The Smiley Smile Message Board

Is there a substantial sound difference between the later 24 bit reissues and the earlier series that came out in the 80s or 90s?

Regarding the Capital twofers, I never did an A-B comparison, but i remember thinking that someone had lifted a veil from the speakers. Maybe it was my stereo system, but i was impressed nevertheless. Shinier.

The reissue is a mixed blessing.  Without NR the sound is more open and less muffled, but the mastering is pretty loud.  The most improvement I've noticed is on Friends/2020.  I always thought the first edition sounded a bit dull, sonically.  And there's the revised bonus track of "Old Man River", which is definitely worth having.

Agreed. It may come down to a matter of taste in the end. Neither edition is awful, but then in my opinion neither is perfect either ... In the end it's the 2001 HDCD editions that have stayed in my collection (I happen to have a HDCD-capable player).

So if I have discs from the original series I shouldn't break a leg to replace them with the remasters?  I have them all on LP, also.  I know, I'm a geek.

Well, why not try just one to see what you think? The lack of noise reduction on the newer issues is a benefit. As sockittome mentioned, the Friends-20/20 disc is a particularly good one ...

And if you're a geek then I'm one too ... I've collected multiple editions on LP and CD of just about all the albums. I bet many of us here have.  ;D

I've got most of the 2-fers on CD, a few 1990 ones and a few 2001 reissues, I'm not picky about which one it is. I'm also starting to slowly amass a BB vinyl collection. So far I've only got Endless Summer (used to be my mom's..was my first exposure to the BBs), a comp called High Water, Love You, and Holland (with the Fairy Tale EP included).

One little tip for Beach Boys LP collecting: For the Capitol albums from Pet Sounds to 20/20, try the 1980s budget-line green-label Capitol editions. In almost every case, they sound notably better than the original 1960s pressings (Friends is the one exception I've found; my copies of the original and the green-label edition are quite close in sound ... both sound wonderful).

The only real problem I have with any of those green-label LPs is that "Wouldn't It Be Nice" on Pet Sounds is fake stereo. Otherwise ... that one's a real keeper sonically.

Sorry to go slightly off topic there ...

Most of the Beach Boys vinyl I own is the original release. I want to hear them just as their fans did in the 60s and 70s.

I started with the same approach. Most of the original pressings of the '70s albums are very good actually, but it's amazing to me that so many of the ones from the '60s that I've tried are just dreadful-sounding ...

Thanks for that bit of information.  Being the vinyl snob that I am, I never thought you could beat the original 60's pressings.  The only problem is that I really have to hunt for ones in good condition.  If I ever come across a green label pressing I'll be sure not to pass on it right away.

Stereo pressings of LPs on Capitol were dodgy even in the 60s.  However, Capitol mono LPs from the 50s and 60s are among the best sounding vinyl I've ever encountered.