"Made in California" Box Set

[JohnMill]

maybe it will be like thee "beatles anthology",songs in chronilogical order and "hits" but done as alt takes/live/rarirites instead of the masters,after all BA was 6 discs too..with two or three new songs this may mirror BA..just a thought

No way that's gonna happen. It also makes no sense.

Only reason The Beatles did it like that was because they hardly had any truly unreleased titles ("That Means A  Lot", "If You've Got Trouble"), very few worthy alternates ("Ob La Di, Ob La Da", "One After 909", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), just a few songs later used on solo albums ("Junk", "All Things Must Pass") and a song one of them wrote covered by another artist ("Come And Get It"). So basically they had to fill it out with a lot of alternates and live takes that probably didn't totally need to be released. If The Beatles had the amount of unreleased material that The Beach Boys did, they wouldn't have been scraping the bottom of the barrel so much.

However, The Beach Boys don't really have this problem. They have a lot of unreleased stuff to fill up a nice collection, so hopefully the only alternate and live things that go on there are truly revelatory.

Well in regards to The Beatles, EMI originally wanted to release a single LP of outtakes entitled "Sessions" back in 1985 but it was killed dead because The Beatles at that time had quite the contentious relationship with their old record label and were in the process of suing them.  For what it's worth, I'm of the opinion that "Sessions" might have been better recieved by the general public if it had been released in 1995 in comparison to the "Anthology" series.  Don't get me wrong "Anthology" sold a ton but back when it came out, diehard fans were ticked off at all the remixes while causals ones were expecting a more traditional boxset probably in line with The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" box.  There was a great deal of gripes and grumbles from fans who thought they were purchasing a collection of Beatles hits and instead recieved a collection of Beatles alternate takes.  The "Anthology" also probably killed dead the possibly of any future Beatles releases (in the vein of The Beach Boys' "Hawthorne" or Dylan's "Bootleg Series") as well because "Anthology" truly exploited the most commercial material left in The Beatles vaults.  What remains in there now would only be of interests to the diehards whom The Beatles apparently don't market to.  But I digress.

Back to The Beach Boys:  The session tapes for "Don't Worry Baby" turned up recently correct? (post-"Hawthorne"?)  I'd love to hear an alternative version of that if it truly exists.  What are the status of some of the other sessions for sixties gems not found on official releases or boots?  Warmth Of The Sun?  Little Deuce Coupe?

Back to The Beatles:  The "Made In California" thing had me thinking, didn't The Beatles release a "Direct From Liverpool Box Set" back in the eighties that was more of a traditional box set that was packaged in a crate like package?  I think it was called "The Beatles Box" or something like that?

[Catbirdman]

I’m toying with the idea of approaching Made In California 100% spoiler-free. I mean, imagine how mind-blowing that experience could be, just to sit and listen track-by-track, in the moment, in real time, dazzled and surprised by it all.

Anyone else considering something like this?

That would mean, of course, I wouldn’t be able to get within 100 miles of this message board!

If enough people are interested, is it crazy talk to maybe create a “spoiler-free” section of the board or something like that?

[pixletwin]

I’m toying with the idea of approaching Made In California 100% spoiler-free. I mean, imagine how mind-blowing that experience could be, just to sit and listen track-by-track, in the moment, in real time, dazzled and surprised by it all.

Anyone else considering something like this?

That would mean, of course, I wouldn’t be able to get within 100 miles of this message board!

If enough people are interested, is it crazy talk to maybe create a “spoiler-free” section of the board or something like that?

Now that you mention it, I don't think I would mind going in spoiler free.. It would be hard to not peep at a tracklist beforehand though. 

[DonnyL]

I’m toying with the idea of approaching Made In California 100% spoiler-free. I mean, imagine how mind-blowing that experience could be, just to sit and listen track-by-track, in the moment, in real time, dazzled and surprised by it all.

Anyone else considering something like this?

That would mean, of course, I wouldn’t be able to get within 100 miles of this message board!

If enough people are interested, is it crazy talk to maybe create a “spoiler-free” section of the board or something like that?

big time!

