I was pleasantly surprised to hear this. I asked the manager if they control the music played, and she said no. But I told her I love the song and surprised to hear it!

I know there was an older thread somewhere on songs surprised to hear at stores. But I'm too excited to find it right now. 😄

It would be very sweet to hear that song played in any public place. I love Harpo's "Gookie" from "Monkey Business" that you have as your avatar!

"Make it Good" and "Cuddle Up", with their mellow, introspective, elaborate productions, were probably seen as more in the CATP mold than the more splashy WIBNTLA. As for the other Poops/Hubba Hubba tracks, that ship might have been thought to have sailed by '73, their delicate circa 1070 vibe passed.

Such a shame that they never saw their own dedicated release, because Dennis was right that they didn't sound like typical BB tracks, they were the unique products of Dennis and Daryl's ethereal mind-set at that time.

Very unfortunate also that vocals were never recorded for "I've Got a Friend".

There's an excellent piece on DW in the new issue of Shindig, a British (I think) music magazine. I believe it's the first article to appear anywhere specifically about his first solo stuff and his role in the early '70s Beach Boys, and was inspired by the Poops/Hubba Hubba material on disc 5 of the box set.

I haven't read that whole thing yet, but I was intrigued by the account of how two of his songs (4th of July and Wouldn't It Be Nice (To Live Again)) were left off of Surf's Up. Contrary to what was first relayed by Jack Rieley a few years ago, which was that supposedly Dennis pulled his songs from the album impulsively in a fit of pique, after negotiating with Carl over the track order on Side Two of the album, and Carl refusing to let WIBNTLA be the album closer, the article says that Rieley himself removed Dennis's songs, in an overcompensatory effort to spread the contents of the album around between the band members to keep everyone happy, but Dennis claimed that he had done it. "It didn't sound like the Beach Boys. They said it did. I said "Bullshit" and pulled my songs off" he said in an interview with Al Aronowitz in Melody Maker. Ah, if only those songs had taken the place of a couple of lesser ones, SU could have been more of an introspective masterpiece than it already is, much like "Sgt. Pepper's" would have been unbelievable with the inclusion of Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane" the decision not to include which the late George Martin said was one of his greatest regrets during his time with the Beatles.

Rieley has said that certain other band members were jealous of Dennis's tremendous creativity at that time, which sounds about right. Interestingly, Stephen Desper has said here, if I remember correctly, that he recalls nothing about these things and doubts them, saying that the elusive and mercurial Wilson brother would come into the studio only in the mornings, and if he had anything to contribute that he thought might be useable, he would record a rough version of it and "put it up on the shelf" for the rest of the band to find later and do with what they wished. I guess he may not have been in the middle of all the political maneuverings going on, but I was surprised by his blanket denial because I thought he would at least know a little bit about them.

The article also related that when Sunflower was not selling well, Rieley began compiling songs for a follow-up, to be called Landlocked, but he was unimpressed by the Sunflower rejects that were available, and wanted to get Brian back into the studio, so he began rejecting songs for the album, including Dennis's "Lady", and Dennis was very unhappy about having "one of his best songs" rejected.

It's a very well-written piece and deserves to sell out on your local independent bookstore shelves, get it while it's hot!

Two of the funniest moments of the box, both during My Solution :

Brian rolling/annunciating the letter "r" during the word "pRoduced" at 0:23 (was this an attempt at a Boris Karloff impersonation?)

Brian comically speeding up his spoken word lyric "...to all mankind" so that he gets to *barely* squeeze in all the awkward verbose words just before the chorus comes in at 1:10

I played this song for my mom who could not stop laughing. I guess this could be considered the spiritual sequel to Monster Mash?

I used to share "My Solution" sometimes on Facebook years ago, and one former member of Curt Boettcher's band The Millennium (if you haven't heard their amazing album "Begin", check it out) insisted that it had no merit whatsoever and shamed me for sharing it. I said that it was deadpan and funny, neither one of us would back down, we got into an argument about it, and he wound up de-friending me over it. Sheesh!

Are we allowed to know any details of it?

I think Alan described it in his ESQ interview a couple of weeks ago. He said it was pretty inconsequential, if that was what he was referring to.

California Saga would also be a good simple but appropriate title.

Yes, that would be a good name for it. It follows "Feel Flows" a bit more tongue-trippingly than "SOS" upon 1st consideration.

If they attempt a Summer in Paradise box set, all three of Mark, Alan and Howie may need a therapist…

They'll all emerge from their mixing/editing rooms with shell shock, battle fatigue, a glazed look and the dreaded thousand-yard stare a la Syd Barrett.

Cancel, cancel....

