While we're on t'subject, Mojo has given the box 5/5. Refers to the inclusion of two newly discovered takes of IKT'sAA and the previously unheard Vibes master track with partial vocals.

Review also refers to Mike's alleged complaint that Brian had "f***ed with the formula", which it bought we'd left behind recently?

Closing paragraph refers to this new set as the "definitive edition (at least until the next time)".

Live In The Eighties
by The Beach Boy featuring Brian Wilson

Track Listing

Long Tall Texan
Help Me Rhonda
Wouldnt It Be Nice
RockNRoll Music
I Get Around
Surfin USA
WNEW-FM Radio Announcement
Good Vibrations Encore
Barbara Ann Encore
Fun Fun Fun Encore
Surfin Surfin Safari
Dont Worry Baby
Sail On Sailor
409 Shut Down
Little Old Lady From Pasadena Little Deuce Coupe
Back In The USSR
Livin With A Heartache
Lady Lynda
Disney Girls


Following the turbulent 1970s, by 1980 the Beach Boys had resolved many of their differences, and had even persuaded Brian Wilson to resume performing. This double-set showcases a superb show from 1980, featuring Brian and his brother Carl, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine. Originally broadcast on WNEW-FM Radio, it offers a huge selection of their best-loved material. Also included are six bonus tracks from the bands legendary Fourth of July show in Washington, DC, broadcast on Q107-FM, the following year.

Also due June 17.

Nfm

Live In Japan '66
by The Beach Boys

Track Listing
Fun Fun Fun
Little Honda
Medley Little Deuce Coupe Shut Down Surfin USA
Surfer Girl
PapaOomMowMow
Hawaii
Youve Got To Hide Your Love Away
Monster Mash
Help Me Rhonda
California Girls
Barbara Ann
I Get Around
Johnny B Goode
Interview In Japan


As 1966 got underway, Brian Wilson was crafting Pet Sounds in Los Angeles, while his bandmates continued to tour. Mike Love, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson, Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston started the year by flying to Japan, where they toured from January 7th to the 23rd. The superb performance from Sankei Hall, Osaka, Japan on 13th January 1966, broadcast on NHK Radio, finds them on excellent form as they tackle a cross-section of their most popular material to date, both originals and covers. Its presented here together with background notes and images, and a bonus rare interview.


Release date June 17

I'd just like to state that I formed my own opinion about the moderating here; didn't sign up to any conspiracy.

I'm looking forward to Friday's Glasgow show but probably won't bother posting my thoughts.

I totally romanticize Scotland.

Emily, have you ever been here to visit? You'd love it!

John, are you going to the Glasgow Meet and Greet? 

I'll also be in Edinburgh?  Anyone else?

No meet n' greet, for reasons previously ranted! Glasgow's also my only gig his time around due to family commitments and finances. Hope to see you there Mikedonn!

I'd just like to state that I formed my own opinion about the moderating here; didn't sign up to any conspiracy.

I'm looking forward to Friday's Glasgow show but probably won't bother posting my thoughts.

Should be with us this month or next I seem to recall…

Some of the comments here are growing somewhat disingenuous. Brits are as entitled to their opinions as anyone else, and some of the comments being moaned about here - whether you agree with them or not, whether they're actually right or not - arise from concern for Brian's health and well-being. They're opinions, just opinions; no one's gonna be sending Brian home to bed.

A hardcore of Brit fans follow Brian - and The Beach Boys actually – to most if not all gigs on every UK tour and often fly further afield, and do have pretty good idea of his up and down, hating it/loving it, take-it-or-leave it stage demeanour.

No saying anyone needs to agree with the comments that followed the Birmingham gig but accept that folk have the right to their own opinion. And if you disagree with it, why not step up and comment on the board itself, instead of gossiping about it on another board.

Forget I ever said that. I just hope reviews will focus on the gigs, and not on the fans at the gigs.

Was it really 33 years ago? I had the later version and I think it help turned fandom to obsession. "Keep the flame" David told me on a couple of occasions (PS2002 tour). Still keepin' it, kids permitting.