Totally. wow, that's a great idea. I thought about this when I was randomly in a record store in Sacramento and saw TWGMTR on vinyl on the shelf. I bought it ... but I was thinking how much cooler it would have been, and how different my experience would have been if I didn't even know about it. 'woah, a new Beach Boys album!?!?' ... and you just take it home and put it on. Would have been a much different experience, and probably a better one.

[EgoHanger1966]

I would love to do that, but I don't have near enough the willpower. I'd have to live in an internet free world.

[Amanda Hart]

I would hate to see them ape the '93 box set. If it's mostly going to be a retread of that concept (hits, a few album cuts and a few unreleased studio cuts) I probably won't be buying.

We're talking 6 discs here.  That's more than a "few" cuts.  And yes, you'll buy it.
We all will.  People here need to stop expecting to be let down all the time.
Cheer up.

I'm not expecting to be let down, this could be a really great release. The Smile Sessions, The Pet Sounds Sessions and the Good Vibrations box sets were all amazing. As everyone has pointed out, including what I had in the part of my previous post that you didn't quote, there are a lot of ways to please everyone and maximize the appeal of this box to all markets. I just think it would be stupid of Capitol to put out another career spanning box set that's the same concept as one that is still readily available. I know it's going to go out of print, but it would still be really easy to get a hold of used copies. If it is just a retread, I seriously will probably not buy it. I didn't buy the singles box set or any of the last few comps that have been released. There isn't enough value for me to pony up $100+ for a bunch of stuff I already have with a sprinkling of new mixes.

[Shady]

I would hate to see them ape the '93 box set. If it's mostly going to be a retread of that concept (hits, a few album cuts and a few unreleased studio cuts) I probably won't be buying.

We're talking 6 discs here.  That's more than a "few" cuts.  And yes, you'll buy it.
We all will.  People here need to stop expecting to be let down all the time.
Cheer up.

It's better to set the bar low in life.

I've learned that the hard way   

[Jim V.]

Well in regards to The Beatles, EMI originally wanted to release a single LP of outtakes entitled "Sessions" back in 1985 but it was killed dead because The Beatles at that time had quite the contentious relationship with their old record label and were in the process of suing them.  For what it's worth, I'm of the opinion that "Sessions" might have been better recieved by the general public if it had been released in 1995 in comparison to the "Anthology" series.  Don't get me wrong "Anthology" sold a ton but back when it came out, diehard fans were ticked off at all the remixes while causals ones were expecting a more traditional boxset probably in line with The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" box.  There was a great deal of gripes and grumbles from fans who thought they were purchasing a collection of Beatles hits and instead recieved a collection of Beatles alternate takes.  The "Anthology" also probably killed dead the possibly of any future Beatles releases (in the vein of The Beach Boys' "Hawthorne" or Dylan's "Bootleg Series") as well because "Anthology" truly exploited the most commercial material left in The Beatles vaults.  What remains in there now would only be of interests to the diehards whom The Beatles apparently don't market to.  But I digress.

I agree that Sessions would have been a MUCH better release. It basically cut away the fat and would have given us most of the essential stuff. You could have had "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love" at the beginning, and that would be that.

However, I do think there is a bit of material left for a great Beatles archival release. You could have "Sour Milk Sea" with George on vocals, "Goodbye" by McCartney, a finished "Now And Then", and probably some other stuff.

But anyways, enough about The Beatles.

[Catbirdman]

Cool, well, if the idea turns out to have legs, maybe I could at least start a "Made In California Spoiler-Free BB Discussion Thread" thread.

Even then, though, it would hard not to peep at other thread titles.

It would also be a trick to persuade other kind souls to post major news updates, miscellaneous items of interest, etc. into our thread.

[pixletwin]

What would we post about?

[SloopJohnnyB]

I would hate to see them ape the '93 box set. If it's mostly going to be a retread of that concept (hits, a few album cuts and a few unreleased studio cuts) I probably won't be buying.

We're talking 6 discs here. That's more than a "few" cuts.  And yes, you'll buy it.
We all will.  People here need to stop expecting to be let down all the time.
Cheer up.

Agreed! Great things are on the way!

