The Smiley Smile Message Board

In all my years as a fan of music, and most of those years being a fan/friend/aficionado of The Beach Boys, I've never written a review. What a daunting start then, to be the first to at least drop a few comments about this album that it seems like I've waited over 50 years to arrive.  Now, neither the discs nor the hype were unexpected.  Heck, tackling one of my all-time favorite albums, combined with an in-depth listen to what might have been with SMILEY, those two alone were worth the price of admission.  However, actually holding it in my hands, and just glancing at the back cover made my hands sweat and my heart race...

There couldn't have been a better way of sequencing these discs than breaking them in sections the way that they did, and for me it made for the absolute best way to listen.  I'm sure there are those that are so anxious to hear the gems that they'll listen from start to finish, or maybe jump to certain things they have waited years to hear.  But for me it was similar to appreciating a good book or a fine wine, and it needed to be slowly savored and enjoyed. So we start off with WILD HONEY STEREO, an experience as memorable as slipping the vinyl on my turntable 50 years ago(!?!?)  It truly does provide a whole new level of enjoyment, and caused my first pause, to stop and reflect on what I'd just heard and how much more depth and genius existed in these songs that I thought I knew so well.

By the time I'd recovered enough to move on to the 2nd section, WILD HONEY SESSIONS, I found myself never able to make it further than 1 or 2 tracks.  Sometimes, I was just so floored that I had to stop to absorb, while other times I had to instantly replay a track   "Can't Wait Too Long" is something I've long dreamed of...  perhaps I'd heard more of this in a studio many years ago, but for all of these years I've only had the snippets that all collectors have.  This one is truly a lost gem.  My afternoon passed in a blur just going over and over this section, then finally letting disc 1 play out with Live Unreleased Honey 67-70.

Disc 2 I really wasn't prepared for.  Everyone has always spoken about 'what might have been' had SMiLE been completed, however, I was one of the old-timers that was let down when we got Smiley Smile instead.  Heck, I lived Pet Sounds, and I'd seen Brian on Bernstein doing Surf's Up, I read the articles about what the big guy was up too, so Smiley was a major disappointment.  However, to hear what was going on at Bellagio, I so much understand why Dennis (referred) to the album as a bunt.  I can only image what he was feeling, first having SMiLE aborted, then seeing Smiley Smile released as so much less of what it could have been.

What could have been floored me from the first notes of disc 2's Smiley Smile Sessions.  I literally was plastered back in my chair will headphones blasting my ears, in what to me was an almost religious experience!  When I heard Fred Vail's voice I had to pause, reflect, and immediately listen again.  You guys won't believe the treat you're in for...

On to the previously unreleased 'live" stuff, and a true highlight for me is "Surfer Girl".  I've gotten as far as the end of this section, but have saved the last 2 sections for something special today.  Bottom line, if this is the start of the new BRI, the new Capitol, and the start of the archival releases from this period forward, we are all in for quite an experience these coming years.

Thanks Ed! This one has me excited.

Thanks for the review ... I'm honestly more excited for this set than any archival release from the past. Wouldn't have thought Wild Honey and Smiley would ever receive the Pet Sounds treatment.

But I'm most interested in the original Leo's in Hawaii mono mixes. Whoever was involved in this decision - really good one! I'd love to see more original mixes released.

Great to hear from Mr. Ed Roach on this one. Waiting as patiently as I can for Friday (assuming Amazon gets it to me as they've promised!).

Thanks for the great review, Ed. It has gotten me into a kind of excitement over a release that I haven't felt since they released Smile, this is gonna be a big deal, I know it. That "Aren't You Glad" mix was enough to make me pick up 2 copies of this so BRI can keep putting out these collections!

Quick question for anybody who knows this stuff: when exactly will the album become available for streaming? Is it 12:00 AM PST on the 30th? Do they release it a little later than that in the AM? Would love to fire this album up as soon as it turns Friday since that Amazon delivery probably won't come in until a bit after noon or so.

Wow, many thanks, Mr Roach. Now waiting will be just that little bit harder! ;D

Thanks for the review Ed! BTW, wasn't it actually Carl who referred to Smiley Smile as a "bunt instead of a grand slam"?

Was it?  I meant to look up the exact quote, but could have sworn it was Dennis.

Sounds exciting, and I cannot wait!!!

