New Beach Boys 2012 Remasters!

[pancakerecords]

Definitely get Sunflower. The tape generation is lower than that of any previous release sans the 2009 vinyl (which uses the same source) and the difference is noticeable.

OK, that's enough to persuade me to go back there at lunch! A little OT but I'm going to get the ELO remastered Best Of too

Aegir-I completely agree-as I said, Smiley Smile is a complete revelation. Oh, and the guitar in Do You Wanna Dance? is great

Just a word of warning about the new ELO best of - it in not a remaster, but a re-recording...

From Amazon:
"Mr. Blue Sky The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra is a powerful new testament to Jeff Lynne s enduring artistry and his singular desire to get things right once and for all. Here, Lynne has artfully revisited and re-recorded the greatest hits of Electric Light Orchestra, and actually improved on some of the most classic and beloved recordings of all time.
The result is, in effect, a kind of showdown between the Jeff Lynne of today and his extremely illustrious past, and thanks to improved technology and recording artistry, wouldn t you know it, Lynne somehow comes out on top again. So do all of us fans who get another fresh chance to hear these extraordinary songs sounding quite literally better than they
ever have before."

[Cliff1000uk]

Definitely get Sunflower. The tape generation is lower than that of any previous release sans the 2009 vinyl (which uses the same source) and the difference is noticeable.

OK, that's enough to persuade me to go back there at lunch! A little OT but I'm going to get the ELO remastered Best Of too

Aegir-I completely agree-as I said, Smiley Smile is a complete revelation. Oh, and the guitar in Do You Wanna Dance? is great

Just a word of warning about the new ELO best of - it in not a remaster, but a re-recording...

From Amazon:
"Mr. Blue Sky The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra is a powerful new testament to Jeff Lynne s enduring artistry and his singular desire to get things right once and for all. Here, Lynne has artfully revisited and re-recorded the greatest hits of Electric Light Orchestra, and actually improved on some of the most classic and beloved recordings of all time.
The result is, in effect, a kind of showdown between the Jeff Lynne of today and his extremely illustrious past, and thanks to improved technology and recording artistry, wouldn t you know it, Lynne somehow comes out on top again. So do all of us fans who get another fresh chance to hear these extraordinary songs sounding quite literally better than they
ever have before."

Ah, OK-thanks for that. I actually got Sunflower and left the ELO CD as I'm sure there is one coming out/come out that has Jeff doing a few versions of their songs with just Richard Tandy

Oh well-I'll just have to settle for the original vinyls over the weekend-shame!!

[EgoHanger1966]

What's up with this part of "Amusement Parks U.S.A.", though?

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?5ni8b286kitd90a

I feel like if I click that, I'll get Rock'Roll'd or something. 

[Bean Bag]

I was not enamored with Smiley Smile when I first heard it with the original mono mix. In fact the mono Smiley version of Windchimes really creeped me out. Then I got a hold of the Sorta Stereo edition and it sounded like a whole other (and better) album to me. The new official stereo version takes things to the next level, I now freakin' love Smiley Smile, weird version of Windchimes and all.

I have to say...this new Smiley Smile Remaster sounds incredible.  I'm extremely, beyond impressed with Smiley Smile and Today (those are the only two I've purchased....so far!)

I was not expecting the leap in quality.  Not this much.  And I'm talking about the Mono, not just the stereo.  I was wondering if they created a new mono mix out of the masters because I've never heard the mono Smiley Smile sound this good.  Not just a little bit, but LIGHTYEARS better.  It sounds new.  The stereo takes it up even further.

I'm going to grab 4 more tonight.  This is what I always hope a remastering project does -- where you know immediately that you have to upgrade your catalog because everything sound so good.  These will be my go to (read: ONLY) versions now.


