Where is that %^&$@#&* MIC Box Set @#$%^&*(!!!

[Andrew G. Doe]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Not if '(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again' isn't on it it won't have been...

Why not wait and see ?

[The Shift]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

So, June.

My eagerness will be tested, my wallet will appreciate the extra time.

[Jay]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Not if '(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again' isn't on it it won't have been...

So you wouldn't settle for the 1974 demo of California Feeling*? Or any other recordings of Brian from the same period?



*This is meant as purely a hypothetical statement, and does not to reflect on anything that may or may not be released on said box(ed) set.

[Andrew G. Doe]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Not if '(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again' isn't on it it won't have been...

So you wouldn't settle for the 1974 demo of California Feeling*? Or any other recordings of Brian from the same period?



*This is meant as purely a hypothetical statement, and does not to reflect on anything that may or may not be released on said box(ed) set.

Some folk would want both. Who knows, they may be delighted, or disappointed. We'll see, in time.

'Course, once the box is released Eeyore will be freed from the Cohen of Silence, and I'm not entirely sure that's a reasonable trade off...

[AndrewHickey]

I half-want the box to contain about 300 unreleased tracks, but still not Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again, just because the obsession with that track, usually by people who've never heard it, seems so over-the-top.

Even better if they have two live versions of Wouldn't It Be Nice, one labelled Wouldn't It Be Nice (Live) and the other Wouldn't It Be Nice (Live Again).

[Bill M]

Or maybe Wouldn't it be Nice 2 (Live Again).

Anyway, Peter's post is very encouraging news.

[Awesoman]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Thanx for the update, Peter!

[Awesoman]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Not if '(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again' isn't on it it won't have been...

Hope to hear "Carry Me Home" on there as well!

[the professor]

Yes, thank you Peter. The professor's list of queries and anticipations seems to be making headway. Have you all seen and noted the posting under "Goldmine"/ ESQ thread where the ESQ editor suggests we "bet on" the BB being back in the studio next year? Does anyone have more information or some confirmation (in as much as such a notion can be confirmed).

[Disney Boy (1985)]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Not if '(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again' isn't on it it won't have been...

So you wouldn't settle for the 1974 demo of California Feeling*? Or any other recordings of Brian from the same period?



*This is meant as purely a hypothetical statement, and does not to reflect on anything that may or may not be released on said box(ed) set.

In short: No.

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to hear those tracks, but there is no single track in the vaults i want to hear more than WIBNTLA, and such is the clamour amongst so many other fans also desperately wanting to hear it, it'd just be nothing short of perverse for it not to be included on the box. Willfully provocative almost. If WIBNTLA wasn't on the box i'd be utterly, absolutely dejected - no matter what else we were given instead. 

A previous poster's comment that he'd almost like the song not to be included because of all the endless hype around it was stupid in the extreme - I'm fairly certain he wouldn't feel the same way if this was a Brian track we were discussing.   

[I. Spaceman]

I'd love to hear and own Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again as well. There has been an insane amount of hype around it, tho, and that type of thing is a setup for disappointment. Not that the track wouldn't be incredible, I'm sure it is, but nothing can stand up to the type of anticipation that has been set up.
Also, there is a reason why some folks would be more excited about an unreleased Brian Wilson song versus an unreleased Dennis Wilson song. Me, I'll take both.

[EgoHanger1966]

At least it's not totally mysterious - we have a version that is said to be very authentic to the original recording (Adam Marsland) - all of us have heard what this song sounds like, and can imagine it in our heads as being sung by Dennis with Brian + Carl backing vox. Yeah, we've built it up, but how could it not be insanely great?

[Jim V.]

I'd love to hear and own Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again as well. There has been an insane amount of hype around it, tho, and that type of thing is a setup for disappointment. Not that the track wouldn't be incredible, I'm sure it is, but nothing can stand up to the type of anticipation that has been set up.
Also, there is a reason why some folks would be more excited about an unreleased Brian Wilson song versus an unreleased Dennis Wilson song. Me, I'll take both.