[Another generous box chronicling one of pop's greatest achievements]

From UnCut:


The Beach Boys
Pet Sounds: 50th Anniversary Edition
Capitol

Another generous box chronicling one of pop's greatest achievements

10/10 — Wouldn't it be nice if we could get a definitive edition of The Beach Boys' magnum opus? Pet Sounds still rewards with every listen, retaining the vibrancy of Brian Wilson's intricate arrangements and the bittersweet romanticism of Tony Asher's lyrics. A flop upon its 1966 release, the LP has grown in stature to become a true American rhapsody, which Wilson himself deconstructed on its 30th anniversary. A highly influential '90s CD, The Pet Sounds Sessions, set the template for every subsequent anniversary reissue, collecting the first stereo version as well as instrumentals, vocal tracks and studio puzzle-pieces. Subsequent repackagings simply revisit that idea, turning listeners into armchair producers but failing to replicate the sense of discovery. This new 50th anniversary edition does add a new twist: a handful of live tracks chronicle the band's history and take the studio-bound album onto the stage and, ultimately, out of Wilson's hands, showing how these songs took on a life of their own.
EXTRAS 6/10 — Previously available studio outtakes make up the bulk of the set, complemented by 11 new live tracks and a Blu-ray audio disc, but the real draw is the mono version of the album taken from the '72 Brother/Reprise vinyl reissue.
STEPHEN DEUSNER

Newly listed on Amazon UK: both on the Rox Vox label; no dates or prices or track lists yet.

Live In Japan '66
by The Beach Boys
Audio CD
Currently unavailable

Live In The Eighties
by The Beach Boy featuring Brian Wilson
Audio CD
Currently unavailable

Was that 4 out of 5? Why/how on earth would they dock a point?

Sincere apologies… I've corrected my post - it was a perfect 10.

Not at all sure what happened there… autocorrect? More like dementia creeping in (creeping further in!). Andrew used to call me on my typos all the time

Nice answers from Was, respectful to the core. And Brian does look pleased there in the photo!

Thanks for posting

It is indeed from the master used for the 72 Brother/ Reprise release which was originally supervised by Carl. We used it for both the CD and BluRay on the box as well as the new vinyl release.

Mark

Many thanks Mark, damned intriguing! Is the master a recent discovery or was it neatly filed all along, and only recently referenced?

Is the next move a fresh vinyl pressing from it? . Actually scratch that; I have one pressing from that master, and one's as many as I think I need, given that I'll have bought around 10 different incarnations of that album in the last 12 months! I might even have bought at Knebworth in 1980, now I think about it…

Good thinking Alan: I'm currently 60 miles away from my mag and wondering of the choice if the word "master" was my own and not the reviewers, as I thought when I read the review that it might actually be a needle drop. Time - and Amazon and the postman - may tell!

Not sure Eric, my subscription copy was on the doormat when I got home yesterday.

ETA: nothing visible yet on their website. Unfortunately someone's breathing over my shoulder so I can't type it in, short as it is! 

Uncut gives the new box 10/10 and identifies one of the highlights as being the '72 CATP two-fer mono master. If I had known that was included, I'd forgotten!

Listening to various boots also, it seems pretty clear that Bruce is an extremely skilled keyboard player. Assume that's him on Nearest Faraway Place also. I reckon he'd make a great asset to Brian's live act, vocally and instrumentally; why his abilities are so under-used is beyond me, unless he's lazy, which I doubt!

Comment to John Manning:
Why on earth would you think it was not Bruce Johnston playing the piano?  He went to The Juilliard School of Music, can play all manner of classical compositions from memory and is responsible for about half of the vocal arrangements of the band's.
He and Michael have teamed-up together mainly because of band politics, and the influence of spouses. The current tour involves close to two-hundred shows, hardly a lazy schedule. ~swd

I didn't think it wasn't Bruce on the track. As stated,. I assumed it was Bruce on the track - always have - but without looking it up I didn't want to state it as a fact. Thanks for verifying my assumption though.

