Wow! And I mean WOW! Even clocking in at sub 30 minutes, this digital taster sure has me hungry for more! This set appears to be VERY Dennis heavy, with a few of these tracks with placeholder names evolving into POB material (I about jumped out of my chair when I heard the melody of "Rainbows") and the inclusion of "Rollin' Up to Heaven" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is certainly welcome, two of my favorite circulating 70s BB boots. In a perfect world this would be only the beginning of a larger set celebrating the explorations/experimentations of their post-Holland pre-15 Big Ones oddities.

Can any BB scholars out there shed any light on what-is-what and who-is-on-what or even when-is-what with any of these recordings? "Happy Birthday Roger McGuinn" sounds like some sort of expanded vocal ensemble, and who is the woman Dennis(?) is trying to coax into singing during "Untitled Demo"? My first thought was maybe Christine Perfect, but I would think she would be more ready to sing. Questions, questions, questions....

Rest in peace, Mr. Paley. Warm wishes for his family. Such an under-appreciated figure in the BBs sphere.

From day one I have been thinking to myself about how the Grateful Dead had that freaking 5 hour documentary a few years ago, why not The Beach Boys? Not that they necessarily need some crazy mega-marathon feature (5 hours of what we did get would certainly not be what I have in mind), but something with a more ambitious scope at the very least. It's hard to not get more than a little disappointed thinking about some of the incredible moments in this band's 60+ year history that will remain unknown/irrelevant trivia to all but the most ardent of fans.

I shouldn't be surprised at the notion of Al talking about "new" songs that have been in the works for years. I just hope that these projects don't continue to collect digital dust (so to speak) until the principal collaborators have shed their mortal coil. I'd like to celebrate the achievements (and the arguably less successful experiments) of these artists while they're living and breathing as opposed to looking back and asking myself "what could have been"

In all honesty, the part of that interview that caught and held my attention were comments about new music from Al:

Jardine has four new songs that he hopes to release soon. “One is a beautiful song about a soldier going off to war. Neil Young is singing on it with me. He’s the soldier. I want to get it out pretty soon before we go to war. Then there’s another song called ‘Islands in the Sun,’ which is my follow up to ‘Kokomo.’ I invited Mike to be on it several times, and neither time did he show any interest. I came up with a hell of a song. It’s all about drifting among the islands and the Caribbean and losing oneself. I’ve got Bruce (Johnston) and my son Matt and I singing the Beach Boys’ harmonies. It sounds just like the real thing.

I know Al's productivity (or lack thereof) can be something of a joke among some fans, but I would be more excited for a new Al Jardine EP featuring Neil Young & Bruce Johnston than ANOTHER documentary about The Beach Boys.

I do find it odd when people jump to hasty assumptions about the grand plans of the various legacy acts and their archival releases. Assuming sets that are discussed offhandedly in interviews are cancelled during a quiet spell for news... The same happens in the world of Beatlemaniacs with assumptions about whether or not certain albums will be remixed or have already been remixed and are waiting to be released or will just be skipped entirely... Hendrix fans assuming the legal action between Experience Hendrix and the estates of Mitch Mitchell and Noel Redding have been the cause of delays with the 'Electric Lady Studios' box set that briefly appeared on amazon listings a couple of years ago... Zappa fans  assuming that Universal Music Enterprises isn't interested in producing physical DVD/Blu-Ray products based on "reportedly low sales"... And while all of this is certainly possible, it always seems to me like a knee-jerk reaction. Lots of us expect the industry machine to always move at breakneck pace and capitalize on every scrap of hype and momentum to deliver more and more ever faster, but in a lot of cases, the machine does move slowly and things do take time to materialize. Plans can change and hangups that the average Joe couldn't/wouldn't fathom get in the way. I'm sure there's some sort of project in the pipeline that probably won't be exactly what I'm wishing for, but will still blow me away whenever it becomes a reality.

Heck I'd be willing to pay for decent quality mp3 downloads of any of these tracks... I know scattered tracks have been uploaded to youtube by (mostly) various unofficial accounts, but none of these sets are available on streaming in any proper fashion, are they? It's a shame because I have heard a few gorgeous gems over the years and have been genuinely curious about quite a few tracks as well. According to the discogs database, both 'Carl Wilson: Under God' and 'Dennis Wilson: Only with You' have both only been sold on that website ONCE (each in fairly recent history) and the 'One in a Million' CD has apparently NEVER been sold secondhand through the discogs marketplace! Talk about limited -- Does anyone know if there's any way to listen to these CDs without moving heaven and earth? I'd be stunned if those original issues of Endless Summer Quarterly were still in stock/available for purchase...

