Please feel free to drop by http://therecordroom.informe.com/forum/index.php and join in the fun, as an adjunct to this fine place.
But leave the drama and the past skirmishes at the door. All r welcome to come.

Ian, I'm not going to register there. Not because I don't want to, but because I don't want any problems we've ever had to put a damper on what you're doing. That's very amicable of you to start a new board for all the Shop refugees. Good luck with it.

Hi: I was away for a long while...Smileshop has folded...for how long I dont know but this seems a logical place to park some of my cybertime...

It's probably better that the Shop folded. Hopefully Jon and John won't lose their spine and decide to put it back up. It's good that it ended when it did. I think we all knew that place was too much of a tinderbox to have long-term sustainability.

I've always been of the opinion that the 90s Pet Sounds was "The Soft Bulletin" by The Flaming Lips...

I'm out of here too.

Wow..  even Dr. UNH, Esq. aka Jason was wondering why not a lot of people were voting for LOVE YOU.  If you want him to respect others opinions, you gotta respect his, mate.

My post had nothing to do with disrespecting someone's opinion.  The quote that I was responding to was:

"I seriously can't believe that there actually are people that think Pet Sounds isn't among the 10 best Beach Boys albums..."

That's not stating opinion. That's taking your opinion and stating it as fact and degrading people to go along with it. That's not cool.

I don't have the DVD audio

I just know it beats the original Capitol Mono pressing I have, in spades. CATP/PS is a gen closer to the master-- I think that's right. All I know is it sounds stunning. Rich, and full and clean.

I can tell you that the mono on the DVD-Audio is stunning.  But whether or not it's better than the CATP pressing, I don't know as I've never heard it.

Yes, Desper isn't merdating us on "Sunflower" and "Surf's Up"-- those albums are stunning to the point of weeping on good quality LP.

I haven't heard the US Reprise vinyl for Sunflower, but I have a first pressing of Surf's Up and I agree, it beats the ever-loving merda out of the CD.  I have no idea what they did during the remastering, but it really zaps the life out of the music.

If you had to pick only one Beach Boys concert to have the band officially release for purchase, what would it be?  Assume they would release the entire show, talking and everything.  Venue and date would be appreciated.

I haven't heard many live shows at all, but out of the ones I have heard, I'd say that my pick would be 1979-05-14 at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

Okay am I the only one who has noticed that some of the CD two-fers have the EQ turned up and they're not quite as heavy on the bass?

I compared all the 70s and 80s albums that I have on vinyl (Surf's Up, Holland, 15BO, Love You, LA, KTSA and 85) to the 2000 two-fer remastered versions.  On every album except 85, it sounds like they definitely turned the EQ up for the CD and also the remastering process on the CDs seem to have taken a bit of low end out of the songs.

The less bass is definitely very noticeable on 15 Big Ones and KTSA.  I've never been a big fan of 15 Big Ones, but I'd never heard it so good as I did when I put on the vinyl yesterday.  The CD version just sounds so sterile.

Also, LA doesn't sound quite so polished on vinyl.  It sounds a bit more raw than the CD I think.

Has anyone else noticed the sound differences between the vinyl and the remastered CD two-fers?

A promo version of KTSA

I've found that promo versions of KTSA can be easier to find than general market versions.  Kind of ironic.

Full Sail - I do NOT understand why some of you cannot appreciate this song.  It is just flat-out lovely.  Maybe I'm tied to this song because it instantly reminds me of laying out on the beach in Maui during my honeymoon.  (Where I listened to this the entire time: http://pages.sbcglobal.net/jason.penick/inspiration/mia.html)  One of the most gorgeous songs ever, IMO.

Angel Come Home - Carl was really on fire around this time.  This song is up there with "Feel Flows" and "Heaven" in the holy trinity of Carl Wilson compositions.  Anybody who's ever lost someone they've loved can relate to the lyrics, and Carl's melody and Dennis's sincere vocal do the song complete justice.