OK...as to the post I quoted about the stereo mix actually changing one's opinion of Smiley...I can understand.  The one thing Smiley always lacked was nuance.  It lacked subtly and detail.  It was dull...something that I thought was simply inherent in the tapes.  But OH MY GOODNESS!!  There was so much more on those tapes!!!!!!  Much of this album makes more sense now.

It's strange...I've always been a huge fan...but now that there's so many tiny nuances on this record that I've never heard -- things have taken on entirely different meaning!!!  And then I realized, we haven't really been hearing Smiley Smile before.

This simple dry record so sorely needed SUBTLY.  So many of the vocal performances required that the listener hear and understand how they were phrasing things.  A little jokey here, a little breathy there.  The subtle emotion gets poured in heavy here, and yet withdrawn over there to make it seem a little less serious.  You couldn't hear all those minute communications before!!  And now that you can, entire passages make human, emotional sense.  Things that seemed weird now made sense in the "story."  As a result, entire songs take on a different meaning.  There's deeper more 3-dimension, emotional sense -- THAT WAS NOT THERE BEFORE.

Can I get a freakin' witness!!!!!!!!!!!!??

[Jeff]

Oddly enough, the first three I picked up were Smiley Smile, Today!, and All Summer Long, too. I probably would've gotten Summer Days instead of the latter, but they didn't have it in stock. All Summer Long's a great album though, and the stereo extraction mix of "I Get Around" is pretty darn good, surprisingly. It's not the revelation a true stereo mix brings, but it's still a good listening experience. They need to get this kid in on stuff like the alternate "Heroes", "The Little Girl I Once Knew", etc.

Seriously?  You bought ASL for the stereo?  You do know that CD has the album in mono?  Did you listen to it?

[Bean Bag]

So...which of the remasters are the best?

I've got...
Today
Smiley Smile

I'm thinking of picking up 4 more tonight...which four??
Surfin' USA
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe
Shut Down, Vol 2
All Summer Long
Today
Summer Days, Summer Nights
Party
Pet Sounds
Smiley Smile
Sunflower
Surf's Up

[EgoHanger1966]

So...which of the remasters are the best?

I've got...
Today
Smiley Smile

I'm thinking of picking up 4 more tonight...which four??
Surfin' USA
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe
Shut Down, Vol 2
All Summer Long
Today
Summer Days, Summer Nights
Party
Pet Sounds
Smiley Smile

If you like the Party! album, I'd pick that one up for the stereo mix.

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

So...which of the remasters are the best?

I've got...
Today
Smiley Smile

I'm thinking of picking up 4 more tonight...which four??
Surfin' USA
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe
Shut Down, Vol 2
All Summer Long
Today
Summer Days, Summer Nights
Party
Pet Sounds
Smiley Smile
Sunflower
Surf's Up

All Summer Long
LDC
USA
Surfer Girl
Shut Down II

Go ahead and get 5. I won't tell.

[Bean Bag]

Cool, thanks.  I'll eventually get them all -- as originally planned -- but I was just so blown away by Today and Smiley that I'm going to have to accelerate that initiative.  Especially while they're still 9.99 at the Best Buy.

So...I guess it don't matter which I get...they're all good?

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

So...I guess it don't matter which I get...they're all good?

Musically? Yes.

 

[Runaways]

Summer days and summer nights of course.  The beach boys era I wish lasted a lil longer.  Glad to have it in wonderful stereo finally.

[Runaways]

Cool, thanks.  I'll eventually get them all -- as originally planned -- but I was just so blown away by Today and Smiley that I'm going to have to accelerate that initiative.  Especially while they're still 9.99 at the Best Buy.

So...I guess it don't matter which I get...they're all good?

I dunno why you didn't get sdsn yet!  The others sound like they're remastered, ie great, but sdsn is in stereo!!!  I love it.  And the mono remasters are also great.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Ran down to Best Buy, TONS of CD's there, I almost cried out of happiness!

Got Today! and SD(ASN!) , Today sounds amazing, haven't listened to SD yet.