I'm with Ian here. I'd like to own a copy of "Live Again" just as much as the next guy, but I am unabashedly more of a Brian Wilson fan then a Dennis Wilson fan, so I'm kinda more excited to hear stuff like the "Where Is She" and the 1974 "California Feelin'". If that bugs somebody, then I'm sorry. Maybe "Live Again" will exceed everybody's expectations and it will be a favorite of the all on this board. Or it might just be something I file along with "Cuddle Up" and listen to every so often and enjoy.

[smilethebeachboysloveyou]

I'd love to hear and own Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again as well. There has been an insane amount of hype around it, tho, and that type of thing is a setup for disappointment. Not that the track wouldn't be incredible, I'm sure it is, but nothing can stand up to the type of anticipation that has been set up.
Also, there is a reason why some folks would be more excited about an unreleased Brian Wilson song versus an unreleased Dennis Wilson song. Me, I'll take both.

I'm with Ian here. I'd like to own a copy of "Live Again" just as much as the next guy, but I am unabashedly more of a Brian Wilson fan then a Dennis Wilson fan, so I'm kinda more excited to hear stuff like the "Where Is She" and the 1974 "California Feelin'". If that bugs somebody, then I'm sorry. Maybe "Live Again" will exceed everybody's expectations and it will be a favorite of the all on this board. Or it might just be something I file along with "Cuddle Up" and listen to every so often and enjoy.

No reason it should bug anybody; hopefully we will all be satisfied.  I would also call myself more of a Brian Wilson fan than a Dennis Wilson fan, but am more excited for "Live Again" than, say, the 1974 version of "California Feelin'" because I already heard several versions of the latter song, and while I don't doubt that the 1974 demo is superior to them, I have no Dennis Wilson recordings of "Live Again" at all.  Furthermore, I don't think "California Feelin'" is among Brian's greatest work, whereas most reports of "Live Again" put it with Dennis' greatest songwriting work and also say that it's his best lead vocal.

[♩♬🐸 Billy C ♯♫♩🐇]

I have to hear 74 CF just for the fact it is Brian's last ever vocal before his voice permanently changed.

[Jim V.]

I have to hear 74 CF just for the fact it is Brian's last ever vocal before his voice permanently changed.

Actually wasn't the 1975 version of "In The Back Of My Mind" the last recorded instance of the the classic voice and the first recorded instance of the new voice. I'd like hear this, btu "California Feelin'" is much higher on my list of "must hear's".

[AndrewHickey]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Not if '(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again' isn't on it it won't have been...

So you wouldn't settle for the 1974 demo of California Feeling*? Or any other recordings of Brian from the same period?



*This is meant as purely a hypothetical statement, and does not to reflect on anything that may or may not be released on said box(ed) set.

In short: No.

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to hear those tracks, but there is no single track in the vaults i want to hear more than WIBNTLA, and such is the clamour amongst so many other fans also desperately wanting to hear it, it'd just be nothing short of perverse for it not to be included on the box. Willfully provocative almost. If WIBNTLA wasn't on the box i'd be utterly, absolutely dejected - no matter what else we were given instead. 

A previous poster's comment that he'd almost like the song not to be included because of all the endless hype around it was stupid in the extreme - I'm fairly certain he wouldn't feel the same way if this was a Brian track we were discussing.   

I'd have exactly the same attitude no matter what the song was. People are saying that if one track they've not heard isn't on the box set, then all the other tracks they've not heard, the names of which they don't even know, must be worthless.

No record could possibly ever live up to the hype that's built up around that track. I've no doubt it's good, but I bet at least half the people who are saying that no release could possibly be worth having without it would say, if it gets released, that it's not much good. People are building up a fantasy because as long as it remains unreleased they can imagine that it's perfect.

[Jay]

The Made in California set is on track for release after the New Year. Probably early Spring. It will be worth the wait.

Not if '(Wouldn't It Be Nice To) Live Again' isn't on it it won't have been...

