50th Anniversary live double CD up for pre-order on Amazon

[Wirestone]

Predictions for the Billboard Charts?

I know there is no QVC promotion. TWGMTR was heavily promoted. A few people have written in and said it was hard to find a copy in stores.  

I still think this one could land in the Top 20 album charts. I hope it makes the top 10.

I hate to say it, but I would be shocked if this broke the Top 100.  That's not a knock on the album, I love it. I just don't think it's going to sell much.

Ummm Don't hold your breath , It's currently No4 on Amazon.com  

Amazon sales do not translate to Billboard chart placings, at least not directly. They skew to an older demographic that still buys copies of physical CDs ...

[Shady]

Why would Capitol be surprised if this CD doesn't sell.

It has received literally zero promotion outside a few facebook posts.

And of course in classic Capitol fashion, we're hearing it's hard to find in stores.

[Awesoman]

So I finally got the damn thing in the mail.  I have listened to most of it.  Yes, it's over-produced.  But it's hardly the "disaster" people are making it out to be.  Get over it.  I'm finding it to be enjoyable for the most part.  The second disc seems a bit more manufactured than the first one.  Didn't realize that a couple songs like "Don't Worry Baby" and "You're So Good To Me" didn't make the cut.  Still, I'm not having a panic attack over the questionable touch-ups.  As glossy as this live album is, it's still sonically better than McCartney's Good Evening New York City. 

[AndrewHickey]

So I finally got the damn thing in the mail.  I have listened to most of it.  Yes, it's over-produced.  But it's hardly the "disaster" people are making it out to be.  Get over it. 

People have different tastes, and different levels of tolerance for that kind of thing. Personally, I'm *just about* glad I've got the CD, as there are enough good moments on it to justify purchase for me, but I find a big chunk of it sounds horrible. There will be other people who find the whole thing unlistenable, and those people are not wrong to think so, and shouldn't "get over it", any more than you're wrong to like it.

My own view is that this is, other than its length, the worst of the official live releases, when it should have been the best given the performances they had to work with. It isn't a disaster, but it is a bit of a shame.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

There will be other people who find the whole thing unlistenable, and those people are not wrong to think so, and shouldn't "get over it", any more than you're wrong to like it.

Exactly.   

Notice those who aren't impressed with the album don't have this desperation to get everyone round to their point of view as (some of) those who like it. That "get over it" remark is a hallmark of someone who doesn't have confidence in their own opinion.

[Rocker]

BTW did we mention that there's another "livealbum" with double tracking? Party! So I don't think Joe Thomas should get all the badmouthing, Brian had a bigger role than we think




Party is one of my favorite BBs albums....

[AndrewHickey]

BTW did we mention that there's another "livealbum" with double tracking? Party! So I don't think Joe Thomas should get all the badmouthing, Brian had a bigger role than we think

Very few people expected there to be no changes made to the live recordings -- a *lot* of stuff was messed with on both Concert and Knebworth. It's the fact that the changes made have resulted in it sounding worse, rather than better, in many cases that people have a problem with.

[drbeachboy]

There will be other people who find the whole thing unlistenable, and those people are not wrong to think so, and shouldn't "get over it", any more than you're wrong to like it.

Exactly.  

Notice those who aren't impressed with the album don't have this desperation to get everyone round to their point of view as (some of) those who like it. That "get over it" remark is a hallmark of someone who doesn't have confidence in their own opinion.

You have to admit that there were quite a few people in here saying how lousy it sounded, and basing that lousy sound on streaming. Even with it's issues it is not nearly as bad as we were led to believe. The people say this stuff like it is fact. It is so hard to trust any info in this place anymore. People just spout-off without doing any critical listening. I am sure Awesoman is frustrated just like me and many others in here.

[AndrewHickey]

You have to admit that there were quite a few people in here saying how lousy it sounded, and basing that lousy sound on streaming. Even with it's issues it is not nearly as bad as we were led to believe. The people say this stuff like it is fact. It is so hard to trust any info in this place anymore. People just spout-off without doing any critical listening. I am sure Awesoman is frustrated just like me and many others in here.

There *were* people saying that, yes, before they had access to the CD. The bits that they heard did -- and do -- sound that bad. There are plenty of people who *have* been doing critical listening -- and note that the people saying "get over it" tend also to be the people saying "just put it on in your car and go out for a drive", not "listen to it intently on high end equipment".

There are some people -- like Stephen -- who will find this kind of thing utterly unlistenable. There are others, like you, who don't. And then there are those in the middle, like myself, who find that the production detracts from their enjoyment badly, but not to the extent that it totally destroys the album for them. All those people are likely to state their opinions as facts, just because that's how people talk. None of them should be trying to force others round to their way of thinking, and none of them are wrong.

If you want real critical listening, incidentally, look at the "Analysis of the Live 50th Anniversary Tour CD" thread. If you ignore the juvenile antics of OldSurferDude and SmileBrian, there's some good analysis from AlFall there.

