995 when "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" was released. They kept "Endless Summer" in print on CD for a long time.

But the BBs catalog (much like their touring) was diluted by too many hits compilations. Even "Best of the Beach Boys" from the 60s was issued on CD (ironically, that CD has some nice-sounding, early digital era relatively flat transfers of the songs; too bad it has dreck on it like "Louie Louie"). "Made in USA" from 1986 was also vying for the go-to hits compilation.

So until 1995, "Endless Summer", "Made in USA", "Best of the Beach Boys", and other compilations (including the GV boxed set and of course "Spirit of America") all were out there.

GH Vol. 1 was issued in 1995, and then GH Vol. 2 was issued around 1999 as I recall (along with a remaster/reissue of GH Vol. 1), and then of course GH Vol. 3 (Best of the Brother Years) was issued in 2000. I recall at *that* point that the "plan" with that particular regime at Capitol was to make those three volumes the main and more or less only (in the US anyway) compilations, and to purge the catalog of all of the other cheap and old compilations, including even "Endless Summer", etc.

If that plan ever took hold, it only lasted for about three years, as we got "Sounds of Summer" in 2003 as I recall, and that was essentially a Beach Boys version of "Beatles 1" in all but strict theme (obviously because the BBs only had a few literal #1 hits). It was kind of a slight rejiggering of "Greatest Hits Vol. 1" of course as well.

So I'm sure "SOS" is the best-selling thing in the BB catalog *since* 2003, but I'm not sure it has sold enough in the last 15 years to surpass the 20+ years of sales for "Endless Summer" (which was even, in recent years, reissued again on vinyl) and possibly other comps like "Best of the Beach Boys" and "Greatest Hits Vol. 1." "Sounds of Summer" peaked in 2003 at #16 (a great showing for essentially a defunct band at that point that had already had TEN KAJILLION COMPILATIONS out in the stores), while "Endless Summer" got to #1 in 1974. The little Wikipedia discography chart indicates both SOS and Endless Summer are 3x platinum for whatever that's worth; we all know Capitol wasn't always so reliable about reporting sales to the RIAA for certification.

They crammed everything they could on SOS. It's hard to complain much about it as one-disc compilations go. It was supposedly programmed (by Mike?) as a "concert setlist." You can see that to some degree; some hunks are indeed similar to the late 90s/early 2000s setlists. But it has some odd programming as well, with four Carl leads all closing the set out. They certainly didn't tend to end shows with a run of "Darlin'", "I Can Hear Music", and "GV." It's almost like they tried to program a concert-style track listing, and then "oops" forgot about some Carl leads and just tacked them on near the end.

All compilations have weird compromises and criteria. Remember how GH Vol. 3 stuck with the theme of *first* including an album's first single? That's how we ended up with "Honkin' Down the Highway" and "Peggy Sue" but no "The Night Was So Young" or "My Diane", etc.

Looking at some relatively dated (2012) data, (and can't vouch for accuracy), it's probably a close race between Best of Beach Boys, Endless Summer and SOS, all of which have sold over 3M copies in USA.

Oops, misread the thread title, thought it said Summer in Paradise back on the Billboard 200.

I don't think it was ever on the Billboard 200.

Correct; it can't ever be "back" on the chart, as it wasn't there in the first place back in 1992.

Also, the SIP album is not in print digitally or physically. Radio stations (and satellite stations like SiriusXM) who have a stock copy in their collection can spin the album, but it's not streaming or available for digital download (nor of course CD, etc.).

For a moment there I thought this was about Endless Summer being back on the charts, now THAT would have been news!

Has any other band ever enjoyed such a comeback on the strength of a comp alone?

I think it ‘sold’ 200!  ;D

None that I can think of.

Nor, can I think of a compilation that so damaged a band's creativity. 

Sounds of Summer has come back into the charts in other summers....I literally think it's just people going "oh, its summer, let's goto the beach. I guess we should get the BB's greatest hits"

That' pretty much it.

Safe to say The Beach Boys have very lucrative summers.....and winters actually  :lol

Whats crazy is they just kind of lucked into being the summer/beach band. The guys were like "jeeez, what should we write about?" and dennis says "well, jeez, i just went surfing yesterday, it was cool, how about we write about that?"
Branding was probably not even a word back then (with regards to bands anyways) but the fact that they ended up being THE Summer/Beach Band off of Dennis's whim has probably made them millions upon millions. Sure they couldve had hits with generic love songs, etc, but they wouldnt be on the charts every summer like they still are 50 years later

The 2xLP has been front and center at my local Target for the last few weeks, along with the vinyl reissues of Abbey Road, Thriller and Dark Side of the Moon. Pet Sounds has been in there too, but SoS seems to get more prominent placement.

