Yes, they brought back the original shirt in 2002, but it was limited.  I've checked Pendleton's website on and off over the years and have never seen it available.  So unless you go second-hand through ebay or Amazon for one purchased during that limited release, you can't get your hands on the actual BB design.  Pendleton shirts are crazy expensive.  I'd never pay that much for one of their current designs, but I'd probably pay double for one in the original Beach Boys design.

The Spanish iTunes?  Any word on when Americans can buy this track?

It blows my mind that a thread on top quality BB songs after Holland has actually extended more than one page.

A couple of other things .... When Brian and Melinda are in the Cadillac and close the door that SOUND is incredible. It really sounds like they are in a car and just closed the doors. Not just the background music Kenny g being cut off, the dialog between the two is louder and totally different as it would be in a closed space. That is GREAT attention to detail. There is also engine noise from the plane when Brian has his attack. Almost every scene in a plane from every movie there is...they leave out the engine noise. Really great attention to detail all over this film.

Another example is the cinematography in the opening montage of the BBs career up to Pet Sounds.  I'm a hobbyist filmmaker and the attention to detail there blows my mind.  The film effects change as the years are portrayed.  Those sequences truly look like they were filmed in the early 60's with vintage equipment. 

Question: I'm sure I'll get flamed for not seeing this on page 45 of some 300 page thread, but did they film the recording scenes in the actual studios where Pet Sounds/GV/Smile were recorded, or were those sets?  If the latter, can anybody comment on the historical accuracy of the rooms/layouts?

I don't think I would be as bugged if I hadn't read for months about how awesome Dano's voice was and how thrilled the crew was to discover that he was a 'musician.'  "He starts singing and we subtly fly Brian's voice in, and it's freaking spectacular!!!" (Paraphrasing.)

Nah.  Actually not.  I would have preferred either a quicker transition or a full-on lip sync.

I rented the DVD from Red Box last night.  Wife fell dozed off several times and lamented the fact that I paid $1.60 to rent it.  I really loved the attention to detail, the cinematography, and of course the soundtrack. 

The one thing that bugged me was Dano's singing.  Not a horrible singer, but he quite clearly has a different vocal range than Brian did.  He's clearly uncomfortable trying to hit some of those notes.  The transitions to real Brian are good, but I think they should have occurred earlier for each piece.  The missus, who isn't even a casual Beach Boys fan, was quick to point out the discrepancy between Dano's singing voice and Brian's. 

I bought this album just for the hidden stack o' Brians, which is awesome.  I found the album itself an excruciating listen.

What would happen if...



you used a less obscure thread title?

 

Smiley Smile is king of obscure thread titles. "John Stamos Accused," anybody?

I would eventually convince myself that the stuff was good, and be one of those annoying superfans who can't have a conversation about the band with a normal person because you've abandoned all critical discrimination.

Do these people actually exist, though, in BB fandom?  From what I've seen on forums, folk seem to have a pretty clear-headed view of the later years, accepting that there's a long, slow decline, but some worthwhile tunes to be found here and there.

Yeah, I'm not so sure about that, Fire Wind.  I lurked here for several years before joining and chiming in, and it was pretty clear to me that the Boys' later output is king here.  As for that output, I've tried countless times to appreciate (and sometimes even make it through a full listen) to their later material.  Holland is the last album I can stand listening to-- and even that one makes me cringe.  At this point I feel it safe to pronounce that I will never, ever, ever grow to like Love You.  

All this said, there are some parts on Still Cruisin' that blow me away, such as Carl's parts on Somewhere Near Japan and the intro to Island Girls.  So yes, I'm pretty open-minded.  I've honestly tried to like their later stuff, but it hasn't happened yet.

They're good for what they are.

Frisbees?

I think 'suck' may be a bit too strong...

Depends on how you define not sucking, I guess.  Compare Good Vibrations and Surf's Up to say,  What You Gonna Do Bout Me and The Grammy.  Tough for me not to use the word 'sucks' in that context.  Totally agree with the rest of your comments, though.

He's sometimes on, sometimes off.  Oddly, he sounds the most Brian-esque on his solo and non-Beach Boys material.  He sounds the least Brian-esque on TWGMTR, unfortunately.  But check out his "Through My Window."  To me he sounds very Brian-esque in that track.

It must be, because listening to albums on YouTube is such a sonic pleasure  

 

I listened to both albums on YouTube last night.  Definitely not the best medium for any first listen.  And I'm sorry, but aside from a nice measure here and there, I thought both sucked.  It pains me to say that, being that Carl's is my favorite BB voice, but on his solo stuff he sounds like a cheap Peter Cetera imitation.  Not sure a Hi Fi listen will change that opinion.

From the 'corrected' liners:

On his two solo albums – Carl Wilson in 1981 and Youngblood in 1983 – Carl returned to his R&B roots. “I didn’t want to compromise and make my solo stuff sound like the Beach Boys,” he commented at the time...

