[Blonde on Blonde]

And in my opinion, releases like this (and I hope I'm wrong) won't add to the legacy of Brian Wilson.

I think that releases like this one are a major addition to his legacy. A rock legend that releases six (mostly very enjoyable) new studio albums in seven years time after decades of not being very productive, I'd call that an epic comeback. Sure, this album won't be "first purchase" material, but nobody expects a musician to release his most essential material when he's in his late sixties. Nobody expects that from McCartney, the Stones or Dylan, and nobody expects that from Brian Wilson. Everything new we're getting now is basically bonus material.

Well, you know the difference is that Dylan still got pretty much the same voice he've had for ages, Stones are the Stones, and Paul McCartney still has a great voice in my opinion. I'm not expecting brilliance in terms of songwriting from any of the acts, but the vocal quality is very important to me.

I just need to check in here and say for sure that Mr. Bob Dylan does NOT have the same vocal sound he's had for ages. He sounded one way from his self titled to Blonde on Blonde, then sounded kinda different on John Wesley Harding, sounding freakin' awesome in different way on Nashville Skyline, sounded like he had a cold on New Morning, and then sounded like something approaching his classic vocal sound on Planet Waves, Blood on the Tracks, and Desire. But every album since then he kept getting more nasal. By Oh Mercy he sounded like his throat was pinched, Time Out of Mind he sounded even more pinched (but it worked), and now these days he has something resembling a croak, NOTHING like classic Bob.

Mick Jagger, well, I don't think he ever had that special of a voice, so yeah, he sounds fine. And Sir Paul? Yeah he sounds pretty good, but just a cursory listen to his albums shows a MUCH deeper voice than the old days.

I agree that Brian would have more commercial success with his old vocals, but they aren't there anymore. Honestly, I think thats why the post Holland Beach Boys never had too much success with their new material. The only original material that really became "hits" of any kind were "It's OK" which had a classic BB summer sound, "Good Timin'" which was a classic BW ballad with great classic BB harmonies which many love, and "Getcha Back", which made Brian sound somewhere close to his old vocal glories. Then you got "Kokomo" of course, which was a Jimmy Buffett-lite type deal attached to an '80's Tom Cruise movie.

"If a famous and legendary actor got brain damaged, should he do more movies, even if it meant ridicule?"

"Most certainly not. No, I don't think an actor should do more movies in that case."

So you believe that the potential ridicule of the public should be given more weight than the desire of an individual to create art?

In some cases, yes. Like I said, if Brian could really concentrate on writing some killer songs, and have a different band perform it, I think that would not only add to his 'legacy', but it would spawn great reviews, which again would put Brian in a good place. I just think he should channel his strength to what he's still good at.

Well, wanna know what I think? Here's a great band he could write for: THE BEACH BOYS!

You got Al on a few tracks, Mike will do his few leads, and have Brian take the lead on a few nice ballads, maybe "Please Let Me Wonder" type stuff, which he still sounds AWESOME on. Trust me, I'm not a BW vocals apologist, but I think Brian sounds great on a relaxed ballad type sound, and I think a new Beach Boys album with all of them putting in hard work, and producing TOGETHER, because let's be honest, Brian probably doesn't wanna produce at age 70, would probably get some good reviews and decent sales, which I bet ya would make Mr. Brian D. Wilson quite happy.

[next to nothing]

Some of you are obviously going to disagree, but my view is that Capitol ,BRI & the Beach Boys "marketing strategies" for this troubled box set project, have mistreated many thousands of The Beach Boys' most loyal fans. If Capitol, BRI, & The Beach Boys hadn't been so secretive, all of the speculation on the internet (over the box set's contents & whether or not the box set will be released) would never have happened.

Phil, every time you think about making a post like this, why not instead go walk the dog, make a cup of tea, shag the missus, whatever. I don't care. But it is getting old, and unless you value scorn and pity from your fellow boardmembers I'd stop parroting the same line, it's not worth your energy.