I 100% agree.  I have a dedicated playlist on Spotify of just those two combined.  I'd hands down make that my desert island album (I think you could make a case for that being "in the spirit" of the concept).

The Eagles, I'd say. After that country tribute album "Common Thread" (the inspiration for "Stars & Stripes" and other less-successful projects) brought the members together to shoot a video for Travis Tritt's entry on that project, the Eagles decided to reunite. What followed was a multi-platinum album a year later and a massively successful reunion tour that was running for years. The joke was that the album and tour were called "Hell Freezes Over", as in that was when the band thought they would reunite to make music together.

I'd say a compilation of Eagles hits done on that tribute did indeed lead to an unexpected and unplanned comeback for the band that sold more albums (of new original material) than most of the Beach Boys output taken as a whole after Endless Summer for the next few decades.

So there's that one, haha.

Just adding that The Beatles "Red" and "Blue" compilations - both double albums of the old hits from the 60's - were released in 1973, before Endless Summer was even on the table. And both the Red and Blue sets sold like crazy, depending on which chart you reference they hit #1 in multiple countries around the world...a scant 3 years after the last official release by The Beatles before the breakup.

Did it lead to a "comeback" in terms of the band reuniting? Of course not, but it put old Beatles hits on the charts and on the radio again, and I think it spurred a lot of the talk of a reunion especially in '76 (when Capitol reissued both sets on their own label), and it did lead to collections like "Rock And Roll Music" and "Love Songs" which were basically Beatles songs repackaged and which also sold pretty well. It put the Beatles old hits back into the public ear, and it sold like crazy.

So I'd say especially since Capitol was involved that the Red and Blue releases *may* have opened the door for Endless Summer...grab some old back-catalog 60's hits and repackage them. It makes sense financially and the sales of the sets was very good for the label(s).

In other words, Endless Summer didn't happen in a vacuum, nor did it set a precedent. It was mostly people wanting to hear and rediscover some amazing music from the previous decade and the label giving them what they wanted.

I didn't know that a tribute album got The Eagles to reunite.   It's a pity Stars and Stripes didn't have the same effect. 

In addition to Common thread, there was the live album Hell Freezes Over, which contained a tantalizing four new songs. I'd think that one also spurred the massive sales to follow.

And of course their GH vol.1 sold Thriller level.

I would imagine it depends on what the definition of a "comeback" is. It depends not only on the success of the "comeback project" in question, but also on how "down" the artist was beforehand. The "Red" and "Blue" albums had very far-reaching impacts on the Beatles' long-term legacy (Howie Edelson's "Fabcast" did some great episodes on those albums, properly contextualizing those albums which have been a bit more ignored/derided in the CD/digital age). But, while the Beatles (old back catalog and individual solo careers) were on a downturn in 1972 leading into those albums, they were collectively and separately still more in the news/successful/on the radar than the Beach Boys had been around the same time period.

I'd also frame a "comeback" in the literal sense of reactivating and selling tour tickets (or reissues of old recordings) as different from a comeback that constitutes *new* music. In that sense, both "Endless Summer" and the Red/Blue Beatles albums were mostly the former rather than the latter.

Likely more rare is jumpstarting a "comeback" first and foremost with an album of new music (and/or a single). One has the momentary impulse to then start talking about "Kokomo", but that was a fluke/anomaly that *didn't* lead to any further imminent chart/sales success nor critically-lauded new material.

I'd also say, going back to the comeback of a *brand*, that C50 in 2012 was maybe even more impressive than some fans realize. As was said back then, they took an "AARP brand" and turned it back into an arena act. Frankie Valli to Mick Jagger (as Howie Edelson put it) in the band's 50th year when the guys were hitting their 70s. That's *extremely* rare.

The difference of course with C50 is that while Mike and the other band members generally (at the time anyway) embraced "Endless Summer" and later "Kokomo", one member (Mike; well two if we include Bruce) *walked away* from their amazing 2012 comeback while it was still a going concern with more potential. Imagine Mike quitting the band in 1975 after "Endless Summer" had been #1 and they were Rolling Stone's band of the year. Imagine Mike quitting in late 1988 right after "Kokomo" hit #1.

Up to #185 this week

I wonder if the XM / Sirius Channel has anything to do with that, and I wonder if that channel might cause a bump on sales of any other BB related release. 

