I have a problem with the need to "get" certain music in order to like it.  I realize that an appreciation for music increases the more you get it (i.e., the more you understand the interlacing of context, style, personality, circumstance, etc.), but I take issue when somebody tells me that I don't like something because I don't get it.  I get the Dennis stuff, at least to an extent.  And I don't like most of it.  I probably wouldn't pay a dollar for any released Dennis song (individually), with the exception of Morning Christmas.  Of course I'm interested to hear WIBNTLA, but I certainly don't expect to be blown away by it.

I'm with you, dellydel.  My biggest beef so far is the instrumentation.  I didn't see any of the C50 shows, nor have I heard any recordings of them (aside from the tracks on the Isn't It Time EP).  From the postings here, I assumed the instrumentation would be deeper, more lush.  Not so, it seems-- unless the evil conspirators that screwed up all the vocals are messing with that too!

I think that's a deliberate decision. I think a couple of the guitars have been taken out of the mix altogether, and a couple of the keyboards as well. The unaltered recordings have a far thicker instrumental backing.

Even the live tracks on the Isn't It Time EP have far thicker instrumental backing.

I'm with you, dellydel.  My biggest beef so far is the instrumentation.  I didn't see any of the C50 shows, nor have I heard any recordings of them (aside from the tracks on the Isn't It Time EP).  From the postings here, I assumed the instrumentation would be deeper, more lush.  Not so, it seems-- unless the evil conspirators that screwed up all the vocals are messing with that too!

I dug the little outtro to TWGMTR and was hoping for more unique endings/riffs/medleys.  So far I'm disappointed on that front.  But in general, even just over Spotify, I think this sounds pretty good.

About Jeff, I've always thought he sounds more Wilson-esque on his own material than he does on BB material. 

We did not say, Hey, let's go for that Sea World sound."  Buy the physical CD, pop it in your CD player in your car, head down the highway on a sunny day… And crank that sucker up!!!  Once you've done this let me know what you think.

Will a highway along the Great Salt Lake in Utah do?  I don't buy new albums on CD any more; iTunes files are usually good enough for my ears (sacrilege, I know).  I've been playing the album in the car for a few weeks now and my opinion remains the same as my initial take.  I really don't care for Shrewd Awakening, Tonga Hut, or Jericho.  They seem out of place.  I do quite enjoy the rest of the record, though-- SeaWorld sound and all!

I thinking about taking my sons (ages 11, 9, 7) to a Casino gig near me next month.  Is the show pretty family friendly?  If you've gone to a casino gig, have you seen families at all? 

I always Spotify an album before buying, and here's a few quick thoughts from my initial Spotify listen:

-Standout tracks are Kitty Hawk, Star of the Beach, Don't Say It's Over, and the Airborne bookends (excluding the cheesy dialog).  I really like the vocal blend in the Airborne tracks.

-Don't' care much (yet) for Shrewd Awakening, Tonga Hut, or Jericho

-Audio quality and volume vary by track on Spotify, with a tinny sound overall.  Jericho sounds like a copy of a copy of a cassette tape.  Hope the actual CD and iTunes tracks sound better.

Overall feel of the album is bright, California-y (in the kitschy sense).  Honestly, it reminds me of the playlist looped at the food court at SeaWorld San Diego.  That's not an insult (I dig that loop).  Seems like they were going for that sound.  I think I've read somewhere that there's a reason for the campy dialog and cliche theme song.  Whatever it is, I haven't clued in yet.  If you're looking for a BB channeler, stick with Explorers Club.  All that said, I dig this album.

figures

How so?

As I understand it, the vocal multitracks are lost. The stereo mix on the Smiley Smile reissue was an extraction mix using the mono mix, and I think that's the closest they can come.

So if the best sounding release of GV is the 2012 Smiley Smile, what's the best sounding Heroes and Villains release?

I like it!

The new (since Pet Sounds '96) stereo mixes, are, on the whole "reconstructed from the sessions". That is to say, new multi tracks were made by synching up the track multis with the vocals.

Is this what you mean?

This is exactly what I mean.  I responded to this question shortly after your post, but it must have been lost in the server move.  Particularly on Good Vibrations, would the existing tapes suffice to faithfully reconstruct this song from the sessions?  If so, has anybody considered it?  Best BB song, IMO, and such a shame that the finished track sounds so inferior to the session tapes.  I understand, I guess, that given the technology of the time, this couldn't be avoided.  But GV is one of those cases where the whole, clarify/fidelity-wise, is inferior to the sum of its parts.

Thanks everybody, including Mr. Desper, for your comments

When it comes down to it, I appreciate the early stuff for the vocals (especially Brian's) and the Smile-era material for the music.

Sometimes it's just easier to listen to the earlier stuff because it's less challenging, it doesn't require as much of the listener in terms of emotional investment.

Should music be challenging?  Not sure I want to be challenged.  Should I have to put forth some effort to invest emotion?  Or would truly good music suck me in, and I've invested emotion before I realize it?  I have a hard time with music (BB or other) that I need to understand the writer or producer's frame of mind to see what genius it is. 

This is an extremely general observation, but I see Pet Sounds as the culmination of everything the Boys were doing to that point.  GV (although not on Pet Sounds) is the perfect example of that.  To me, Smile is more like a movie soundtrack.  No artists specifically come to mind, but you'll have an artist that releases straight albums and then provides a soundtrack to a film.  Same artist but totally different kinds of music.  I can't say which is "better" because the intent with each, it seems, is quite different.