The only reason i'd entertain for the lack of news is a) Capitol obviously are not finished yet and b) time goes slower on the internet. It feels like an eternity when you check in everyday. We would obsess anyway! And we are. This is the natural way of it. Everything's on track.

The thing is, Phil desperately DOES NOT WANT Smile to be released.  His posts are just his wishful thinking.

I'm being serious.  Some of you may have seen his link a few months ago to some site where he gives us the chance to download the "real" Smile created by ... him.  He makes all kinds of ridiculous statements about how his Smile IS THE SMILE because he's an audio expert, and he followed D Priore's instructions (and Priore, Phil says, got the instructions straight from Brian).  So in Phil's delusional mind, Smile already has been released, by Phil himself.  He's desperate to hang on to that status, even though he's the only one who actually believes in it.

Wait a second. My fan compilation was created, starting in 2001, with its' final revisions and refinements in 2003. It was created using the best sources then available, and the best knowledge then available(Domenic Priore was considered the "Smile" authority, and his running order was THEN considered credible). I couldn't have envisioned(in 2001) that 10 years later , that developement of an official "Smile" box would begin. My only objective was to make the best of what was in circulation, cutting out all the filler material.

My real wish: that Capitol & The Beach Boys would stop playing games with us, release the damn thing already. It is my sincere wish, that if this official set is ever released, that it will be better than any of the fan compilations in circulation, and that the set will contain a substantial amount of previously unheard material, or present the already heard recordings in a closer-to-finished form.

But, if the official set doesn't happen, that fan mix to which you refer stands as one of the better-sounding efforts in circulation. Is the running order(from "Our Prayer" to "You're Welcome") correct? With what is known now, probably not. Is it an entertaining musical experience? Yes.

Seriously Phil, you seem to get off on how great you're fucking "fan mix" is. Who cares? Go make your own music. No matter how "good" whatever you made was, you did not make the music and your interpretation means next to nothing.

Also, The Beach Boys are not playing games Phil. They (and Capitol) announced it would be out this year. They didn't say May, June, July, August, or whenever. They said this year. If it doesn't come out this year most of us on this board will have to apologize. If not, I think you owe all of us a huge apology.

Then you say you hope that the mix The Beach Boys release will be better. Well I know this much, it will have Brian Wilson's stamp of approval, and being that he is the creator of the material, I will say his is better by virtue of him knowing this material better than you.

Besides that, we got you talking about "previously unreleased material". Duh, we want to hear stuff we haven't heard before anyways. But guess what, even if there is nothing new (which I highly doubt) it will be in much better quality than the Philip Cohen super awesome fan mix.

Ugh. For a while I thought AGD was being too tough on you, but you are so egotistical and ridiculous it almost strikes me as though you have some sort of derangement.

Gosh, I can't wait to read this. This sounds like its gonna be a must-read for any real Beach Boys fan. Do you have any idea when it'll be out. I really think is gonna be great, judging by your posts.

[Still Crusin']

IMHO

regardless of what they do... STOP with the shared lead vocals already....!
worst part of the tracks they did in the latter years was making every single  song (seems like) a
lead vocal share-a-thon...
its ok on occasion but it gets tiring in a hurry ( plus it seemed always someone's vocal lead spoiled the song)

The reason they probably did nonsense like this was that "corporately" they had to please all the egos in the room, because it became more of a corporation than a band, like on Still Crusin', where, as Mike Love mentioned, you have to have Al's song here, and Brian's song there or they wouldn't sign off or whatever. Honestly, chances are that if theres a new BB album, most of the music should be written by one B. Wilson. That's what made them great and that is what they should do.

The whole lead vocal share-a-thon also happened on "Free as a Bird" by that other band. Since when was there a Beatle track where John, Paul, and George all sang lead together? At least they didn't give Ringo a lead. Hah.

