As always, wonderful pop art choices, balanced perfectly between Roy Lichtenstein and the gals in the Archie comics! We're having a bunch of "June gloom in May" here in SoCal right now--with luck the birth of this video will sweep all of that away and get summer underway!

There is also a part 6, another segment of terrific memorabilia and other intriguing insights into the early years of the band:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXGZ32uq_vg

Well worth your time...thanks to Jim and Steve Lewis.

Suggest you take these videos over to Vimeo, where you can make them private with passwords if you have to...

Excellent stuff, Adam! Those "impresarios" were freakin' unstoppable in those days, unless someone was packing... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcwQVLuESnU
(part 4)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGhHEpd248I
(part 5)

Absolutely essential viewing for fans--not only is Jim Murphy a superb historian and writer (as amply evidenced in his BECOMING THE BEACH BOYS) but he's also a highly engaging raconteur, rising to even higher heights of entertainment/information value with these two segments, with Steve Lewis happily going along for the ride.

Part 5 features a slew of early Beach Boys memorabilia, which includes an explanation of the often-confusing record release sequence for "Surfin' Safari."

The good news is that there will soon be a Part 6 which continues with presentation/discussion of additional memorabilia.

I may be jumping the gun a bit on the mix (I will clean that up for the full release!) but I couldn't wait to share my full-vocal-ed mix of Do You Like Worms!

https://youtu.be/_7lOI-tU1lQ

The notes on the video explain a lot, so I'll let it speak for itself. Please enjoy!!

That is absolutely mind-blowing stuff...stay with it and take all the time you need (to quote a certain sourpuss over at the nearest faraway place) to bring it all back home. This represents a fascinating new phase in the still-ongoing saga of SMiLE, and I think if it's handled responsibly and respectfully (as it appears that you and seltaeb are both doing), we'll all have some very intriguiing things to listen to...and possibly even have world peace! 

Man I love that song! The ending vocal bit is so amazing-really well done!

Thanks for chiming in, Ian...I think it's clear that Bonneville will find that many, many folks do not share his opinion about "Sweet Mountain." Just another example of Brian's penchant for writing "tag" endings that either turn around a middle-eight (like "Mess of Help") or come out of nowhere and take over the song ("Funky Pretty"). I see it as a variant (and possibly an outgrowth) of his "modular" recording style, and it's a technique that's still noticeable some years later on LOVE YOU ("Johnny Carson"). The other thing that's notable about "Sweet Mountain" is that it's really the first time that synthesizers are really up front and prominent in the arrangement/mix (with "Funky Pretty" following swiftly on its heels). I hope Marilyn and Diane have received kudos from fans for their vocal efforts, which are just as heartfelt as they should be.

Absolutely stellar in every way--a perfect choice of visuals for the song and for the time frame!

Thanks so much for this and all of the other fabulous, lovingly conceived videos. No question but that you should be the band's official videographer! 

Clearly we will continue to "agree to disagree." 

The objective of SOS was, according to the accompanying publicity, to make the Beach Boys "FM" and show that they'd become a singular entity deserving of that ephemeral notion of "hipness" that seemed to elude them during the post-GV/pre-Endless Summer era. It was sort of a "rear-guard" war being re-fought fifty years later, as if re-fighting it would enhance the band's long-term legacy. It was supposed to build on the sales success of FEEL FLOWS, but it doesn't appear to have done that. "New fans" among youth is what was being chased, and while the jury is still out, the evidence suggests that the verdict will not be a positive one.

I don't buy the notion that Amazon controls the pricing of items in such a monolithic fashion--clearly there were opportunities to buy the set for less at other outlets, which I was I did (and I'm sure I'm not alone). More likely there was some assumption that "market momentum" had been achieved with FEEL FLOWS, and that folks could be brought along to a higher price point. I think all of the entities involved in that decision made a serious miscalculation. It's trendy to blame Amazon for just about everything these days, but I suspect there were a number of factors that resulted in an unfortunate in-company decision to "over-deluxe" the packaging and jack up the price.