Okay packaging, looks nice, if not cheap in a way, does the job well enough!

[tansen]

I don't understand how anyone can say that Today sounds amazing. Some of the stereo tracks work okay, but really, the stereo portion of the album is a hit and miss in my opinion. Smiley Smile on the other hand..

[runnersdialzero]

Oddly enough, the first three I picked up were Smiley Smile, Today!, and All Summer Long, too. I probably would've gotten Summer Days instead of the latter, but they didn't have it in stock. All Summer Long's a great album though, and the stereo extraction mix of "I Get Around" is pretty darn good, surprisingly. It's not the revelation a true stereo mix brings, but it's still a good listening experience. They need to get this kid in on stuff like the alternate "Heroes", "The Little Girl I Once Knew", etc.

Seriously?  You bought ASL for the stereo?  You do know that CD has the album in mono?  Did you listen to it?

wat now? I was simply praising the new stereo extraction mix of one song. I bought All Summer Long strictly for... uh, All Summer Long.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I don't understand how anyone can say that Today sounds amazing. Some of the stereo tracks work okay, but really, the stereo portion of the album is a hit and miss in my opinion. Smiley Smile on the other hand..

Today was a mess in mono, too much happening for such a closed mix, it needed stereo.

[MBE]

Honestly I love all the mono mixes on vinyl the best. Stereo is fine but I don't need it for pre 1968 Beach Boys.

[I. Spaceman]

I agree. Plus all these new stereo mixes are uniformly horrid.

[sockittome]

I don't understand how anyone can say that Today sounds amazing. Some of the stereo tracks work okay, but really, the stereo portion of the album is a hit and miss in my opinion. Smiley Smile on the other hand..

So many different opinions.  What are we, like, individuals or something???

[monicker]

So, in conclusion, Smiley Smile is now finally a good album because it's in stereo, which makes it less "weird" and so now the album makes "sense"?

 

Better go pick this puppy up!

[runnersdialzero]

Stereo's cool. Mono's cool. I'm so glad Brian's mono mixes are finally available on CD and I'm so glad so many albums and songs also got first time stereo mixes. Let these wonderful albums bring us together in appreciation of these works of art rather than be divisive.

imo. ^_________^

[TV Forces]

Summer days and summer nights of course.  The beach boys era I wish lasted a lil longer.  Glad to have it in wonderful stereo finally.

It's stereo alright..  but not wonderful.

[Bean Bag]

So, in conclusion, Smiley Smile is now finally a good album because it's in stereo, which makes it less "weird" and so now the album makes "sense"?

 

Better go pick this puppy up!

Not just in stereo, but the mono too.  Both were a revelation to me.  Smiley is one of my all-time, personal favorites...and to have it so improved... ...Wow.  It reaped so much.  To hear things that previously weren't there is a huge deal.  You get more info.  More clues.  It's a mysterious record.  I can't point out all the new little details and revelations -- they were subtle things.

It could be that this album had the most to gain from it's muddy, lo-fi heritage.  More room to improve the "fi."  It could also be that its simple, sparse nature would make any improvements stand out more -- be they SQ- or Mix-related.

None of this I expected.  How many years (decades) has this album been a friend -- and to learn something new about it is cool.  So...yeah, in a way, something's made "more sense" that perhaps didn't before.

[EgoHanger1966]

Summer days and summer nights of course.  The beach boys era I wish lasted a lil longer.  Glad to have it in wonderful stereo finally.

It's stereo alright..  but not wonderful.

I wonder if there was/is anything preventing the stereo remixes of Today and Summer Days of sounding as good as Pet Sounds and Smiley Smile. The same guy did all these mixes, but the first two sound so radically different than the other two.

[phirnis]

I was going to buy a couple of these and then I saw that the Surf's Up album has a "Brian's Back"-era promo shot on the back. Makes it all look a little cheap and you'd think there really should've been enough early-70s shots of the group to choose from...