I seem recall that all the band members started writing songs back on the "20/20" /"Friends" albums.  And did so with great success on "Sunflower" and "Holland".  As far as shared lead vocals, one of my all time favorites is "All This Is That" - superb job of three leads:  Carl, Mike and Al.

A new album isn't gonna sound great unless they let Al sing most of the leads.  Everyone else's voice is shot  (with the exception of David Marks, who we know know has a wonderful, distinctive voice).  Brain certainly no longer sounds like Brian, Mike  has lost his range, who knows about Bruce.  Unless it's Al doing a full lead, better to trade lead vocals.  As the saying goes, "Lost in a crowd".  By trading leads, we won't fixate on how much Mike or Brian no longer sound the same.

By the by, George, John and Paul did the co-lead on "Sun King" from Abbey Road. (but yeah, it was a harmony lead).  And I think "Free as a Bird" is great!  It was a no win situation with John gone anyway.

I mean it's obvious that the other members started writing by '68/'69, but the splitting of writing and lead vocal credits by 20/20 thru Holland was brought about by necessity (Brian retreating) and creativity (Dennis, Bruce, and Carl for the most part). It just seemed more organic a process then it did by the late '80s and early '90s. I think this album's tracklist should be decided by who has the best songs. Therefore, if Brian brings in crap, and Mike brings in 3 emotional masterpieces, then Mike should get those 3 tracks on the album. So I guess I retract that the music should be by Brian. I'd prefer that is was, but the key is good songs. I just don't want there to be essentially 3 "Brian" songs, 3 "Mike" songs, 3 "Al" songs, and 2 "Brucies". I guess what I'm saying is i hope they don't play politics, and just try to get their best music out there that they can.

And as far as "Free as a Bird", personally i love it, but i was just pointing out that shared lead vocal thing was something they didn't really do before (except for harmonies).

And oh yeah, it seems totally insane that  we are really talking about the Beach Boys recording a new album. Yes, Carl and Dennis are no longer with us, but I think its great these guys are still up to doing something like this. I never thought we'd see this, or a release of SMiLE for that matter.

[Still Crusin']

IMHO

regardless of what they do... STOP with the shared lead vocals already....!
worst part of the tracks they did in the latter years was making every single  song (seems like) a
lead vocal share-a-thon...
its ok on occasion but it gets tiring in a hurry ( plus it seemed always someone's vocal lead spoiled the song)

The reason they probably did nonsense like this was that "corporately" they had to please all the egos in the room, because it became more of a corporation than a band, like on Still Crusin', where, as Mike Love mentioned, you have to have Al's song here, and Brian's song there or they wouldn't sign off or whatever. Honestly, chances are that if theres a new BB album, most of the music should be written by one B. Wilson. That's what made them great and that is what they should do.

The whole lead vocal share-a-thon also happened on "Free as a Bird" by that other band. Since when was there a Beatle track where John, Paul, and George all sang lead together? At least they didn't give Ringo a lead. Hah.

[The SMiLE Sessions]

Maybe I'm being too hopeful, but I think that with the release of The SMiLE Sessions, the guys understand that their best chance at appealing to ANYONE in terms of selling new records is the more mature audience who really like well made music. Yes, we will probably get a few songs like "Getcha Back" or whatever, but I also have a feeling that they will take their age into consideration and try to make an appropriate album. Honestly if we got an album full of stuff like "The Like in I Love You", "Cool Head, Warm Heart", and "Don't Fight the Sea" I'd feel pretty good about the album. These guys still have talent in my opinion, and if they do it the right way, we might just get something cool.

Interesting bit of information I found out recently. Members of Brian's band weren't even aware that recording sessions were going on at the moment.

No reason why they should.

Just interesting to know that Brian's obviously in the studio recording something at the moment, and the band that's backed him up live as well as on recording for the past 13 years is being left in the dark.

