Personally, I would love them to go with more of the lyrical nod to the project naming (a la Sunshine Tomorrow), though I suppose I can understand why they wouldn't.

Sadly looks like my Amazon pre-order carries a date of late September or October. I could order new now and get it in two days, but at extra cost. Anybody having delays through their pre-order?

Get on to customer service and see if they'll honour the original price

Sadly they weren't of much help, and it'd be a good $40 difference to cancel and reorder. Guess I'll join y'all in the appreciation later!

Sadly looks like my Amazon pre-order carries a date of late September or October. I could order new now and get it in two days, but at extra cost. Anybody having delays through their pre-order?

I got 10/15, though in two of the missed ones I at least had the right album.

Looking like all the tracks are just straight available for listen now on the Beach Boys official Youtube. Not listed, but searchable. Tempting not to just dive right in, but I will wait.

Catch a Wave is a great choice, as is This Whole World (although I doubt it would get airplay, sadly).  Slip On Through, Here She Comes, California Calling, All Dressed Up For School.

Sadly, a Slip On Through/This Whole World single did get release at the time and went nowhere.

Catch a Wave

That's a great pick. And I guess it kind of was a minor hit for Jan and Dean with Sidewalk Surfin'.

Curious what tracks people think could have been hits for them if released as a single at the time?

Not talking simply songs good enough to be, but that had a realistic shot given the momentum of the band at the time. That mostly rules out the early 70s songs, sadly, which seemed destined not to get much traction on the charts no matter what they put out.

Personally, I think the most obvious choice is All Summer Long. Right in the heyday of their commercial success, upbeat and on-brand, and an accessible singalong melody. It even sounds like it would be one of their singles from that period. I could easily see that one reaching the top 10 had it come out stateside.

California Saga's single mix is pretty readily available on Spotify as part of Best of the Brother Years

https://open.spotify.com/track/0lWLhsB8FT7wRpjfucDmaq?si=5712f3436cc54d52

Is it? I tried this, but all I still here is the album version. And Spotify seems to agree, showing the Holland cover.

As an aside (and I guess stating the bleeding obvious), the Single version is on multiple CD releases since the turn of the century.

Could you name one, other than Ten Years of Harmony IIRC, because I need to make a purchase then.

This one => https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_Volume_Three:_Best_of_the_Brother_Years_1970%E2%80%931986

A great compilation (with what is probably the best and most beautiful artwork on any Beach Boys album ever)! Only downside that there's no Dennis track on it.
It also features the single versions of "Rock and Roll Music", "It's OK" and "Here comes the Night". Not sure about "Susie Cincinnati", that one may be the 15 Big Ones album mix. IIRC though there are different version of this compilation with slightly different tracklists.

On my copy it lists Susie Cincinnati as the original single version. I didn't think Here Comes the Night was on there though?

Always found "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" in terms of composition was very much in the vein of Pet Sounds.

Question for those who might know: would all unreleased songs (up to the end of 1970) still need to see the light of day or risk falling into Europe's public domain? And, potentially, do you think we would still see alt versions of existing songs under some kind of digital release dump?

Obviously there would be a considerable loss in terms of the presentation of the boxset and what this offers to the Beach Boys' narrative, but I am genuinely curious from somebody who could say on a musical front the kind of impact a non-release would have in terms of actually hearing the songs in one format or another.

All I Wanna Do in MGMT's Flash Delirium.

Slip On Through: 4
This Whole World: 4
Add Some Music: 3
Got To Know The Woman: 3
Deirdre: 4
It's About Time: 3
Tears In The Morning: 3
All I Wanna Do: 5
Forever: 5
Our Sweet Love: 3
At My Window: 3
Cool Cool Water: 4

To me when somebody says "I can't like that because it's too mainstream" or "If it's popular, it can't be that good" then I have a hard time believing most of what they say.  And, yes, I have actually heard people say these actual words in person.  

But this is something altogether different. Isn't saying "if it's popular, it can't be good" along the same lines as saying, "If you say you like Love You, you may be lying"?

Yes, but that's not what I said.  I said there's a small amount of people who profess their love for albums like Love You just to be different.  

I happen to believe that to be true.  I stand by that.  And I don't feel any need to apologize for an opinion.  

You know, I don't think you're wrong in thinking some might exclaim the merits of an LP like Love You ahead of other more well-known albums simply because it doesn't get the recognition, but I don't think people like it purely due to this reason either.  Love You is neither the most obscure nor the most maligned in their discography, so if someone really wanted to be different they could do better than Love You.  At the very least, there has to be a level of appeal to the listener for this one to emerge above other latter day works.

As far as the hipster argument, I think it's true that some people will for a time deliberately set their tastes to what isn't liked, but there's a rhyme and reason behind what they seek out that aligns with their tastes.  This goes especially for stuff that isn't contemporary.  Someone digging into 40 year old music obviously has an interest in this period even if they might seek out more esoteric stuff.