Great stuff! I do look forward to these podcasts, even if I may forget to check in on them for a few months at a time. The interviews are always thoughtfully conducted and you do a great service to give spotlight to some of the less prominent speakers in the Beach Boys circle; it was a delight to hear how down to earth the young Lovester sounds -- he really strikes me as a sensible guy. And I have enjoyed what I have heard of his album as well, it isn't exactly "Beach Boys music" but I'm glad to see him chasing some sort of artistic flame. I've thought for a long time it would be great to get a "solo" album from Matt Jardine (with or without features from associates of the organization), but he seems content performing with his pops. And even Carnie & Wendy (who also seem to be content occasionally performing with Al) seem to have other things than releasing studio-recorded music on their minds. Aside from the 'California Music Presents Add Some Music' project, I'm not aware of much anything in the last decade. But I digress...

I really enjoyed listening to the podcast, and look forward to remembering to check for another one! Wonderful work! Thanks a bunch for your time and effort!

This may be better placed in either the 2023 Al Jardine tour thread, or a dedicated thread of its own, or perhaps some other buried thread I'm not aware of... But it seems as good a place as any at the moment to ramble about how I just came home from seeing Al Jardine and His Endless Summer Band at Septemberfest in Shaumburg, IL -- what a fantastic time. Al and the band blew me away from start to finish -- Al is such a cool, charismatic presence on stage, and Matt has really grown into much more of an impressive vocalist than I think even most serious fans realize. I left with the impression that he was almost directing the show, giving cues to the rest of the band and sound crew such. The band was tight and still had fun, I could go on about the individual members, but it's late, and the adrenaline is finally starting to wear off.

But anyway, as quirky as Al's history with song production may or may not be, he put on a (day after) birthday show to remember! (The audience did sing him "Happy Birthday" at one point, and he was offered a cake. He said he also had several cupcakes.) I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir for many of you when I say how grateful I am to have actually been able to sing along with a Beach Boy in my lifetime! I wish Al as much health and happiness as humanly possible! And I wish Matt the recognition for his immense talent and hard work!

Al Jardine is the man!

Edit: In my grogginess, I neglected to mention a small highlight of the evening -- at the end of the show I was also lucky enough to be given a setlist and a fist-bump by drummer/icon of the Beach Boys inner-circle Bobby Figueroa. Truly a wonderful band of gentle souls!

It would be the best news I've heard all year (a low bar, to be fair) if this were an indicator of a physical reissue (on either CD or LP, heck, both would be great!) but I feel like that's wishful thinking on my part. Glad this album is more readily available for listening, in any case!

I think it's safe to say the delays and multiple months of confusion regarding the status of the Feel Flows set and speculation about what might have been going on behind-the-scenes were a significant factor in the amount of discussions that quickly accumulated leading up to the eventual release of the box set. Plus, it was the first time in a decade we'd gotten a truly massive release from The Beach Boys camp -- I can't think of any release that has rivaled the scope and ambition of 'Feel Flows' since 'The SMiLE Sessions' box set. I too, am surprised there hasn't been/isn't more discussion about the new set (my post a few pages ago wondering if anyone could highlight which tracks might have previously circulated and which tracks are new to even collectors has gone unanswered   )

This being said I finally got to give a listen to one of the discs in this set (I chose CD6 for new studio content) and WOW this is everything I was hoping it would be. The 'Mount Vernon and Fairway' are wonderful, the 30-40 seconds of a cappella "Radio King Dom" is literally a dream of mine. The boys have done it again!

My copy (ordered either the last couple days of November or the first couple days of December... I can't even remember now) is supposed to be arriving Thursday. Along with the new David Crosby live CD/DVD which was released the same day. It's been a long while since I've been able to get my hands on any new music release within a day or two of release.

Wow!  This set looks to be everything I've been hoping it would be and more! Can any hardcore collectors clue me in to how much of the unreleased stuff has never circulated? There's plenty of content that I've only read about, and stuff I don't think I've ever even heard of! Another embarrassment of riches for us this holiday season!  What a time to be a Beach Boys fan!

As easy as it is to give Mike sh*t (deservedly) about either his personal politics or musical tendencies, I would be pretty hyped for a Mike Love Anthology style collection, compiling some of his lesser-known gems among his classic Beach Boy contributions. He's put out a lot of material I would rate poor-to-middling over the years, but I think there's certainly at least one full CD worth of solid/enjoyable/fun material out there...