My experience has been that albums begin streaming at midnight Eastern time, so 11:00 P.M. Central my time and presumably 9:00 Pacific the evening of the 29th for you.

(I use Amazon's service and have to close out and restart the service to listen to new music at that time, FYI. Not sure how other services work.)

According to the wikipedia article on Smiley Smile, authors Philip Lambert and Jim DeRogatis attribute the quote to Carl. I wouldn't have been surprised if some people attributed it to Dennis, as he was pretty openly critical on some of the groups' later albums like 15 Big Ones and MIU Album.

Yeah, it was Carl.  Funny part is, it was a truncated quote. ..o can't remember where it originally appeared,  but the full version is kind of funny on the sense it shows a somewhat lacking knowledge of baseball.


I'm gonna see if i can hunt it down

Man, I hope my Amazon delivery of Sunshine Tomorrow shows up today.  I want to listen to this in my car all weekend.

Funny enough, Carl's quote leads off the first paragraph of Peter Reum & David Beard's excellent article on Smiley Smile in the latest issue of Endless Summer Quarterly

I have been informed that my copy is sitting on my dining room table, waiting for me to come home from work.  Dang, Ed, you've got me all excited. 

What perfect timing this is, to release this to kick off the 4th of July weekend! I'm excited as he!! to blast this in my car and to listen closely with headphones too.

Its a BBs holiday! 8)

Hmmm,  I'm used to hearing that in a female voice....

 :lol

:lol

Ironically,  as I'm reading this, I'm listening to 20/20 , and an infamous tag started playing aa I started typing this response. ..

This feels like you are diving into the stained glass window.

I am stunned at what I am hearing.

Like a few people on this board I lived through the disappointment of SMiLE and the crushing disappointment of Smiley Smile.  Then seeing the group in late November in Westchester County and hearing Darlin' live before the record came out.  Then ; a short few months after Smiley Smile is released here comes the Wild Honey album.  Loved it from the first needle drop. I have never heard another record that sounded anything like it , and still haven't.  I was always perplexed though about the mix ; it always sounded like I was playing it in a submarine.  Until this. This stereo mix explodes with musical colors, stuff I have never heard before.

I need to indulge myself a bit.  I got thinking ; what if all these tracks on SS/WH were mixed like this ? What if there weren't two completely disparate releases , but rather a double record that included all the SS/WH stuff , as well as some of the Lei'd in Hawaii stuff; in other words The Beach Boys version of the White Album , only a year earlier.

Something like this :

Side 1

Heroes and Villains
I'd Love Just Once to See You
Can't Wait Too Long
Game of Love
With Me Tonight
The Letter
Wonderful
Aren't You Glad

Side 2

Darlin'
Country Air
Wind Chimes
Let the Wind Blow
Gettin' Hungry
You're So Good to Me rehearsal
Vegetables
A Thing Or Two

Side 3

Wild Honey
All Day ( Whistle In...or as Brian calls it Remember the Day
How She Boogalooed It
I Was Made To Love Her
With a Little Help from My Friends
Help Me Rhonda rehearsal
Lonely Days
She's Goin'Bald
Here Comes the Night

Side 4

Good Vibrations rehearsal
Fall Breaks
Heroes and  Villains rehearsal
Little Pad.
Mama Says
Cool Cool Water
God Only Knows rehearsal
Surf's Up

Or some variation of that.  It would have been a monolith record , in this pristine sound , and I cannot help wonder how 1968 forward would have been.   I see and hear a very active Brian Wilson, fully engaged with the group , working on a ton of product. It's all here; great songs, great performances, spectacular vocals , new takes on older material.  If only. 

I will get my coat now

Brilliant post. ..this should put the whole "Brian took a step back"myth to rest for good.

Got my copy today. I had never heard their version of " Game of Love . " I just love it.

Blown away.  Fantastic.  A completely different album.  Tears in my eyes good.  I have to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of this album as it was originally released.  After hearing this, I finally get it.  Subtle parts popping up everywhere.  Guitar parts, horns, stuff that I never heard before.  The vocals sound amazing.  As I listened I was feeling the same feelings as when I heard my first Smile boots all those years ago.  Thanks to Mr. Linett and Mr. Boyd, and everyone else who had a hand in this release.  Thanks to Howie Edelson for the great liner notes.  And to think I haven't even listened to the second disc yet.     