I'm not totally freaking about it or anything, but i hope if this is for the new Beach Boys album or whatever, that its not just slotting Brian and Al into the Mike and Bruce band and just using those guys. Darian, Scott, and co. have done such a great job with Brian's band that i honestly think they deserve a spot in this reunion project if they want it. Just keep Foskett's super annoying vocals as far away from the project as possible. If there needs to be falsetto, let Brian and/or Bruce really take their time and do it like the old days, as i think both are still capable, at least Brian.

Anyways, I guess a decent middle ground would just to be to use session men and have neither Brian or Mike's guys playing, but I'm not sure if that's a great idea either.

[REAL]

Seriously could we stop it with the dumb poking-fun song titles? Please mods? I myself personally don't come to this board for the laughs. I come to have insightful discussion. And honestly if this happens, its a pretty big deal. It is the band that all of us here love really making an attempt to record a new studio album.

I think regardless of quality, that it would be great in a certain way to see REAL Beach Boys back on the charts with new material, written by their leader, Brian Wilson. Yes, Carl and Denny are no longer with us, but once again i think this could be equivalent for the Beach Boys of what BWPS was for Brian. A chance to really prove what made them great.

Well, there was no 'new material' on there besides, off the top of my head, The Waltz, and A Friend Like You, is a clue . And that given the half-assed job on all of BW's vocals - from his leads down to the harmonies, which he might just not have been bothered to teach the group - to the fact that he apparently rushed the tracking sessions, it's fairly obvious he put the hard work into BWPS.

"The Waltz" is old. It was originally "Let's Stick Together".

[GIOMH]

I have to admit, with the combination of hearing Brian looking through some old material, and this, I can't help but feel that ol' Punkinhead maybe was right out about the possibility of a new BB album incorporating old unreleased stuff. Kudos to him.  And I think that would probably be the way to go.

They should find some primo old, unreleased material, freshen some of it up with maybe a bit more instrumentation or harmonies, add the "Do It Again" re-recording to it and you got a pretty sweet way to go out.

I say, maybe pull stuff out of the vault with great Carl and Dennis vocals like "Dancin' the Night Away" and "(Wouldn't It Be Nice) To Live Again", and "Carry Me Home" along with maybe a few others, and that will be a great way to pay tribute to them. I really hope that don't do the "digital reunion" like the Beatles, as there is so much decent stuff featuring Carl and Dennis that is relatively done that they could use.

Also, I'd say maybe that could add some instrumentation or something to Brian's "Where is She?" and "California Feelin''. Actually, I think maybe if they used the '74 version of "CF", added some nice vocals, and closed the album, and thus there recorded career with that, it would really round things out nicely.

Personally, I hope THAT is where Brian is looking in the vaults, for stuff from the 60s and 70s, and not for more lame Landy era stuff, cuz we know how that turned out (GIOMH).

Then we got Mike, and I'm pretty sure we'll probably just end up with a few tracks from the "solo album" he has been working on for the past however many years....which I guess is ok, if they REALLY need solo Mike Love composed tracks.

This record (if it happens) just has so many ways it could be interesting. Hopefully they don't whitewash Dennis and Carl out of the equation, like Mike somewhat seems to as of late, with him not seeming to mention that major parts of the band are no longer here. Actually he just kinda seems to feel that all that is needed for the BB is him and Brian, like Roger and Pete in the Who, and Mick an Keef in the Stones. But hopefully, as I said earlier, they find a respectful and artistic way to include Dennis and Carl. And yes, I hope Al and Bruce get some of the spotlight, but lets not have them more out from then they used to be. Maybe a few leads for Al, and one at most for Brucey.

Then there's Brian of course. If he isn't interested, this could be another GIOMH, with whomever raiding the vaults, finding old tracks which aren't stimulating Brian, and Brian going through the motions, and therefore, not putting something great out.

Anyways, I guess i'll leave it there for now, and I guess I'm the only person that for better or worse is interested to see how this goes.