Without getting into debates about one's feelings on the material or the inevitable comparisons to contemporaries that are more highly regarded, I for one am certainly far more interested in the release of some of these mid-late 60s gems. The latter-era remakes are (hopefully) fun at best and harmless at worst, and in this case (still wondering WTF "Dr. Landy Version" could possibly mean??) potentially somewhat enlightening. Though perhaps it will only create more questions...

On a release like this I am glad to see Dean's version of "Louisiana Man" get reissued; I would love to see a release of all his productions, not only J&D but also including the 1964 Gary Zekely single he produced, "Other Towns, Other Girls"/"When I Go to Sleep" (the A-Side would sound in place right alongside any track from the B-Side of 'The Beach Boys Today!' in my opinion) and ALL of the early-mid 70s Legendary Masked Surfers songs (I think two singles comprising remakes of three songs?) and of course the 1975 version of "Sidewalk Surfin'" is worth inclusion. I do think getting into the late-70s and 80s remakes is largely unnecessary (though I admit to loving the 80s 'Silver Summer' remake of "Summer Rain").

I suppose this is as good a place to ask as any: Dean Torrence is credited with composition on both sides of the 45 "Look Around You"/"Happy Human People" by a group called Black Society, signed to STAX records. So my first thought is it must be a different guy with a same name, but (an often reliable, though not infallible database,) disocgs links to Dean-O's artist page. I've never seen/heard him talk about it and it seems so left-field for him, especially in that time-period. The A-Side is available on YouTube, and it's not tooooooo much of a stretch compositionally to imagine Dean being involved (upbeat, vaguely soulful sunshine vibe-kinda song), but I dunno... Does anyone have any info? The B-Side is not online to my knowledge... Again, a release like this is the kind of place that material like that could ideally potentially be highlighted and given explanation if there is some actual connection.

Discogs link: https://www.discogs.com/release/6828167-Black-Society-Look-Around-You-Happy-Human-People

Black Society - "Look Around You" YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK-LWLn2jKM

I know most folks around here seem to be rather hot and cold on topics pertaining to Jan & Dean, but with enough crossover interest, and involvement from key players in The Beach Boys, I figure this merits at least a mention and platform for further discussion...


Dean Torrence
The Teammates: Twenty Years Of Making Music 1965-1985
Release date: October 14, 2022
Collection of Dean Torrence collaborations spanning 1965–1985, including previously unissued recordings, rare tracks, and alternate mixes.
 
“Dean has always been really upbeat, positive, fun-seeking and joy-projecting person on stage. He’s always about pleasing the audience, and I’ve always been very sympathetic to that as well. I think we had a commonality in our philosophy in performing and having a good time.”
—Mike Love
 
Dean Torrence’s The Teammates: Twenty Years Of Making Music 1965-1985 is a curated collection that traverses the decades of the various musical teams Torrence has captained. Whether it was in the producer’s chair, behind the microphone or putting together musical entities, Dean has done it all. This collection includes many of Dean’s rare collaborations with the likes of Mike Love, Jan Berry, Bruce Johnston, Harry Nilsson, and Leon Russell.

Teaming with The Beach Boys/Jan & Dean historian David Beard (also editor/publisher of Endless Summer Quarterly), Torrence raided his vaults and discovered previously unreleased recordings from 1965–1985. Beginning with the ultra-rare single of “Summertime, Summertime” by Our Gang (never available on CD and taken from the original 2-track master), this collection is a treasure trove of rarities and previously unheard music. There are alternate recordings by Jan & Dean, never before heard music from 1973 by Terry Melcher, Bruce Johnston & Torrence, and a slew of rare tracks by Mike (Love of The Beach Boys) & Dean from the early ’80s that has never been made available on CD or digitally until now!

Omnivore Recordings is proud to continue its association with Dean Torrence on this exciting and rare compilation of historical music from one of the early progenitors of rock ’n’ roll. The Teammates: Twenty Years Of Making Music 1965-1985 also offers extensive liner notes by Torrence, a track-by-track conversation with David Beard on the album’s contents and a forward by longtime Jan & Dean associate, and entertainment executive Winston Simone.

