If the Good Vibrations cruise doesn't include great whale hunting as a deluxe excursion for the top payers with Eric and Don Jr. posing for pictures, this will be a complete rip off.

It certainly didn't have the feel of the rest of Surf's Up, so what to do with it? It was best left in the can to be savoured for a later and safer date 

That reminds me of some awards show back in the ‘80s — the Beach Boys were appearing during the show. During LL Cool J’s performace, the camera cut to various audience reaction shots, including one of Carl Wilson grooving to LL’s number.

I was trying to find that on youtube, but couldn't do so. But I saw this shout-out to Dennis from 1984 (ca. 1:30:00)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stC-XRBp_rM

And no response of any kind from the audience.

That was incredibly awkward.

The presenter kind of mucked it up though and I don't think people were apathetic about Dennis' passing but rather didn't know what to do because it seemed the presenter was about to say more.

Kind of amazed that something like Queen Greatest Hits can still be as high as the top 20 selling albums in the entire country. Queen are great of course, but how many times can you hear "Bohemian Rhapsody" before you're wishing for someone to drive a screw through your ear drum with an electric drill?

Should definitely have remixed both albums. Well at least they have that as a future project!

Too much to take in! I guess one word fits for now: Wow.

First impressions, the material from Dennis is amazing. As someone said earlier, Dennis could very well be the star of this box set. I got the feeling going track-by-track that the music was just pouring out of the man at this time, and the inevitable "what if?" aspect come up when you think how different things may have been if more of this music had come out at the time, and people didn't have to wait until 1977 and POB to hear the depth of his talent. Even on the instrumentals, you hear a deep soul flowing in the tracks that in terms of this band could possibly only be matched by that "X Factor" which marks Brian's best productions, that element that draws people in and gives them a sonic hug.

I'm listening through, and what strikes me about many of the tracks is just how non-traditional and experimental these chord progressions are in these songs. They're not doing standard rock chord changes, they're not doing "Blue Moon" doo-wop chords, they're not doing old boogie-woogie patterns as much as they would later...this is very, very progressive songwriting and chord construction for the type of band a lot of people thought these guys were.

"Won't You Tell Me" - Was Brian laughing at Murry's comment or at something else happening in the studio? I couldn't tell. What disturbed me was hearing Murry's voice say "Brian, I'm talking to you" like Brian was 10 or something. I tensed up hearing that, even though that demo is a treat over all.

And what also struck with that demo was hearing Brian using that type of vibrato while singing - More of a controlled crooner type of vibrato that wasn't really his trademark on those soaring 60's leads. Very interesting to hear.

Agreed with "twentytwenty" - So much for Brian being a vegetable and not doing much but lie in bed, right? Again, the proof is on the tapes. Was he as much to the forefront? Of course not, but man his presence is there on these tapes. And how great if not melancholy is it to hear *THAT VOICE* hitting the high notes which would soon disappear entirely from BB's music.

I'll say it again, Cool Cool Water is a masterpiece, and Mike sounds amazing on this. He *owned* that near-whisper, bass-baritone, close-mic'ed sound. The same sound as heard on "Meant For You", where he just gets really close to the mic and hits that range which resonates with the microphone, that's gold right there.

I have to be honest, when it comes to Surf's Up as a recording, I always lean toward the Brian-led vocals as appeared on the '93 box set, "Inside Pop", to a lesser degree the late '67 solo take...so it was interesting to hear them try to graft a BW vocal onto the current tracks. It *could* have worked, but it's a little odd to hear. I like how those takes on the box are less ornate, and can breathe more than the final released mix, which I think is too cluttered and too heavy on falsetto harmony vocals that are distracting. And what was really, really interesting was to hear on attempt where it sounded like they deliberately tried to make the song "heavier" in a rock sense, and it felt like they were trying to rock it up a bit knowing it would be a major release. But cooler heads prevailed I suppose, or maybe I'm just hearing the "rock" in that earlier unused attempt that is more my ears than the actual intent.

Anyway...wow.

There better be Grammy awards for this.

Really get a feeling for the strange relationship between Brian and his father, and this was not long before he died. Murry's voice and manner of talking is so condescending and lacking in sensitivity and it's almost like Brian giggles like a kid in response. Maybe his coping mechanism to bear growing up under the watch of such a - can I say cruel man. Murry's ego also comes through when he states it's the best song they've done in 5 years. Was the last good one perhaps Help Me Rhonda, Murry? Did your efforts as a producer bring out that extra syncopation in Al that finally nailed that record?

JUST GO STRAIGHT TO DISC 5!

Underrated comment right here! Biggest treat Beach Boys fandom will probably ever hear 

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.

Thanks for the positive comments. I think you should check out the stereo mix of Smiley Smile that we did several years ago and perhaps  revaluate the sound of the record. What we also discovered was the mono album had one if not two additional generations  of copies used to create fades and edits which given the production , greatly lowered the quality of the mono mix

Since we're on the topic, I'd like to ask about the intro of the stereo mix of With Me Tonight. Why was a different take used? Missing stems?

Mistake, apparently. It isn't missing.

Never noticed until now, but on closer listening the mono intro sounds like a far stronger take. Goes to show how Brian's discipline in the studio was essential for producing the best sound possible!

Also quite a vocal reveal on Feel Flow. I think it sounds like Brian laying down a double-tracked sustained vocal during the instrumental/sax segment. Never picked up on that before!