So you wouldn't settle for the 1974 demo of California Feeling*? Or any other recordings of Brian from the same period?



*This is meant as purely a hypothetical statement, and does not to reflect on anything that may or may not be released on said box(ed) set.

In short: No.

Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to hear those tracks, but there is no single track in the vaults i want to hear more than WIBNTLA, and such is the clamour amongst so many other fans also desperately wanting to hear it, it'd just be nothing short of perverse for it not to be included on the box. Willfully provocative almost. If WIBNTLA wasn't on the box i'd be utterly, absolutely dejected - no matter what else we were given instead. 

A previous poster's comment that he'd almost like the song not to be included because of all the endless hype around it was stupid in the extreme - I'm fairly certain he wouldn't feel the same way if this was a Brian track we were discussing.   

Give them the world, and they want the moon...

[I. Spaceman]

  People are building up a fantasy because as long as it remains unreleased they can imagine that it's perfect.

That's what Smile is about as well, but that is fine, because we'll never really hear it, so it will always remain perfect in each person's conception of it.

[FatherOfTheMan Sr101]

The Adam Marsland version is incredible in its own right.
If its even a little bit better, it's basically Dennis' Surf's Up.

I've actually lowered the pitch on the live recording to the
original to see what it's like, it's really REALLY good.
Easily the best Dennis BB track (and probably better then most of POB)

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Look, my thoughts on WIBNTLA are this: both AGD and Jon Stebbins - both of whom have of course heard it - are both on record as stating that it is the single greatest unreleased Beach Boys track in the vaults. They don't say this about Where Is She, or California Feelin', or any other song, they say this about WIBNTLA. And generally i assume these two know what they are talking about.

Yes, Brian was the greatest songwriter in the band, period. Of course he was. But that doesn't mean every single song he wrote is automatically better than songs by the rest of the group, and an unreleased song by Brian isn't particuarly likely to be better than an unreleased song by Dennis.

As for the hype, who cares? The thought of not wanting to hear a song because it's had a lot of hype seems bonkers to me. Are people really that easily disappointed? Don't be so easily swayed.

Oh, and how's this for restraint? I've got the Adam Marsland CD but i've never, ever listened to WIBNTLA. Seriously. Because i want it to be that when i hear the original version on the boxset (I'm keeping faith it'll be on there), i want that to be the first time i hear it, so it can be totally fresh and surprising. So not everyone's heard a version of WIBNTLA yet, some of us are pointedly holding out for the original. And that is why i don't want to just settle for another version of California Feelin'...

[AndrewHickey]

Look, my thoughts on WIBNTLA are this: both AGD and Jon Stebbins - both of whom have of course heard it - are both on record as stating that it is the single greatest unreleased Beach Boys track in the vaults. They don't say this about Where Is She, or California Feelin', or any other song, they say this about WIBNTLA. And generally i assume these two know what they are talking about.

Yes, Brian was the greatest songwriter in the band, period. Of course he was. But that doesn't mean every single song he wrote is automatically better than songs by the rest of the group, and an unreleased song by Brian isn't particuarly likely to be better than an unreleased song by Dennis.

No-one except you has said anything about Brian songs being better. You're arguing with a straw man.

And yes, both AGD and Jon have said it's the best unreleased song left -- but while that's certainly suggestive, neither of them have perfect aesthetic judgement, any more than anyone else does.

Whoever puts the box set tracklist together will have heard the song -- and all the other songs available to them -- and will be making a judgement based on what works. I see no reason why their judgement, with the full information available to them, should actually be *worse* than that of someone who hasn't heard the music in question.

It makes perfect sense for someone who's heard the track to push for its release -- they've heard it, they know if it's any good by their own standards. But for someone who's not heard it, and not heard anything else that hasn't been booted, to say "I don't care if the people who've heard those songs think tracks X, Y and Z are more worthy of release, I want this track and won't buy the others"... that just seems daft to me.