[Wirestone]

Regardless of the sound source, stuff like this is always subjective to a degree, especially when fandom is involved. For the record, every one of my substantive comments was based on a silver disc bought five days before the official release date. And I found every one of the streaming excerpts to accurately reflect the album's contents.

[Cabinessenceking]

Why would Capitol be surprised if this CD doesn't sell.

It has received literally zero promotion outside a few facebook posts.

And of course in classic Capitol fashion, we're hearing it's hard to find in stores.

Most likely because some executive listened to it, correctly labelled it 'shite' and ordered a quiet release 

[Freddie French-Pounce]

Regardless of the sound source, stuff like this is always subjective to a degree, especially when fandom is involved. For the record, every one of my substantive comments was based on a silver disc bought five days before the official release date. And I found every one of the streaming excerpts to accurately reflect the album's contents.

Same here. Though of course streaming samples were mine 

[runnersdialzero]

Folks talk like a stream can create huge, glaring sonic flaws and I don't really get it. Streaming media has improved drastically over time and, unless some total n00b put these up with no knowledge of how to do so and also did so with a damaged copy of the album, a huge flaw (or several huge flaws, in the case of this album) is likely to be present on all sources. In fact, said huge flaw(s) is likely to be even more glaring when you hear it in better quality.

This is just like the folks who said cell phones and digital cameras were "creating" live autotune on the shows. It doesn't work that way.

[drbeachboy]

You have to admit that there were quite a few people in here saying how lousy it sounded, and basing that lousy sound on streaming. Even with it's issues it is not nearly as bad as we were led to believe. The people say this stuff like it is fact. It is so hard to trust any info in this place anymore. People just spout-off without doing any critical listening. I am sure Awesoman is frustrated just like me and many others in here.

There *were* people saying that, yes, before they had access to the CD. The bits that they heard did -- and do -- sound that bad. There are plenty of people who *have* been doing critical listening -- and note that the people saying "get over it" tend also to be the people saying "just put it on in your car and go out for a drive", not "listen to it intently on high end equipment".

There are some people -- like Stephen -- who will find this kind of thing utterly unlistenable. There are others, like you, who don't. And then there are those in the middle, like myself, who find that the production detracts from their enjoyment badly, but not to the extent that it totally destroys the album for them. All those people are likely to state their opinions as facts, just because that's how people talk. None of them should be trying to force others round to their way of thinking, and none of them are wrong.

If you want real critical listening, incidentally, look at the "Analysis of the Live 50th Anniversary Tour CD" thread. If you ignore the juvenile antics of OldSurferDude and SmileBrian, there's some good analysis from AlFall there.

I am pretty much past the analysis stage after just 4 days of listening. It is what it is. It's not In Concert or even Live In London, but a typical Brian Wilson super clean live show with The Beach Boys along for the ride. Except for the shitty autotune job on a few of the vocals, it is pretty much how I expected a Brian produced live album to sound.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

Spotify is replacing "all this is that" with the version from 1974 Nassau which is on my hard drive. Strange, every other song plays as it should. Carl came back for one song 

[Awesoman]

There will be other people who find the whole thing unlistenable, and those people are not wrong to think so, and shouldn't "get over it", any more than you're wrong to like it.

Exactly.   

Notice those who aren't impressed with the album don't have this desperation to get everyone round to their point of view as (some of) those who like it. That "get over it" remark is a hallmark of someone who doesn't have confidence in their own opinion.

Yeah?  Well tell that to Don Henley.  

Seriously folks, not criticizing anyone for liking or disliking the album.  I'm simply responding to the over-the-top "the sky is falling" panic over how the album sounds.  You know, the "it's a disaster!" or "it sounds so bad it won't sell!" paranoia.  The honest truth is that the joe-average fan is not really going to care one way or another how doctored up the Beach Robots sound and will get some enjoyment out of it nonetheless.  So let's not overreact, shall we?  I mean, we'll have plenty of time to be miserable once the box set finally shows up.  

[Iron Horse-Apples]

So let's not overreact, shall we?  I mean, we'll have plenty of time to be miserable once the box set finally shows up.  

Can of worms anyone?

But as I've said before, if it has even half the stuff mentioned, I'll be happy. 

[Don't Back Down]

Speaking of "Fun, Fun, Fun" anyone else catch the "Rhapsody In Blue" quote at the end?

Yeah, that's a hangover from Brian's band I think, I remember them doing it at the RFH for the Gershwin tour, which of course makes total sense there - it's still cool on a wholly BB's show.

They've been doing that all along -- if you watch the Brian Wilson On Tour DVD Scott does it there -- it's something he's added all along.

Wow, very cool! I had no idea he's been doing it until now. Thanks!
hypehat: Yeah, for sure!

[Rocker]

I just posted this in the meadia section. I like this picture even better than the cover.