Unfortunate.  Beach Boys Carl is a delight-- every track, every note.  Non-Beach Boys Carl sounds like he's aping Peter Cetera.  Listening to Carl avoid sounding like The Beach Boys is like watching Michael Jordan play baseball.  Underwhelming at best.

I have never heard Carl's solo albums, so I will definitely be very grateful for this release.

I'm still in discovery mode on some of the rarer Beach Boys material and much of the solo stuff from everybody but Brian.  I'm cautiously excited about listening to the Carl album for the first time.  If it's anything like the Like a Brother album, it'll be really anti-climactic for me.  I do plan to Youtube it, as soon as I'm finished tempering my expectations...

Is there really no way to purchase this album digitally?  I'm dying to hear these old tracks in decent (non-YouTube quality) in the car, and I might have to install a tape deck to do it. Can somebody please explain to me why something physically out of print must also be completely unavailable online?  Like it costs Capitol anything to sell it to me on iTunes.

Anybody know if this will be available for on-demand play?  I was teaching a class during this, unfortunately.

I'm still trying to make sense of this question.

Is "Cool Head" available for purchase online by itself somewhere?

That is truly odd. I wonder why that happened (both the album going on Spotify, and it leaving just as quickly). Does anyone know if it sounded just like a digital CD rip of the album, or if it sounded in any way remastered?

I don't think it sounded any better or worse (or different, for that matter) than the cassette version from my childhood.  I never had the CD.  I love Still Cruisin' because it was given to me as a birthday present one year.  That same day I spent camped with some friends on the shores of a reservoir in Utah.  For three days it was us, a small cove, and Still Cruisin' blasting from my Walkman's portable speakers.  Ah, those days.  I'd love to know why Spotify yanked it.

Okay, they are not awful. I have to admit I LOVE the song "Somewhere Near Japan" and… Okay… I'll say it… "Summer In Paradise"…
Anyway, doesn't Capitol have the rights to SIP? They released a live version on MIC.
I don't see why they don't put those albums on iTunes and the various streaming services.

Spotify had Still Cruisin' for about a month back in 2013, then it disappeared and has been gone since.  I've got a cassette of this album (it was actually my first BB album), so I'm dying for a digital release.

I've listened to the first few tracks and thought I'd post my raw initial thoughts, since this is the way I review albums.  Consider that I'm not really a fan of this type of music, and that I find the Beach Boys 70's era story quite depressing and their musical output during that time dang near unlistenable.

--Sounds like something I'd hear at an airport at 3am. 
--Production quality is excellent.  A lot of thought and passion went into this.
--I want to go to an airport at 3 am and listen to this.
--Lot of 70's era Brian audio so far.  Wonder why? Hoping for some 60's stuff in the tracks to follow.
--Screw the airport, I'm listening to it now and really, really digging it!
--Reminds me of some of the channels on SomaFM, particularly Mission Control and SF 10-33

But to say Jan & Dean RECORDS had a poor vocal blends or suggest that Jan & Dean "didn't seem to care about the vocal quality of their records"  is inaccurate.

I appreciate your response, Steve. It does shine some light.  I'm probably making premature judgments, and that's not really fair.  Aside from the hits I've loved since I was a kid, so far I've only really experienced the Drag City and Ride the Wild Surf albums, along with a few other tracks here and there and some re-records (again, I ask- why???).  While it may be inaccurate to suggest that J&D had poor vocal blends, I am suggesting just that.  At least on the material I've been able to digest.  Honestly, I don't think either of them would have made first cuts at my high school's glee club tryout.  I mentioned above that I like their vocals for nostalgic reasons, but when it comes to things like vocal muscle control, pitch and inflection, they just don't sound good. Almost like they didn't ever rehearse.

Which leads me to speculate that the vocal quality of their records is something they didn't care about-- or at least cared less about than arrangement, lyrics, subject matter, etc.  To me, that would make sense.

The vocal blend is nowhere near as good...

You're not kidding.  The vocal blend frankly sucks (with the exception of tunes where Brian is involved).  I can't really take J&D seriously as a vocal act for that reason.  Don't get me wrong-- I like the vocal blend, mainly because it has that youthful, "two everyday dudes from SoCal too busy having fun to worry about polished vocals" vibe.  But yeah, quality vox and harmonies they are not.

I've always wondered why J&D didn't seem to care about the vocal qualities of their records, but a light bulb lit up for me recently when somebody on another thread pointed out that J&D were primarily satirists.  This made me think of some of my favorite TV satire, MAD! (the short cartoon series), whose send-ups of popular culture are brilliant.  They don't worry about great-quality graphics, per se, because their primary job is to lampoon.  Is that the case with J&D?  It's not true satire, because they weren't trying to ridicule SoCal/surf culture, but perhaps vocal blend wasn't as important to them as decent arrangement and cultural caricature.  Am I way off here?

I primarily use Spotify, and it's hit and miss.  I am seeing a lot of the crappy stereo mixes as well as the re-records (why???).  The first J&D track I clicked on (because of Brian's involvement) was "Don't You Just Know It."  Next up was the re-recorded "Dead Man's Curve."  Based on those two tracks, I swore off J&D for about a year.