[Light Album]

Hey there, so is the Light Album version of "Love Surrounds Me" the finished version of the one on the Bambu disc in the Pacific Ocean Blue set? I mean, I haven't listened closely enough to be sure, but it kinda sounds like the Bambu version is a rough, earlier mix, but still the same basic track. Is it? Or is it a total different cut? Also, why is there no Carl vocal on the Bambu version? It sounds somewhat weird without it, somewhat incomplete...

Was it intended to be that way or were the not able to secure the rights to use Carl on that song? That would be weird if that were the case, because he is on "It's Not Too Late".

Anyways, I'm looking forward to hearing the scoop on this track.

[Pet Sounds]

I think that creatively Brian has been kind of pigeon holed into a stereo type of avant garde off the cuff kind of creative music. He just wants to make a rock n roll record.. Sometimes I think this.. Brian may write a song and others around him will say lets put two french horns in and  a bass harmonica just like 66. But is that what Brian wants?
SMiLE make no mistake about it was the creative peak of Team/Corporation Brian! And just like human nature the only one person to destroy it was the  man creating it!
Oh and I spoke to Van Dyke the other day whilst he was in Nsw Australia.

I definitely agree that sometimes I get the feeling that somebody is there making everything all Pet Sounds-ish, you know, on songs like "The Like in I Love You" or on things on That Lucky Old Sun. One thing that especially annoys me is the "Farmer's Daughter" part in "I Got Rhythm". That is just soooo not something that seems like Brian would do. And alas, it was boring old Foskett's cheesy idea. Yes, sometimes Brian "quotes" himself musically, but not in that dumb way. I just think they should let Brian produce how he wants, and if he doesn't wanna use the bass harmonica or french horns, or super reverbed drums, they should let him make what he wants. Which is why I think his self-titled album and Love  You are probably two of his most honest albums since the 60s. Only my opinion of course.

To be honest I don't even like SMiLE that much. It's impossible to listen to, all of the material is spread out over a half dozen bootlegs and you have to listen to 3 minutes of false starts just to hear 30 seconds of anything that sounds good. I'm not a big fan of a lot of SMiLE songs, Wonderful especially has always kind of bored me. The better parts, Cabinessence and Surf's Up, have already been released. I feel like a lot of the important details on the other songs that would have made them really excellent are missing, so most of the fun of SMiLE rests in imagining all the stuff that isn't there. Even after all these years Heroes and Villains still feels incomplete, I'm just waiting for a mix of the song that finally lives up to the hype, but who knows if one even exists. I really liked BWPS when it first came out, but it's not something I listen to much anymore and I've developed an aversion to the production and feel of that album. My enthusiasm for the whole enterprise is really fading fast, I don't know what they're doing but it seems like we're being set up for another disappointment and I really wish that they would just move on this already and strike while the iron is still hot instead of letting the thing burn out yet again.

Part of me thinks SMiLE has never been released because there's nothing to release.

I know how you feel. To much of Smile is indulgent. If Brian had managed to finish all the good songs he'd just about have an EP-worth of material, but all the rest of the stuff I would classify as 'musical curiosities' or bonus track material - largely childish, irrelevant scribbling. The best stuff is fabulous, but there isn't that much of it.

I'm not saying whether I agree or disagree with you, brotherjohn, but I am interested in seeing what this "EP" worth of material of "good songs" is, and what you consider "bonus track" material. I'm assuming the EP's worth is probably "Surf's Up", "Heroes And Villains", "Cabin Essence", "Wonderful" and "Child is Father..."

Actually there's  no way I can agree that there's only and EP's worth. There is definitely an albums worth of awesome material there.

Lastly, what is stuff like "Turn on Your Love Light" and "Grace of My Heart"? Actual songs the BB recorded in '95? Or BW solo? You know anything AGD?

Gigs & sessions 1995

I know what your site says....but those are confirmed Beach Boys tracks too? Besides "You're Still a Mystery", "Soul Searchin'", and "Dancing the Night Away"? I always thought those were the only 3 the boys actually recorded...I didn't know they actually worked on some other material.