[Oh Brother]

Dear Brother

I thought that one was saved for the SIP sessions set 

No. That one will be called Oh Brother.

IMO it should be "Brother, why hast thou forsaken me"?

"Steamboat: The music of the Beach Boys, 1972-74"

I'm liking it! Uh, I guess....high obscurity factor, at least. Of course, some fans might think they're shelling out big bucks for a classic Jerome Kern musical adaptation, or a Mark Twain-penned musical saga set on the Mighty Mississipp.

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.

Ooh they could call the next one “Beyond Tomorrow”.

How about a nod to "Annie" with "Sunshine's Gonna Come Out Tomorrow"? Or not....

God bless Howie, Mark, Alan, Stephen, and everybody else involved. Gods among men. I'm almost in tears over some of this...

I did find myself crying during "Old Movie". Such a poignant evocation of Dennis's sweetness, his lost years and missed potential really hit me hard in that moment, rare for me. Just noticed that the new mix of WiBNtLA has the backing track brought way up and the vocal pillowed in it, and the extended jam at the end features a hypnotic "live again" chant. Lest anyone think I'm exclusively focused on Dennis's contributions to the set, I'm not. There's so much to love here (Soulful Old Man Sunshine, anyone?) He's just the star of the night IMO.

The extended  'Til I Die with alt. lyrics, This Whole World long version, and so many other highlights. The mixes are all smooth as silk, so listenable and creative. A tour de force, or in other words The Force is strong with this box set.

Oh Holy Moly, just when you think you know everything Beach Boys this set comes out and blows you out of the bath with the bathwater. Everything about this set is bold, clear and amazing. Look what they did with e.g Soulful Old Man Sunshine! I mean, there's an additional 2 great albums of outakes in addition to Sunflower and Surf's Up. It's literally mind-boggling how creative and productive this group was in 1969/1971! It's crazy that a man of the musical talent Dennis had was never fully allowed or able to share it with the world until POB, by which time it was already getting too late for him.

Yes, IMO the Dennis material is the clear standout on this set, even amidst so much other wonderful music and mixes. "Ecology", with "All of My Love", the stunning "run, run, river run" section combined with what were previously known on various circulating tapes and boots as "Piano Duets" and the high-pitched "Quad instrumental" is just staggeringly beautiful when it finally puts it all together, as is the "Quadrex session" piece, also sometimes called "Carry Me to the Sea" which was often lumped in with the other fragments, but has now been fleshed out and given its rightful title "Before". "I've Got a Friend" is fragile and lovely, making one fervently wish that Dennis had made it a priority to lay down a vocal. Maybe someone will be brought it to give it a Taylor Hawkins "Holy Man" treatment someday. "Behold the Night" is an absolute gem, at least the first part, "Hawaiian Dream" is music to supremely relax by, but somehow "Old Movie" really brought tears to my eyes, thinking of his beautiful spirit and unfulfilled potential. It's important to try to see that particular glass as half full as much as possible, but he had so much to offer the world and for various reasons his talent didn't see its full fruition. This release really adds a lot to his legacy, as well as being chock-full of amazing remixes and other jewels. Many thanks to Alan, Mark, Howie, Stephen et al for their superb work, and fighting for its release. Just saw in an interview with Boyd and Linett that work on Carl & the Passions, Holland and live early '70s Carnegie Hall sets is already underway!

Happy Feel Flows week 

Hard to believe that most of Dennis's early '70s solo work with Daryl Dragon is finally going to see release THIS WEKK, among countless other gems. Reminds me of the week that Made in California was set to come out, with "Wouldn't it be Nice (to Live Again)" about to be heard for the first time. It didn't disappoint and neither will this material, if the snippet of "Behold the Night" played on the Beard/Boyd podcast is any indication.

That Feel Flows track and vocals is exquisite!   

It certainly is! The end is insanely great.

Excellent work, Howie, thanks for that! Way to help ramp up anticipation from RS readers for the forthcoming set. That's a sweet little snippet of a This Whole World backing vocal towards the end, don't recall hearing that on the samples. Only 8 more days (+ shipping time.)

I think it's August, maybe September. Google it just to be sure, but it's not out here in NJ yet.

Just a general Feel Flows article?

As usual, Friday brings a few new tasters from the boxed set, which you can access now on Spotify if you're in New Zealand/east coast of Australia, or linked there through a VPN. Otherwise they will be there when the clock strikes midnight in your time zone. (ETA: Actually, it may just be available everywhere - I'm able to get it without the VPN in my pre-midnight time zone right now).

One of these is the most exciting so far IMO, namely the remix of San Miguel we heard a glimpse of in that video with Mark Linnell (I think it was) a year or so ago. It's awesome -- miles more powerful than the previously released mix. Among other things, there is a bit of harmony vocal that wasn't on the previous version in the bit between the last chorus and the fadeout section.