I really don't think there's much "pause" involved in holding off from a live set in '23 to revisit and rectify what was clearly a hasty approach to material that has a lot more potential to reach the audience that the reissue team wanted to reach--not die-hard fans, but new, younger fans. There was a hope that a mixture of tracks that featured more rock-oriented sounds would prove to be galvanizing to establish that "FM" thing, but it doesn't appear to have jelled. In contrast, there's a narrative in the SMILEY-to-20/20 period--"a band in transition/great music in troubled times"--that still has a chance to play out for newer, younger fans who can be caught up in the roiling events of the time frame--with tons of interesting details that can be summarized by the folks who've done an outstanding job of gathering that info.

I very much like David's idea (the "relationship" music--though "Honey Get Home" might work better as a title: a lot of "love-longing" in that material): it focuses on what was happening to Brian and how things changed over the course of 1968. It's a key part of the "transition" and it deserves some kind of official presentation in order to combine the human interest that exists in the story AND the music that was still flowing at an impressive clip from Brian right up to the flashpoints that David and others in the latest ESQ identify: the sale of Sea of Tunes, the commercial disaster of FRIENDS, and the frustrating anti-climax of "Been Way Too Long." One might suggest that focusing on this is a bit too "exploitive" of Brian, I suppose, but since it is being discussed in such an upfront way in ESQ, we're can probably conclude that there is a climate of acceptance from "the inside" that would support such an approach to framing that story via a more structured release of the material.

BTW, I never suggested that the live material from '67-'68 be part of such a set. And I think your idea of an era-spanning live set is one of the best ideas for how to handle live material--I'd be all for relocating most of "live Sunshine" into such a product. I think one of the counterintuitive setbacks of SOS stemmed from trying to combine live and unreleased in a way that they hoped would be synergistic. I think that what emerged was a sense that all of that was padding--even though the Carnegie Hall gig is undeniably excellent. It might have sold a lot more copies as a standalone release at a lower price.

Perhaps we'll find out if there is anything to my surmise about behind-the-scenes rumblings. Given the general track record, of course, it's certainly possible that I'm just whistling in the dark and the (in)famous words of Jack Rieley will still remain intact as a pronouncement about the band's latter-day efforts to rekindle their 62-66 sales success. But I'm more cautious in my optimism about how well the 74-77 studio material will do with the non-die hard audience. If such a project gets done and it goes nowhere, all bets may be off.

A separate live set for the 73-75 band is clearly a no-brainer--though a 6-CD set for it is just as clearly overkill. But if there's a digital market for that material at reasonable prices for those who want it all, that's great. That would be the "perfect" use of downloading, etc. Perhaps the earlier idea of finding as many live versions of the widest possible range of tunes is a way to go, either for an extra disk in the live set, or as part of the approach for a career-spanning compendium of live highlights.

It's clear that a lot of focus was placed on discussing the pivots that occurred in 1968 in this most recent issue. It's one of the most focused editions of ESQ ever in that regard, even given the "theme" approach that has predominated of late. That may mean something, or it may not. But the sales for SOS relative to its positive reception in the media suggests to me that a careening mashup of the the 74-77 studio material has a much greater chance of receiving a high preponderance of "WTF?" reviews in the media, similar to what happened to CATP when they made the still-baffling decision of releasing it in a 2-fer with PET SOUNDS.

I also don't know how many new, younger fans will be up for the mish-mash that is 15 BIG ONES, the LP that was the perfect example of Jack's statement about the band and whose album cover art could be used in a "illustrated dictionary of phrases" next to the entry entitled "Pyrrhic victory." I suppose the historians could concoct some added detail to spice up the context behind the LP, but it says something that all of that backstage drama was (and still is) more interesting than the LP that emerged from it. I see it as a problematic project even for folks who are as savvy as Messrs. Boyd and Linett.

I know I’ve already gone on about this in other threads, but while I would have loved to have nice, lavish boxed sets (and/or “regular” physical releases) for the 68/69 stuff (and the rest of the ’67 stuff), I really don’t view that as a high priority right now.

The digital releases got the important job done; which was getting the material released and out there in high quality. In particular, digital drops for the live ’67 and ’68 material was the *perfect* venue for that material. I don’t have a strong desire for several more sets, which would surely clock in at several hundred dollars, just to get this stuff pressed on actual CDs.

