Has your Chrome browser been updated lately? It may have been set to no longer access sites that use http instead of https (which costs extra for websites, and some of us site owners can't afford to pay extra). There may be a setting in the browser you can change to let you access "unsecured" http sites.

I don't use Chrome, but I do use multiple browsers on all my devices, for situations like you encountered.

I can check.  It was working fine on my phone several weeks ago and it works fine on my Chrome browser on my PC.  So not sure what happened.  Just wanted to make sure the board wasn't down again.  :-)

Wholeheartedly agree!

Yours, THD.

Someone told me that Murry once recorded a stunning cover version of this particular gem:

https://youtu.be/7qr91dJvbqs

Now, my informer is known for his disposition to tell a good joke every now and then...

...but given mr. Wilson's own preference for, um, 'creative singing with some improvisation-on-the-spot', it did sound not that far-fetched to yours truly.

Tell me: could this be true?

For anybody who hasn't pre-ordered, Import CDs has reduced the box set to $112.99, and they charge just $2.99 to ship within the US. You won't receive it on the day of release, but they're a good option for anybody willing to wait a few days to save a few $$$. They have been in business for a long time and are reliable... I've ordered from them previously, including "Feel Flows".

https://www.importcds.com/beach-boys-sail-on-sailor-super-deluxe-6cd/602445859146

The retail price has been lowered here also, in Holland, that is (how apt, Holland).

Ah, the pictures look great!

Thanks to all who contributed.

Soon.
Hold tight.

Ah, thanks, Howie!

Dear fellow members -

IIRC not long before the 'Feel Flows'-set appeared, it was briefly mentioned by Universal that the 'Carl & The Passions/Holland' equivalent would be released this fall.

I just checked the 'future releases' list of my own record retailer, but this doesn't show anything for the upcoming months.

Has it been delayed? Will it probably be out just prior to the Christmas days?

Thanks in advance for any news on this.

Dear friends -

I have it on good authority that there will be an expanded and newly remastered edition of Made In Calfornia, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our band. It's going to be a gorgeous novelty, as exclusive as it gets.

Playing time will be that of 8 CDs. So we may expect a total duration of about 560 minutes.

The format, you ask? Well, thing is: since vinyl is ubiquitous nowadays, and does very well, Universal decided to take a new bold step to honour a popular technology from yesteryear.

The boxed set will hold 80 shellac 12" records, as introduced by RCA-Victor in 1903. These offer about 3 and a half minutes playing time per side. That makes 560 minutes in total. Needless to say that a beautiful replica of a Victrola record player will be included for free. And a case-bound newly written Beach Boys Encyclopedia in 5 luxurious volumes, spanning 2,500 pages.

No details were given to me about price point and shipping costs, I am sorry to say.

_______

Motto: old is the new new, and mining the past is totally hip.

A few familiar faces wishing Happy Birthday to Brian:

01 - https://youtu.be/FWH93dDnfcI
02 - https://player.vimeo.com/video/721986824?h=098aecfecf&app_id=122963&autoplay=1

Many thanks for the links... the video was and is the surprise of the day/week/month for me. So many of Brian's colleagues from the art and craft of great songwriting... in a natural way, as they are now - sort of 'unplugged', so to speak.

Joe Walsh, Bob Dylan, Smoky Robinson - who's not to like here? Deeply touching!

PS I presume both links refer to the same video? I couldn't get the second one, but at any rate... there can't be a version that touches this one (except some comedy one by members of the Muppets, or something...)

Today is the 80th birthday of the most brilliant songwriter and producer of the rock era … happy Birthday !

Couldn't say it any better.

Happy birthday, Brian!

To all aficionados who chimed in on this lovely thread -

yesterday I was still wondering if would purchase the new set. I looked at what I do have already (the GV and PS boxes, the Smile Sessions, the Feel Flows extravaganza, other compilations, vinyl material, well, a lot).

Just reading the most recent pages of this exchange of opinions abruptly ended my question to myself.

Anything that gets so much attention and deep consideration is worth the price of admission, as they say. Such well-reasoned opinions, freely available at that, can mean only one thing: I need that collection. As much as I need the other sets that are on our horizon.

Thank you, good people that you are.

The Blondie/Ricky era was an important yet vastly underrated period for the band.  I really liked what these guys brought to the group.  Maybe we'll finally see an official release of "Carry Me Home". 

Agree, Awesoman -

these two brought added inspiration, soul, energy, rhythm. Not that the BBs ever lacked these qualities, mind (with the possible exception of SiP, that fine exercise in being a plastic replica of the band itself - a feat in itself, though not qua aesthetics).

Blondie & Ricky definitely added a special something. A Dutch reviewer then wrote that Holland sometimes made him think of The Band; I can see his point.

IMHO, there should have been more time for the 'expanded BBs' to further grow, mature, 'gel' into more of a unit. What would the years 1974 and 1975 been like, had this idea been given a chance?

Finally: what was Mike's attitude towards the two newcomers/members way back then?

I need:

a long version (if this exists at all) of that 'Radio Kingdom' snippet present on that fairy tale that came with the Holland LP. Still got the original vinyl version (Dutch pressing, Reprise).

Tantalizing is the right word, I believe.

Dear fellow SMiLE-devotees and Kokomo-aficionados -

The prestigious UK publishers Routledge released this book about SMiLE in 2021:

https://www.routledge.com/Reading-Smile-History-Myth-and-American-Identity-in-Brian-Wilson-and-Van/Carter/p/book/9780367622862#

From what I gathered here, it may be very interesting. And I will purchase a copy; I'd rather have the edition on papyrus, but that's not being sold at bargain price...

BWPS is SMiLE....

Ah, I can empathize -

I think BWPS is a completely satisfying and completed version of SMiLE by the composer, singer, and musician himself.

