Nice list but "Please Let Me Wonder" has always been overrated.

"Surfin" and parts of Love You

...
Including that infamous sign on the door, according to Al, read "No Beach Boys Allowed" and it was during the recording of Disney Girls.
...

Was that at Brian's house? It's amazing he didn't get kicked out right after that.

 They were astute enough to realize "Disney Girls" was good, so Bruce could remain for one more LP. But his departure was likely in the cards after the sign incident. Note also Bruce did not utilize the group as musicians, not even Carl.

I feel like "Add Some Music" would have been a better title for this set, even though I much prefer Feel Flows over that track.  "Add Some Music" was also the original title for Sunflower.

Agree. The more I think about it the more I don’t understand the Feel Flows title. Great song I just don’t see the correlation. And the random idiot or casual fan won’t know what it means.

 

If you're aiming for random idiots, you're looking for trouble. Idiocy breeds it.

This box is aimed at the obsessive fan, not the casual fan.

  FEEL FLOWS is the  perfect title in commercial and aesthetic terms. Best known song on the box, heard by millions since 2000 via the film Almost Famous.

 

   Thrilling to read the track list and view the cover art. (Which vaguely reminds of a cross between ENDLESS SUMMER and FRIENDS.) I'll be down for the 5CD set whenever pre-order is available. A grateful "Thanks" to all who made FEEL FLOWS happen!

 Fact: Dennis played drums on "Honkin' Down the Highway".

  Each of us constructs his own reality yet I am fairly certain that Sanders will never be elected President or nominated for President.

  I'm not really a supporter of establishment Democrats, just a relatively objective observer.

  The interesting thing was that in 2016 both parties were nearly usurped by candidates from outside the party. It fascinated me that the Republicans fell and the Democrats held. Then again, the GOP didn't invest in a coronation or construct a wall of super delegates (i.e. party hacks) to protect the "inevitable" favorite. If they hadn't, we may have seen an open convention.

 The context is different in 2020 - it's a crowded field. Bernie, 78 this year, is one of many.


 BTW - Supporting allowing convicted felons to vote WHILE IN PRISON is a losing issue. One of several embraced by Bernie Sanders.


 Vote for BILL WELD in 2020

  If "The Little Girl I Once Knew" had been a big hit it may have become the closing track on side 1.

  Ultimately free tuition would never be free and within 30 years the value of a public university education - both monetary and intrinsic - would be degraded.

  Nominating Bernie Sanders would be a gift to Donald Trump. Look elsewhere, please.


 

OK then, "Honkin' Down the Highway" or "Roller Skating Child" or "The Night Was So Young" as lead in single with a late March or early April release. Any of the three could have made the Top 50.

  Capitalism may well be in need of tweaking, but not by the likes of Sanders. The genius of the American System and the inherent creativity of democratic capitalism is something Bernie will never understand, thus he would like to destroy it.

 Let's take his free college plan. How much would it cost it is free? Trust me, quite a bit. Moreover, the value of a degree and overall quality of education would be thoroughly devalued within a generation if Bernie's plans ever came to fruition. We do need to ease student debt, that I agree with 100 percent.

 Biden is not great, has never been great, and never will be great. He may be good enough to beat Donald Trump while saving the Democrats from themselves. Keep an eye on Pete Buttigieg - he has a brain.

 Bill Weld 2020

 Dangerous? Oh boy. Let me put it bluntly: No politician who self identifies as a socialist, albeit a "Democratic Socialist" is ever going to be nominated for, much less elected, President of the United States. Warren could be a 21st century Teddy Roosevelt, saving capitalism by tweaking it. Sanders? It will never happen. He would be a terrible President.

  The mid to late 80s Beach Boys would have been wise - maybe borderline hip - by covering The Ramones. Hindsight is 20/20.

With the talk increasing about the Democratic nominee for 2020, I really do hope that Sanders makes a run for it and does not get squeezed out the way he was in 2016. I also really hope that Joe Biden does not run.

 Biden may be ancient, but he is electable. Sanders is not. Don't be surprised if he ends up behind not only Biden but also Warren and Buttigeig.

 Bill Weld may have a snowball's chance in hell, but he'd make a credible president in my view. Kudos to Weld for challenging Trump in the GOP primaries.