Ugh, hearing people's reactions is making the wait for my copy absolutely unbearable!

Gosh, Ray, I absolutely love that "stained glass" line! Obviously we had similar experiences with the original release of WILD HONEY, and somewhat similar experiences with "Sunshine tomorrow".

I just literally blew my mind, listening to disc 1 driving down the coast from Santa Barbara through Malibu to West L.A.  Somehow there was no traffic, and the timing was perfect, as the "Mama Says" sessions were just wrapping up as I hit traffic on the Santa Monica Freeway.  It made me want to turn right around and drive back to Santa Barbara to listen to disc 2, until I walked in to news reports of the hills of Malibu being on fire...  O.K., I won't let that spook me, I'll just slip on the old headphones and listen to it here

Is WIld Honey The Beach Boys' most special album? Is this where the group blossomed like a flower? Is this the record all fans and group members can agree on? Is Sunshine Tomorrow the release that brings everyone together ?

Mine's supposed to arrive tomorrow. Gonna grab some AA batteries for my discman and my best headphones.

Ed ;  I expected a really stellar mix ; some studio stuff I have never heard.  I was gob smacked. In 1967, I used to put my ear on the speaker to hear everything . There is so much on these discs that I never knew was there ; hearing it fresh 50 years on is astounding!  I am hearing things on the Smiley Smike stuff that just opened it up for me ; for example Fall Breaks. For 50 years I never could figure out the Woody Woodpecker Symphony. It is the "candle music"  Now I know !  The vocal arrangements and singing is astounding.  As for the live stuff ; another revelation.  So THIS is what they would have sounded like at Monterrey. Last time for the original five; these live sessions.

Oh. And Brian's lead on Here Comes the Night just went into my top ten !

Kudos to all involved in bringing this to fruition.

Define everyone.  :)

Seriously though, if anything happens I'm glad the general public and the fanbase too will get to hear how the sessions for WH (and Smiley) went down, and the proof will be in the audio. Some misconceptions have been circulating in recent years, so this perhaps like the PS and Smile session sets will allow people to hear it firsthand and not rely on other sources of info to tell the story.

most stories and documentaries seem to suggest Brian collapsed right after 'Smile'.
'Wild Honey' is evidence this is not true. Brian is all over this, and Friends and Sunflower.

You're hitting on one facet of a bigger picture (and other issues), but it's true. The audio on these tapes will shatter some of the arguments and claims made as recent as in the last few years, and as close as on this very forum.

I cannot wait to hear the thoughts after people actually hear the sessions being run and how they were being run (and by whom). The proof is in not only the music itself, and the quality of those tracks, but also in whose voices are actually heard crafting those songs from the earliest takes on tape. And it's great that people will also be able to hear in high quality sound the Hawaii concert material, and judge for themselves the quality of the music being performed. If most people enjoy or think that music is good, then gone in a flash will be the oft-told talking point about how the "drugs" ruined the music. Or maybe it was over-consumption of Coca-Cola among certain band members in Hawaii, who knows.  :lol

Why is How She Boogalooed It only stereo for the first part? Very disappointing finish to an otherwise stellar stereo version of  the album.

I think many, many folks knew that WILD HONEY is something special (and unique) in the BBs career. But given what happened to Brian and the band that year, and what we know is the darker period that was to befall Brian beginning in mid-'68, far too much of the output in the frenetic period when the BBs were moving from Capitol to Warners has never gotten its proper due from the public at large.

That's why SUNSHINE TOMORROW is such an amazing opportunity to rewrite that history, and while the story will get darker and more complicated as we move forward into the early 70s, what will continue to emerge is just how great the music was in the midst of all that--confirming the testimony of Stephen Desper, who was in the middle of things throughout these years and witnessed the growth and evolution of Dennis and Carl as songwriters and producers.

Many of us already revere the music that poured out of all the band members in this time frame, but now comes a moment that those who had long held those feelings for this music probably never thought could come to pass--the aesthetic vindication of a band that was pretty much kicked to the curb by the "hippie tastemakers" of that time frame. An eye-and-ear-opening experience for those who too hastily decided that this music fell short of the mark because it wasn't SMiLE.