I've never met Bruce and haven't read about his schooling. Having seen him in concert a few dozen times though, and based on the information you've just kindly provided, I'd say that these days he's squandering that great talent and privileged education. As Lonely Summer states, his contribution live on stage today doesn't compare with that Paris footage. Perhaps though he has his reasons and someone might enlighten us. It'd be good to know.

Listening to various boots also, it seems pretty clear that Bruce is an extremely skilled keyboard player. Assume that's him on Nearest Faraway Place also. I reckon he'd make a great asset to Brian's live act, vocally and instrumentally; why his abilities are so under-used is beyond me, unless he's lazy, which I doubt!

That would be epic fail. She's really bad singer. Beach Boys are much better, definitely.

"Oh Doris Day, no!"

As far as I can tell, outside of "Japan exclusive" tracks, usually for new album releases, weird Japan pressings (SHM, Blu-spec, etc.) of old albums have never housed unique mixes of vintage tracks.

Whatever is on the PS Japan SHM CD, I'm guessing it's something that has already been released elsewhere.

Yup, it's mis-listed as stereo. Ego is mono; the release is essentially the '01 mono/stereo reissue that sandwiched a mono Ego between mono and stereo version, Mike fly-in on the WIBN bridge.

At least I have (another) copy for the car!

Nicely done; I like how your questions jump a decade (give or take) in the chronology if there's the slightest waning of interest. Was this done on the phone? Face to face?

Many thanks Howie.

Here's an "exclusive", which is an interesting read:

http://www.udiscovermusic.com/exclusive-bruce-johnston-on-the-making-of-pet-sounds?lf=19f67df78a7a4de5651649274f961ad1


EXCLUSIVE – BRUCE JOHNSTON ON THE MAKING OF PET SOUNDS

With the 50th anniversary reissue of Pet Sounds set for release in June, it’s the perfect opportunity to talk to Bruce Johnston about his involvement with a record that in most people’s opinion is the greatest pop album of all time. In 1966, as the ‘newest’ Beach Boy, it gave him a unique perspective on the making of Pet Sounds, as well as a fresh insight into the whole business of how The Beach Boys, and Brian Wilson in particular, set about making records.

Pet sounds 1"I joined The Beach Boys 9 April, 1965, when I was 22 years old. I played my first concert with the band in New Orleans and the following day, ‘Do You Wanna To Dance’ climbed to No.12 on the Billboard Magazine Hot 100 chart thus continuing the momentum of radio play and record sales. A week later the re-recorded single version of ‘Help Me Rhonda’ entered the Billboard charts and quickly climbs all the way to No.1. Talk about momentum, before the summer is over ‘California Girls’ reaches No.3 in Billboard. ‘California Girls’ was written and recorded for the Summer Days (And Summer Nights) album and it was the first time I sang on a Beach Boys recording. As a little insight into how these songs sometimes came together, Mike Love was really very fast at writing his lyrics for Beach Boy songs; I watched him write the lyrics for ‘California Girls’ in the hallway of Western Recorders, literally two hours before we recorded our vocals.”

Brian Wilson had opted to quit the road in order to concentrate on songwriting and producing for the band and to replace him at live shows, session guitarist Glen Campbell was recruited. Campbell played his first concert in late December 1964, but he called the band by phone just before their New Orleans gig, in April 1965, to say he was too busy with his own touring commitments as a solo artist, supporting The Righteous Brothers; this was the catalyst for Bruce becoming a Beach Boy. Prior to joining the band Bruce was a successful staff producer along with Terry Melcher at Columbia Records in Hollywood.

