Iv'e recently recompiled my alternate 70s Beach Boys albums fanedits and wanted to share them here! To me, the mid-70s albums all had great songs on it but were marred by bad production and song selection (not to mention the inclination to record oldies and/or throwbacks to the "fun in the sun" era of the early 60s).
My new versions are an amalgam of my own personnal mixes, official mixes and other fanmixes from jiggy22, soniclovenoize, seltaeb, videojpp and others that id' like to thanks!
For everyone wondering why such and such tracks wasn't on my mixes, it's because they appeared on my re-imaginings of the earlier 70s Lps, which i'll post here eventually. For these album, iv'e tried to create the track sequence dynamic that call back to the Sunflower, Surf's Up, Carl & The Passions and Holland era, which were "democratic" albums with a specific mood.
The rules I applied for myself were:
1) More Dennis material! He was imo, after Brian, the band's best songwriter during this period and should have been given more creative space to shine.
2) Continue the more "progressive"-sounding musical direction that the band had with Holland (even after the release of Endless Summer).
3) Albums could re-use a different version of the same song (similar to "Help Me Ronda/Help Me Rhonda")
4) Try to get the best songs of each band member from each era, even getting tracks from solo releases.
5) Tried to stick to the "12 tracks" format, which the band used for most of their career. Each LP would be about 35-45 min.
6) 15 Big Ones would be an all-oldies covers LP released just after California Feeling (which i'll also post eventually).
So... let's get this rolling!
Starting with
CALIFORNIA FEELING (1975) produced by The Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHjYIXD7tKM&feature=youtu.beBasically, a "Sunflower" for the mid-70s. Around this period Mike told in interviews that that next album would be a cross between "Holland" and "Sunflower".
Side A
01 Good Timin' - L.A. version (was started in 1974)
02 River Song - Beach Boys' "demo" version (recorded around 1973-74) (jiggy22's excellent remaster!)
03 Everyone's In Love With You - 15 Big Ones version. Gotta have a Mike song here and it ain't that bad (recorded in '75, as the backing tracks to "Angel Come Home" and "Back Home")
04 Susie Cincinnati - MIC mix, just to give Al a spot here also.
05 Had To Phone Ya - jiggy22 mix (love that extended instrumental intro!)
06 Rainbows - from POB (was started in 1974)
Side B
07 It's OK - MIC mix (was started in 1974)
08 Barnyard Blues - MIC mix (recorded at the end of 1974)
09 Angel Come Home - L.A. version ('75)
10 Back Home - 15 Big Ones version ('75)
11 Pacific Ocean Blues - from POB ('75)
12 California Feeling - MIC mix w/ overdubs from '74 Brian demo version
(hidden track) Rollin' Up To Heaven - Get the Boot version w/ added flange effect.
The subpar "Battle Hymn of The Republic" is relegated as a b-side as it should have been, for one the weirdest X-mas single ever, Child Of Winter.
"Lucy Jones" sounds like an outtake and is not quality enough to go on the album. I just wish that we could finally hear "Just An Imitation", "Don't Let Me Go" "Our Life, Our Love, Our Land" and "You're Riding High On The Music" to get a clearer picture of what the group compositions of this era would sound like.
Next in line is…
GROUP THERAPY (1976) produced by The Beach Boys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALzYSAW82tE&feature=youtu.be The flip side to the previous sunny album, this is "Surf's Up" (or "Landlocked", in my discography) for the mid-70s.
This album presents a conceptual featuring a "human" side and a "spiritual" side. Using outtakes from 1970 to 1976, the mood is definitely more "serious" than the previous album, as "Surf's Up/Landlocked" was.
Side A (human side)
01 Seasons In The Sun - Fits the mood with the lyrics about mortality (Winds of Change bootleg version w/ added reverb)
02 Are You Real? - Not exactly confirmed (mentioned here by Stebbins if I recall?? Maybe somebody can clear me on this) that this Dennis song was supposed to have been started around this period (from POB re-issue)
03 H.E.L.P Is On The Way - Mix of videojpp's version and 30 years of Good Vibrations mix
04 Big Sur - 1970 version (soniclovenoize)
05 Short Skirts - Great Brian instrumental that reminds me somehow of Mccartney's RAM (recorded in '76) (All This Is That boot)
06 My Solution - videojpp's remaster (Brian mentioned in 1976 interview that it would be included in the next album)
Side B (spiritual side)
07 Sweet Mountain (Shine for Him) - Just imagine the American Spring version but with Carl and Brian on lead. (started in 1971-72, re-recorded in 1976) (Spring)
08 My Love Lives On - also spiritual in nature, one of the highlights from Made In California (started around 1974) (MIC)
09 T.M. Song - Followed jiggy22's version and cut the intro (15 Big Ones)
10 Michael Row The Boat Ashore - Very good cover with reference to the flute line of Sloop John B. It also fits the theme (jiggy22's remaster, recorded in '76)
11 That Same Song - added reverb to the double baptist choir version. The gospel song on the spiritual side (recorded in '76)
12 Holy Man - Taylor Hawkin's version. As with Sweet Mountain, imagine a kick ass Carl lead vocal on it! (started around 1974)
So that's about it for now. I'll upload the next two albums soon!
Hope you enjoy!
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