New album info (as it rolls out...)

[Dave in KC]

So surprised to click on Amazon and look at my cart and see the actual album and real title shown. I think this just happened. First impression, I like the colors, design questionable(I understand the waves). I don't like the title very much, but was prepared.

[Ron]

The cover is growing on me.  The logo doesn't look so out of place after a while.... hmmm... this one might be a sleeper. 

[Zach95]

This has all exceeded my expectations.  It's all being done so tastefully, I really can't believe it.  I'm sorry, but for a song as a whole, it's better than, and this is just me, a lot of Brian's solo material. Just for those voices alone.  Nothing sounds like the Beach Boys.  In my opinion, it also exceeds Good Timin' and anything after it. 

[Autotune]

This has all exceeded my expectations.  It's all being done so tastefully, I really can't believe it.  I'm sorry, but for a song as a whole, it's better than, and this is just me, a lot of Brian's solo material. Just for those voices alone.  Nothing sounds like the Beach Boys.  In my opinion, it also exceeds Good Timin' and anything after it. 

Ditto x 1000

[Custom Machine]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

[Wirestone]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

There's a whole thread about this. We love the cover.  It's awesome.

[Mikie]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

Agreed.

[mr_oleary]

NPR is saying it's "The Best New Beach Boys Song In 40 Years".  So that's their opinion of it.  

Nah.  It ain't better than "Good Timin'", "Sail On, Sailor", "Goin' On", "Keepin' The Summer Alive", "It's OK", etc.  It is better than "Male Ego" I suppose.  :-)

I'd add Good Time, The Night was so Young, and I'll Bet He's Nice

[stack-o-tracks]

The entirety of the album known as Love You....

[mammy blue]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

There's a whole thread about this. We love the cover.  It's awesome.

Culture clash

[drbeachboy]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

There's a whole thread about this. We love the cover.  It's awesome.

No, we don't all love the album cover. It reminds me of the budget Good Vibrations album from the early 70's with the colored circles along the bottom half of the album.

[TimmyC]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

There's a whole thread about this. We love the cover.  It's awesome.

Culture clash

Yes, I think it's definitely a culture clash. I'm 34 and freakin' love it. They've absolutely hit it out of the park on the cover art and the TWGMTR single. I don't love TWGMTR as the title of the album, but it could've been worse like the "The Beach Boys 50" or "Celebration". Maybe I'm just rationalizing, but I like it in that it's a subdued title as if this is just the next Beach Boys album, as opposed to being some gimmicky reunion album. Not sure if I'm articulating my thought clearly...

[Wirestone]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

There's a whole thread about this. We love the cover.  It's awesome.

Culture clash

Yes, I think it's definitely a culture clash. I'm 34 and freakin' love it. They've absolutely hit it out of the park on the cover art and the TWGMTR single. I don't love TWGMTR as the title of the album, but it could've been worse like the "The Beach Boys 50" or "Celebration". Maybe I'm just rationalizing, but I like it in that it's a subdued title as if this is just the next Beach Boys album, as opposed to being some gimmicky reunion album. Not sure if I'm articulating my thought clearly...

I unabashedly adore it. Best thing about the reunion thus far.

[Runaways]

It's probably one of the better album covers the band has out on an album.  Technically they haven't had a good cover since like love you. 

[Fro]

The cover shown on Amazon today has (hopefully) gotta be a placeholder.  It looks like something you'd see on a cheap budget label release.

There's a whole thread about this. We love the cover.  It's awesome.

Culture clash

Yes, I think it's definitely a culture clash. I'm 34 and freakin' love it. They've absolutely hit it out of the park on the cover art and the TWGMTR single. I don't love TWGMTR as the title of the album, but it could've been worse like the "The Beach Boys 50" or "Celebration". Maybe I'm just rationalizing, but I like it in that it's a subdued title as if this is just the next Beach Boys album, as opposed to being some gimmicky reunion album. Not sure if I'm articulating my thought clearly...

Agreed, it looks very indie (outside of the massive Beach Boys logo) and vintage in some ways, which is seen as "cool" by a lot of people in 2012.

[Rocker]

The single cover looks cool. The album cover....well..... At least the logo should be thrown out. It doesn't fit....

[Runaways]

funny how different tastes are.  I think the single cover is god awful with zero artistic sense.  It's cliche beyond belief and the first thing anyone would think of.  But i love the album cover

[Paulos]

funny how different tastes are.  I think the single cover is god awful with zero artistic sense.  It's cliche beyond belief and the first thing anyone would think of.  But i love the album cover

I have to ask, what exactly did you expect the artwork of a single titled 'That's Why God Made The Radio' to feature? A penguin duct-taped to a refridgerator?

[Runaways]

funny how different tastes are.  I think the single cover is god awful with zero artistic sense.  It's cliche beyond belief and the first thing anyone would think of.  But i love the album cover

I have to ask, what exactly did you expect the artwork of a single titled 'That's Why God Made The Radio' to feature? A penguin duct-taped to a refridgerator?

it was a dolphin in my mind.  but really, i expected more than a dutch angle of an old radio.  I would have liked if they had a theme between the single and the album art, maybe it wouldn't have waves, but what if it had circles like radio waves in a similar style to the album.  It'd be cool if they went together as they should, i've seen other bands do that.  and i'm not saying they should have done that, they're the professionals.  It just looked like very little effort was put into it. 

but y'know, that's fine, i'd rather them put the effort in the album stuff.  I don't like the single art, but it's just a single, so whatever. 

[Wirestone]

The album has already made the top 100 sellers on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/best-sellers-music-albums/zgbs/music/ref=pd_dp_ts_m_1#5

[Runaways]

i still don't get why it's 18 dollars.  that's like barnes and noble priced!!  i gotta order my vinyl soon, the cd will be bought in store for sure.

[Wirestone]

i still don't get why it's 18 dollars.  that's like barnes and noble priced!!  i gotta order my vinyl soon, the cd will be bought in store for sure.

The price will come down. It's just a placeholder. I'd expect it will be either $9.99 or $11.99 by the middle of next month.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

This has all exceeded my expectations.  It's all being done so tastefully, I really can't believe it.  I'm sorry, but for a song as a whole, it's better than, and this is just me, a lot of Brian's solo material. Just for those voices alone.  Nothing sounds like the Beach Boys.  In my opinion, it also exceeds Good Timin' and anything after it. 

Ditto x 1000

Same here.

[drbeachboy]

As much as I like TWGMTR and Brian's lead vocal, the background vocals do not sound like classic Beach Boys. Good Timin' on the other hand is one of the few late era Beach Boys songs that really captures that classic vocal sound. 1984's Chasin' The Sky is the last song to sound that way. By the next year something changed and it never returned. Not that they sounded bad or anything, but not how they sounded before.

[Autotune]

As much as I like TWGMTR and Brian's lead vocal, the background vocals do not sound like classic Beach Boys. Good Timin' on the other hand is one of the few late era Beach Boys songs that really captures that classic vocal sound. 1984's Chasin' The Sky is the last song to sound that way. By the next year something changed and it never returned. Not that they sounded bad or anything, but not how they sounded before.

I think Good Timin' sounds thin. Its vocal sound is as sparse as the rest of the LA Album. Brian shot his high voice, Carl has to cover, Bruce covers the middle... It sounds too thin for me. Tune's great, though.

One thing about the vocal sound of TWGMTR is that it lacks a strong vocal bass line. It's stuffed in the mid-range, while the singing is up-front, almost in New Jersey fashion. This in-your-face delivery, unlike most of the BBs vocal production (there are exceptions like "Wendy"), may end up helping its radioplay impact methinks.