Something we've been waiting to happen for fifty years. Which is why it's such a precious moment--particularly when we have the superb and exalted testimony of Ed and Ray to show us that even our cherished "insiders" are having their minds blown by what they're hearing. And have proven again that despite everything that sometimes gets in the way of things here at SS (remarkably enough, analogous to what has sometimes gotten in the way of the BBs themselves), this place is a special place, and is still a vital center of a gospel tale that somehow manages to overcome all animosity, leaving us wide-eyed with wonder.

We were all with you in spirit on that great, great ride you took, Ed. How many times have I taken a similar ride, up and down the California coast (but often making that exact ride you described) accompanied by the BBs--and feeling so incredibly happy to be alive and having that music wash over me. And sometimes following Ray's lead and making my own playlist, finding connections in the music that might never have become apparent to me otherwise.

Let's think and wish and hope and pray that the public finally "gets it" wrt the BBs "fall breaks and back to winter" rebirth. If so, then we can lay bushels of flowers at the feet of Mark and Alan and Howie and the whole team for allowing us to (as Ray so beautifully put it) dive into the stained glass window--the singular, funky religion of WILD HONEY...a set of songs that, as it turns out, can tell us a lot more that "a thing or two."

IMO, Brian had as much involvement with Smiley Smile, Wild Honey, and Friends as he did with Pet Sounds and SMiLE.

WOW. Is all I can say.

How She Boogalooed fucking cooks like crazy.

Soooo many highlights, but I can't get over that rockin' Honey Get Home riff!  And the alternate Can't Wait Too Long, Whistle In, etc...  :hat
This release will make you fall in love with The Beach Boys all over again.

As if we needed a reason. ;D

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone involved: Mark, Alan, Howie, Capitol Records and of course, Brian & the boys back in 1967. Just further proof of something that we've always known, that this is the greatest American band of all time

"No extraction mixes (a la 'Help Me, Rhonda'). The one standout that comes to mind is that in 'How She Boogalooed It' the instrumental portion couldn't be reconstructed in stereo, so for however many bars that organ solo is, it slides seamlessly into mono and back out into stereo. Seamless. Beautiful."

Source: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,25077.msg609256.html#msg609256

Ì had stomach surgery last week. Hearing this CD has put a huge smile back on my face.

Such a great mix Mark and Alan. The bass is wonderful, very organic. The use of dynamic processors is much more subtle in this release, and the material really breathes because of it. Those background vocals, which were really missing in action in the original mix, really shine through in this.

Thanks guys!

Just hearing the Aren't You Glad session highlights. Revelatory.


Just blown away. After 30 years a fan it takes quite a lot to get these jaded ears to prick up and listen. This release has achieved that  and more.

It's crazy this stuff hasn't been released till now. That Can't Wait Too Long is fucking fantastic.

Hope you're back on track now, HV (in more ways than one).

I believe the organ/electric piano overdub isn't on the extant multi-track tapes, so it goes to mono for that portion of the song. I'm a few hours away from listening to this myself, but it's my understanding that it goes back to stereo after they segue to that overdub.

Long story short, a similar story to Mike's bridge vocal on WIBN, etc.

Whoever is quoted there turned out to be wrong. The track never reverts back to stereo. Too bad they just didn't include an extraction mix if that was the only stereo option. It would have been better than nothing.

I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but it's apparent they used all the extant multi-track tapes they had, and apparently made the decision to not resort to extractions.

I can be as nitpicky as anyone, but I'm not going to go out of my way right now to let BRI or Capitol/UMe think the hardcore fans are impossible to please (I can only imagine *someone else* complaining they "resorted" to extractions had they gone down that path) and will nitpick this stuff to death.

I would've done what the Zombies did with "This Will Be Our Year" from Odessey and Oracle.

The horn section on the song was directly added to the mono mix, and does not appear on any stereo version.

With the 50th anniversary release this year, the mono version is with the main album, but the stereo version without horns is a bonus track.

I would've included a stereo version of HSBI without the keyboard part as a bonus "alternate mix".

Just noticed that "Untitled (Redwood)" is the same track as "Holidays (Instrumental Insert)," which has appeared on such "unofficial" releases as Harmony Friends (Disc 2) and Unsurpassed Masters. Vol. 20 (1968-1969) (Disc 2).

The "All Day, All Night (Whistle In)" alt. versions have a LOT in common with the "tape explosion" section of one of the unused sections of "Heroes and Villains" — especially the low bass vocal parts.