“It was important to us that we offer the fan something different and special, and Dean dug right in. This collection is about friendship, buddies… teammates. This was a true team effort.”
—David Beard
 
CD / DIGITAL TRACK LIST:
BUY OUR ALBUM – The Legendary Masked Surfers
SUMMERTIME, SUMMERTIME – Our Gang
THE THEME FROM LEON’S GARAGE – Our Gang
LOUISIANA MAN – Jan & Dean
SNOWFLAKES ON LAUGHING GRAVY’S WHISKERS – The Laughing Gravy
VEGETABLES (Alternate Mix) – The Laughing Gravy
MOVING DAY – Locksley Hall
IT’S A BEAUTIFUL DAY – Hogfat Cantina Singers & Bel Air Bandits
JUST KEEP IT UP – Terry Melcher, Bruce Johnston, Dean Torrence
LOVE LACE – Terry Melcher, Bruce Johnston, Dean Torrence
A TEENAGER IN LOVE – Dean Torrence
I ONLY HAVE EYES FOR YOU – Dean Torrence
GET A JOB – Dean Torrence
ONE SUMMER NIGHT – Dean Torrence
DEAD MAN’S CURVE (Dr. Landy Version) – Dean Torrence
BE TRUE TO YOUR BUD (BUDWEISER FIGHT SONG) – Mike & Dean
LIGHTNIN’ STRIKES – Mike & Dean
HER BOYFRIEND’S BACK – Mike & Dean
ALLEY OOP – Mike & Dean
JINGLE BELL ROCK – Mike & Dean
RIDE THE WILD SURF – Flo & Eddie with Dean Torrence
ORDER OUR ALBUM – The Legendary Masked Surfers
FUN, FUN, FUN (Commercial) – Mike & Dean
Tracks 1, 4, 6–10, 15, 21–23 previously unissued.

Cat: OV-504

Omnivore Recordings YouTube Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhYBgA7ogaA

Omnivore Recordings Pre-Order: http://omnivorerecordings.com/shop/teammates/

So is Fred's Gofundme up yet?   Love the idea of a fan-financed completion of "Cows."   If 600 BB fans put in $50 each...

This was just highlighted on my YouTube page. Answer finally is ‘Yes’.

https://youtu.be/pskot043v2g

https://gofund.me/26a7e8da

    
This is the fantastic news!! It's been months since I started my morning with a smile this big! Please take my money, Fred!!

Umm what..? Live 1971 shows, misc. 1971 tracks and The Flame 2nd album? 

For lack of a better word, much of Jan's music lacked soul. It is all technically well-done, but it is not music that touches you emotionally, nor was it designed to. Jan just didn't have it in him to be emotional in his music. When he tried--for example, A Beginning From An End from Folk n' Roll, which talks about a woman dying in childbirth, and may have been based on Jan's experiences in medical school--it comes off a heavy handed. His most soulful music was Carnival of Sound, where he was expressing the real suffering of his physical and mental handicaps.

I agree with your first point to an extent (Jan presenting his teen-oriented music in a way that an older audience might more easily appreciate) but this further point is where we begin to wade into serious subjectivity. There are definitely more than a few J&D cuts that I find quite soulful and emotional -- "A Surfer's Dream" is a bit of a deep cut that comes to mind in that regard, featuring a superb vocal from Jill Gibson (who seems to be rarely given credit for her contributions to a few stellar J&D tracks). But I understand that this is my subjective opinion, and just because I might be deeply moved by a song or (out-of-key) vocal doesn't mean someone else will be. It strikes me as interesting the broad stroke statements made by some throughout this thread; all music is different things for different people.

I definitely agree that most of 'Carnival of Sound' is quite "soulful" as you put it, in my opinion, as is a fair amount of Jan's solo work (both released and unfinished) but I wouldn't necessarily say because of expressing "the real suffering" of his handicaps as you put it, but rather that he was expressing himself through those handicaps. Sometimes in suffering, sometimes in joy. Yes, Jan was CERTAINLY no Brian Wilson, it's been said again and again, but he was an interesting guy with a lot going on upstairs, and even after "the accident" had a lot of drive and passion right up to the end. Again, this is just one music listener's subjective opinion.

I also have to remember a time when people who were following all this stuff back to the early 90's had a notion of Brian doing a new project more in line with Smile/Smiley Smile that might end up sounding in their minds like an Animal Collective or Elephant 6 label project or something, and perhaps that kind of hope or expectation is what drove (or continues to drive) the letdowns and disappointments when a Brian project comes out and it's not all weird and goofy like "Smiley Smile 2" or something.

Big facts. And this phenomenon doesn't seem to plague too many of his contemporaries in the same way. I don't think there have been too many people complaining about McCartney's solo albums not being something along the lines of 'Sgt. Pepper 2' (didn't he actually do something like that in the 80s and NOT release it?) Most people seemed to like the relatively recent album by The Who, even though it's certainly not 'Tommy 2' or 'Quadrophenia 2'.

