New Beach Boys 2012 Remasters!

[37!ws]

Okay, this will probably derail the current vibe of the thread, but I just got three of the mono/stereo twofers delivered to my door. So far I've only listened to the stereo Summer Days..., as I've been looking forward to hearing that for quite a long time.

Overall, it sounds like they added reverb. A LOT of reverb. Part of me wants to say that maybe the reverb was ALWAYS there but just not as audible in mono, but some of it sounds like there was just too much there to have been naturally there to begin with....way too wet! But here's my track-by-track....

"The Girl From New York City" -- GREAT!!

"Amusement Parks U.S.A" -- very little, if any, stereo separation in backing track, and in fact the backing track just might be mono! (I'll try to OOPS it later to confirm.) The EQ is weird -- just lows and middles on the backing track with hardly any highs, and the vocals are all MIDDLE. Brian's hysterical laughing is hard to hear. Seems like a LOT of reverb may have been added to the vocals.

"Then I Kissed Her" - good EQ that could use a bit more bass, but vocal sounds a lot wetter than the mono. Is that added reverb, or reverb that was masked by the mono mix? Hard to tell.

"Salt Lake City" -- very nice mix, but there's a ton of reverb EVERYWHERE.

"Girl, Don't Tell Me" -- This is one of the best-sounding of the bunch. Backing track seems to have slightly more reverb than before, but vocals don't sound any more reverbed than before. Vocals sound mono but the mixing and mastering make the "when I came up to stay with my gran" lyrics noticeably clearer.

"Help Me, Rhonda" -- VERY faithful to the mono. Very bright, very energetic mix. Actually improves the song while being very faithful to the original mix! I used to hate this version of the song, preferring the Today! version…now I love it! Crunch sound after "Help me, Rhonda, yeah" is gone.

"California Girls" -- We've had, what, two or three of these mixes so far? Can't tell which one it is. Sounds good, but much wetter than it should be. Sometimes the volume of the vocals is at war with the volume of the backing track. Still good, though, and worthy of playing loud.

"Let Him Run Wild" -- I know this mix was released before, but…this wasn't the mind-blowing stereo mix I was hoping for for years. Again, there's a ton of reverb that sounds too unnatural to be a remnant of the original mix, and there's way too much middle in the EQ and not enough bass. Still would be interesting to hear a vocals-only on this.

"You're So Good To Me" -- too much middle on the EQ. Vocals are slightly too loud, and the lead guitar is WAY too loud while the other non-drum instruments are barely audible.

"Summer Means New Love" -- very nice mix. Some piano parts at the end that you don't hear in the mono mix come out.

"I'm Bugged At My Ol' Man" -- again with the reverb! Might have been original reverb that wasn't as noticeable in mono, though.

"And Your Dream Comes True" -- another one that I know was out in stereo before. Wow…the guys sound like they're right there in front of you! Very nice.

Believe it or not, though, despite my seemingly harsh critique, I actually enjoyed the listen...

[Runaways]

I still don't know what reverb is but I think I'm ok with that lol. 

I also gotta give props to some of these mono mixes because they sound amazing. 

I skipped out on getting 50BO though.  I wanna see what's going to be on the box set first.

[LetHimRun]

I still don't know what reverb is but I think I'm ok with that lol. 

I also gotta give props to some of these mono mixes because they sound amazing. 

I skipped out on getting 50BO though.  I wanna see what's going to be on the box set first.

Reverb is like echo but with much smaller gaps between each echo. A good example is the 2:55 mark in Good Vibrations when the guys' voices stop, but you hear the reverb from in the studio of the echos bouncing around.

[pixletwin]

I still don't know what reverb is but I think I'm ok with that lol.  

Think Elvis' voice on Blue Moon.

[I. Spaceman]

Overall, it sounds like they added reverb. A LOT of reverb. Part of me wants to say that maybe the reverb was ALWAYS t

I'm not a fan of the stereo-remix trip in general, but on listening to the new ones, I found the digital reverb pretty much unlistenable. I couldn't believe the degree to which it soaks nearly every mix on both Today and Summer Days. Listen to the break in Bugged At My Ol' Man, in the silence after the stop, and how that digital reverb leaves an aural grease-slide across the speakers. I couldn't believe it.

[37!ws]

OMG, they're >>>>>>STILL<<<<<<< using the mid-80's budget reissue cover for Surfin' USA!!!

Hey, Beach Boys/Capitol staff, if you can't find an original 1963 Surfin' USA cover that lists "Surf Jam" and "Stoked" at the bottom, I HAVE ONE!!!!!!!! YOU MAY BORROW IT IF YOU WANT!!!!!!!

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

"Summer Means New Love" -- very nice mix. Some piano parts at the end that you don't hear in the mono mix come out.

That's only because the guitar disappears completely.

It was there on the Pet Sounds DVD-A mix. What happened?

[mrralan]

2 Questions...

1) Can someone with the new Surf's Up tell me if the out-of-sync vocal on the first verse of "Take A Load Off Your Feet" has been corrected?

2) Has anyone noticed the missing Darlin vocal of Carl's towards the end of "Darlin'"?

[Jason]

On the first count, I don't think it would be corrected as it would require remixing the track.

Second count...YES! But Mark Linett was saying that the vocal tape situation for the Wild Honey album is rather unflattering with regards to stereo remixes.

[KokoNO]

The Beatles remasters corrected virtually all of the mistakes. They weren't remixed though (well, except for Help/Rubber Soul since the remastered ones are the 1988 remixes).

My sources tell me that we might have a remastered version of The Smile Sessions before Christmas. There's been a lot of evolution in studio mastering technology over the last year. 

[buddhahat]

.