Jumping on here for a sec because I am so overwhelmed.  This is an amazing set.  So much to say, but i will limit it to two things:

1) Smiley Smile sessions are the peak.  Man, Little Pad was excellent.

2) Even if you got tired or bored of the Wally Heider/Hawaii rehearsals, you are in for a treat -- Brian's mono mixes make the Lei'd album WORK.  It's night and day and worth the entire price of admission.

Oh, and those saying this will rewrite Beach Boys history are right.  Brian is in complete control on all of these tracks.  The Wild Honey sessions make this conclusively clear.

This set will indeed "right" the history after attempts to rewrite it, especially in the past 4-5 years. The proof is on the recordings.

"Wild Honey" has long been my favorite Beach Boys LP.  It is unique, sexy, warm, in touch with nature, and evidence of the genius of Brian Wilson.  And "Back to the roots" before it was cool.   I also feel it is "Wilson/Love's" finest hour.  Mike added some great lyrics and vocals.

He still sounds present as hell on Friends, too, so I think it'd be accurate to say that it was afterwards he started to take a step back, although not for TOO long because he did a lot of work in 1969.

I think it becomes clear when Brian became less involved production-wise when the group started moving more into "rockier" territory, in that wasn't really Brian's bag so to speak. Brian was more into art-pop.

Ray, I appreciate this comment. Being a radio guy attuned to audio, I always found Wild Honey to sound "muddy." Point of fact, and I know some people will not like this, I always found the unreleased SMiLE material to also sound a bit muddy...even the stereo outtakes.

Hearing the stereo remix of Wild Honey, I am amazed at the clarity and coloration of this material. I felt the same way after hearing the Pet Sounds box set. These mono mixdowns back in the day negatively affected the high end of the audio. This is magnificant to hear.

John.   Muddy.  That was the elusive word I was looking for !  Someone posted it is like lifting a cover off your speakers. This mix , in my mind, eliminates the "made at home" sound , and shows it was recorded beautifully

Stores that are selling it?

I have to give kudos to Mark for the sound of this release.  Some of his masterings for MIC and the stereo versions of Today and Summer Days were too compressed for my taste, but this Wild Honey release has wide open dynamics and sounds spectacular - I can really crank it up! 

Getting there, thanks. This remix has definitely helped.

Looking at the website, many Best Buy stores are carrying it.

Aum Bop Didit, this is exactly how I feel about Wild Honey!

WH, in the year of Hendrix, Cream, the Doors, Sgt. Pepper, etc., seemed to lack ambition : lo-fi home recordings, only 24 minutes long (and even at length there were still filler cuts). With WH, the band announced they were out of the big-time, masterpiece-making, musically ground-breaking game. In a way, it was their 'Nashville Skylines'.

Of course, removed as it now is from the context of its times,we can appreciate its virtues, especially with this new mix : an energetic collection of good-to-great soul-inflected pop tunes.

I think the backing track to "Aren't You Glad" is a revelation.  There's a lot going on in there.

What are those girls shouting at Brian at the end of Gettin' Hungry (live) at around 3:11? It sounds like "Hey Brian how's your dog?!" but I can't quite make it out.

It gets a good review on Pitchfork:
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-beach-boys-1967-sunshine-tomorrow/

Twas/tis a humble little offering....

The short length made it seem humbler than some of the contemporary albums of 67 - though Disraeli Gears was pretty short too.  My new Wild Honey extended album that could have been released in 67:

Wild Honey
Aren't You Glad
I Was Made to Love Her (long version)
Country Air
A Thing or Two
The Letter

Darlin
I'd Love Just Once to See You
Here Comes the Night
Let the Wind Blow
Game of Love
How She Boogalooed It
Mama Says

After listening to the two CD's the last few days, I think they're brilliant! The new stereo remasters of the Wild Honey album for the first time ever are magnificent! You can really hear the quality of the instruments, let alone the vox, to the muggy mono original.

The WH sessions, to the failed live in Hawaii concerts, to other concerts and the Smiley Smile sessions are out of this world! The Little Pad backing track/instrumental is the stand out track for me. I've been waiting many years for something of that calibre regarding Little Pad.

The liner notes are just wonderful with great artwork/pictures.

10/10 overall for me.

CCW

Today was a typical work Saturday.  Up at 6:00.  Prep.  On air at 8:00.  Home at 4:00.  Relax.  And now...an uninterrupted chance to listen, marvel and really/truly appreciate.

