The Smiley Smile Message Board

Anyone got any news on the proposed new live CD plus studio tracks from Brian, Mike and Al?  It's mentioned under Other News on the ESQ site, but there's no more info than that.

Sounds interesting, but I have another idea.

Release the live stuff on a SINGLE CD and somehow get it to sound like a cohesive concert. Give it a budget price and back it with some TV advertising. Target the WalMarts, KMarts, and Best Buys. I would hope it would be/do better than "Live At Knebworth". How about "The Boys Are Back In Town" or "Sounds Of Summer - Live"...

Now, for the second release. Take the best track that Mike has to offer. Do the same with Al. Next, invite Bruce to contribute a track, and then, call up their old friend, David Marks (who has been recording over the years) to add the best song he has in his bag. Now, add 6-7 songs that Brian has been working on for his rock & roll album. Yes, let Mike contribute some lyrics which he will undoubtedly insist on. And yes, Brian, you can re-record "Surfer Girl" and "No Go Showboat" (I know that high falsetto has been bothering you for 43 years). Brian can even throw in "The Spirit Of Rock & Roll" (we have to tap all of the resources). And there you have it. A NEW Beach Boys album. Take the 5 "Beach Boys" into the studio. Call Darian & Jeff to assist with the recording, and call a couple of old friends to help tour it. The official Beach Boys' 45th Anniversay celebration!

What do you think, Melinda? Is it feasible? You know, Brian needs a new pair of shoes and in a few years, Daria and Delaney will need braces. Don'tcha think this project would make more money than " Brian Wilson Presents Rock & Roll".

So where's the info come from that suggests this will be a show from the 80s, plus the three studio tracks?

Very intriguing....

It will happen.  ~swd

Is it Brian, Mike and Al live on stage/studio together, unreleased "The Beach Boys" concert footage? Still a bit puzzled by all this.

As far as I can tell, the Brian, Mike and Al tracks are individual efforts (well, presumably with backing musicians...).  I haven't read anything - except on this board - to indicate what period the live stuff is from, or if, indeed, it is only from one period.

Have a read on another board that the CD was to be of the 'Box Set' tour in the early 90s complete with unplugged section.

C'mon, Brian.  Let 'em use "You're Still A Mystery". 

Agree !




Since Brian wasn't on that tour, do they need his new recording just to sell it as "The Beach Boys" ?

I know Brian changes his mind 10 times the hour, but last interview he said he'd never play with ANY of the Beach Boys ever again...don't know why he was so stern about it...I think it'd be nice to see the guys together one more time. (Using Brian's backup band though)

Hmm. it's supposed to be released in March, but no pre-sales online yet? Weird. But if Capitol had announced it just to cancell it in a few weeks, we'd all be pissed. I guess they learned their lesson withe the BB.

That's just it -- to the best of my knowledge, Capitol has said nothing about it.  That tells me that this is probably just a rumor. Mark Linett would almost certainly engineer such a product and he has said nothing.  Neither has Alan Boyd.  It would be nice, but until someone can post an actual press release or some official word, I don't think it is coming.

A live CD of an early 90s tour plus individual tracks by Brian, Mike and Al sounds pretty darn lame.
They're doing it to take the p!ss I'm sure. That's the only explanation. There's a wealth of super stuff out there - 70s live stuff, Dennis's stuff,  erm SMILE - and they choose to release a live CD of 1990s era BBs? It's a joke. Utter bastards.

This is all based on the rumours. If I'm wrong then I'm sorry. Ever so sorry.

Well, the "unplugged"-concerts were very good and are much requested by fans, so it makes sense. And I think "it will happen" (to quote Stephen Desper)

I would love to see an official release of the Paramount Theater show from 93. It was a great one.

Not sure about this "studio track" thing though.

California Poweroutage Blues/Water Builds Up/100,000 Years/Moneymoneymoneymoney.....Mooooooney/

At Susan's first convention we were privy to listen to one or two tracks played from the '93 tour, and, man, they totally blew me away!  If they are putting that stuff out, then I, for one, will be ecstatic!

Love and merci,   Dan Lega

If Mark and Alan are involved, and Capitol hasn't said anything, well...maybe Mark and Alan can't really say anything, either.  And if Capitol has learned their lesson, i suspect that Mark and Alan have learned it times ten.  I don't know anything...i'm just commenting on comments here.  Perhaps in the blacklight that seems to be the reality of BBland these days, no news actually IS good news...

