No I wouldn't say more. But From Here To Back Again and Pacific Coast Highway are probably of the same level, and they're quite slow ballads so sticks out more.

I think I get you guys now; "any vocal that isn't single-tracked and only has reverb or echo on it... is horribly "autotuned" "

How is Good Timin' keeping up with the sound of 1979?

Answer:

I would have complained in 1985 had I been born.

I just don't want them to ruin what sound like beautiful songs with BAD application of modern technology, that sounds nothing like contemporary records (except for utter crap mainstream pop).

Oh ok, so were you complaining when they made 'Getcha Back'? or 'Good Timin'?

Other than the 'Love You' album, please proffer me ONE album where this band did not *completely* try to stay current with whatever was going on sonically in pop music.

And btw, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan haven't recorded a song in many decades that can even hold a candle to the worst one on this album.

Comparing The Shins, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes, Flaming Lips to Brian Wilson is laughable.

8x derivative indie rock to the original? Great argument you have there.

Oh really?

Explain to me how SIP or KTSA or the LA albums sound like Katy Perry...

Of course they don't. But they were made with complete nods to what was contemporary.

You want the Beach Boys to sound like they did in 1966. I might also want that. But what the band does isn't my choice, or yours.

At their genesis, they started life as a modern band, not a retro one. Why do you think you have a right to expect them to now behave otherwise?

Agayn, I'm puzzled as to how people can't grasp that it does "freakin' matter" to some folks for reasons I stated a couple pages ago.

Remind me again who said it was your birthright to expect the same production style from 1966 in 2012.

I also demand the same gas prices that existed in 1966. Help me out with that, please.

Sorry, but people are not hearing autotune on these songs. They're massively stacked and slick vocals recorded and mixed 2012-style.

This isn't the Pet Sounds reissue, or Brian making an authentic reproduction of Smile. It's the Beach Boys making an album in 2012.

They always make their studio albums contemporary to the times. It's still way more retro than anything else out there now. Be grateful for that, and just try to enjoy an album with some great tunes and harmonies, please.

edit: that "hallelujah" line does sound punched; the notes in the melody line there as written are large jumps, done quickly, so they're prone to that, but really? This is not something the average person listening to the song is going to notice. I feel like we're dealing with the age-old axiom of "a little knowledge is dangerous".

You're now so into the process that goes into making records that you assume that's how everyone else also listens to music. They don't. The sooner you get past "the process", the sooner you'll be able to get back to the real business of simply connecting with people emotionally via music.

I just listened to the tracks on iTunes. As someone that has used pitch correction software for over 10 years (both Autotune and Melodyne), I have to say that I don't hear any egregious pitch correction on ANY of these songs.

What I do hear is a fair amount of the Eventide harmonizer effect that is commonplace on almost all major label recordings. This is a stereo effect where the left side is pitched down a few cents, say 12, and the right side is pitched up a few cents, say 12. This is then blended with the dry vocal to provide a thickening, chorusy-type effect. It's been used on Mike Love's vocals in the live setting for probably at least 20 years.

I like what I've heard of the album so far. Seems to easily be their best since the L.A. album, and probably surpasses it. That's a rather monumental achievement in my estimation.

 ...sounds like two balloons being rubbed together.

 BTW, I had a Japanese cd of PS before the official Capitol release and it did not have the bonus tracks on it. It was also eq'd completely differently. A lot brighter. I wish I still had it, but I gave it away when I got the official release.