While there will always be *more* archival stuff left on the cutting room floor that can be put on subsequent reissues, I think those sets did a pretty good job of getting a ton of the most important and interesting unreleased material from that era released.

What has *barely* been touched on in terms of archival releases is, at this stage, the post-1973 material. I absolutely think some sort of “Caribou to Criteria” set, or some sort of 1974-1980-ish set, as well as a live set focusing on ’73-ish material (and/or stuff later into the 70s), are all far preferably to *already* revisiting that 67-69 material.

I don’t think we have to wait until 2026/27 for like “Love You” material. I think it’s likely the formatting/prompt on the future studio sets would have to change a bit, with the knowledge that these things are going to appeal more and more specifically to diehard fans. They could, for instance, probably forego discs of the actual albums in a 74-80 type of boxed set and just focus on studio (and live) material.

I can’t speak to any specific person and their preferences, but I seem to run into some fans that really just don’t like and/or are unwilling to entertain post-60s material. And I think, at the end of the day, while there are a HUNDRED more archival ideas that could span their entire catalog, I think the 60s have been very well-served at this point.

I think a live ’73-ish set and then a 74-80 studio/live set would be the best way to go as some of the next releases (perhaps other specific things could be highlighted in individual releases, such as the ’75 “Beachago” tour stuff, or other holiday-related releases or other themed compilations, etc.). I think it would be great *eventually* to come back around to 60s material, perhaps revisiting those 67-69 archival digital-only sets and forming them around things like a new stereo remix of “Friends”, etc.

So no, I don’t think Beard’s ideas are particularly the way to go right now. I think the team currently working on this stuff have really knocked it out the park on multiple, consecutive releases. I have no interest in moving backwards and changing the plan/prompt on the reissue program at this point.

Not surprised by this response. What's interesting, though, is that David is extremely well-connected in the "inside BB" world and this issue of ESQ is one of the most probing looks at the pivotal year of 1968 from a vantage point at least partially inside that world, which suggests that there is some discussion going on about the fact that--despite your assertion that the FRIENDS/20-20 material was "perfectly" handled--there is an accelerating awareness that the transitional phase of the band (as noted by Alan Boyd in his interview, Brian "stepping back" in part due to set of agreements with his band mates AND a series of personal setbacks that changed the band dynamics) as documented in the LPs and sessions is an aspect of their history that deserves a more structured presentation as part of their overall legacy.

I think the regret expressed by Mark and Alan regarding these sets (and the '64 set) definitely opens a door for such a discussion within that world.

I'm not adverse to releases of more live material from the band, but this rapidly becomes a repetitive exercise in that even diehard fans aren't very likely to need more live versions of songs than, say, the number of fingers they have on one hand. Whatever Mark and Alan have in mind for such a release really needs to hit the highest possible cylinder to be viable beyond the most die-hard of the die-hards. As a product, I don't see as being complicated/ambitious to produce: I envision it as a two-CD set that doesn't require any special curation a la Howie.

The argument that a "lavish set" would necessarily be pricy is mostly a red herring--compare the prices of FEEL FLOWS and SAIL ON SAILOR and we can see that there was some kind of "greed factor" that entered into things on the latter project (almost certainly coming from the label). Whether Capitol will actually admit that they should take the hit for what will likely be a fairly significant sales differential is another matter, of course. We really have to hope that the sales for SOS haven't been so disappointing that it will kibosh any further ambitious archive releases.

I think returning to material that's already been vetted with a more unified, structured approach (possibly incorporating David's promising look at the arc of Brian's "domestic creativity") AND a coherent plan to keep the cost of the set at a credible price point is something that could be put together and marketed for a fall/Xmas '23 release. The timetable could then roll on to a live set in early summer '24, which would put Alan's 74-77 set in play for the fall/Xmas selling season in '24. Such a timetable keeps multiple irons in the fire and gives the archivists enough time to sift through the 74-77 material at a pace that will create the best possible presentation of that material.