Love Surrounds Me - This one is a complete jaw dropper.  It's incredible that Dennis could turn out stuff like this, and even more incredible that the band often chose not to include his songs on the album.  The synth breakdown during the middle 8 leading into the walls of Christine McVie harmonies is the highlight of the album for me.  It's a damn shame we never got to hear Bamboo.

I'm with you.  I find all three of these songs to be soft rock hymns.

[15 Big Ones]

15 Big Ones and Love You both did many years in the remainder bins.  You can probably find both of them frequently with a corner cut off or a hole punched.

My girlfriends over the years have known to stay clear of me on days when box sets came out or reissues of the Honeys or Pacific Ocean Blue happened, or I scored big at the swap meet.  "That's not making love", they'd sob as we cleaned up the broken glass, overturned furniture, and torn clothing, and tended to the neighbors' complaints.

The copy of 15 BO that I got today did indeed have a saw mark in the top right corner.  I bought an original pressing of Love You off of eBay a while ago and it was still factory sealed, but luckily no saw marks or anything.

hahahahaha

An unopened original pressing of Sunflower would probably give me an enormous erection.

I went to a record shop in Providence today and walked out with an absolutely mint 1964 Capitol pressing of "All Summer Long", then I found factory sealed original pressings of 15 BO (with the gatefold cover and the original $7.98 price tag from 1976) and BB 85 with the "Eleven New Studio Recordings" sticker still on the shrinkwrap.  Now for the ultimate heresy, I'm going to open them haha.  I buy them to play them.  Today was a good day.

Which song appears on "Sunshine Dream"?  Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song) or Cottonfields?

Go here, my children...

http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/90ssingles.html

... and all you ask will be answered.

Almost.  Were any of the SIP singles pressed on 7", or were they all cassette singles?  Or were they CD?

Apparently Hot Fun in the Summertime was released as a single on Brother (distributed by Navarre I'd assume) in 1990 with Summer of Love on the flip.  Was this actually released to general market?  If so, was it 7", cassette single or CD single?  Does anyone actually have a copy of this?

Also is it true that Under the Boardwalk was released as a single too?

I just went back and listened to this CD.  The version of Lady Lynda on here absolutely owns.  Especially the end coda where they break out a-capella and you can very clearly hear Brian in the vocals.  Outstanding.

OK so it doesn't sound like it's too bad then.  Very cool.

Does anyone own a raw bootleg of this show?  If so, how much overdubbing was done in studio for this official version?

bwahahahahahahahahahahahaha  Fantastic! 

The reissue series focused upon albums released under the Brother Records imprint, which were the Warner/Caribou albums.  No one wanted to reissue SIP, and I can see why.  Star and Stripes would not be worth the reissue.  You probably have a case for Still Crusin, but it is not hard to find used.

Frankly, I still want a rarities release that acknowledges the great volume of good music unreleased 1970 and beyond.  Endless Harmony gave just a hint, and Hawthorne barely acknowledged that the band continued past the Capitol contract.  Do THAT before a reissue of Still Crusin or SIP, please....

I definitely agree that a rarities compilation would be pissah.  I wouldn't have so much of a problem with SC, SIP and SAS1 being out of print if at least *some* of the songs were available elsewhere on other compilations.  Out of those three albums (if you exclude the three classics at the end of SC), Kokomo is the only song available on any compilation.  That's sad.  SIP certainly doesn't rank among the band's best work, but there are some great songs on there (Lahaina, Strange Things Happen, Island Fever and Still Surfin' come to mind).  Frankly, SIP is still better than 15BO in my opinion.

My question exactly.  To me, BB 85, Still Cruisin' and Summer in Paradise all form a cool body of late period work with electronics.  Nevermind the fact that "Still Cruisin'" eventually went platinum.  Who but the Beach Boys could have a PLATINUM album go out of print?!  Unbelievable.  Just like most of the two-fers, SC and SIP go hand in hand.

Regardless of whether you think it's awesome or you think it sucks, no albums from arguably the greatest American band should be out of print!  Even Stars and Stripes should be in print from somewhere.

Thanks for all the replies.  Interesting stuff.  To add to this, does anyone know when Stars & Stripes or Still Cruisin' went out of print?