One of the neat things about that late '93 string of shows to promote the GV boxed set was that they didn't cut songs out of the show in order to insert the "rarities" section of songs. They simply added about 15 or so extra songs to the setlist, making it just a really long show with something like 43-44 songs.

Hopefully, if this is the show/tour that is going to be presented on this upcoming release, they will include the FULL show, or at the very least, include the full "rarities" section of the show. I'd hate to see it be only a 1-CD release full of "California Girls" and "Surfin' Safari", etc., with only a few rare ones thrown in.

As for the solo tracks idea, it certainly isn't a full-fledged reunion like some fans want, nor it is a full solo album from each of them like a lot of fans want. But, if this is the only way we can get some material out of these guys (especially Al when it comes to studio recordings), then perhaps this format of release isn't that bad of an idea.

Since many of us have been clamoring for release of the huge amount of live recordings in the vaults, I for one wouldn't mind a format of seeing a couple of "live from the archives" type CD's released each year, with each BB throwing on a new solo studio recording (or adding some archival BB studio recordings) as bonuses each time.

I for one will be happy if we get a release of any new BB material in 2006; I was convinced we would likely simply get a "Pet Sounds 40th Anniversary" rerererereissue, with an alternate take of the train sounds or dog barking added on as the "new bonus material."

anyone have an example of the setlists of the acoustic tours?

Here's the setlist for Atlanta, which is the show that Bruce Johnston would like to see be released

Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, GA
November 1993

A slightly shorter concert than the one at the Paramount Theater during the same month. But a nice long setlist nevertheless!

Beach Boys present:
Mike Love
Bruce Johnston
Carl Wilson
Al Jardine

Backup band included:
Matthew Jardine

SETLIST

1. California Girls
2. I Can Hear Music
3. Come Go With Me
4. Rock and Roll Music
5. Do It Again
6. Catch A Wave
7. Hawaii
8. In My Room
9. Under The Boardwalk
10. Little Deuce Coupe
11. 409
12. Shut Down
13. I Get Around
14. Darlin'
15. Be True To Your School
16. Heroes and Villians
17. Vegetables
18. Take A Load off Your Feet
19. Surfer Girl
20. Hushabye
21. Add Some Music To Your Day
22. Disney Girls
23. Their Hearts Were Full of Spring
24. Wonderful
25. All This Is That
26. Caroline No
27. You Still Believe In Me
28. God Only Knows
29. Sloop John B
30. Wouldnt It Be Nice
31. California Dreamin
32. Summer In Paradise
33. Good Vibrations
34. Kokomo
35. Help Me Rhonda
36. Surfin Safari
37. Surf City
38. Surfin USA

Encore:
39. Barbara Ann
40. Fun Fun Fun

and the setlist from Paramount Theater which has been floating around the collectors circle for some time... ask around  :)

Paramount Theater, NY
November 26, 1993

Unbelievable!! The Beach Boys decided to add THIRTEEN songs to their normal 29-song setlist, without dropping any of the standard oldies, in an effort to promote the just-released "Good Vibrations" boxed set. This "unplugged" set was featured only on a few east coast dates (unfortunately). Quite a noble effort and proof that the Beach Boys still wanted to acknowledge the fact that they did make great music between "Good Vibrations" and "Rock and Roll Music." Wish I could've seen this one...

Drummer Liberty Devito substituted for Mike Kowalski for at least part of the show, if not all of it. Paul Shaffer came appeared on stage but did not perform.

Beach Boys present:
Mike Love
Bruce Johnston
Carl Wilson
Al Jardine

Backup band included:
Matthew Jardine
Liberty Devito (drums)

SETLIST

1. California Girls
2. I Can Hear Music
3. Come Go With Me
4. Rock And Roll Music
5. Do You Wanna Dance
6. In My Room
7. Do It Again
8. Catch A Wave
9. Hawaii
10. Darlin
11. Be True To Your School
12. Under The Boardwalk
13. Little Duece Coupe
14. 409
15. Shut Down
16. I Get Around
17. California Dreaming
18. Summer In Paradise
19. Heroes And Villains
20. Vegetables (Smile Version)
21. Take A Load Off Your Feet
22. Little Saint Nick
23. Surfer Girl
24. Hushabye
25. Add Some Music
26. Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring
27. All This Is That
28. Wonderful
29. Disney Girls
30. Caroline No
31. You Still Believe In Me
32. God Only Knows
33. Sloop John B
34. Wouldn't It Be Nice
35. Good Vibrations
36. Kokomo
37. Help Me Rhonda
38. Barbara Ann
39. Fun, Fun, Fun

Encore:
40. Wipeout
41. Surfin Safari
42. Surf City
43. Surfin U.S.A.