I'll buy the remasters and if they all end up on a complete works box set I'll buy that, too!... as long as they add a few unreleased concerts or something!   So much potential! So much to look forward to! Get Happy!

[Catbirdman]

What would we post about?

Well, there's a good question.  

Hmmm. Other than general Beach Boys discussion, which might get pretty stale given a limited pool of contributors, we could keep a running list of other threads on the board that are "safe." - we would have to rely on other spoiled folk to do the scouting though.

Hmmm. The only other ideas I can come up with would involve involvement of moderators: for example, threads could be designated "safe" and labelled as such before you click on them? Or maybe a new section is created, a la the TSS section? Naw, that would be difficult to maintain and lure others to provide "safe" updates. A whole 'nother section would just get ignored.

Who am I kidding - the only real option here is to just ignore the board altogether!  

[Shady]

What would we post about?

The Smile Sessions, TWGMTR, Love you?

 

[Jukka]

It would be nice to have the strength to wait until the box comes out, but I know myself too well. I'm too weak and curious for it.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I was thinking that a forum this important diserves a seriously try-hard mod, who would also redesign the site, while keeping the system easy to use.

I'm a young programmer, with no job as of now, I'd be happy to do it next week before I go back to school.

I know how to add "safe" and "spoiler" tags too.

[Shady]

I was thinking that a forum this important diserves a seriously try-hard mod, who would also redesign the site, while keeping the system easy to use.

I'm a young programmer, with no job as of now, I'd be happy to do it next week before I go back to school.

I know how to add "safe" and "spoiler" tags too.

At the risk of going off-topic I have to say, YES! this forum does need a redesign

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

I'm thinking it could look more like the cover of the album, or maybe a less futuristic look

[SurfRiderHawaii]

I seriously doubt they'll leave ANY of the major hits out. Consider: six discs, which is roughly seven hours and fifty minutes of music.  The band have had something like 55 charting singles, let's say two and three-quarter hours. Still leaves over five hours for classics, deep cuts and a bounty of archive tracks.

And some  new songs, according to Mr. Jardine,

[Catbirdman]

I've never been crazy about the look and feel of this forum to be honest. JMO. Hope I'm not offending anyone by saying that.

Do you mean the cover of the TWGMTR album? That might actually be extremely effective. Such a simple, elegant motif with those waves.

Anyway, a full-on redesign might be a pretty big bite to try to chew.

[The Shift]

I was thinking that a forum this important diserves a seriously try-hard mod, who would also redesign the site, while keeping the system easy to use.

I'm a young programmer, with no job as of now, I'd be happy to do it next week before I go back to school.

I know how to add "safe" and "spoiler" tags too.

At the risk of going off-topic I have to say, YES! this forum does need a redesign

Of all the boards I visit, this is the best laid-out and functioning of them all. It's practical and easy to use and most of the folk who post here are okay! That said, a "spoiler-free" facility might be cool.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

By re design, I mean the look, and not feel, but I could create a feature where you can mark a thread as "spoiler" when necessary.

[The Shift]

By re design, I mean the look, and not feel, but I could create a feature where you can mark a thread as "spoiler" when necessary.

Topic deserves a thread of its own so it can be chewed over among the throng, if the mods and Chuck are willing.

Back to the topic of the thread, I'd love for a "Desper Disc" in the box which offers aural analysis of some of his glorious engineering work in the same way he's offered up studies of CCW and TWGMTR in his own honoured guest thread. One can dream!

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

Done.

[punkinhead]

I would love to hear Mike's solo albums officially released. the quality on the bootlegs is terrible.

I agree...I'd even buy Goin Public and that's sayin a lot

[The Shift]

I would love to hear Mike's solo albums officially released. the quality on the bootlegs is terrible.

I agree...I'd even buy Goin Public and that's sayin a lot

Same here... I've three editions already...

Y'know who else we should be including? Blondie - his solo offerings are some of the best of all the present and former Beach Boys. He might have had only a short tenure with the band but I wish this reunion was benefitting from his presence and his creative input. That could have been the sugar frosting on the icing on the marzipan on the cake!