[buddhahat]

Fun Fun Fun into Don't Worry Baby. Just.....holy crap. Then that In The Parkin' Lot intro and the jump to the uptempo verse. Jumpin' Jehosephat JW Clyde on a flaming pogo stick in Tulsa, these cats were incredible. Whew.

I've never had a massive attachment to this album but I bought a 1st pressing mono LP recently and it was one of the best vinyl experiences I've ever had. Those 1st three tracks and Warmth of The Sun particularly just sound incredible.

[Gohi]

My sources tell me that we might have a remastered version of The Smile Sessions before Christmas. There's been a lot of evolution in studio mastering technology over the last year. 

What?

[pixletwin]

My sources tell me that we might have a remastered version of The Smile Sessions before Christmas. There's been a lot of evolution in studio mastering technology over the last year. 

What?

He was making a joke.

[Micha]

Fun Fun Fun into Don't Worry Baby. Just.....holy crap. Then that In The Parkin' Lot intro and the jump to the uptempo verse. Jumpin' Jehosephat JW Clyde on a flaming pogo stick in Tulsa, these cats were incredible. Whew.

I've never had a massive attachment to this album but I bought a 1st pressing mono LP recently

Envy!!!

[Awesoman]

1) Can someone with the new Surf's Up tell me if the out-of-sync vocal on the first verse of "Take A Load Off Your Feet" has been corrected?

Never realized it was ever out of sync to begin with...

[I. Spaceman]

Fun Fun Fun into Don't Worry Baby. Just.....holy crap. Then that In The Parkin' Lot intro and the jump to the uptempo verse. Jumpin' Jehosephat JW Clyde on a flaming pogo stick in Tulsa, these cats were incredible. Whew.

I've never had a massive attachment to this album but I bought a 1st pressing mono LP recently and it was one of the best vinyl experiences I've ever had. Those 1st three tracks and Warmth of The Sun particularly just sound incredible.

Right on, man. I gotta say I even got into Shut Down Part 2, it sounds so damn heavy.

[37!ws]

The Beatles remasters corrected virtually all of the mistakes. They weren't remixed though (well, except for Help/Rubber Soul since the remastered ones are the 1988 remixes).

Let's see..I've been listening to those remasters for three years....
- The drop-out on "Day Tripper" is still there.
- The "puppy dog" mistake on the mono "Matchbox" is still there.
- The cough in the mono "Norwegian Wood" is still there.
- The harmonica drop-out in the stereo "I Should Have Known Better" certainly wasn't corrected.
- The out-of-sync double-tracking in the beginning of the stereo "If I Fell" is still there.
- Paul's voice still drops out in the second bridge of the stereo "If I Fell."
- The mono "Don't Pass Me By" still plays at the wrong speed and has the violin mistake.
- The mono "Good Morning, Good Morning" / "Sgt. Pepper's...(reprise)" still has the sloppy transition.
- There's still a messy guitar flub at the beginning of the mono "I Call Your Name."
- Yellow Submarine still has the George Martin Orchestra tracks.
- The "She Loves You" edits are just as noticeable.

What mistakes were corrected?

[Ebb and Flow]

"Summer Means New Love" -- very nice mix. Some piano parts at the end that you don't hear in the mono mix come out.

That's only because the guitar disappears completely.

It was there on the Pet Sounds DVD-A mix. What happened?

I don't know what the exact situation is with this, but Brian's mono mix left out the piano part entirely (sounds like it might have been an overdub that ended up being unused on the final mix) and Linnett's 2012 mix left it in and mixed out part of the guitar to highlight it.  

I don't mind the new mix, but it's odd that they'd include such a revisionist mix on the first ever stereo release of the album.

[GhostyTMRS]

Can't say I'm thrilled about the packaging to these things (no-frills indeed!) and the cover to "Summer Days"...looks hoddy compared to my Two-Fer CD..

..that said, if anything, these "stereo" remixes give me an opportunity to listen to stuff I've heard a million times with new ears!

I'm all for putting out the entire catalog. I don't like this selective nonsense of just albums that are deemed "worthy" getting rereleased that's been floating around here. Thinking like that is part of the reason why albums like "Love You" and "Friends" weren't available for years

[Jim V.]

I'm all for putting out the entire catalog. I don't like this selective nonsense of just albums that are deemed "worthy" getting rereleased that's been floating around here. Thinking like that is part of the reason why albums like "Love You" and "Friends" weren't available for years

Agreed. I tried typing out something expanding upon that, but you really got it perfect.

[Freddie French-Pounce]

The Beatles remasters corrected virtually all of the mistakes. They weren't remixed though (well, except for Help/Rubber Soul since the remastered ones are the 1988 remixes).

Let's see..I've been listening to those remasters for three years....

- Yellow Submarine still has the George Martin Orchestra tracks.

What mistakes were corrected?

 

[Quzi]

Here's Girl Don't Tell Me's stereo mix complete with a sneaky edit I did that may annoy purists, but helps avoid the rest of the song being dragged down by one silly lyric
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXIK68LOBXY

[Quzi]

Whoops, accidently set the video to "private" instead of "unlisted"  It should work now though

[Cabinessenceking]

On the first count, I don't think it would be corrected as it would require remixing the track.

Second count...YES! But Mark Linett was saying that the vocal tape situation for the Wild Honey album is rather unflattering with regards to stereo remixes.

Tbh, if the backing tracks are all stereo, they can just as well release the backing tracks with the mono vocals on top. I mean, Good To My Baby is more or less just that. So is All Summer Long (song) and a whole lotta others. I fail to see the prob witth just releasing what is possible to release. I don't think there will be a prob, we should see a release soon hopefully!