Okay...I'll buy it!

Not as great as it looks, unfortunately.
But it's better than Knebworth.

They did Vegetables live? wow, didn't see that one coming. I would have loved to of heard this

Yep, it's really good.

I *really* liked the Box Set tour stuff I've heard. And Knebworth is the freakin' BEST. Dennis is a MONSTER -- he's worth the price of admission. His drumming is rock-solid and heavy.

PM is the way we do it here, not on the board, due to legal difficulties.

I find the "hits" sets on Paramount practically unlistenable as music. It sounds rote, tired. Even Carl seems to have a hard time mustering some enthusiasm. It only really comes alive when they strap on the acousitc guitars and play the rare stuff.  But once they start with that portion and actually have to work, they show what made them a great live band and a great live vocal group. The mini-Pet Sounds set is the absolute highlight for me. I'd be estatic with a legit release of just the unplugged set, not another release of another half-assed performnace of Cal Girls or Little Deuce Coupe or even *vomit* Barbara Ann!

Exactly my thoughts.

Right.

And Knebworth is better as a DVD because watching Dennis is more enjoyable than hearing a tired set from a declining live act. I never understood why Knebworth was released.  ???

Don't know where anyone got the idea about the '93 unplugged tracks being on the CD - all I've seen is the ESQ announcement.

"A new collection of live performances, accompanied by solo studio tracks from Brian, Al and Mike, respectively is slated for the Spring."

Collection of live tracks - not a concert.

solo studio tracks from Brian, Al and Mike.

Spring - no mention of March.

Chineese whispers - don'tcha love 'em ?

Except some of us don't respond quickly or not at all to them *sheesh* Kidding, Ian. =p

One more thought: since it's a collection (!) of live-recordings, like AGD pointed out, does that mean maybe that they recorded songs by all the three Beach Boy-groups and put them together?  I'm almost certain that this is not the case, but I think it would be possible. The Beach Boys have so many great concerts in the vaults, why not take one of it and release it, but do a collection?

A poster on a board in another fandom sent me the following PM:


Anyone know anything else about this? 

http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?topic=162.0

Ian directed me over here (thanks!), since I didn't know that this release was already being discussed.  So here's what I already posted elsewhere:


What y'all have already discussed doesn't mention Hallmark, and sounds like much more than what you usually find in a Hallmark store. 
So...is the live CD you're discussing going to be a release, with Hallmark taking some of the same material and putting out their own CD?  Like if there's some kind of multi-CD release, Hallmark will provide a single-CD sampler?

That's what I'm thinkin'. No one seems to know yet.
Dylan gets a Starbucks release, BB's get a Hallmark. Says it all, don't it. Equally repulsive, equally something I'll have to buy. *twitches and checks spyhole*

Actually, Starbucks did a pretty good BB comp a few years back, heavy on late 60's stuff as I recall.

Well, my wife is a Hallmark fanatic.  Maybe I will get her to get it for me...

Admit it, Ian, you bought the Victoria's Secret Dylan CD, right?  ;)

A CD came with my crotchless panties? I thought that bag was a little bulky!

I can confirm that the Hallmark announcement and the ESQ announcement are one and the same...

Lee

Does anybody know if the CD will be sold over the Hallmark website? I checked their website out. It's no surprise that there's no mention yet of the BB CD, as it's five months away, but I did notice that they are selling other "Hallmark" branded compilation CD's on the website of artists like Elvis. So I wonder if the BB CD will be available on the website as well.

I think there are probably a dozen Hallmark stores within close driving distance to me, I just dread the possibility that most of the stores will be clueless about when or if they'll get the CD. I can see it equally possible that either every store will have a million copies of the CD, or none of them will because they didn't order it or forgot to unpack it from the back stock room.

This CD certainly sounds more interesting than "Sounds of Summer 2" or another "Pet Sounds" reissue, but 10 tracks isn't that substantial. Does the 10-track lineup include the 3 solo tracks? Or is it 10 live tracks plus 3 more solo tracks? I'm also intrigued by the "most of which are previously unreleased" statement. This leads me to believe something on the CD *isn't* previously unreleased.