Reviewing AGD's website shows that there are a number of tracks worked on in 95 and some back in 85 that could potentially be re-worked which may have Carl on them with vocals for a new studio effort:

From 1995:
Dancin' The Night Away
Grace Of My Heart
Must Be A Miracle
Soul Searchin'
Turn On Your Love Light
It's Not Easy Being Me
You're Still A Mystery

From 1984/85:
Down By The Pier
Water Builds Up
And I Always Will
Oh Lord

I realize some of these have since been released, but have not had a very large audience, so potentially they could be re-worked for a Beach Boys release.  For the 84/85 stuff the instrumental tracks could be re-done to get rid of the 80s synth sound. 

Just a thought.......

I think the best idea for a new BB release would include previously unreleased songs like "(Wouldn't It Be Nice) To Live Again", "Where Is She?", and the "California Feelin'" demo from '74. I'd say the album could be all unreleased versions including a few new tracks. I don't think they need to put themselves through recording a whole new album unless they want to, so use stuff from the wealth they've gathered over the years.

But yeah, from the '80's and '90's I'd definitely say "Water Builds Up" and "Dancin' the Night Away" could definitely be put on a high quality release with some fix-up work.

Lastly, what is stuff like "Turn on Your Love Light" and "Grace of My Heart"? Actual songs the BB recorded in '95? Or BW solo? You know anything AGD?

[PM]

Z-share sucks. It won't work for me....anybody wanna send something in the PM not thru z-share?

[P]

Could somebody Put Me in the position to be able to hear the new "Wonderful" and "Cabin Essence" mixes?

Basically Gold - and he admitted this in Billboard - took other people's quotes and put them in Brian's mouth (his excuse was that he had to flesh out Brian's terse/monosyllabic interview responses).

When was it that Brian became so terse in his responses?
I've seen and heard early interviews where he's very talkative and articulate. Is it that, these days, Brian isn't just terse in interviews, but just in general?

Was it a sudden shift as a result of the abuse his mind was put through with the over-medication of psychotropic drugs, or a more gradual thing?

Brian was always slightly eccentric in interviews but before 1976 it wasn't glaring by rock star standards. His interviews could be strange from 76-82 but generally he seemed to be aware of what was being asked and knew how to react to it. After 1982 Brian's reactions become more odd and gradually he became less engaged by his surroundings. There are exceptions but you have to be very carefull with a post 1983 quote. I got him to talk a little because I covered music he usually didn't discuss much, but he wasn't nearly as through as I expect a pre second Landy term Brian would have been.

Hey, MBE, maybe you've discussed this before...but anyways, is there anywhere I can read this interview with him, where you "covered music he didn't discuss much"? That sounds really interesting, and I'm sure you did a great job, as you are usually one of the most sensible posters here.

[The Beach Boys]

I'd say it is probably nearly set that The Beach Boys for the 50th anniversary are Brian, Mike, Al, and Bruce, with obvious respect shown to the departed Carl and Dennis. And I do think David Marks should be given some credit too for playing on a nice handful of songs that nearly everybody knows, but who knows with BRI.

About 50 Songs is a pretty big handful!

I'm talking about the big hits. I know he played on what, at least the first 3 albums.

[The Beach Boys]

Well, first of Glen was never a full fledged Beach Boy, but maybe (just maybe), he could be one, of verrrrry few guests.

I myself on the other hand, would love if they included Blondie and Ricky, but I just doubt it. Maybe they get them on stage for "Sail On, Sailor" but that's probably about it. I'd say it is probably nearly set that The Beach Boys for the 50th anniversary are Brian, Mike, Al, and Bruce, with obvious respect shown to the departed Carl and Dennis. And I do think David Marks should be given some credit too for playing on a nice handful of songs that nearly everybody knows, but who knows with BRI.