[Matt H]

Are there bonus tracks for this from any retailers or countries?

[oldsurferdude]

You have to admit that there were quite a few people in here saying how lousy it sounded, and basing that lousy sound on streaming. Even with it's issues it is not nearly as bad as we were led to believe. The people say this stuff like it is fact. It is so hard to trust any info in this place anymore. People just spout-off without doing any critical listening. I am sure Awesoman is frustrated just like me and many others in here.

There *were* people saying that, yes, before they had access to the CD. The bits that they heard did -- and do -- sound that bad. There are plenty of people who *have* been doing critical listening -- and note that the people saying "get over it" tend also to be the people saying "just put it on in your car and go out for a drive", not "listen to it intently on high end equipment".

There are some people -- like Stephen -- who will find this kind of thing utterly unlistenable. There are others, like you, who don't. And then there are those in the middle, like myself, who find that the production detracts from their enjoyment badly, but not to the extent that it totally destroys the album for them. All those people are likely to state their opinions as facts, just because that's how people talk. None of them should be trying to force others round to their way of thinking, and none of them are wrong.

If you want real critical listening, incidentally, look at the "Analysis of the Live 50th Anniversary Tour CD" thread. If you ignore the juvenile antics of OldSurferDude and SmileBrian, there's some good analysis from AlFall there.

Hey, Smile Brian, looks like the Hixster likes to spend his time evaluating and judging our posts along with some name calling. Who does that remind you of that isn't around these parts anymore? Did we say something off color about the Hixster?? Are we not permitted here to state our opinions without being put through his meat grinder? Time for a pow wow methinks.

[Wirestone]

Replying to other people's posts is one of the basic functions of a message board.

[Iron Horse-Apples]

You have to admit that there were quite a few people in here saying how lousy it sounded, and basing that lousy sound on streaming. Even with it's issues it is not nearly as bad as we were led to believe. The people say this stuff like it is fact. It is so hard to trust any info in this place anymore. People just spout-off without doing any critical listening. I am sure Awesoman is frustrated just like me and many others in here.

There *were* people saying that, yes, before they had access to the CD. The bits that they heard did -- and do -- sound that bad. There are plenty of people who *have* been doing critical listening -- and note that the people saying "get over it" tend also to be the people saying "just put it on in your car and go out for a drive", not "listen to it intently on high end equipment".

There are some people -- like Stephen -- who will find this kind of thing utterly unlistenable. There are others, like you, who don't. And then there are those in the middle, like myself, who find that the production detracts from their enjoyment badly, but not to the extent that it totally destroys the album for them. All those people are likely to state their opinions as facts, just because that's how people talk. None of them should be trying to force others round to their way of thinking, and none of them are wrong.

If you want real critical listening, incidentally, look at the "Analysis of the Live 50th Anniversary Tour CD" thread. If you ignore the juvenile antics of OldSurferDude and SmileBrian, there's some good analysis from AlFall there.

Hey, Smile Brian, looks like the Hixster likes to spend his time evaluating and judging our posts along with some name calling. Who does that remind you of that isn't around these parts anymore?

The similarity ends with their first names.

[Pretty Funky]

Are there bonus tracks for this from any retailers or countries?

Japan releases often have bonus tracks apparently but a quick search on Tower Records Japan show the standard live album at this stage.

[oldsurferdude]

You have to admit that there were quite a few people in here saying how lousy it sounded, and basing that lousy sound on streaming. Even with it's issues it is not nearly as bad as we were led to believe. The people say this stuff like it is fact. It is so hard to trust any info in this place anymore. People just spout-off without doing any critical listening. I am sure Awesoman is frustrated just like me and many others in here.

There *were* people saying that, yes, before they had access to the CD. The bits that they heard did -- and do -- sound that bad. There are plenty of people who *have* been doing critical listening -- and note that the people saying "get over it" tend also to be the people saying "just put it on in your car and go out for a drive", not "listen to it intently on high end equipment".

There are some people -- like Stephen -- who will find this kind of thing utterly unlistenable. There are others, like you, who don't. And then there are those in the middle, like myself, who find that the production detracts from their enjoyment badly, but not to the extent that it totally destroys the album for them. All those people are likely to state their opinions as facts, just because that's how people talk. None of them should be trying to force others round to their way of thinking, and none of them are wrong.

If you want real critical listening, incidentally, look at the "Analysis of the Live 50th Anniversary Tour CD" thread. If you ignore the juvenile antics of OldSurferDude and SmileBrian, there's some good analysis from AlFall there.

Hey, Smile Brian, looks like the Hixster likes to spend his time evaluating and judging our posts along with some name calling. Who does that remind you of that isn't around these parts anymore?

The similarity ends with their first names.

No, nuke-em, not quite-the agdster was quite prone to calling other posters whom he did not agree with selected names baseed on whether or not he was having or did have a "bad" day.