The Smiley Smile Message Board

So things got pretty heated in poll 8, no thanks to me.

Perhaps a less contentious pairing is in order .... for now!

Kind of an oddball this one in that the albums are so obviously different. I'd say Party by a landslide, but all those gorgeous Brian tracks on Stack make for a pretty unique lp.

I don't think I'll vote either way. Both are cool for their own reasons. I much prefer listening to the Party! material in varying forms on a certain 'Ocean of Songs' release. Stack O Tracks is a nice listen, but then again, I like to listen to backing tracks on releases associated with the series of releases mentioned previously. Will be interesting to see how this poll turns out though...

Stack-o-Tracks.

'Specially the twofer version with the California Girls instrumental.

I like 'em both, but I love hearing the backing tracks more than hearing all the party overdubs. As EgoHanger1966 noted, the availability of "earlier state" recordings has provided us with a "purer" listening experience--particularly for the Party! tracks, and this might be subtly altering my preference here.

Heck, the backing track to "Sloop John B." is arguably as mind-blowing as the vocal version...

Party.

People forget that Party has some of ML's best leads on record. When he gets into that semi R&B stuff, in a relaxed atmosphere, he's unbeatable.

Fixed, you're welcome.

Gotta be Party! for me in this round, another of my favorite Beach Boys albums. There's No Other and Devoted To You in particular, are hall-of-fame Beach Boys performances. I love the lack of pretension, and the self-mockery throughout. I wish some other groups would have attempted something similar. The fact that the Beach Boys did Party is just another reason why they are the greatest.
Stack O' Tracks is great too, excepting some questionable song choices (had no need to hear Little Saint Nick sans vocals).

Gotta be SOT, man-harmonies are way better than Party.  :thud :spin

I'm goin' Party!

While Stack obviously showcased Brian's compositional and production thang across the Capital years, Party is just a brilliant l'il idea (and kudos to that stroke of genius) that's a great listen and, imo, is a prime example of the BB style of humour.

And despite the fact it's the origin of the endlessly dubious live exorcism that is Barbara-freakin' Ann.

Fixed what? I was taking responsibility in the opening post, you chump.

Hey moron .... You can relax. It's over. Go fix yourself a drink, change your underwear, and enjoy the next poll! ;)

(try not to shovel your idiosyncratic, crackpot opinions down everyone's throat like it's the original stone tablet this time though, ok?)

Devoted To You is beautiful and it's cool to hear the Boys do three Beatles songs, but I don't really care for Party. Not a very interesting album, the I Get Around/Little Deuce Coupe medley is terrible and the fact that this album gave us Barbara Ann also doesn't help.

It's always interesting to hear instrumental mixes like on Stack-O-Tracks. It always blows my mind how well many Beach Boys songs stand up both instrumentally and a capella. It makes you realize even more how amazing those songs really are.

So Stack-O-Tracks for me.

I was a big fan of Barbara Ann as a kid, and its appeal hasn't diminished much for me all these years later! It was a boon to discover there was a whole album performed in the same loose style. I agree though that the I Get Around spoof is a low point of the album. Highpoints for me are the Beatles covers, Hully Gully and There's No Other. Oh and Barbara Ann, of course.

Stack is great but feels a bit obsolete when I can put all my own backing tracks together in Itunes. At the time though, for the real fan, I bet it was an eye opener.

So Party for me.

OK, I'll do that.

.

I must admit I never listen to Stack-O-Tracks.

I like SOT just for the ability to slap it in Adobe Audition, and do my own vocals.

As for Party, it's a little corny, but in a good way. It gets my vote.

Stack-O-Tracks. Only because I really don't care for Beach Boys' Party

Has anyone from the group ever said the Party album was inspired by the "frat rock" sound at the time?

I've never really liked Party! Just the 45 of "Barbara Ann" would have been enough for me.

SOT gets my vote if only for the track of "Salt Lake City"----simply stunning.