The other is Feel Flows - Track & Backing Vocals, which is also great. It gives us a chance to hear the backing vocals unobscured by either the lead vocal or the Leslie effect (or whatever it was) that was applied on the released version. For the first time, you can really hear what's being sung on the chorus ("white puff glistening shadowy glow"), especially when it continues playing after the instrumental track fades out. Also, the instrumental section has just the saxophone with no flute.

Those both sound superb. I'm a little disappointed, probably like most of us here I had always thought it was "white HOT glistening shadowy FLOW" which also fits in better with the supposed (graphic content alert) ejaculation theme, or co-theme, of the tune. "Puff" doesn't quite have the same ring to it, unless you're talking about dragons, marshmallows or Rice Krispies.

I found the Goldmine issue, am checking daily for the Record Collector issue, and just found the current Shin Dig issue with the 5th Dimension so I at least know my bookstore carrys it.

Which Record Collector issue is this that you speak of?

Mike won't like this one - long article on Dennis and half page review of Feel Flows set.

This looks excellent, the first major article ever on Dennis's early work. I hope I can catch it on the newsstands, I wasn't able to find the Howie Edelson Goldmine issue

Podcast sheds some interesting light on what MIGHT have been one reason for the delay/halt in the project.  Alan mentions how they went through several iterations of the set in terms of sequencing the tracks, and the final track sequencing selection came about after input from “the group.”  The final selection is similar to what they did with Made in California, and we know who was behind that.  So perhaps - this is all speculation of course - the initial sequence of the albums with bonus tracks following including a capella, instrumental mixes, finished outtake songs and unfinished demos and Dennis tracks did not meet with a certain member’s approval, and the live versions and finished outtakes following the albums, with the demos, unfinished Dennis tracks and outtake songs on the fifth disc was just what this follicularly challenged member wanted to sign off on the set.

Yeah.. Damn it Stamos!!

HAHAHAHA! I met Stamos up close once in a behind-the-scenes band context, and what really stuck with me were his perfect teeth, and his shark-like expression as he quickly examined me intently and appraisingly, trying to input the salient data points into his internal hard drive to determine if and how I fit into the overall picture and (probably just my vivid imagination) how I could possibly be of use to him in the future. Follicly challenged, indeed (I know he meant someone else.)

Wow thanks for sharing that tip on behold the night. That was amazing

Spine-tinglingly terrific! No wonder certain other band members were supposedly envious of his skilllz at around that time.

I've kinda lost interest in this set now. I suppose the plan was to build up anticipation, as they slowly release tracks for streaming, but in my case it's gone from a "must buy" to "if i happen to be in a cd store in the next few months and see it, i might buy it".
Other parts of life are more important right now.

Other parts of life are always more important, but nothing could diminish my appetite for this particular set, barring nuclear war & the ensuing winter of discontent. This will not avail U.K. fans I suppose, but Import CDs is offering it for 88 bucks + $4.00 shipping. Sorry to hear about the orders being cancelled, I hope at least amazon.fr comes through.

Is that ending to "This whole World", which I haven't heard yet, the same they played on that one commercial?

I believe so, this is the alternate tag described

That's cool. Also nice that we can now connect these two things 'officially'.



The released "This whole World"'s ending is perfect and one of the most powerful moments in the Beach Boys' canon imo. It gives the song something to go out on. The alternate ending - after one listen - is very nice but doesn't round up the song. It sounds like an unfinished thing. It was definitely the right decision to use the acapella tag.

I'm not saying that this ending is superior to the official one by any means, not even close. Just that it is interesting and excellent in its own right.

I didn't mean to suggest that you was saying this. Just wanted to add the thoughts that came to my mind when listening to the song.

I'm glad that's settled, now we'll have world peace.

Is that ending to "This whole World", which I haven't heard yet, the same they played on that one commercial?

I believe so, this is the alternate tag described

That's cool. Also nice that we can now connect these two things 'officially'.



The released "This whole World"'s ending is perfect and one of the most powerful moments in the Beach Boys' canon imo. It gives the song something to go out on. The alternate ending - after one listen - is very nice but doesn't round up the song. It sounds like an unfinished thing. It was definitely the right decision to use the acapella tag.

I'm not saying that this ending is superior to the official one by any means, not even close. Just that it is interesting and excellent in its own right.

The alternate This Whole World is up on YouTube. It is absolutely terrific, has an easygoing, relaxed lead vocal with different phrasing and a couple of different lyrics, different-style backing vocals near the end and the close is pure '60s Sunshine Pop gold. The best FF nugget yet released!