I'm hoping this isn't going to be 7 tracks like "California Girls" and "409" from the '93 show, plus three throwaway solo tracks. I'm already imagining the three solo tracks will be something like "PT Cruiser", an instrumental version of "Wind Chimes", and a Mike Love-Adrian Baker remake of "Little GTO."

Hopefully a tracklisting will surface soon. There seems to be a vague reference to a Father's Day theme, but I'm trying to imagine what BB songs would fit this theme other than the obvious, tired idea that all fathers like "Car" songs.

This is what I'm expecting. There's so many ways to release their live stuff, why this way? Look at how the Grateful Dead and the Doors have done it. This CD will be shorter than the FRIENDS lp...

I know I'm supposed to be thankful for anything new, but...  One thing about the Beach Boys - they're consistent. They always leave me scratching my head. 

Taken from the ESQ site.

Hallmark is set to market a cool new Beach Boys compilation CD in the Spring of 2006 including recent studio material from Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, and Mike Love as well as previously unreleased live recordings from 1989 and 1974. The CD is planned for distribution to Hallmark branded specialty retail establishments (i.e. Hallmark Gold Crown); and by mail order via Hallmark.com around Father's Day. Hallmark is also considering re-releasing the CD a second time to a larger distribution base in 2007.

The live performances are: tracks 1,2,4,5,6,7,8 recorded in 1989 include Brian; tracks 3 and 9 were recorded in 1974. THE SPIRIT OF ROCK AND ROLL: Brian has gone back into the studio to record this track. PT CRUISER: Al’s fun, rev ’em up recording about the popular car, featuring Matt and Adam Jardine on backing vocals. COOL HEAD, WARM HEART: Mike’s track features his son Christian Love on backing vocals.

1) Intro
2) DANCE DANCE DANCE
3) WOULDN'T IT BE NICE
4) SURFER GIRL
5) KOKOMO
6) Car Medley Intro
7) LITTLE DEUCE COUPE
8) I GET AROUND
9) GOOD VIBRATIONS
10) THE SPIRIT OF ROCK AND ROLL (Brian Wilson - Gary Usher - Tom Kelly)
11) PT CRUISER (Al Jardine)
12) COOL HEAD, WARM HEART (Mike Love)

Oh boy...    :-\

Thanks Andrew. Wonder who picked the songs.....another live Little Deuce Coupe, just what the world needs. Oh well, at least I can get it mail order, unlike the Starbucks Dylan CD.

At least there's no "Barbara Ann"  ;D

Remember, this was prepared with the greetings card buying public in mind - we're lucky to get ONE new(-ish) studio track.

Whoopee frickin sh!t.

Look at it this way -- two unreleased live tracks from 1974?  That's not so bad.  It could have all been from the 90's.  I know I will get it.

Well, I'm buying it.

thank God he didn't go back and re-record "Smart Girls"!  :D

this sounds interesting, I'll buy it for sure

It wasn't worth all these fuzz we made around it.  I can't believe that they really release it like this, I'm dissapointed. really, but I'm excited for Brian's "new" track

do we know what they're doing for the Pet Sounds Anniversary yet?

It is absolutely worth it just for The Spirit of Rock and Roll alone.

Hmm...

There were rumors that this would include some 93 "low voltage" tracks, now they include stuff from 74 and 89...

Perhaps our wishes are being heard and they'll start releasing more live shows, and this is just a "teaser"?

Regardless I'll buy it for the unbooted 74 tracks and the new "Spirit"   :)

ah sweet, is bob dylan guest vocaling for spirit? lol

I'm disappointed but not surprised.   On the glass half full side, this means we still have something GOOD to look forward to. >:( :-[ ??? ??? ::)

Nothing from Bruce?!

Well, I'm not overly optimistic, since I probably have most of this live material, but hey, anything new is appreciated. Shame it wasn't all 70s tracks.

I'm glad Al's PT Cruiser is on the CD; I have a PT Cruiser and I wanted to buy the single but I couldn't find it anywhere online.

Unless Brian does to this what he did to "California Feelin'.  I thought Brian might save "The Spirit Of Rock And Roll" for his upcoming rock & roll album. Of course, he could still include it. Or re-record it... 