So: it is well possible to live with two truths simultaneously: BWPS is superb. The Smile Sessions Box Set is superb for all its wealth and all its rarities and extras.

What's not to like love here?

THD, I've simplified your link, for which many thanks:

https://www.amazon.fr/Pet-Sounds-Lachevement-Brian-Wilson/dp/2916560068/

And yes, I agree about évaluation!!

Let us know if you decide to fork out for either book.

Ah, so nice of you to reply quickly.

I think that I'll go for that 'controversial' one about the BBs in general. My slight info on it mentioned seriously rare photo's and a, let's say, quite daring use of words, in praise as well as in critique.

And firstly I'll do a search at booksellers' sites here in Holland. Often and without much effort I could find a used copy of something in VG condition for a fraction of the official selling price.

I'll keep you and others posted on this.

Hi, THD.

This is a new one on me. It would seem to be available from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.fr/Beach-Boys-LEnfance-pour-léternité/dp/2910196275

Regrettably the two reviews (one of which is scathing) intimate that it's for newcomers to the band and its history.

This is all the information I could find!

Hello JK -

thanks for the research! It is good to know that it can be located and acquired. I compared the two reviews; and well, I guess the book can be ranked as 'very interesting'.

Ms. Tynevez also co-wrote a book dedicated to Pet Sounds, see:

https://www.amazon.fr/Pet-Sounds-Lachèvement-Brian-Wilson/dp/2916560068/ref=sr_1_2?__mk_fr_FR=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&crid=1YYJR7AW8DS7D&keywords=gaël+tynevez&qid=1651650645&sprefix=gaël+tyne%2Caps%2C1013&sr=8-2

(If this link doesn't appear in its entirety, just go to Amazon France and search for 'Gaël Tynevez', that will do.)

PS: would I be the only person who thinks that évaluation sounds so much more classy than the ubiquitous review?

Dear friends, thoughtful citizens, and Beach Boys aficonados -

I found a reference to a 2002 book on our beloved band, here it is:

Tynevez, Gaël (2002) - The Beach Boys. L'enfance pour l'eternité (Camion Blanc, 162 p.)

Does anyone know more about it? From what I gathered, it's bound to be an interesting read, with rare photo material. From a different angle, so to speak.

More information is very welcome in the Dutch region of the BBs community.

My thanks to everyone who posted here so far -

I listened to a few of the pieces at YouTube, and I can't really make my mind up about these. Thing is: I will have to get used to the chosen format, and to adjust to the structures.

Experience taught me that my eventual opinion certainly won't be something like: 'mediocre work-outs'. It is much more likely that it will turn out a verdict that amounts to one of two polar opposites.

For now: sometimes I seem to 'miss' certain familiar things, and on the other hand I am pleasantly surprised about novel accents when I hear the musicians navigate well when addressing the unexpected, unique, difficult aspects of the compositions by Brian and his fellow band members.

This music is well deserving of giving it the time in terms of personal patience on the side of the listener.

And: I did have the same feelings initially with works that not that much later found their place in my own 'classics' section. Two examples: Van Dyke Parks's Song Cycle and John Fahey's America. These are up there with Charles Ives's orchestral works (recently I availed myself of Gustavo Dudamel's interpretations of the four symphonies).

Prospects are good.

I found out about this not long ago and apparently it is coming out this year to coincide with Brian’s 80th birthday.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/God-Only-Knows-Wilson-California/dp/1913172759/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1T00ZQ5B6V4LN&keywords=David+leaf&qid=1648132509&sprefix=david+leaf%252Caps%252C156&sr=8-4&_encoding=UTF8&tag=davidleaf-21&linkCode=ur2&linkId=aab0475510fe9c49dae939d12c2367c7&camp=1634&creative=6738

It might be fun to watch the heads over at the other board explode in rage all over again!

Thank you for this news -

until now I haven't been able to locate a copy here in The Netherlands. So I am glad that this updated and expanded edition will be available quite soon.

It does have a special place in the history of the Beach Boys and Brian Wilson.

The timing of its appearance is well chosen... Brian Wilson going to be eighty years of age... all in all, what a story it is!

Earlier this morning (in the Netherlands) I learned that Rainford Hugh Perry, a.k.a. Lee Perry, Scratch, and The Upsetter, passed away at age 85 in Jamaica.

His boundless creativity and his enormous influence on countless other artists remind me of the same qualities in Brian Wilson.

I'm an admirer of Perry's work for 40+ years now (and the same applies to my love for the Beach Boys' music).

Here's an obituary:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/29/lee-scratch-perry-visionary-master-of-reggae-dies-aged-85

I'm not given to assign the description 'legend' to many people, but in Perry's case it's certainly no exaggeration.

Thanks Shady for posting! It's about half an hour long, so I'll give it full attention in the evening, just prior to playing FF.

Here's the commentary at Allmusic:

https://www.allmusic.com/album/feel-flows-the-sunflower-surfs-up-sessions-1969-1971-mw0003538937

Great to read the first series of personal impressions now - and the tempo they're coming in is just so entertaining; it's not often that just hitting the 'refresh page' button makes sense, but now it does seriously so.

I will go purchase the physical 5CD-set later in the day (it's 9 AM here in Holland); and all your posts really whet the appetite, so to speak.

So: keep 'em coming, people!

Is the delay on physical only?

No. The dates on digital versions have been changed now,

Yes; my own local record retailer changed to August 27 for the 5CD set a couple of days ago.

I remember JEM as the leading album importer back in the 70s. Some of the coolest records were import only. I haven't heard that name in a long time.

IIRC the name JEM is somehow linked to my copy of Black Vinyl Shoes by the Shoes.

Is that right?