In the new ESQ, David Beard's interviews dig into the timetable for Brian Wilson's first withdrawal (fall 1968); he examines what he calls Brian's "relationship" suite of works from a cluster of Brian's creative activity earlier in the year; AND he teases out some frustration from Alan Boyd and Mark Linett about how the copyright dump releases for the SMILEY SMILE/WILD HONEY/FRIENDS/20-20 were handled. That makes for a momentous issue, and (to me, at least) raises the question as to whether a more comprehensive, expansive and creative revisit of that material is in order while we wait for further archive releases from the 1970s.

The incredible wealth of material available across the four LPs and the sessions surrounding them is on display, but in physical releases that are hastier in conception and execution and in download-only incarnations that don't do the wealth of music on display (both from Brian and from the emerging creative ferment from the rest of the band). Beard's own construction of a "Brian relationship album" is the type of imaginative presentation that could form the basis for a special CD in a "grand box set" that more definitively examines the explosion of material that ensued from mid-1967 to early 1969. (David only focuses on 13-14 tracks that are mostly from the "sessions" material, but it's clear that other songs that made it to official release on the LPs are part of a particularized creative impulse driving Brian during this time--ending, perhaps, with the anti-climax of "Been Way Too Long/Can't Wait Too Long".)

In the interview, Alan suggests that a big set could be made from 15 Big Ones/Love You/Adult Child/New Album ("and even the early MIU sessions"). If handled with considerable curatorial finesse, it could indeed be fascinating--but it strikes me that we won't be seeing that until sometime in 2025. Mark's idea for a live box set from '73-'74 is something that could happen more quickly, but it is less reliant on curatorial interpretation, since no deep cuts/outtakes are part of the live material (with a very few exceptions, like Dennis' "River Song"). Given that, it seems like the timing is right to at least pick up on the cues that seem to have left in what David has chosen to write about, in a clustered but perhaps carefully indirect and distributed way, in this most interesting issue of ESQ. The "Band In Transition" story still needs to be told in a definitive way, and a box set that covers this twenty-month period is IMO the way to make sure the story gets told in the best possible way.

If Wilson Phillips could've played, they might have picked something like "This Whole World" …

This Whole World by Wilson Phillips would have been wonderful; I happened to be thinking this myself too, Don Malcolm.

Great minds... 

On another level, it would've been really appropriate as well...remember that Carnie & Wendy's mom and aunt did a cover version of "This Whole World" on their SPRING LP.

So it could've been a double tribute...and that would've been really cool! Ah, well...

[really]

I think we probably should cut the feckless kids some slack, ya know? I think most of 'em were putting out their best effort, and there were really no outright embarrassments amongst the clips I've seen on YouTube (though I was seriously underwhelmed by Mumblecore and Sons' version of "I Know There's An Answer"). There's a level of unavoidable smarm that's sort of baked into shows like this, with all the ultra-anodyne between-song (award) patter--though they could really have avoided foisting Stamos off on us yet again. And I'm not sure that I want to hear any of these folk attempting to tackle any truly deep cuts.

What might have been a nice touch: adding in songs written by each member of the band (though I can't imagine any of the folk on stage pulling off "Disney Girls"--and while such an approach might have gotten us "Long Promised Road," "It's About Time" or "Forever", and "California", the doors would've been blown wide open for "Kokomo," which is doubtless what Mike would've put up for "his" tune). If Wilson Phillips could've played, they might have picked something like "This Whole World" or "All I Wanna Do," either of which would've been most welcome.

And if they were going to find a place for Blondie, having him perform--"Wild Honey"--might have been the way to go. And they could've reached back to the C50 tour and have David strap on the guitar for "Pet Sounds." After all of his years in the wilderness, that would've been a nice gesture.

The strength of the music is so solid that I often found myself moved in spite of myself.

Well, none of us really want to deal with the idea of Brian not touring anymore, as it's simply another reminder that we're at the far end of the road and all that. So maybe it's a good thing to lay low and hope for a pleasant surprise rather than dwelling on things that are clearly out of our control...