I'll look around for this cd. It is the closest thing we've had so far to a BB reunion...

I hear you but I'm thinking I'd be more worried if it'd been pre-Smile. Hopefully he'll record with the band doing the backgrounds and it'll sound great.

Yeah, Swamp Pirate, hopefully you're right. I guess I have a bad attitude about this release; I know I'm supposed to be grateful for any crumbs... The way the three "solo" tracks are just tacked on bothers me the most. It kind of accentuates the split in the group. It reminds me of their infamous corporate meetings where each Beach Boy is accompanied by their attorney, or when they used to enter the concert stage from different directions. Is it so hard to just get together and work on a few songs? I'm being naive again...

I'm almost positive that somebody mentioned before that Brian recorded "The Spirit of Rock & Roll" @ the same time he recorded "Walking Down The Path of Life" last fall... which would be cool because he and the band sound wonderful on that track. 

Good lord, I thought I was really exagerrating when I said I was expecting that they would include "PT Cruiser." As novelty songs go, it's not bad. And I'm glad that people who didn't have a chance to get that CD single will be able to get it now (although I thought the CD single was still being sold at the aljardine.com website). But c'mon! The CD single had FIVE versions of the song already! Al has to have something in the vaults more interesting. Even the ESQ-exclusive recording of "California Saga" would have been more appropriate. As it stands, despite the fact that Al has the best voice of the remaining BB's, and despite the fact that he has some interesting stuff in the can, Al's track will, in my estimation, be the weakest of the three "new solo tracks." Something from his various studio recordings from the 90's would have been nice. If nothing else, it would have been nice to see some Al-related archival BB track from the 70's, or something.

As far as I'm concerned, "Cool Head" is by far the best song on the unreleased Mike Love solo album. It may well be the best track I've ever heard that was billed as a "Mike Love" solo track, and, assuming he wrote it, probably the best thing he's written and recorded since the unreleased 4/4 version of "Big Sur." That's not to say the song is a masterpiece, but I would have to say it's stronger than "PT Cruiser."

"The Spirit of Rock and Roll" is a song that I have always believed is a good composition (musically, perhaps not as much lyrically) that needed to be liberated from the 80's production values of every version we've heard, so that might turn out to be an enjoyable "new" Brian track.

As for the decision to use live tracks from '89, I would guess it's a diplomatic decision to use mostly live tracks that include Brian. Brian participated in elements of some live shows in 1989 during their tour with Chicago (Brian was not on stage during the entire shows, but would come on and play with the BB's for a few numbers, then the BB's would leave and Brian would do a solo mini-set of three or so songs from his BW'88 solo album). I think those '89 shows might have been the last time Brian ever appeared with the BB's on tour in any sort of continual fashion, as opposed to one-off appearances he continued to make from 1990 to 1996 or 97 (i.e. the Cape Cod 4th of July show in 1990, a Las Vegas show around 1995, the "Fan Fair" debacle of 1996, etc.)

All in all, this is certainly more interesting than another hits package. I think I'm most disappointed in the selection of the Al track on the CD. I'm not even so much disappointed that the song isn't "previously unreleased", nor am I disappointed so much  that the track selection is something a bit lightweight like "PT Cruiser." I just think Al's track will pale in comparison to the other two solo tracks, and it's not as if the other two are any sort of great masterpieces. It may well be that Al was encouraged to include this track as some sort of tired "car" theme to go along with Father's Day, but that doesn't explain that the other solo tracks have no such connection. The fact that Al didn't come up with even one new track doesn't bode well for hopes of a full-length studio solo album.

Hopefully, the rumblings of a possible release of other live material (i.e. the '93 "boxed set" tour) also has some truth in it, and perhaps other releases will come as well, presumably directly from Brother/Capitol as opposed to the Hallmark-exclusive audience. Anybody know who compiled/mixed/engineered this release?

I am sort of disapointed in the selection. It's amazing how brainless they think some of us fans are with this stuff  ::)

I guess I understand the marketing.  You have to be creative to sell CDs these days.  Catch people buying expensive coffee or looking for a quick gift idea to go with that expensive greeting card.  And it would have to be sort of generic Beachboys to sell in the Hallmark shop wouldn't it?  I mean, how many casual gift shoppers would even recognize the names of some of the late 60's and early seventies songs?  And how many of the recipients would appreciate getting a selection of unheard of BeachBoys songs?