To me-- and again this is very general and perhaps personal to me-- there are three eras or categories:

1. Surfin' Safari to Party!
2. Pet Sounds/Smile
3. Smiley Smile to SIP

I prefer eras 1 and 2 to 3 by a wide margin.

Would have been nice to see a post like "Hey, we're moving the board to a new server so expect some down time" a few days before the move might have been nice.  Just sayin'.

I don't have a digital copy of the 20/20 version to reference, but the difference between the two I remember is the bv's are much more prominent in the 20/20 version.  It's been a while since I've listened to that one, but I don't recall a big difference (if any at all) in the sound quality between the two.  Aside from the a capella vocals at the end of the Hawthorne version, what are the main differences?

Ok, I'm going to make another concession.  I've been cycling SS because of this debate and......turns out I really like "Little Pad."  I think what initially (and until just last night) turned me off about that track was the goof-off intro.  While I still hate that intro with a fiery passion, the simple track that follows is quite beautiful.  The wordless vocals sound just like (and I have no doubt that Brian was mimicking) the strings in what most people considered "Hawaiian" music at the time.  Flawlessly executed.  I also like the uke.

So there you go.  If we never got SS, I would miss the first minute or so of Vegatables and most of Little Pad.

Oh , gee, the beginning of another convert. I can't begin to fathom what a relief this is

I'm touched.

TY mono

I get mono but I haven't heard of TY mono.  I'm still confused, though.  To me, H&V and GV in particular sound worse than earlier, pre- Pet Sounds BB mono recordings.  GOK comes to mind as one that sounds excellent in remastered stereo.

And has anybody in the BB realm thought about reconstructing the tracks from the sessions?  You could probably compile near-exact versions that would sound a whole lot better.

DISCLAIMER:  I am neither a musician nor a producer, so please forgive me if this is a completely idiotic question, or if there's some mastering principle you all understand but I don't.  My description of a song or song part as "crappy sounding" is in no way intended to offend those of you who disagree and are prone to get defensive.  Restrictions apply. END DISCLAIMER

I was listening to 50 Big Ones the other day and realized yet again that the released versions of songs like H&V and GV sound inferior to the session tracks they were compiled from.  Great tunes, obviously, and they happen to be my top 2 favorite BB songs.  But I'm really confused as to how muddy and flat sounding these tracks are compared to the session recordings.  Most of those sessions are crystal clear, dynamic, have depth.  

So two questions:

1. How and why did the quality of the sound erode so exponentially from session recordings to mastered release?

3. Since the session tracks are of better quality, couldn't Linett or somebody use those tracks to recompile the songs?

Ok, I'm going to make another concession.  I've been cycling SS because of this debate and......turns out I really like "Little Pad."  I think what initially (and until just last night) turned me off about that track was the goof-off intro.  While I still hate that intro with a fiery passion, the simple track that follows is quite beautiful.  The wordless vocals sound just like (and I have no doubt that Brian was mimicking) the strings in what most people considered "Hawaiian" music at the time.  Flawlessly executed.  I also like the uke.

So there you go.  If we never got SS, I would miss the first minute or so of Vegatables and most of Little Pad.

My wife does like the Beach Boys and fully accepts my obsession (and me).
But, 100 times out of 100, she asks for "Who Ran The Iron Horse" to either be turned down or switched off.

everyone has their limits i guess

My wife does the same on IIGS when the audio reverbs? to the point that it's painful. 

And I will never understand why some people have to state, out loud, that they dislike something.  

It's more than that. I'm fine with people saying they like or dislike something, its when they say "I can't understand how anyone else thinks differently to me".  It is this lack of empathy that really winds me up.

In my case, I'm more saying "I don't like it despite really trying, and am seriously at the point where I don't understand how anybody possibly could.  But I'm game- please enlighten me."

Here's how it works in my mind:  Not that anybody is obligated to explain themselves when it comes to musical taste, but personally, If I like some song/album/genre that 99% of people have either never heard of or don't like, I feel the onus is on me in conversation to explain what makes it so awesome.  Vice versa, if the world loves something I can't stand, the onus is on me to explain why.

Grab 100 music listeners of all ages, let them listen to Surfer Girl and Love You, I bet you can guess which album 99 of them would prefer.  

So when it comes to the BBs lesser-known, less popular material, I don't feel bad about politely asking why some of you like it so much.  Part of it is my desire to possibly be enlightened.  I'll admit this is how I came to love Smile.  At first listen, I thought it was a bunch of crap.  Now I'm mixing my own version.  So conversion isn't out of the question.  For Love You and other post Smile albums, I'd love to hear something more than "man that album ROCKS!" or "How can you not love Airplane."  I'd actually really like some insight as to why something is so awesome, aside from the fact that you just think so.

(although, "I just think so" is perfectly legit.)

I suppose if I had to make one concession, it would be on Vegatables.  Overall I prefer the complete Smile version, but I do prefer simple bass first verse of the SS version (from the beginning up to "table-vegal") over the Smile verse.

I agree with the Sheriff, though, SS to me signifies Brian throwing in the towel. 

I would miss exactly zero Smiley Smile songs.

I must be careful in wishing things. For TWGMTR I wished for a silly song like Vegetables or I'm Bugged At My Old Man. And what I got was TPLOBAS (cringes)....

Bill and Sue showcases some of the best harmonies on the album.

Can't listen to this right now but assume no hints dropped about MIC?!?!

Nope.