Kudos to the guys for a great interview. Carnie is totally genuine, and she's always been very free and honest with her emotions, and she clearly feels deeply--all of that was manifested in the interview. I hope the guys will have her on again as soon as feasible, as it was really a breath of fresh air. An off-topic but peripherally related project she's been involved in--a documentary about Karen Carpenter--is starting to appear at film festivals this month, and I think she might appreciate the opportunity to talk about it (she was one of the executive producers and, owing to her status as a major fan of Karen's voice, is prominently featured in the film's many interview segments).

And folks on Instagram should indeed follow her feed--@carnie68--which is also quintessentially her. As she said: music, food and family! 

Good work, Mark. I think the discussion of Carnegie Hall was probably about twice as long as it needed to be, but other than that it was a most enjoyable conversation.

Given how Howie (rightfully) sings the praises of Alan Boyd, I would hope that you and Phil consider having him as a guest sometime soon. A conversation structured beforehand where Alan talks about 10-12 of his favorite rarities--and perhaps provides us with a more definitive account of the genesis of "Sail On Sailor"--would make for an utterly fascinating episode...one that would flow naturally from the ones you've had with Howie.

Laughed at Carl “Cookie” Wilson, never occurred to me that was Carl doubling himself on “Mess of Help”, I never really questioned what that was but it makes for a cool effect!

For some reason I'd always assumed that the gruff voice was Brian!

I always thoght it to be Carl but wondered why they would do one track "clean" and one track "gruff", so I figured it must've been someone else who was singing along with Carl. After hearing the vocals-only version I thought it to be Mike. Looks like the closer I listen the wronger I am 

I think it's a shame that the powers that be didn't do an isolation mix on the "Cookie" voice so we could hear it in greater detail. The original LP mix had those two vocals hard-panned L/R and if you had a receiver/tuner that could isolate L/R and put it into both speakers (a feature that seems to have become a highly endangered species in years since) you'd have been able to do just that. My guess at the time was that it was Carl doing both vocals, but that there were a few extra overdubs in "gruff" style--a few not-so-carefully placed shouts and grunts--that might well be Brian.

It should also be noted that "Mess of Help" was intensely disliked by Bruce Johnston, who spoke out against it, specifically citing the lead vocals as sloppy and pretty much unbecoming of the band. Such commentary was almost certainly part of the widening rift between Bruce and Carl, who'd championed the track in its formative stages and had brought the track over the finish line. (Refer to the Klaas translation of an interview with Carl in Holland that occurred in the "in-between" time of "Beatrice" and the rewrite/session add-ons that occurred in April). Those comments might have been the "straw that broke the camel's back" WRT Bruce's tenure in the band.

Biggest surprise to me is seeing how much Brian is contributing instrumentally on all his tracks -- except for Sail on Sailor. He's basically all of Funky Pretty and the backbone of Mess of Help and Marcella, for instance. Forget the whole "Til I Die" was the last of Brian thing. He was pouring his soul out on really rocking tunes.

All of this gives more credence to the commentaries from Jack Rieley about Brian's involvement with the band during CATP, which seem to have been totally discounted due to other elements of Jack's "antics"--and the prevalent myth that inordinately lengthened Brian's "time in the bedroom." My sense is that there's a linkage between "Beatrice/MEss of Help" and "Funky Pretty" that's involved with the song structure--a parallel kind of "modularity" built around "tags" (as Carl said in an interview once: "we're big tag fans") that becomes clearer when you listen to someone like Devin Lawrence do piano recreations of the two tracks.

Carl sounded great right through to the end, and his voice definitely changed over the years. I'd say about 1971 or 72 through to about 75 was perhaps the sweet spot. His voice had matured, but still had full range and was still pretty youthful.

He still sounded good in the 90s, but he did get a bit more gruff and bit more stuffy/congested sounding. I can't really claim a 90s take on GOK is *better* than like a '74 take, but they're all good. I do like some of the gruff flares he gave to some of the "Beckley Lamm Wilson" vocals (on top of very NOT gruff backing tracks!), or that '95 live take of "Sail on Sailor" on the MIC set.

His *voice* sounds great on his solo albums; the problem there is the bland material. Which is why I always point people to the live '81 soundboard recordings, because those sound much better than the studio album, with a lot more life injected into the material.