Imo San Miguel is one of the unreleased greats. Superb energy, rocking guitar solo, great arrangment and sublime harmonies. How the hell didn't this make the cut on Sunflower or Surf's Up

Replace Tears in the Morning (sorry Bruce) and start side B with San Miguel = near perfect album!

Dennis was so productive during these years yet he's hardly present on Surf's Up and Holland. It's nothing short of a real shame

He had two songs on Holland, just like Brian and Alan, while everyone else had only one song on that album, so I don't feel like his work was underreprsented here. "Only with You" is a Dennis song that really works for me, much more subtle than something like "Make It Good".

I think Holland seems like there is no Dennis since he does not sing the leads on his songs. I really like all of Holland; I'm trying to pick out Dennis voice on that album. Is he doing backup vocals on Steamboat and Only With You? I actually can't tell.

Dennis is the bass vocal on steamboat and he sings the second half of the song the but I think he’s doubled by Carl for that.

I can definitely hear his voice on "Steamboat". Maybe I'm wrong but I think he's present in the group vocals on "Big Sur" too.

Yes I'm quite sure it's Dennis and Carl doing the "Don't worry Mr Fulton, we'll keep your steamboat going". Not sure if the bass scat singing his Dennis or Mike. I can't really hear Al in the mix either so it could be Dennis and Carl did all the vocals on that one. Carl is way more prominent though. The harmonies are too muddy to really hear the individual voices.

Dennis was so productive during these years yet he's hardly present on Surf's Up and Holland. It's nothing short of a real shame

YESSS was hoping this alternate version was the one they put on the set. IMO a better version than the released version. Those bg vocs blow me away!

The ML&BJ tour usually attracts the crowds more inclined towards the surf and car classics. To be fair, ML has cultivated this image since the late 70s by ensuring their legacy for many is of that period of the BB musical legacy. It then becomes anachronistic to trot out counterculture songs like It's About Time when the casual listener and conservative county fair crowds have come to expect Little Deuce Coupe.

.

['FEEL FLOWS' -- THE BEACH BOYS RE-IMAGINED THIS SUMMER]

New article on FF, with comments from Alan Boyd and Mark Linett:

'FEEL FLOWS' -- THE BEACH BOYS RE-IMAGINED THIS SUMMER
http://www.sunnysouthnews.com/blog/2021/07/20/feel-flows-the-beach-boys-re-imagined-this-summer/

Oh yeah.....👍

According to the producers, they hope the upcoming set does well, so they can continue creating boxes like “Feel Flows.”

“There’s still some amazing material in the vaults. We would love the opportunity to share it with everybody.”

FUNKY PRETTY BOX: 1972 - 1974 SESSIONS CONFIRMED 

(jokes, but obviously that's the next big one)

Brian was on tour with the group from 1961-1964, 1976-1982, and 2012.  He made semi-regular but occasional appearances in 1965 and 1983-1990 and very rare appearances in 1966 (once), 1967 (twice), 1970 (a handful of times), 1973 (once), 1995 (twice?), and 1996 (two or three times?)

The first reason is the main reason. I don’t want to gloss over some details so I’ll let other, more informed members try to explain Bran’s absence from 1968-1976. Most of his appearances in 1970 were sitting in for an absent Mike. 1967 was sitting in for an absent Bruce. 1995-1996 was during the brief Paley sessions/Stars and Stripes reunion era.

What was the 1973 show he attended? Did he take any significant vocal duties?

Soul Searchin' sounds maybe a little compressed (?) , but it's the original version (and far superior one imo)! Love that Carl ooh oh ooooohhh hoooh on the start of the verses 

I think that feeling of being an employee in the BBs led to some behavior by Bruce that rubbed them the wrong way. He had ambitions to get his name out there a bit and get out of Brian’s shadow. He mentioned in the new ESQ that he had a major argument with Jack Rieley about credits on Surfs Up. Jack was eager to make it seem like Brian was more involved than he was so he was not going to have composer credits listed on the album cover and Bruce wanted recognition that Disney Girls was all him-indeed he even put up a sign at sessions telling the Wilsons to stay out of the studio. Then when they toured in 1970 he would make them leave the stage when he sang Tears in the morning because he wanted the crowd to see him as an individual talent 

To be fair I wouldn't want to be associated with that song either 

Shame with the delay as the group's music is usually more popular in summertime. Hopefully won't affect sales too much!

That all being said, and I'm no photo expert, I wonder if some additional attention is coming to this newest publicity shot because it's extra aggressively altered/photoshopped/processed.

The de-saturated look, the shirts looking like they were drawn on after the fact, the spacing/staging, etc. are all extra difficult on the eyes.

But I guess one positive is that it is, unto itself, truth in advertising.

Looks to me like it's a bunch of individual shots that have been comped together hence the awkwardness.

Really poor graphic design from a company that can certainly afford better. I do feel a bit bad for Mike insofar as he doesn't realise how tone deaf he is with his self presentation these days.

Yes, a man who comes out in support of hunting canned African animals and Donald Trump fascism would not suggest a man too concerned with his self presentation.

Those outfits 

15BO is downright awful, LA is a solid album.

Any So Tough / Holland set should also include the sporadic sessions they did in the late 73-74/75 period (including Caribou Ranch) as a separate disk. Otherwise we'll never hear it!