Funny you'd bring up Animal Collective and Elephant 6 though, obviously for musical/aesthetic comparison, but it gets me thinking about how a lot of Animal Collective fans have spent 10+ years complaining about not getting 'Merriweather Post Pavilion 2' and a lot of Neutral Milk Hotel fans have been dreaming about 'In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 2' for almost 25 years! People like us just want it all, sometimes 

Fantastic discussion, great listening. Funny, casual and off-the-cuff but informed AND informative! All of these podcasts are enjoyable listens, but this is an especially wonderful installment! Thanks to all involved!

While most of the J&D discography is pretty fun surface-level material, there is definitely some material (Jan's solo single "Mother Earth" comes to mind, as do some of Dean's 'Save for a Rainy Day' and Jan's 'Carnival of Sound' songs) that should not be overlooked for their emotional/artistic content, and while one can certainly debate quality on various levels I for one find that most of it definitely hits the sweet spot (again, this is just me). As for stuff like "Universal Coward" I used to figure that Jan was kind of playing both sides in a manner of speaking (including "Eve of Destruction" on the same album). Kind of like "Only a Boy" isn't really an anti-war song but isn't exactly a pro-war song (in my opinion). Was he too afraid to take one stand? Did he see both sides? Did he not care?

It is definitely a reach to put J&D on the same level as a lot of their peers who had more time to continue to discover themselves in the late sixties, but I don't think it's quite like filet mignon vs a McDouble.

On an objective level there are definite flaws in more than a few of the J&D vocal deliveries. I certainly agree that it is odd given the obvious effort put into so many other aspects of the recording. As far as their influence J&D were without a doubt influential on the evolving scene and many people, musicians or otherwise of the day. I can see that in my parents who moved from out west, their lifestyle definitely owed something to the culture perpetuated by J&D. As far as my further opinion, again, I've been a big BB fan for most of my life and since high school have really become a hopeless fanatic. But it wasn't until the last few years that I really listened to more of J&D than just the Brian-adjacent tunes, and I personally was in fact blown away the deeper I delved. Is every tune 5-Stars? Hell no, but the same can certainly be said about a few BBs albums in my humble opinion. Again, this all gets down to subjective taste at a certain level, I can definitely acknowledge pretty much all of the flaws the articulate members of the board bring to discussion (this is a thoroughly enjoyable, respectful, witty and entertaining discussion  ) but to echo my earlier sentiment, a lot of those flaws are just quirky enough for me to enjoy as opposed to... Not. Again, I'm only an amateur musician and certainly not vocally trained, but I can recognize the difference between a Beatle and Jan & Dean when it comes to vocal skill. I know what I'm getting into when I throw on one of their records. I always have fun.

[I'd say in my (unprofessional) opinion they are better-than-average singers, but maybe just didn't really care all that much.]

As someone who has been a fan of The Beach Boys for most of his life, and got into Jan & Dean only within the last few years, there is certainly no question that even at their most ragged The Boys could sing circles around Jan & Dean (and many of their other contemporary sound-alikes as well) but I would argue that Jan & Dean have plenty of passionate vocals (some of the more passionate ones are sometimes also the more out-of-tune ones) and would agree that for me, these qualities that are detractors for some are more of a personal flavor that makes their songs all the more unique. I'd say in my (unprofessional) opinion they are better-than-average singers, but maybe just didn't really care all that much. As a wise man once said, "It's just a ride..."

The point in bold is probably the key issue I have in this discussion and with Jan & Dean in general. There are people telling us how much care and attention Jan Berry gave to his studio productions, writing out each and every part for the musicians to play and mixing everything with such meticulous attention to detail, really taking the craft of recording and arranging pop or teen music into an art form.

Then you hear the out of tune vocals, and vocal tracks which sound like they really didn't care all that much, and it almost immediately destroys the other point by example.

Again the question becomes why would such care and attention be given to the instrumental tracks only to put vocals on those tracks that too often sound like they were half-assed?

It almost makes you think about Brian producing an entire album (or SERIES of albums, god forbid!) of songs like "Teeter Totter Love" 

As someone who has been a fan of The Beach Boys for most of his life, and got into Jan & Dean only within the last few years, there is certainly no question that even at their most ragged The Boys could sing circles around Jan & Dean (and many of their other contemporary sound-alikes as well) but I would argue that Jan & Dean have plenty of passionate vocals (some of the more passionate ones are sometimes also the more out-of-tune ones) and would agree that for me, these qualities that are detractors for some are more of a personal flavor that makes their songs all the more unique. I'd say in my (unprofessional) opinion they are better-than-average singers, but maybe just didn't really care all that much. As a wise man once said, "It's just a ride..."