But geez, it doesn't get better than his isolated vocals on "The Trader" and "Only With You." Other worldly.

Excellent observations, Jude. As great as Brian is, and as hard-working as Mike is (and a top-notch, still-underrated singer), I just don't know where the band would've been if there had been no Carl--both as musician/singer and human being. Of all his great, great performances, I think that I revere his work on "The Trader" most of all--because it's his most ambitious and unusual songwriting effort, something that required him to use both sides of his singing talents, which he does brilliantly (and touchingly) throughout.

[a simple, commercial song that Brian continually restructured as he worked on it]

The basic narrative that Brian was cajoled into returning to a modular composing format, and collaborated in many different details with Andy Paley, acceding to many of his ideas and creations, does suggest that the reinforcing presence of a creative partner in the studio (in this case, two of them) is one of the reasons why "Rio Grande" made it onto BW '88 while "Can't Wait Too Long" is still...waiting.

I wouldn't say Can't Wait Too Long is comparable to Rio Grande. That was a simple, commercial song that Brian continually restructured as he worked on it (just presented very confusingly on official releases), while Rio Grande is a conscious attempt to create a suite of unrelated miniature song fragments, something Brian had never really done before. It's more akin to the montage nature of the way 1970 Cool Cool Water was put together, which was Waronker's main point of reference.

Putting the emphasis on your phrase that (IMO) makes my analogy pertinent, if not exact. It was the restructuring and different approaches to CWTL, in a time frame when Brian was still inclined toward a modular working method, which prompts me to make the comparison. At that point Brian was looking to recycle the bass riff from the SMILE version of "Wind Chimes," and it went through several permutations and ... he never solved it, even as the later attempts became much more elaborate. The late July '68 sessions for CWTL/BWTL are followed by a good deal of radio silence from Brian, with only sporadic work in the studio as the rest of the band pushed forward with material for what became the 20/20 LP. There are a number of reports suggesting the Brian's first seriously depressive period occurs in this time frame, which began to lift in early '69 (with "Break Away").

It seems that there was an attempt to make CWTL into something more ornate that just didn't come together, which seems to have thrown Brian for a loop, as he'd been exceptionally creative all the way up to the weeks right before the FRIENDS LP was released (the album's big commercial failure in the US couldn't have helped, either). A box set approach to the LPs between PET SOUNDS and SUNFLOWER would show that FRIENDS appears to be the "fault line" where Brian takes a big step back in terms of producing new material.

(And I think one can credibly argue that the evolution of "Good Vibrations" was analogous to what was in process with CWTL--but the summer of '68 was a much different landscape for Brian than the summer of '66, when he soldiered through all the versions/variations to come up with a "montage" (or "mosaic") approach that was so startlingly different that it leapfrogged any potential commercial resistance en route to #1.

Clearly Brian "made peace" with CWTL many years later by incorporating a portion of it into TLOS. But the compiled session fragments on the I CAN HEAR MUSIC digital release create a version of the song that has odd (possibly accidental) but striking parallels to "Rio Grande"--a suite made up of "dead end" versions of a track that never synthesized into a "proper" song but may be more satisfying as a "mosaic" of fragments.

Perceived at the time as more cohesive and successful than its predecessor, HOLLAND is an LP that has stood the test of time. Bookended by two songs written by Brian, and with strong songs contributed by all of the other band members, it was warmly received in the press at the time and was an encouraging commercial success, giving the band and their long-term fans a great deal of hope that the "new" Beach Boys were going to continue to reclaim their place at the pinnacle of the rock/pop world.

It didn't quite turn out that way, but fifty years later the LP remains one of their finest, and is a testament to the yeoman efforts of Carl, operating as the band's "executive producer" during this time frame. Along with those duties, Carl provided evocative lead vocals for Dennis' two songs featured on the LP, and contributed one of his finest and most heartfelt songs, "The Trader," a track demonstrating that the "new" Beach Boys were capable of casting a net far beyond their southern California roots.

I hope everyone considers giving the LP a listen today to honor one of the group's finest collective achievements. Long live HOLLAND!

