Any Beach Boys fan should be a huge Jellyfish fan.

"Split Milk" is easily the Pet Sounds of the 90s with production and top notch songwriting and arranging.
Vocals are amazing too.
Check out "The Ghost at Number One" there's a huge section in the middle that is a direct homage to Pet Sounds.

I've read other reports of what Andy and Roger said about "working" with Brian and that sometimes he would just get up and leave to "take a nap."
Pretty weird.

Sound quality is great. Not brickwalled at all. They sound crisp and clear as they should!
Boyd and Linnett did a really great job and should be proud for their work on this.


The Sail Plane Song 2012 mix has some new mixing stuff with crazy panned vocals and some explosion-y type sounds towards the end. It's definitely interesting.
It's a Beautiful Day sounds better than ever too.

67 Smile is the same as on the Smile Sessions box but cool it's included.

Interesting facts -
Where is She was recorded during the 69 Sunflower Sessions
I Believe in Miracles was in 67 during Smiley Smile
Why was 1977 for MIU

This is probably I'll post on this for now but like I said before, it's a must-buy set and fans will LOVE it.

WIBTLA is killer too as everyone says. I've never been a huge Dennis fan but the song is great though the Be With Me demo is probably my favorite Dennis-centric on the box.

I have to say, this is a must-buy package. IMO, Capitol really nailed it this time around!

Miracles sounds like a 20/20-era vocal snippet or something. It's like 20 seconds long and not part of anything I've heard before.

"Why" instrumental is an absolutely beautiful track similar to "That's Why God..." or "Goin' On" in that 6/8 tempo feel.
How/why it doesn't have vocals is mindblowing. The track is awesome w/ tons of crazy Wilson-esque chord changes and maj7s. It's probably my favorite thing so far on the set.
I'm guessing it's from 78 or 79 or so.

I love that a lot of this stuff fills in gaps in the BB chronology.
Stuff like You're Still a Mystery sounds fantastic in high quality.

There's a 1974 demo of Brian singing it (with weird vocal delivery and a gruff voice) but there's another with a younger sounding Brian singing the first verse then Carl coming in, then Bruce. It sounds amazing. Would've fit great on MIU!

Some initial thoughts....
Holy smokes. SO much cool stuff.

This set is a massive treasure trove of unreleased stuff.
Alternate Meant for You is almost 2 mins long with a verse with lyrics about a pony (not kidding).
Where Is She is a Friends-style waltz with a Lucy in the Sky vibe w/ Brian's 68 voice. VERY cool song.
California Feelin' on Disc 4 (not the demo) is the link between old Brian and 70s. The arrangement is fantastic. It's so nice to hear this stuff in pristine shape.

I'm a journalist and I received a watermarked stream and watermarked PDF of the booklet.
WOW. TONS of rare pictures. This is the boxset that should have came out years ago.

Going to check out the music later and I'll post some thoughts.
Please do not ask me to share as I literally CAN'T because there's a login, etc.


VERY excited to say the least. I can answer some questions probably tomorrow about particulars.

This rehearsal clip sounds like Joe Thomas produced it with the terribly dated early 90s Yamaha DX keyboard sounds and cheesy sax solo. Just needs some DI'd nylon acoustic guitars too.
Ugh. Vocals sound killer though!

Wow that mix of "Till I Die" is dare I say better than the Surf's Up original.
More dynamics and feels completely natural at the same time.
Great stuff!

Update and not a great one.

http://www.globallegalpost.com/global-view/bad-vibrations-for-the-beach-boys-46680522/#.UYKcKrU4te5

I love it. It's like Love You 2. It's quirky, honest, and really catchy. I've always thought of SI as the "rock and roll album" he's been talking about making for years.
It's an uptempo and fun record and more importantly, his vocals are fantastic and he sounds happy and more excited than ever.

It's obvious Mike doesn't want to have a HUGE band or HUGE production/traveling costs behind the scenes.

That's a lot of money coming out of everyone's pockets as incredible as the C50 tour was.

I get why he made that comment about "it's not just Brian...." as sneaky as it is but he's got a point.
Playing devil's advocate here but the C50 thing was magic on all levels and the band was perfect but there doesn't need to be like 5 guitar players. Scale the band down to maybe 6 or 7 dudes and it'd be fine and a lot cheaper.

I've been listening to the "Sandy" LP for a while now and I have to say it's by far the closest Beach Boys fans have to a sequel to "Today!" (Side 2) and I'm not exaggerating.

Absolutely fantastic arrangements and songs that have that sad summer vibe and are on par with BW's clever chord changes and simple yet complex arrangements.
The vocals aren't as good as the BBs but whose are??

These guys started as a Jan & Dean ripoff but the stuff circa-65-66 is absolutely worth a listen.
Here are some songs that give BW a run for his money IMO.

"If I Had My Way" - reminds me of "She Knows Me Too Well" (http://open.spotify.com/track/1o52oVqqHQWvIOoJzC4gtU)

"When Stars Shine Bright" - the outro on this is the best tag that BW never wrote (http://open.spotify.com/track/5g2Flq0CunWn2mDGI7g0Zs)

"Somebody to Love" - starts getting Pet Sounds/Rubber Soul here with a harpsichord/sitar (http://open.spotify.com/track/6x4VLGQTkcGrOOYZTICFkP)

"Goodbye Baby" - on par with "In the Back of My Mind" with the sad surf vibe. Great harmonies/key changes. (http://open.spotify.com/track/24QRrmZMBKhLx48BFt4CMb)

"Sandy" - the song that started my obsession with these guys. Bacharach meets Wilson circa-66 (http://open.spotify.com/track/4yrTrpb8liAIFuA6Qlvqum)

Great find! Hope he posts more.

I LOVE hearing Brian's transforming voice here. Starting to sound a little like his 70's self.

Apparently - the Beach Boys in the studio messing around with Mr. Sandman.

I've never heard this and it could be/and is probably fake but it sounds like Al and they end up playing GOK towards the end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-dFPtxhUng

It's a great bit but he seems a little down in it like he's having a rough day or something.

It's tough to see a guy who used to be so enthusiastic and passionate rushing to get out of the studio.
it's a must see segment.

There's a GREAT long sequence of Brian recording harmonies for Elton John/Leon Russell's "The Union" record a few years back.
Brian looks pretty miserable and unhappy to be there but Russell talks about how he played on a bunch of the Beach Boys records.
Anyone see this? It's a great 10 min part in the film.

The drum intro to "Our Car Club" sounds like low-tuned timbales to me...

These are all good points. I wonder how much Brian was inspired by the Sons of Pioneers original then...hmmm.

Can't help but notice some huge similarities between the BBs "Cool Cool Water/California Suite" and this 80's Fleetwood Mac b-side.

I know Lindsey Buckingham was a huge fan, but this is pretty cool (pun intended).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTtqMnJa73g

^^^ great interview w/ Mike! Thanks for posting.

This is great. He's realllllly antagonistic and arrogant. Looks like he's always been that way!

I like this version better than the original! It's creepier and more lonely than the original.
Fantastic.