Well said. It's kind of crazy. It's an obvious point, but it shows you the massively unrealized potential of this brand. There is a huge audience that was hungry for that comeback story.  :(

The longer it sticks around on the charts this summer, the more I think it's the Sirius channel pushing it. While Sounds Of Summer has re-entered the charts numerous times, it has only re-entered for extended periods twice (2012 and to a lesser extent 2015). Obviously, there was a lot of buzz in 2012 with C50 and in 2015 with No Pier Pressure and the Love & Mercy film. I wouldn't be surprised if 50 Big Ones re-enters at some point. Could be cool to see what other albums might re-enter.

I don't know if it's a true comparable though. There was never any doubt that if and when Eagles were to reunite it would be a massive success. Yes, Common Thread was a catalyst for the band getting together, but Azoff had been working Don and Glenn for years, and it was inevitable. In a way the tribute album benefitted more from the ongoing popularity of the band, than it did to reignite interest. The interest was constant. And Frey and Henly had decent solo careers throughout the 80's.

Whereas The Beach Boys had kept going throughout and has seen a dip in popularity. Endless Summer brought people back.

It's not unusual to see Sounds of Summer and Pet Sounds show up in the charts during the summer months. 

While it might not register in Billboard, I'd love to see if there's a spike in sales / streams of Beach Boys albums other than Pet Sounds. 

Worth noting is that between 1991 and 2009, albums were bumped off the "Top 200" chart after 18 months and falling below position #100.

So once albums slipped below #100 and were more than 18 months old, they were moved to the "Catalog Albums" chart. I remember this because Beatles albums around certain time periods (e.g. the "Anthology" in 95/96, etc.) would spike in sales but be ineligible for the "Top 200" chart even if sales warranted it. I remember hearing people talk about the YEARS albums like "Dark Side of the Moon" or "Thriller" had spent on the charts, and I remember thinking how any comparison to a new album released after 1991 was largely invalid (unless somehow albums could maintain a position above 100 for years and years without slipping to 101 or below even once).

"Sounds of Summer" may have spiked between 2004/05 and 2009 but wouldn't have appeared during those years in the Top 200 even if sales justified it.

From Wikipedia:

On May 25, 1991, Billboard premiered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. The criteria for this chart were albums that were more than 18 months old and had fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200.[6] An album needed not have charted on the Billboard 200 at all to qualify for catalog status.

Starting with the issue dated December 5, 2009, however, the catalog limitations which removed albums over 18 months old, that have dropped below position 100 and have no currently-running single, from the Billboard 200 was lifted, turning the chart into an all-inclusive list of the 200 highest-selling albums in the country (essentially changing Top Comprehensive Albums into the Billboard 200). A new chart that keeps the previous criteria for the Billboard 200 (dubbed Top Current Albums) was also introduced in the same issue.

He may not have been a band, and he unfortunately died 25 years before, but the album ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits (along with the remix of "A Little Less Conversation" created a several-year comeback. "A Little Less Conversation" (remix), "Rubberneckin'" (remix), "That's All Right" (reissue), and "Heartbreak Hotel" (reissue) all topped the singles sales charts from 2002-2006 and "That's All Right" and "Good Rockin' Tonight" finally went gold. There was the 2nd to None compilation and the Elvis by the Presleys project, both of which charted well.

This is a really good point, detailing one of the dumbest album chart position decisions ever made by Billboard.

If an album is selling, it's selling, regardless of when it was released and how long it's been on the charts.

A massive jump of 52 spots this week, will we crack the 100 albums in America? Find out next week on chart watch

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Although flawed in a couple areas The Greatest Hits Vol 1, 2 & 3 are by far my favorite and I believe the best compilations done by the band.

Other standouts include the Capitol years box set, endless harmony soundtrack,  GV 30 years of box, original gold, Hawthorne CA, platinum collection and the  warmth of the sun

I have bought this album on both iTunes and CD form the last 10 years so I know I’ve dknt my part in the past :hat

With that said, I saw the vinyl version at Barnes and Noble yesterday and wanted to know if my buying it at the store would actually affect the ranking. I have a hard time believing half that stuff gets reported to the proper parties. I can see how digital download would be easily reported since it’s all automated and just a few platforms are in the business. However, I just don’t see how your local bookstore is really going to be on the ball.

Also, don’t double albums count as two?

I’m really tempted to drop the $25 for the double vinyl since it’s a great compilation in any format and I’d love to help the sales rankings out. I figure since so few albums are ever actually bought, it’d probably have a meaningful effect especially if the board here did the same. I’m not saying we’ll get it to #1 but didn’t someone say how like 4-5 actual album sales is enough to get you in the top 200 or something?

Dropped to #171 this week. Perhaps it will jump back up next week.