Pet sounds 2In the first week of July 1965 the Summer Days (And Summer Nights) album was released and the following week Brian was back in Western Recorders in Hollywood to begin work on a new song; Bruce takes up the story. “During the recording of the Summer Days album Brian shows up in the studio with a recorded track of 'Sloop John B' and it is a hundred and fifty per cent totally brilliant! ‘Sloop John B’ could easily have been included on Summer Days (And Summer Nights) – the only problem being that the vocals had not been recorded yet. Alan Jardine is the reason the track for ‘Sloop' even exists. Al was a folk music fanatic and he loved The Kingston Trio version of ’Sloop John B’. He convinced Brian to record 'Sloop John B’ and it would eventually become one of our most successful international hits. So now we have this great track just waiting for us to sing our vocal parts but we set it aside for a few months and then finally record our voices for ‘Sloop’ at the end of 1965 as Brian began bringing Pet Sounds to life. In many ways, ‘Sloop John B’ was never destined to be on the Summer Days album, but as common sense, maybe over the artistic value of the album, Capital Records wanted hits on the Pet Sounds, which is why the track is included.”

Despite recording the original backing track for ‘Sloop John B’ in July, the first vocal sessions for the track did not take place until three days before Christmas, and were finished off on 29 December, 1965. In between this time The Beach Boys set about recording yet another album; one that includes three Beatles’ covers.

“Somehow we made an accidental unplugged album in September 1965, with the accidental hit ‘Barbara Ann' coming from the Beach Boys Party! album that was released in November 1965. Between recording and releasing the album, we recorded a stand alone single called ‘The Little Girl I Once Knew’, a song that could so easily have been on Pet Sounds.”

beachboys-littlOn the same day that Brian recorded the backing track for ‘The Little Girl I Once Knew’, The Beach Boys recorded their initial vocals for the song. Brian also started work on ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)' during this time. ‘The Little Girl I Once Knew’ was a definite departure from The Beach Boys formula and it performed somewhat disappointingly on the Billboard Hot 100, only reaching No. 20 on 1 January, 1966. However, with the release of ‘Barbara Ann’ from the Beach Boys Party! album, which features Dean Torrence of Jan & Dean and Brian sharing the lead vocals, things were restored to their natural chart balance, as it peaked at No.2 at the end of January 1966.

“Meanwhile we were busy touring, spending most of January 1966 on a two week concert tour of Japan. During my first seven months as one of The Beach Boys I recorded two albums and somewhere along the way Brian Wilson's music dramatically advanced and he’s starting to conjure up what will become Pet Sounds. I was not privy to Brian’s mind set, but Brian’s best friend in the whole world is Carl Wilson, his brother, and I do remember Carl telling me that while we were on tour in Japan, Brian was busy working on new songs. While all this is going on, I’m just being a 22 year old guy with a new Jaguar XKE, going on tour, recording, surfing, and chasing girls. I had no idea about the masterpiece album that Brian is creating. At Christmas time 1965, just before we went to Japan, I was with Terry Melcher and his mother (Doris Day) at her house listening to the Beatles’ new album, Rubber Soul. Also at the house with us were Brian, Mike, and John Phillips (of The Mamas and The Papas). Brian said he thought that Rubber Soul was a great thematic pop album and this played a big part in getting his head into creating Pet Sounds.”

With Brian staying at home working on the songs that would be included on Pet Sounds he used the cream of Los Angeles session musicians (the Wrecking Crew) for all the tracking. The meticulous musical tracks Brian arranged and produced are so far ahead of anything that mere pop groups were doing at the time.

“On day, Carl said to me, ‘You better come by the studio, Brian’s doing something really fantastic from anything we’ve ever done.’ I just assumed when I started hearing the tracks that Mike was writing the words and it did not occur to me Tony Asher was writing many of the lyrics for the songs in Pet Sounds; sometimes Tony would be at the studio and he was a very nice guy to talk with.”

Pet sounds pic smVocal sessions for Pet Sounds began in February with, ‘Hang On To Your Ego’ that would become ‘I Know There’s An Answer’, it is followed by ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)’. Four days later after shooting the cover shots for Pet Sounds at the San Diego Zoo (it does not include Bruce because he was under contract to Columbia Records as a recording artist though he was included on the album back cover black amd white photos), all the Beach Boys participated in the vocals on ‘That’s Not Me’.