That "Live Box set" tour CD will have to wait for a more general release at the usual  retail outlets.

I understand the marketing involved. That is, I know that a BB CD targeted towards Hallmark customers will have to have recognizable tracks. However, I think, in terms of the live tracks, they (meaning whoever selected the tracks) could have been a bit more adventurous with the tracklisting even within the confines of selecting well-known songs. Where is an Al lead on the live tracks? (Actually, I suppose Al might have the lead vocal on the '74 version of WIBN). Why couldn't they give us something other than "Little Deuce Coupe"? I suspect this CD was mired in all sorts of politics and compromises. The Hallmark people putting the CD out probably threw their two cents in what should be on the CD (perhaps something along the lines of "put some hits on the CD", and/or "some car songs for Father's Day would be nice"), and the other BB's probably dictated to some degree what should be on the CD. Perhaps Brian's camp asked that most of the live tracks include Brian. Perhaps another camp suggested the inclusion of  "Kokomo" on the CD. So, in one sense, I'm amazed that this CD made it out at all given the current legal wrangling going on. Of course, the CD has probably been in the works for some time.

And certainly, in terms of including well-known songs to lure customers into picking this CD up as some sort of impluse buy, the "solo" tracks aren't known at all. The Brian track is only known to hardcore BB fans. The Mike track has never been released or aired publicly at all. I think Al (or whoever chose the Al solo track) could have picked something more substantial, given that any "new solo" track would not be known to most CD buyers anyway.

I've been listening to the Pet Sounds box set all day for the first time in a while... and was thinking about how the tracks progressed and the decisions made during the recording, i.e. changing the lyrics of "Hang on to your ego" and "In my Childhood" becoming "You still believe in me" and the early work on Good Vibrations, the carefully created vocal layers in "Wouldn't it be Nice" and "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times", etc. etc. etc. all that great, magical creativity that went into that album....

Then contrast it with the politicking the above poster sees in the new album (I agree), it's horrible what the spirit behind the creation of a Beach Boys album has turned into.  Back then you had everything fresh, exciting, pretty much divinely inspired talent for the sake of beauty, now the albums are the product of stupid pride, Hang on to your ego indeed!

I've long given up any assumption or any great amount of hope that any BB reunion at all will happen, let alone something that approaches "Pet Sounds" in any way, either in terms of musical quality or portraying a positive picture of the group for the fans.

For that matter, I'm not even upset with the "solo tracks compilation" idea. I've noticed some fans are put off that the BB's couldn't reunite to record and instead are now down to compiling each other's solo tracks and tacking them onto the end of live compiltions. I suppose a true "reunion" would be preferable, assuming it was for a real album of new material as opposed to a "Stars and Stripes" type project. But in the alternative, I actually think the idea of compiling their solo tracks together is a rather novel and enterprising way of at least giving the fans some new material, and in a conveniently compiled form at that. If they continued to include interesting material and/or material we haven't already heard before, I would support a continued program of a "Live from the Archives" sort of series of live recordings, each with new solo BB tracks and/or perhaps Brother-era BB rarities and outtakes showcasing each of the BB's.

So I think this Hallmark CD is somewhat of a postive concept, but even in the context of a CD targeted at impulse buyers as they buy Father's Day cards and trinkets (and I'm aware that this format of release is probably not a format Brother will continue on with on their own releases, but who knows?), I think this CD concept would work better with any or all of the following:

-More total tracks
-More interesting live tracks from interesting periods in their live career
-Rare or no inclusion of previously released tracks, especially if the track in question was released only 2-3 years ago

I know this sort of release usually isn't packed with a huge amount of total tracks, but of course we don't know what the CD will cost. If it costs under $10 or so, then the amount of tracks isn't bad. If they charge $15-$20, then that would be pushing it for a 10-track CD, only 9 tracks of which are somewhat "new."

I think my only real 'problem' with it isn't really that rational.  I'm just kind of pissed that this is 'all'.  You know? It's been years since we got anything new, then it's just this.  Ultimately, though, we're talking about a band that stopped recording new music years ago so I don't know what I expect... but still we all know they have tons and tons of things unreleased. 

In the meanwhile, though, Brian Wilson has blessed us with several albums, which is kind of friekin' crazy if you think about it.  SMiLE 04' live on bootlegs, then Gettin' In Over My Head, then SMiLE 04 studio version, then the SMiLE 04 DVD, then the Christmas Album, then "Walking down the path of life".  That's a lot of music in two years. 