In the general public consciousness, I don't think The Beach Boys' music is known enough for people to know the difference between the LPs other than the big two, so I don't really see why Love You would be any different than, say, Carl and the Passions or Holland in this regard. In other words, if it's a case of simply going against the grain, I think you could apply that argument to pretty much any record The Beach Boys did other than (or, today, maybe even including) Pet Sounds and Smile.

When it comes to the late 70's LPs, Love You is the one for me that holds up.  A couple of the ballads aside, I don't think it's necessarily the songwriting that puts it over the top (I tend to think most Brian-penned tracks would sound good in the right context already).  I like the productions and vocals, at least two of which seem to be criticisms sometimes levied against this record.  If you put those same tracks with processed vocals and/or tacky/over-polished productions of virtually every group album thereafter, that appeal is largely dropped.

No, this is a lo-fi work that relishes in a blend of original instrumental choices and arrangements.  And as much as I love the pristine vocals of the 60's, the appeal of their singing was never for me only about how smooth their voices were.  I want a level of character and unpretentiousness, which I feel this record definitely still keeps intact.  And quite frankly, Brian's falsetto still leaves a lot to like here to these ears.

So, to the answer the thread's question, if Love You was scrapped it would be much easier to draw the line at 1973 for quality listening beyond select tracks thereafter, the latter part of the decade being far less enigmatic.  And there would be about a dozen less songs on my playlist.

Paul & Linda McCartney's "Dear Boy" from 1971's RAM lp with a lead by Carl and of course those glorious BB group vocals.

Dang, now I want to hear a version of Back Seat of My Car.

Full group: "But listen to her daddy's song..."
Brian falsetto: "Don't stay out too long"

A1: Love and Mercy
A2: California Calling
A3: Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight
A4: Male Ego
A5: There's So Many
A6: Rio Grande

B1: Getcha Back
B2: Walkin' the Line
B3: It's Gettin' Late
B4: Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long
B5: Where I Belong
B6: Melt Away

"Bluish" by Animal Collective strikes me as eerily close to something Brian might have written in his prime. It's one of my all-time favourite songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZlXwPb_JPM

Good choice.  Love how the falsetto flows in and out.

As for me, I keep coming back to Hideaway by The Olivia Tremor Control.  Obvious influence throughout, but especially the last half minute.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJobXSveRtE

I would say the placings I really don't get are Keepin' the Summer Alive/Surfin' Safari being so high and Love You/Carl and the Passions so low.  Most of the rest I can understand more or less.

My rankings, spaces added for general groupings...

1. Pet Sounds
2. The Smile Sessions
3. Sunflower
4. Today!

5. Surf's Up
6. Friends
7. Love You

8. Holland
9. 20/20
10. Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
11. All Summer Long
12. Wild Honey
13. Smiley Smile
14. Carl and the Passions "So Tough"
15. Surfer Girl

16. Shut Down Volume 2
17. Surfin' USA
18. That's Why God Made the Radio
19. Party!

20. 15 Big Ones
21. Little Deuce Coupe
22. Christmas Album
23. The Beach Boys
24. M.I.U. Album
25. L.A. (Light Album)

26. Still Cruisin'
27. Surfin' Safari
28. Keepin' the Summer Alive

29. Summer in Paradise
30. Stars and Stripes, Vol. 1

Just missed out on this apparently, but I'll weigh in anyway.

1. It's OK
2. Good Timin'
3. Getcha Back
4. Goin' On
5. Rock and Roll Music (Made in California or Single Version only; 15 Big Ones version might be dead last on this list)
6. Come Go with Me (M.I.U.)
7. Isn't It Time (Album version)
8. Summer in Paradise (Live 1993)

The Elephant Six Brian Wilson influence that I'd occasionally heard about eventually led me to this nice track, which I'm fortunate to have.  The last minute or so truly works for me in the same way Beach Boys harmonies do.

Don't have an answer to your question specifically, but Cuddle Up actually has a trace of Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Again's melody in the "I know a man who's so in love" section.

I know a man/who's so in love
Wouldn't it be nice/to live again

Although much of the magic of the song isn't in there, I'm not sure whether this similarity would further deter him from having both tracks on there (coupled with the whole fight over tracklisting Surf's Up, maybe he was simply done with it?).

Shows you don't need to excessively drench your voice in processing.  He sounds naturally good as he always has.  Vocal performances are what most bring me down about a lot of current stuff, yet here a 70 year old man can still hold his own.

I usually prefer an original title rather than simply using a song title.  Summer Days, Pet Sounds, and Holland are probably the best in this regard in the Beach Boy's catalogue.  I would say of the song title approach, Wild Honey and All Summer Long are the most fitting.

I actually like a few of the alternative/unreleased/rumoured titles.  Dumb Angel, Reverberation, Landlocked, and Adult/Child offer a little more imagination in their name than a lot of the proper releases to me.  Heck, even though Sweet Insanity comes across as a little uncomfortable given the context of that period with Brian, a work under that name would make me very curious on first listen.  It's the type of image that would be fairly appropriate with a release like Love You.

Just Like Me and You.

A stone-cold classic in any era, relegated to bonus track status.

How did I never hear this before?  Cool!