“I just was so shocked at the depth of Brian’s tracks and then with the amazing harmonies he would conjure up for us to sing. On the earlier songs the Beach Boys backing tracks were simplistic, it had jumped from the surfing songs to ‘Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)’ or ‘I’m Waiting For The Day’ or ‘Here Today’ or ‘Caroline No’. All those tracks came roaring melodically out of Brian. Brian has the ears for the complicated voicing and of course this spills right into his tracking ability and then his superbly written backing vocals that we sing. I realized that Brian had more in his mind than just hit, hit, hits. What struck me even then was the seriousness of Pet Sounds, the beautiful seriousness of it.”

For Bruce, one of the highlights of Pet Sounds, like for all of us, is ‘God Only Knows’. Work began on the backing track for the song on 8 March 1966, the day after Capitol released, ‘Caroline No’ which was simply credited to Brian Wilson rather than the Beach Boys.

Pet sounds 3“Before I joined The Beach Boys I never sang harmony live on stage before. Within the first several months of joining the band I was on tour and recording. In early 1966 I am now recording my third Beach Boys album (Pet Sounds) and I walk into the studio after a couple hours of the ‘God Only Knows’ tracking session – lucky me! There’s Don Randi and Brian working on the sound of the piano and several musicians from the Wrecking Crew, who are all amazing jazz players. As I walked into the studio Brian is literally taping the strings of the small grand piano to get the tight sound he wanted. These days you have a synthesizer and you just close the filter down to get that real dink dink staccato sound. I was thinking, what’s going on, but I was cool, and I didn’t say anything. I just watched (and learned). The masking tape of the piano strings on ‘God Only Knows’ is the perfect abrupt and staccato sound and then there are a couple of French Horns plus a smaller than small string section– it was all very different and wonderful. I had been a staff producer at Columbia Records so I’d seen many studio sessions with the full orchestra in a big studio and I’m thinking, how are they going to make this work at tiny Western Studio 3, there’s hardly any place to sit? I sat listening to ‘God Only Knows’ being made and I listened to a few playbacks and you hear everything leaking into the drum mics, but it sounded so cool.”

“’God Only Knows’ is a perfectly written song and a great recording (plus only ten lines of lyric) and it really works! Brian mixed Pet Sounds in mono because he’s hearing impaired and does not hear stereo, he’s certainly not talent impaired. We’d recorded ‘God Only Knows’ two or three times vocally and at one session we had Marilyn (Brian’s wife), and her sister, Diane, along with the whole band plus Terry Melcher singing the end section backing vocals. It was like making clay pots, you throw the clay into a shape and it looks great, but for some reason you know it’s not right and you take it back down to wet clay and that’s what Brian did with ‘God Only Knows’. Finally we make a recording of ‘God Only Knows’ with just Carl singing the lead and then a trio of Carl, Brian and me on the bridge and ending section. Late in the vocal session, Carl began to sing the ending section but his voice is sounding a bit tired and so Brian said to Carl, ‘Why don’t you go home and I will sing your ending section vocal part, my own top part, and Bruce can sing his answer part’. In later years when a stereo version of Pet Sounds was created and released, Carl’s original rejected recorded ending vocals replace Brian’s voice from the original mono release. Why would anyone second guess the original producer, Brian Wilson? To me it’s like colorizing Citizen Kane…don’t mess with perfection.”

Very good stuff.

Is the implication that Brian first heard Rubber Soul in the company of Doris Day? In an alternate universe, I wonder if she sings lead on every Pet Sounds track!?

Nfm…

[Where do I find the archived mod discussion info?]

Jason took sides all the time. Where was the outrage from your quarters there?

Yup, without apology. Of course, it was part and parcel of being a FAN first and a moderator of a message board a very distant second. Last time I checked I also didn't ban or censure members for insulting or disagreeing with me (gotta take whatcha dish out, y'know). Your argument, I dare say, has negligible merit.