"Blessed" is not a word I'd use in conjunction with GIOMH. "Inflicted" might be closer to the mark.

Somehow I knew he wouldn't be able to resist that opening....

For general public consumption, I'd like to see something along the lines of;


Thirty Years on the Road--The Beach Boys  Live on Tour--1964 to 1994.  This could be bottled up on one CD like Sounds of Summer.  This would take the average consumer through the years from the "Lost Concert" period right through Kokomo and beyond.
Include unreleased and previously released live material from the middle years.
A thirty song disc should do it for this release.

And as archival material is mined to put together this money maker, the powers that be could put aside the dozens of  choice rare and unreleased live recordings for periodic release as a sort of "Dicks Picks" series of BeachBoys live performances complete withliner notes discussing the state of the band at the time of each recording.
Talk about Fun Fun Fun!

This is what I want.  This is what I'll buy.

And I think it would  sell.   Look at Concert and In Concert----sold quite well!

They'd never be able to promote it - you can't say 'Dick' on the Blue Board.  ;D

Maybe it would have been better to have saved "Soul Searching" for this Hallmark release; add an unreleased Dennis track and all five original members could have been represented.

Or, hmm, I dunno, what else could they have done,  can't think...


HOW ABOUT YOU'RE STILL A MYSTERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It would only have all four of them on it, and it would blow away the other three songs!

AUGH!

OK.  We can sell it on the Grateful Dead site.  Probably a lot more hits on that site anyway ;)

thinkin about the 1974 tracks and who's playing....would Ricky Fataar be playing in it? I'm pretty comfident in saying he did, but probably not Blondie. This wouldnt be the Beachago tour, would it? I'm pretty sure that took place in 1975...oooo, i'd love to get my hands on those tapes, what a treat! it is cool that we get our hands on 1974 material though...not really material but I'm pretty sure the only chance we heard the BB in 74 was Child of Winter, right?

It's probably stuff from the widely-disseminated We Got Love bootleg from 74, Endless Summer tour.

Ricky started phasing out in the fall of 74 and was out by December.  So it depends upon when in the year the recordings were made.  If it is the summer tour, Ricky would definitely be there.

Blondie, of course, left in 1973.

I would imagine that the stuff on the Hallmark CD could possibly be from the same show that's been booted, but I doubt they would just pull the tracks off of the boot. I'm sure all of these live tracks are shows that were available on multitrack in the Brother vaults, and therefore have been mixed for this new release. So, the sound quality at least should hopefully be quite good on these tracks.

The circa 1989 BB's weren't always on their A-game when it came to doing the old hits (usually not that bad, just sort of rote, bland performances), so I'm not as hopeful about the quality of the performances on this CD. Then again, the BB's all presumably signed off on the release, so it must sound pretty decent in terms of performance quality.

As for the '74 recordings, I would guess Ricky Fataar is on them, seeing as how he was with the band for the majority of that year. I think Bobby Figueroa was in the band by that time as well.

It also just struck me that we probably shouldn't count on a great amount of detailed recording information in the CD booklet, if it's supposed to be a bit of a cheapie, impulse-buy type of release. I imagine it would be simple to include the musician credits and recording dates even on the back cover or even a one-sheet cover insert, though.

Maybe we should start guessing what the title of this CD will be. Here are some guesses:

Sounds of Father's Day
Endless Father's Day
Spirit of Father's Day
Unleash the Father's Day
Father's Day in Paradise
Looking Back at Father's Day
First Father's Day
Country Father's Day
MIU Father's Day
Salute to Father's Day
Summertime Father's Day
Group Therapy - Father's Day Edition
10 Big Ones (or 7 Live Ones, 3 Solo Ones, and 2 Filler Ones)

one can only hope that Brian's back up band will provide vocals to "The Spirit of Rock 'N Roll"

What about :

Father's day ( and mother's night !!!)