[Andrew G. Doe]

And yes, both AGD and Jon have said it's the best unreleased song left -- but while that's certainly suggestive, neither of them have perfect aesthetic judgement, any more than anyone else does.

My good man, I beg to differ: my aesthetic judgement is fucking impeccable - am I not a long-time champion of Looking Back With Love ?  I rest my case. 

[Dave Modny]

At least it's not totally mysterious - we have a version that is said to be very authentic to the original recording (Adam Marsland) - all of us have heard what this song sounds like, and can imagine it in our heads as being sung by Dennis with Brian + Carl backing vox. Yeah, we've built it up, but how could it not be insanely great?

That's how I feel about it as well. That is, thanks to the Adam-Evie version, we can pretty much fill in the blanks in our heads as to what it will sound like, considering the era that it was recorded and the players involved. It's a great DW-SS collaboration, with a classic, infectious melody and lyrics, so it would have to be pretty awful in execution for me to be disappointed with it (which I seriously doubt, courtesy of the detailed descriptions that we already have and considering the era again). Ultimately, it doesn't need to be the greatest thing since sliced bread to squash any "hype" for me. Just another solid piece of the BBs-Dennis puzzle in that place in time, which from all indications, it is in spades.

Also, my gut feeling is that it will be released on the upcoming box. With the recent remasters not going the bonus track route, this is the best place for it to be, and frankly, the most enticing place where the band can put it. I'm sure the powers-that-be aren't stupid in their realization that it's the rarities that are going to attract most fans into shelling out the big bucks for this set in a tough economy, and they're going to need a prime Dennis rarity or three to help fill that requirement. The fact that we came within an inch of having the recording released a decade ago tells me that there's no good reason not to release it, nor is the band necessarily averse to the idea. And unlike the fact that it was nixed from Summer Love Songs, I don't think it will be an either-or type scenario with the box here due to the space at hand. Like I said, if they're looking for Dennis rarities, as well as acclaim for the set, why not put their best foot forward? It serves them *all* well in the end - both artistically and financially. The hardcore fan base isn't getting any younger, and as we sadly just found out again, the kind of audience that wants to savor and appreciate this track isn't going to be around forever. On that note, I know the track was played at fan gatherings; I just truly hope Les got a chance to properly soak it all in, in nice quality, before his untimely passing. Forever indeed.


Now, if internal politics or some greater master plan trump all of the above, there better be damned good reason (IMNSHO). As someone else implied, it would seem awfully contemptuous at this point not to include it. Frankly, I just can't believe that would happen (or don't want to believe it). Most likely, this is going to be the last, all-encompassing career overview that the band ever does. Make it count, check egos and any past history, and make it the best. And again, due to the delay, all indications are that this is exactly what they are doing.


PS - My other big "fear," a few months back and considering its potential, was that the reunited band would dismantle the track and attempt to re-cook it into a "new" studio song. I still hope that idea never comes to pass -- namely if it translates into the original track being deep-sixed 'til the end of time. Though, I think it would be a great dream to have the band be in some kind of position to play the track *live* one day. In fact, that actually sounds like a not-half-bad way to promote the box and as another tribute to the original band. Best of all worlds.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Look, my thoughts on WIBNTLA are this: both AGD and Jon Stebbins - both of whom have of course heard it - are both on record as stating that it is the single greatest unreleased Beach Boys track in the vaults. They don't say this about Where Is She, or California Feelin', or any other song, they say this about WIBNTLA. And generally i assume these two know what they are talking about.

Yes, Brian was the greatest songwriter in the band, period. Of course he was. But that doesn't mean every single song he wrote is automatically better than songs by the rest of the group, and an unreleased song by Brian isn't particuarly likely to be better than an unreleased song by Dennis.

No-one except you has said anything about Brian songs being better. You're arguing with a straw man.

Well you're being deliberately disingenuous there - no no-one said it exactly as you've written it there, but many people did imply it heavily, saying basically that surely having some unreleased Brian stuff instead would be as good, if not better.