Actually it has considerable merit, because GF is the same way (fan first, and also hasn't banned or censured members for insulting or disagreeing), and is catching sh*t for it when he really shouldn't be. Just because someone is a mod doesn't mean they all of a sudden stop being passionate. That was Andy's point!

Well some folks who were banned feel that their banning came as a result of disagreeing and/or arguing with Craig. Folks feel they have to tread lightly with him. They feel if he hasn't done the banning directly, then he influenced the mod(s) who did so. A question for you Billy, do the folks who are banned get a full explanation of why and by who they were banned? If Craig is getting a bad rap, is it due to a lack of communication?

Nobody has been banned for disagreeing with Craig, nor has he EVER  influenced me to do so. I take EXTREME exception to that...I am not a freaking puppet.  If anybody here does think that way, I strongly suggest they get that image out of their head, because it is as wrong as it gets. Whenever someone is banned, there is a spot for the moderator who has performed the ban to leave a comment as to why the member is banned, which is displayed to the member when they attempt to log in or post.

Why on Earth would you take exception to that? You always say that it is never one person making the decision, that you make it as a team. You all must write to each other, compare notes, get each other's take on what went down, evidence, etc.. The folks I have spoke with say they did not receive a full explanation and in at least one case did not receive a response to multiple emails sent giving their side of the situation. So for those that no longer have a voice in here and just for general knowledge about how things work in here, is why I posed the question.

Well, because

Well some folks who were banned feel that their banning came as a result of disagreeing and/or arguing with Craig

is not true (not the people feeling that way part, the actual inference here is what I'm referring to). And yes, we discuss it as a team (duo, now) but the way it was worded made it sound like I was having my arm twisted, or that he was calling the shots and I was just here for sh*t/grins.

As far as not responding to emails... if you are referring to Nicko, it is because at first I did respond to emails to him, until it was uncovered that he was a previously banned member posting under a different name, and the email address belonged to a Facebook page that was...um...extremely fake, and he had been banned for similar issues at bw.com as he was here.  If you are referring to Mikie, I did respond to emails, although after a while I quit.  If you are referring to runnersdialzero, I never got an email but I did get a PM from another member asking me to reconsider. At the time we still had 3 mods; it was decided to let the ban stand.  If it is anybody else, I never got the emails.

Sorry this is all being raked over again. Billy, strikes me that you have enough on your plate without having to defend the mods' actions.

I don't think we ever got an answer to this, an answer which would surely make everything clear and clear a lot of issues up:

... every word of every mod discussion is archived and available. ...

Glad to hear that the mod discussions of bans are archived and available, as I'm still quite confused about the specifics of what led to AGD's ban.

Where do I find the archived mod discussion info?

Namaste Dunderhead/Fishmonk,

I reckon the story of Smile is a multilayered cake, each horizontal sponge layer of which is just a wee part of the truth. Your take on it, above, I recognise, absolutely. But it's only one of those parts.

Yes, I can see a truth in the idea that at times Brian was trying to impress the hipsters drawn to him by the smell of money, free hash. But I also think he was so absorbed by the music pouring out of him that he wouldn't have let it be diluted by any such desire to impress them. I think he wanted to be part of that crowd - and let's face it, he was - but I don't think the music was ever secondary.

Because the music, even the wee snippets, is incredible.

I also agree with Century Deprived that Smile was not unsalvagable. I don't think it could have been saved by the band alone though; if Brian had been willing to work alongside Carl and Steve Desper around the time of the 20/20 album, I reckon we could have had a finished Smile of some incredible magnitude and magnificence - that's the point at which the necessary elements had aligned for it to work, all except Brian's own engagement. Want evidence? The version of Cabinessence, started by Brian and completed by Carl and Desper. The version of Our Prayer, started by Brian and completed by Carl and Desper. The version of Cool Cool Water, started by Brian and completed by Carl and Desper. The version of Surf's Up, started by Brian and completed by Carl and Desper…

Just my own thoughts, and possibly another layer of that cake o' truth