Lifted from DJ M's excellent www.uncanny1.blogspot.com

Mike Love: I’m hoping that it [Love's new album] comes out in the spring. I know there’s one song that was slated for that album that’s going to come out by Father’s Day. Hallmark is going to do an issue of a bunch of Beach Boys’ songs plus one from me called Cool Head and Warm Heart, which is an expression that Maharishi made about 10 years ago. I was at a TM gathering in Vlodrop, Holland, and I remember him saying, “You need a cool head and a warm heart,” and I said, “Wow, that’s cool,” so I made up a little song that says “You need a cool head and a warm heart to get you through the day without coming apart. You need a cool head and a warm heart and that’s how every day should start.” So there’s another situation there. My new CD has a lot of philosophy on there, meaning philosophical point of view, not overbearingly I hope, but just little hints. Maybe it’s “don’t get stressed out, especially when there are things you can do nothing about. The nature of life is to be always changing and what you need when things start to rearrangin’ is a cool head and warm heart.” That is going to come out on that CD that Hallmark is coming out with. They’re planning a huge campaign and they’re going to have it out in the stores apparently for Father’s Day, so I’m hoping that concurrent with that, I can get my CD out as well.

"a bunch of Beach Boys’ songs plus one from me"

Hahaha, I love how he neglected to mention Brian and Al's solo songs.

Releasing a CD via hallmark may seem a little silly to some but I remember reading somewhere that Michael McDonald sold 2 million copies of his Christmas record through Hallmark.   It seems to by a viable alternative to the traditional route of releasing music. 

Most likely the CD will cost you $7.99 when you buy three hallmark cards. 

Talk about a racket!

My wife is big into the Hallmark thing.  I KNOW that the BB are going to make a killing on this.

I'm a real cool head.

Ew, I just got my hands on a recording of Spirit of Rock and Roll... I hope Brian & co. can do a much better version.. because quite frankly, I do not enjoy this song one bit. Especially the lyrics, how lame.

Great song, killer Dylan appearance.

A racket, allright. Hallmark cards usually cost like $3-$5. I suppose it's all good for people who are already in there to purchase stuff. I would imagine it will cost less to just buy the CD, if they offer that option. I have largely given up buying greeting cards of any sort. I make them myself, and people usually like them much more (or they're just saying they like them, in which case, oh well!)

I have a few relatives that go nuts buying the Hallmark X-mas ornaments each season. They literally buy every ornament released. I'm not into it, but it has meant I've been able to get all of the Beatles and Beach Boys-related Hallmark ornaments (including several different Yellow Submarine ornaments, and a little car that plays "Little Saint Nick").

I would imagine this CD could sell fairly well. I don't think the CD will be as appealing to aging baby boomers or whatever demographic of people who buy Michael McDonald Motown covers, but then again, I'll bet one of the best selling BB CD's each year are those cheapie versions of the X-Mas album sold at drug stores and every other store. It usually is missing several songs from the full album, and usually sells for like $4.99.

This sort of store-exclusive release format is not new to the BB's, or at least Mike Love, right? I've read some people mention that that "Rock and Roll City" thing released at Radio Shack stores around 1983 sold some insane amount of copies, as in several hundred thousand. I haven't any clue if that is accurate or not.

You like the Dylan appearance?  I remember one reviewer who actually thought it was Landy, that's how awful it is!

:)

No, it's not awful. It's great.

I'm with c-man on this one. I almost burst out laughing when I hear Dylan singing on this song. And I love Dylan.

To me, this was an attempt by Landy/someone to surround Brian with as many "names" as possible to get attention. Much like like GIOMH sixteen years later...

He's alright singing it, but it's just not a song Bob Dylan should be singing, you know? His voice, his.. aura, doesn't fit the feeling of the song, and to have him try to fit the feeling of the song and pretty much accomplish it just sounds wrong, because of what his voice is usually associated with.

Breaking out of the mold is what Brian and Dylan are all about. It's not "right" for the BB's to have done SMiLE/SMiLEY, because of what they are usually associated with, as well.

Here's an example:

Pat Boone's "In A Metal Mood", a cover album of such songs as Enter Sandman and Crazy Train. They are all arranged in his normal Pat Boone style, you know, crooning, brass, et cetera. It got okay reviews.

However, if he were to do "faithful" covers of the songs, everyone would be like, "Oh man, that's the worst thing I ever heard!"

Sort of like John Denver's rock and roll album, everyone hates it.

What about Dylan doing the country stuff? Isn't that what Dylan is kinda KNOWN for, screwing with different genres? Hell, the electric thing wasn't what he came to fame for.

But even with all his different genre changes, he had the same, I don't know, feeling.

He just sounds way too happy on Spirit of R&R.

You should hear "See You Later Allen Ginsberg"!