Thanks for the interview, Rocker--it reminds us that Brian really was under the thrall of "Quacky" at this time, to the point where Brian seems to be giving the Bad Doctor credit for some god-like oversight over the songs on BW '88, despite massive subsequent evidence to the contrary--including "Rio Grande," where Brian omits any mention of Andy Paley.

And many thanks for the tremendous breakdown of the consituent parts in "Rio Grande," Will. Do we have a session chronology for BW '88--which songs were done when and where? We do know that Waronker pushed for a composition like "Rio Grande," and was (obsessively) in attendance at the recording sessions for it. And, apparently, would make artistic suggestions relative to details in the production as they occurred to him during those sessions.

The Bad Doctor then attempted to hijack the LP in its final stages, though I don't think he did anything substantive to "Rio Grande" as part of that.

The basic narrative that Brian was cajoled into returning to a modular composing format, and collaborated in many different details with Andy Paley, acceding to many of his ideas and creations, does suggest that the reinforcing presence of a creative partner in the studio (in this case, two of them) is one of the reasons why "Rio Grande" made it onto BW '88 while "Can't Wait Too Long" is still...waiting.

The "commission" aspect set aside (despite its historical accuracy), I think "Rio Grande" has strong analogies to something like "Can't Wait Too Long," where Brian had a set of highly evocative musical fragments that proved to be unruly enough that he could never decide how to bring off a definitive, synthesized song. "Rio Grande" might well have succumbed to a similar fate had not Waronker made his pitch, which in that moment (and with the right collaborator on hand in Andy Paley) was taken seriously and seen through to completion. It's certainly possible that any "artificiality" that one might sense about the finished track has to do with some force-fitting that was employed to achieve closure on a finished version.

My sense is that at some point Andy may have said "let's do it this way, Brian" and Brian simply went with it (after all, he'd been put into a more "malleable" mood by Dr. Quacky, and they were probably working on "Rio Grande" rather surreptitiously due to the ambient conditions in place during the production)...all of which may have resulted in some rapid real-time decisions about how the track got put together. David Leaf is unfortunately short on details regarding this in the first section of his update material for the 2022 "Calfornia Myth" update.

So as it is, we got an official version of it, which is better than nothing and might be "better" than the fate of "Can't Wait Too Long," which remains "lost and found" as an unrealized masterpiece...

The most insane missed opportunity for 1973-4 would be if they don’t release ENDLESS SUMMER LIVE- something like a live LP of 1973-5 recordings with a similar sequence to the original LP, with cover art showing the actual BBs as they appeared in the era with a cover design that looks like the Endless Summer LP.

Actually 74-75, but that's a nitpick...it is a great idea. I'd love to see the "scholar base" step up into this thread and flesh out that idea with what they know about the available live performances in the time frame.

Since the followup compilation SPIRIT OF AMERICA also came out in 1975, they should also cherry-pick tracks from there as well, since there are going to be track where they have no coverage.

Here's a list of the tracks in the order they appeared on those two sets...if someone with the requisite knowledge wants to start filling in, that would be cool!

ENDLESS SUMMER
Surfin Safari
Surfer Girl
Catch A Wave
The Warmth of the Sun
Surfin' USA
Be True to Your School
Little Deuce Coupe
In My Room
Shut Down
Fun, Fun, Fun
I Get Around
The Girls on the Beach
Wendy
Let Him Run Wild
Don't Worry Baby
California Girls
Girl Don't Tell Me
Help Me Rhonda
You're So Good to Me
All Summer Long

SPIRIT OF AMERICA
Dance, Dance, Dance
Break Away
A Young Man Is Gone
409
The Little Girl I Once Knew
Spirit of America
Little Honda
Hushabye
Hawaii
Drive-In
Good to My Baby
Tell Me Why
Do You Remember
This Car of Mine
Please Let Me Wonder
Why Do Fools Fall in Love
Custom Machine
Barbara Ann
Salt Lake City
Don't Back Down
When I Grow Up to Be A Man
Do You Wanna Dance?
Graduation Day

Maybe they can license some live tracks from later time frames for some tracks--Brian's band used to open with "Little Girl I Once Knew," for example.  And there must be a couple of versions of these that could be represented by some incarnation of the Mike & Bruce band.