I'd say it'd probably be even more of a mess if The Byrds ever try to do something. It's obvious they'd probably do the same thing I'm expecting for The Beach Boys and just have "The Byrds" be McGuinn, Crosby, and Hillman, although other living members include Gene Parsons and John York.

[Sunflower / Surf's Up]

I have a few questions about some of the "anecdotes"(I'm not sure what to call them) from the book. I'm wondering if these are true or not.

2. "Brian's opinion" of the rerecorded version of Surf's Up, and how it was a pale imitation of The Beach Boys without him.

3. The story about Brian seeing his daughters as teenagers and not recognising them.

2. In the BBC Radio doc "A Smile Story" from (I think) the late '90s, Brian says he doesn't like the rerecorded Surf's Up because Carl wasn't the right voice to sing it

3. I heard Carnie confirm that story in an interview, I think it may have been on Howard Stern or something

And a few thoughts on the book itself...I got it last summer after reading just about all the other Beach Boys books and knew to take with a grain of salt, but when I actually read it I was surprised how bad it actually was. I was uncomfortable reading it, it was kind of unsettling. Obviously the biggest issue was all the psycho-babble spin Landy put on everything, and not just in the periods he was part of Brian's life.
For example, there is something in there about Marilyn and how their relationship only worked because Brian wanted to be mothered and Marilyn was looking for someone to mother. While that may by totally true, there is no way Brian would ever put it that way and express it anyone, let alone the public-at-large in a book.

Maybe he did say all that about "Surf's Up" but he also basically said he was cool with it in the Sunflower / Surf's Up two-fer. And he also had that version on Classics selected by Brian Wilson.

[PM]

I wouldn't mind hearing this in the evening (or PM as they say) today!

I don't understand why they don't just finish "You're Still a Mystery" or something, maybe just re-record Brian's vocals, as I think he could maybe do a better job. I mean, I don't think the guys should go back and dig up a bunch of old unreleased stuff and add merda to it, but I think that should definitely be put out.

And actually, wanna not just add a lead vocal and some more harmonies to "Dancing the Night Away"? You already have a quality Carl vocal on there (a big plus). Just have Mike and Brian work on some nice, relevant lyrics, and you're good.

[15 Big Ones]

The Smile back slick that I own is marked up for revision...that is, it was not a final print. It is dated a few days to a week or so after the list of tracks sent to Capitol. Clearly this album was in a state of flux. This is not the only time Brian did this. 15 Big Ones was originally a double album as conceived...one album of oldies and one album of new material. As we all know it morphed into a single album of both oldied and new material. The point is that albums are organic...they have a life and they evolve during their creation. Smile is certainly not unique in this respect.

Was 15 Big Ones really ever supposed to be a double album? According to whom? It seems Dennis and Carl didn't really want the oldies released, and it seems that Brian only wanted to record the oldies at first, but was convinced to add stuff like "Had to Phone Ya" and "It's OK". And it seems like Mike and Alan just wanted something released so they could make some more money.

The thought of 15 Big Ones as a double album does sound quite nice though.....we'd probably have "Good Timin'", "California Feelin'", "River Song", "Ding Dang", "Angel Come Home".....could've been a final classic Beach Boys album. Actually....the oldies side probably would've stunk. But whatever. I guess I'd rather pine for an all original album of the best 1974-1977 material.

[SMiLE]

I don't see Brian or Mike doing this, but maybe approving of it (as they prolly have to), but I could see Al and maybe Bruce putting together some "archived songs that we haven't heard."

Somehow, I could see them taking some of the rare stuff (not so rare to booters) but taking songs that are Beachy & cleaning them up like Goin' to the Beach, Almost Summer, It's a Beautiful Day, Skatetown USA, etc.

I honestly think that if they do put out another new release besides SMiLE, I kinda think Brian would rather write new songs than deal with old stuff, probably because they might "bring back bad memories" or something.