Geez...these guys were good.  SOOOooooooOOOOOOoooooo good.  I always thought that Wild Honey [the l.p.] was quickly tossed together in order to cover for the sinking of Smiley Smile so that the group could get some stuff back on the radio.  Maybe it was 'cause it sounds overly simple and there's only about 25 minutes of actual content.  No song longer than 2:45.  3 of 'em less than 2 minutes.  But here are some missing pieces which could have filled it out and made the album even better than it is.

The 'highlights' really are a highlight as they show that the 'tuneage' wasn't that easy-peasy/simple after all.  I really enjoyed hearing the original l.p. in stereo.  Lonely Days would have been a nice add.  I quite like THIS version of I'd Like Just Once to See You.  Some of the I Was Made to Love Her vocal calisthenics are just a HUGE treat.  REALLY neat to hear that.

I DO love hearing Carl singin' Wild Honey live.  Suddenly I have a greater appreciation for how wonderful the song really is.  Previously I kind of wrote it off as a weaker moment...over performed.  Country Air is one of their all time best songs.  Helped to make the original album.  VERY good live performance.  THIS is where Carl really started to take over...phase 1.  Suddenly the musicality factor really began to blossom as the 'noseitis' factor took a welcome back seat.  'Boogalooed It' works WAY better faster...as it was originally recorded.  It loses it's excitement and energy here. The group effort on Aren't You Glad is terrific...even Mike's lead bits work well as he pulls it back and sings at least from his throat.  Carl sails it through the uprights and the harmonies are bang on GREAT.

THAT was a better live set than Live in London.  Far less inane chatter from the 'front man'.

And I quote..."What's the matter?"  [annoyed]  There-in lies the difference.

These Vegetables proved to be good for my health.  T'was a song..beyond GVs and H and Vs which I initially also liked on the SS album.  This is VERY cool.

Many of these little snippets like Wind Chimes are worth the price of admission all by themselves.  Others?  You can see/hear why certain changes were made in terms of who would get the lead.  In some cases I'm pretty sure that I would have liked the album [SS] better if they had used some of these arrangements.

Lei'd?  The Letter?  No.  Not really.  The Box Tops, Joe Cocker and the Arbors all did it ENTIRELY better.  I wonder why the BBs thought that THEY should do it?  BAD idea.  The songs sound like they're from an early rehearsal.  Most of them are too slow.  With a little help from My Friends?  Absolutely NO!!!  Not warranted or necessary.  BOOO!

God Only Knows is special.  THAT one is a keeper.  S'all good.  ['cept for the tink tinks on the high hat.  No sense of the beat at all.]  Same on Good Vibes.  Take that stick away from high hat 'boy'.  Otherwise...Pretty good.

Game of Love.  Sometimes you just have to leave well enough alone.  Like wouldn't people have wondered WHY are THEY doing THAT song??????  I can't figure it out 50 years later.  A better version of The Letter here.  Help from my Friends?  Still No, NO, NO!!!  What did Olive Oil say Popeye?  1,000 times NO!!!

Screaming?  Gawd no!!!  All those oldies but goldies from 5 years ago?  Really?  Surfin?  Too slow.  Kinda sloppy.  Dopey intro to Gettin' Hungry...typical of the front man schtik I just didn't ever really 'dig'.  Fairly good rendition of a song that just never quite made it for me.  Close but still no cigar.

Hawaii.  I prefer it when Brian and his gang do it.  Worked for Mike with Kona Coast.  Nice to have this one.  Heroes and Villains?  Nice.  Well done boys.  Carl with his finger on the pulse.

We'll remember allllllllllways...the good old days.  Like the first live album version.  Speaking of which...HERE is I Get Around...actually performed live.  Needs a bit of work...and more in the way of respect from 1 guy in particular.  It was, after all, a # 1 hit.

How 'bout that voice on Brian?  Clean, [mostly] clear, true.  GREAT!!!  Also worth the price of admission.  A real highlight!!!  And going out with a BIG bang...Surfer Girl...still sounding like a million bucks +.

Thanks Mark.  Thanks Alan.  Thanks Brian.  Thanks 'Boys'.

This is so outstanding.  It helps to enable one to begin to forget what happened on the 4th of July.  THESE are the Beach Boys...in mind, body and spirit.

