50 Big Ones - How was the track line-up chosen?

[Sheriff John Stone]

2) You're So Good To Me isn't what i would call deep - it was on the original Best Of in '66 - and that charted forever! (My first BB record )

Well, it was probably on there because it was the B side of one of the latest huge singles. The album went to #8 and went gold. Little Deuce Coupe went to #4, went platinum, and charted for nearly a year, but I would still suggest that songs like Car Crazy Cutie, Cherry Cherry Coupe, No-Go Showboat, A Young Man is Gone are deep cuts. But I agree that You're So Good is on this because of its association with the original Best Of, despite the fact that it was probably only on there in the first place because of timing and its association with Sloop.

Also, "You're So Good To Me" was performed (and sung by Brian) on numerous shows on the Reunion Tour. Obviously, that set list influenced this comp to some extent.

[William Bowe]

I'd hardly call catch a wave a classic

A minority opinion, I'd suggest.

[Andrew G. Doe]

It seems like recent comps (e.g. "The Warmth of the Sun", etc.) have some input from the guys in the band. It seems to me that what happens is they start with the core of obvious songs, and a few things get thrown on simply because particular members thought of it at the particular time they sat down and thought about the tracks; they were just sort of hot on a particular song at a particular moment.

Not exactly - obviously certain core songs have to be included (and remember, WOTS was essentially SOS Vol. 2) but the band don't themselves suggest titles - rather they're presented with a tentative tracklisting by the compilers and then yea or nay it on a song by song basis.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I'd hardly call catch a wave a classic

12,000 people at Wembley going collectively apeshit and singing along would beg to differ.

[MBE]

I think the worst thing about the set is that many of the photos are backwards. Also I know Mike likes thematic hits packages but we have enough. I would like just one release with all the top 40 US and UK hits in the order they came out. Is that so damn impossible?

[NHC]

Add "409" to Mr. Doe's list in place of "Rock and Roll Music" and you've got a deal.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

I'd say Catch a Wave is drenched in classic-ness! It's classic incarnate.

[sockittome]

1) I'd hardly call catch a wave a classic

Catch a wave is so classic, Brian milked two songs out of it!

[Micha]

1) I'd hardly call catch a wave a classic

Catch a wave is so classic, Brian milked two songs out of it!

Which ones?

[EgoHanger1966]

Catch A Wave (Beach Boys) and Sidewalk Surfin' (Jan & Dean).

[Andrew G. Doe]

Ummm... I don't think Brian had any active involvement in the J&D reworking.

[hypehat]

I'd hardly call catch a wave a classic

12,000 people at Wembley going collectively apesh*t and singing along would beg to differ.

As one of those 12,000 people I can only say HELL YEAH IT'S CLASSIC.

[lance]

I'm voting classic too. I used to hear that once a week on oldies radio in the mid-nineties.

[HeyJude]

It seems like recent comps (e.g. "The Warmth of the Sun", etc.) have some input from the guys in the band. It seems to me that what happens is they start with the core of obvious songs, and a few things get thrown on simply because particular members thought of it at the particular time they sat down and thought about the tracks; they were just sort of hot on a particular song at a particular moment.

Not exactly - obviously certain core songs have to be included (and remember, WOTS was essentially SOS Vol. 2) but the band don't themselves suggest titles - rather they're presented with a tentative tracklisting by the compilers and then yea or nay it on a song by song basis.

If we count something like the "Endless Harmony Soundtrack", which I know is a somewhat different beast, I recall for instance that Mike Love specifically suggested the inclusion of "Brian's Back."

But I agree that very little of any active track selection work is done by the band. I'm sure it's mostly approval or veto.

[Micha]

I'd hardly call catch a wave a classic

A minority opinion, I'd suggest.

Depends on where you are. This year I added Catch A Wave to my personal repertoire, and after several performances I have yet to find somebody here who knew it before.

When I turned Beach Boys nut in the mid-90s, I recognized the chorus (one line, really) as something I'd heard before, but had no recollection of the song as a whole. I love it now.

[Andrew G. Doe]

It seems like recent comps (e.g. "The Warmth of the Sun", etc.) have some input from the guys in the band. It seems to me that what happens is they start with the core of obvious songs, and a few things get thrown on simply because particular members thought of it at the particular time they sat down and thought about the tracks; they were just sort of hot on a particular song at a particular moment.

Not exactly - obviously certain core songs have to be included (and remember, WOTS was essentially SOS Vol. 2) but the band don't themselves suggest titles - rather they're presented with a tentative tracklisting by the compilers and then yea or nay it on a song by song basis.

If we count something like the "Endless Harmony Soundtrack", which I know is a somewhat different beast, I recall for instance that Mike Love specifically suggested the inclusion of "Brian's Back."

But I agree that very little of any active track selection work is done by the band. I'm sure it's mostly approval or veto.

Endless Harmony was democracy in action - everyone had 'their' track on it (except Brian, natch), hence the inclusion of "Brian's Back", "Loop De Loop", "Endless Harmony", "Barbara"/"Alone" and the live "Long Promised Road".

[wantsomecorn]

It seems like recent comps (e.g. "The Warmth of the Sun", etc.) have some input from the guys in the band. It seems to me that what happens is they start with the core of obvious songs, and a few things get thrown on simply because particular members thought of it at the particular time they sat down and thought about the tracks; they were just sort of hot on a particular song at a particular moment.

Not exactly - obviously certain core songs have to be included (and remember, WOTS was essentially SOS Vol. 2) but the band don't themselves suggest titles - rather they're presented with a tentative tracklisting by the compilers and then yea or nay it on a song by song basis.

If we count something like the "Endless Harmony Soundtrack", which I know is a somewhat different beast, I recall for instance that Mike Love specifically suggested the inclusion of "Brian's Back."

But I agree that very little of any active track selection work is done by the band. I'm sure it's mostly approval or veto.

Endless Harmony was democracy in action - everyone had 'their' track on it (except Brian, natch), hence the inclusion of "Brian's Back", "Loop De Loop", "Endless Harmony", "Barbara"/"Alone" and the live "Long Promised Road".

In that case, did Ricky and Blondie have anything to do with the inclusion of WonderBill?

[William Bowe]

Depends on where you are.

There's cross-purposes here as to whether we mean a classic in the sense of a great song, or a song everybody knows. In the first case, most certainly. In the second, it may as you say depend where you are. I imagine it would be best known in the US by virtue of having been on Endless Summer.

[Micha]

Depends on where you are.

There's cross-purposes here as to whether we mean a classic in the sense of a great song, or a song everybody knows. In the first case, most certainly. In the second, it may as you say depend where you are. I imagine it would be best known in the US by virtue of having been on Endless Summer.

Right.