  I picked up a Tom T. Hall collection at Half Price Books yesterday. Had almost forgotten about this guy! Despite the mawkish "I Love", Hall had a singular gift for storytelling and detail. Progressive country from the 70s at its best!

   "Honkin' Down the Highway" is a catchy, driving, rock & roll song about a guy making his way through traffic...so he can get laid. (More or less.) Outside the context of the parent LP, it isn't especially weird or strange. Many songs of similar subject matter have become hits. ("No Particular Place to Go" by Chuck Berry springs to mind.)

 By the time the edited single was released at the very end of May, LOVE YOU was already floundering on the charts. Had "Highway" been released in early April it likely would have made the Top 50 and LOVE YOU would have placed in the Top 40 Billboard albums chart.


 A nice promo video and a couple of television appearances (American Bandstand, SNL) would have strengthened the cause.

They continued to attract a large audience because of their live shows, not because of albums like Love You and 15 Big Ones. Love you was akin to Smiley Smile in that it did not represent what the BB's were capable of doing. The label knew that and couldn't blame them for not backing it with a big money promo. Honkin' and Solar System were not marketable in the least. The ball was dropped by no one but themselves.

 


  15 BIG ONES made the Top 10. LOVE YOU was released less than a year later. Let's say "Honkin' Down the Highway" was released a week or two in front of LOVE YOU...no way it doesn't chart. Call me crazy, but that record could have been a minor hit, at least.

 

  THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU was released April 11 1977. It makes no marketing sense at all that "Honkin' Down the Highway" b/w "Solar System" was not released as a single until May 30 1977. Quite a stupid move to wait 6 weeks to release any single from a new album. Who is to blame? Likely Warner/Reprise. Despite the commercial success of 15 BIG ONES and its accompanying singles, Reprise showed little interest in promoting an unconventional LP from a group that would shortly be leaving.

 Moreover, cutting off Dennis's cool drum intro deprived the song of its opening punch - something that would have grabbed one's attention over the radio. I wish The Beach Boys had made a promo video that began with Dennis beating the drums,  then maybe something like Al driving a vintage car. In an alternate universe, "Honkin' Down the Highway" made a slow climb into the Billboard Top 20 in the summer of  1977, bringing LOVE YOU back up the LP chart with it.

 With  better promotion and wiser marketing,  both "Honkin' Down the Highway" and LOVE YOU could have had a bit more commercial success. Yes, it was a strange album, but remember, The Beach Boys were fresh off one of the biggest years of their career and continued to command an audience. Someone dropped the ball.

 

This is about as awful as it gets. The voice, that wasn't very good to begin with, is shot to hell from 649 concerts a year(talk about overexposure!). No one, absolutely nobody cares what Mike Love is trying to do these days, and are probably surprised he's even still around. He's a friggin' parody of himself in yet this geezer still thinks he's has major importance in the world of entertainment. Sad. Just sad that's all.

 I'm sure there are several people who care about Mike Love's current activities, possibly thousands. I don't recall Love proclaiming his "importance in the world of entertainment"; he's simply doing what he's been doing since 1962. You don't have to love Mike's Endless Summer but you certainly hate it with relentless passion.

 Mike rubs me the wrong way at times...always has. But I rejoice that he is still standing. Check out his show if they come to your town...you may enjoy it in spite of yourself. 

It angers me how Mike uses a heart for the O in love

  You must have a low threshold for true rage.

Historical and audio evidence indicates that SURFIN' SAFARI, SURFIN' USA, SURFER GIRL, WILD HONEY, CARL & THE PASSIONS, HOLLAND, and THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU are the most self contained albums in the group's catalog, particularly the first two LPs and LOVE YOU.


 Does it matter when The Beach Boys play or don't play? Has misreported "information" about near total session player dominance during the hit years undermined the band's reputation in certain circles?


 {Props to Jon Stebbins for clarifying this issue to a large extent. In the past, insiders such as David Leaf and general rock critics like Dave Marsh seemed to stress the studio musician theory for almost all of their hit singles in the 60s.}

I think we can probably add Little Deuce Coupe, Shut Down Volume 2, All Summer Long, and/or Beach Boys’ Party to that list.