For a two-CD set, you'd need, what, 35-40 songs? A portion of the second CD could toss in some other live highlights, so long as they weren't too repetitive with other live releases. It all  likely comes down to dollars-and-sense: will they want to do the work required to make a solid product if it's only a single CD? How much can they charge for it, and how many are they likely to sell? Or do you package it as a "special concept" within a larger live set that also contains tracks from the 66-73 time frame?

Many happy returns to Brian's most articulate/voluble, reverent/scandalous, strangely-grounded-yet-utterly-surreal collaborator! 

Wonderful work as always...and an interesting variant mix, too! It's always been an underappreciated track...thanks for giving it some much deserved love! 

I have a lot more to say about all of this, and I disagree with a lot of what’s expressed in the previous post, but I have to speak briefly to the potential direction for the archival program.

While I’m not opposed to reissuing the post-“Sunshine Tomorrow” late 60s archival sets in CD/deluxe set form at some point somehow, I really don’t view is as nearly as much of a priority as moving forward through the post-1973 material.

Jude, you do realize that it will be 3-4 years before anything like the magnitude of what's appeared on FF and SOS will be feasible, per the copyright extension mandate? That means that what we're likely to see in 2023-25 is essentially restricted to a live set.

Yes, of course, there is going to have to be some re-orienting of the target/intended audience for such releases. I think the people involved in these sets understand how some material is going to have to be targeted more directly to “hardcore” fans. We may well not see such album-specific packages.

What we may well see is a multi-pronged approach where material is reformatted/reintroduced to new potential fans (and this is where working in some of that 1967-69 archival material could work), while also continuing to do the important work of documenting what is STILL a trove of quality unreleased material post-1973.

"Post-'73," yes. But, specifically, 1973-75? Not seeing it. AGD's session logs at Bellagio show primarily Dennis material in that time frame, which is tied mostly to POB.

Keep in mind that the '67-'69 stuff got restricted to digital due in part to the politics at that time. Given the mountain of material there, which gives the FF period a run for its money and is demonstrably more prolific in nature than SOS because Brian is much more active during that time, it seems like a time frame that should be revisited now that the band members are more on board with the archival program as a physical manifestation of their legacy.

Newer, younger fans can be turned on to more BB material without giving up more deep-dive archival releases. We’re finally at a stage where the band are greenlighting *multi-disc* sets of 70s outtakes. This is huge. I think it’s important to use the momentum, to use the band finally understanding the intrinsic value of the archival material, to make sure we hear the best unreleased material from the rest of the 70s and even 80s.

Nowhere did I suggest that they shouldn't continue with combing through the 70s material. The tacit consensus seems to be that there will be a set to exploit the golden age of the live band, followed by some form of a multi-set that will document the "Brian is back" era (15BO and Love You, plus possibly Adult Child). But that set isn't likely to see the light of day till 2026. Going back and doing more lavish justice to part one of the "Bellagio period" is something that can be put together and appear anytime between mid-2023 and late 2025.

The point I was making was that with momentum from the band now in place, doing full justice to what were essentially copyright dumps that happened for SS/WH/Friends/2020 would be a good way to use the time in between future likely releases. While the first two (SS/WH) got a physical release, they were nothing like what was done on FF and SOS. And Friends/2020 was just a download. That's what I was referring to in my post as "suboptimal." You want young fans to have little or no added guidance to that pivotal period other than a digital download? Die-hard fans bought that, and we did so because that's all they would give us. They can do better in terms of representing that period, and they have time to do that before they get to MIU/LA/KTSA.

As far as hearing MIU outtakes, I'm sure you'll get them--in 2027/28. But if SOS has been overpriced to the point where sales are appreciably lower than FF, one can legitmately worry about what type of effort/budget will be put into future grand projects. If that's so, then a really well-done compilation from the SS/WH/Friends/2020 period could at least ensure that the 1967-73 period received a truly uniform level of exposure for die-hard fans and for that sought-after younger audience.