I'm very much in love with the new stereo mix of Wild Honey. We were BLASTING it on Saturday night! One thing that grabs me is that while it might not have been hip in 1967...how would it be received had it been released in 2017 by some indie rock group? My gut says the Pitchfork crowd would be all over themselves talking about how incredible it was. Same goes for the Hawaii recordings.

Aren't You Glad would have sounded a whole lot better without Brian's falsetto, it doesn't fit.

The theremin opening on Wild Honey is unique, but some other type of instrumental opening would have been better.

I think you were spot on with what you thought about the need to get some product out quick after the commercial bombardment that was SS.  I used to know the timing on this record, think it was even shorter than 25 mins, like 21 and change or something, egregiously short in fact.  However, from the tracks presented as outtakes there was not much else of worth recorded for this session, guess they were in a frenzy to get it out by Christmas.  I do remember seeing this album in the racks and thinking how unique a cover it was, which I also thought about SS.  I thought at least marketing wise those covers were home runs, but apparently the public was not as into them as I was.

Always thought it was interesting that Party was a gatefold album cover and even 20/20 but none of the in betweeners were....did that signify some loss of confidence in the group or was Capitol still trying to recoup on the Smile covers fiasco?  Maybe they just wanted to send them out in style, though I have wondered if leaving the titles off the permanent cover of 20/20 as opposed to a cover sticking announcing "including the hits" was a wise move.....Was this a conscious aping by the group of The White Album not having the titles listed on it.  It would be mildly amusing if it was, as I have always thought of 20/20 as the BB's White Album, with the grab-baggy approach to repertoire....I used to try to sell it to others on that basis, but met with little agreement!

I really think that a finished Lei'd In Hawaii album as presented on Sunshine Tomorrow had a good chance of being a hit and in that event given them some much-needed breathing room with Capitol.  Obviously things went differently and I'm grateful for the music they recorded for Wild Honey/Friends and 20/20, but with a hit live album in '67 you might have seen more realized versions of those albums and Brian sticking around longer.

I would have loved to see Lei'd in Hawaii released back then, but the overdubbed audience would have just ruined it for me IMO. It's the reason that I really don't like the original Party! album, but I adore the "uncovered" mix. I'm here to listen to the band play, not to hear clapping and screaming girls! ;)

I'm guessing because none of the tracks (save the two from Michigan '66) would have actually been "live" I think the audience overdubbing would have been more subdued, at least more than the original live album from '64 (which was made up of mostly real live recordings with real screams).  I mean, the entire reason why the live recordings from the Hawaii shows were deemed unusable (I think) is because there was too much screaming and interjections from the audience.  During one of the performances of God Only Knows, some girl is screaming Carl's name and Brian yells "HE'S SINGING, COOL IT!".

But who knows, maybe they would have hired hundreds of girls to scream at the Hollywood Bowl for half an hour with a tape recorder running.  I'm not sure how the overdubbing would have worked.

Just two of the many available ways of being completely wrong, there.

I have never heard offered the excuse before that the reason Lei'd wasn't released was because of excessive positive audience response (screams, etc).  However I have read that reasons proffered were a sub-par performance by Brian (probably not to be unexpected given his lack of recent live performance experience) or some sort of snafu with the live recordings which made the majority of them unusable.

I see the set has debuted at 145 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. Not a bad showing at all for a set like this. And, only 3 spaces lower than 50 Big Ones at 142.

eat
eat up
eat up
honey!

Wow, that is really disappointing, I thought the showing on the Amazon charts would translate to a much higher position for SST on the Billboard charts.  It got pretty good pre-release publicity too!  Wonder if the "1967" in the title may have worked against it?  I really thought the cover was a bit bland also...I was perusing the previous Billboard and noticed several Beatles albums and even the last Glenn Campbell album charting very high on the charts, so it is not performing so well against some of its contemporaries....

Sorry to bump this thread, but I was listening to the set again yesterday and the day before and I just wanted to say what a great set this stll is! Such a wonderful work by everyone involved, so thanks for that!
The way that the team was able to keep the charme of the original mono version, yet still make this new version a new listening experience. So again, sorry to not add anything new or interesting to talk about, but a big thank you to Mark, Alan, Howie and everyone involved in giving us this release! Your work is appreciated!

Agreed. Wish we had gotten physical sets for the followups.

Excellent review - thanks Ed!