I think it matters when the band plays on their records and that their reputation has been undermined by this and Mike’s constant power struggle (see the recent 12 Sides of Summer discussion). I think that we cannot completely forget Today, SDSN, and parts of the 68-71 albums because because Brian and Carl (and to a lesser extent everyone except Mike) are all over them. I think 15 Big Ones is a strange case because Dennis and Brian are on most of the album, but not Carl. I think MIU is interesting because Mike doesn’t play anything and Carl and Dennis can’t be on that much of the album, meaning the album is Brian and Al plus the touring band. And I wonder how if KTSA was supposed to bring the band back together, but it has a long list of session musicians, and even Carl isn’t playing on everything (i.e. at least Da Doo Ron Ron). Sorry for this rambling list   

 Carl is listed as a musician for 10  songs on the credits of 15 BIG ONES, but that is less than either Brian or Dennis. His back problems may have been a factor. As for Dennis, it was the first LP since he resumed his stickwork in 1974 so it was probably of personal importance to play. Just speculating really. Why Al didn't contribute as a guitarist on 15 BIG ONES (save the previously recorded "Susie Cincinnati) is anyone's guess. Maybe Ed Carter was better.

 Yeah, add LITTLE DEUCE COUPE and SHUT DOWN VOL 2 to the "mostly self contained" category. "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" is Brian starting to utilize The Wrecking Crew.

 Other than "Good Vibrations" the band probably played most of the music on SMILEY SMILE as well.

 The Beach Boys took a distinct turn toward studio players on KTSA and never really looked back.

"Peppermint Twist" is great song. Wish it got garage treatment. But, it didn't.
Cool jazz.
Can anybody legitimately say they enjoy 50s? It seems many listen to its music fleetingly, then move & stay with advanced decades' music.

 Damn straight I can legitimately say I enjoy the flipping 50s. Why and How? Because I love rock & roll.

 Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly & the Crickets, The Everly Brothers, Bill Haley & His Comets, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Platters, Dion & the Belmonts, Ricky Nelson, Eddie Cochran, Richie Valenz, The Five Satins, The Dell Vikings, Laverne Baker, etc

  One of the more fascinating aspects of The Beach Boys' career is how different the recording process could be from record to record. During some periods the instrumentals  were the work of a  largely self-contained band (1962-64) while the PET SOUNDS/SMiLE era found most of the instrumental tracks recorded by the Wrecking Crew under the direction of Brian Wilson. Some albums (FRIENDS) were a blend of the group and studio pros.

 Beyond that, we have seen that even within the band, static instrumental lineups rarely applied. Consider that Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and Carl Wilson all played bass on various studio sessions. Carl played drums on "Moon Dawg" and Brian played drums on "Surfin'", "Funky Pretty" and  parts of THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU. It goes on.


 Historical and audio evidence indicates that SURFIN' SAFARI, SURFIN' USA, SURFER GIRL, WILD HONEY, CARL & THE PASSIONS, HOLLAND, and THE BEACH BOYS LOVE YOU are the most self contained albums in the group's catalog, particularly the first two LPs and LOVE YOU.


 Does it matter when The Beach Boys play or don't play? Has misreported "information" about near total session player dominance during the hit years undermined the band's reputation in certain circles?


 {Props to Jon Stebbins for clarifying this issue to a large extent. In the past, insiders such as David Leaf and general rock critics like Dave Marsh seemed to stress the studio musician theory for almost all of their hit singles in the 60s.}


  

The contradiction becomes when we hear Mike is "all business" regarding his actions around C50 and the Beach Boys, yet his decades long history of remaking and doing soundalikes of BB classics should be seen as strictly for "fun".

So it's either all business or all fun with Mike? The soundalikes are not all business like the other activities?

 Fun is Mike's business and business is his fun. 

I would argue that a misstep was not permanently enlisting Jan and Dean into the band following the success of Barbara Ann. It seemed like when they worked with Brian that both sides got their biggest hits. In interviews, Jan and Dean lamented the fact that they only had their two voices and wanted to be part of a larger vocal group. Their harmonies with Brian on Surf City added a new dimension on the high end. I also think they could have been mature voices in the band that would help Brian in his fight to change their creative direction to compete with the Beatles.

  Occasional contributions aside, pre-accident Jan Berry was never going to be a Brian Wilson/Beach Boys sideman.