MiC up for order on Amazon, August release

[guitarfool2002]

I noticed on Amazon that Burt Bacharach's new set (which also has 6 discs and a book) is $78.95 (or £36.35) which would be a fair price for MiC. I haven't seen many sets that are anything like this price unless they have many more discs.

More than a fair price! Like I said, let the hype simmer down and a retailer will have a much better price for this one too. That 130 price is cashing in on the excitement and it seems to be working.

Not that there is a comparison, but back in 1993 I belonged to BMG music service and scored the GV box set through them for under 30 bucks. All those clubs are long gone now.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

I do think it's fortunate that individual songs can be purchased on the net nowadays so that people don't have the awkward choice of spending the $130 or never hearing the songs. That price is far too high in my opinion...especially when you consider that the new Harry Nilsson set that was mentioned recently is $110 for 17 discs!!!

I did understand that this was always intended to be a career spanning box set and that it was intended to be an updated GV box set. I don't think that has been entirely successful though.

Firstly, because if the intention was to include the best songs from throughout their career then it doesn't 100% succeed. For example, only 11 songs are included from 1980 to 2013. They include crappy covers like Da Doo Ron Ron and Why Don't they Let Us Fall in Love and omit Where I Belong, Somewhere Near Japan, From There to Back Again (along with any decent unreleased songs that might exist) etc. I don't see the logic.

The inclusion of the 15 live songs again doesn't quite make sense to me. Some of them seem like great choices but if this is meant to be a career spanning set then why not cover their entire touring career? There is nothing from their first couple of years of touring or from between the years 1976 and 1992. These things make disc 5 seem like a mess to me.

I can understand people making comments like, 'if you've got the boots then why do you want the unreleased songs?'. But if more unreleased songs (or just better unreleased songs than the 2 covers mentioned) could have been included in a cohesive line-up then I think that would have been much more appealing than having songs on a bootleg where they are surrounded by mediocre stuff. That's what happened with the GV set imo and I don't think it has happened quite so well here (which may well be the band members' fault rather than the compilers).

I won't be spending $130 on this but if the price isn't reduced then I will be happy to get hold of the most interesting songs via the net and burn them onto a disc that I would want to listen to all the way through which isn't the case with discs 1-4 here.

Not joshing you Nicko, am in total agreement with your thoughts on MIC. I think your thread posts are spot on!

[Nicko1234]

Well, they did include the two decent unreleased songs from that period -- Soul Searchin' and You're Still A Mystery. I imagine they don't want to cannibalise sales for the last album by including anything other than the singles, and personally I wouldn't want any more stuff we've already got replacing unreleased tracks.

That depends on whether there are any decent outtakes from MiC itself surely. Or how Oh Lord and And I Always Will turned out in 1985. Or Carl's song that was intended for Still Cruisin'. Or the Al songs that are unreleased etc. If there are no decent unreleased songs from that era then there are from other eras obviously. Including, for example, Where I Belong and It's Trying to Say would have made a lot more sense than Solar System and Da Doo Ron Ron...

I guess my feeling as well is that the world did not really need this collection anyway. Since the GV set was released the group have released 2 studio albums. One is not represented here at all and the other just has the two singles. Hardly justification on artistic grounds for its release unless they had tried to make it very significantly from the former set.

[hypehat]

Will be watching the pre-order price to see if it will move downward the way TSS did...

Glad that the waiting and anxiety over MIC is at last over, and that so many of the unreleased cuts will now (at last!) surface.

Just wanted that live version of "Mess of Help," however. WAAH!!!!  

If you preorder it now, Amazon will keep the price you pre-ordered at as a guarantee - if the price drops below $130, you'll pay less, but if it goes up, you'll still pay $130.

Be prepared for more than a few emails from Amazon telling you they've put $0.50 on the price but you're not paying that, you lucky consumer, though.

[Nicko1234]

Not joshing you Nicko, am in total agreement with your thoughts on MIC. I think your thread posts are spot on!

When I've removed my chin from the floor I will post a response to that. 

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Not joshing you Nicko, am in total agreement with your thoughts on MIC. I think your thread posts are spot on!

When I've removed my chin from the floor I will post a response to that. 

Your analysis is like you are reading my mind. No jive. Good job!

[JohnMill]

When does "Beach Boys Central" open up with mp3 downloads of things they are too embarrassed to release in a physical format?

Honestly, this would be a perfect solution, and they're already paying for the domain name, so....

We should start a petition.

I'm surprised more bands haven't gotten on this type of bandwagon.  The Beatles would make a dead set killing releasing their complete archives for download online.  The Beach Boys would do a brisk business as well.  Now while I'm surprised I can't say I don't understand why they haven't.  We're looking at it from the perspective of the hardcore fanbase, they are looking at it from the perspective of musicians.

[hypehat]

One problem with that is that you could never release anything else on CD by The Beatles, or The Beach Boys, or whoever, again. Especially in this age of filesharing. It essentially shuts down the future of releasing product for those bands.

The other problem is that people like physical products. Maybe my generation, or the next one, will totally eschew CD's for cloud based MP3s but physical media isn't dead yet. Besides, I could lose my laptop tomorrow, and then all my MP3s are gone. It's a bit harder to lose a CD as they rarely leave the house.

[JohnMill]

future archival releases.

One can hope...

If this was The beatles it would have promoted and compiled much differently.

I hadn't thought about this for a while as I'm not much of a fan any more, but those Anthology cds are a hideous disaster, in retrospect...

Why the hell didn't they just stick 'Strawberry Fields (take 1)' or whatever on there instead of cobbling together different takes like that? Awful.

They did. They had the clean Strawberry Fields demo, Strawberry Fields take 1, and Strawberry Fields take 7 -- except that they faded the latter out to fade in a bit of percussion track right at the end.

They either edited SFF (take one) or used a different source tape from the one that collectors know of.  Take One of SFF as it appears on collector's cds contains lush backing vocals not found on "Anthology"

[Shady]

FWIW. Bruce has posted on the brit site. Incredible to say, but he has no clue it would seem about just what is released.


Re(2): "Made In California" is up for preorder with "Wouldn't It Be Nice(To Live Again)" included!
Posted on June 11, 2013 at 10:26:02 PM by Bruce Johnston

Bobbreckwoldt:
I recently was doing an interview with Uncut Magazine for their July issue but I actually did not realize that the BB 50th live album is a 'collection' of several worldwide performances instead of a single recording from one concert. In addition, I had no idea that we had an upcoming box set in the works. Perhaps Uncut Magazine might find someone else from the band to interview who is more in the 'info loop' than me & I would not blame them.

I decided to go to Amazon's site today to look at what BB CD & DVD releases have been available since June 2012 and to see if any future releases will be listed.....
I counted one 'new' 2012 studio album, two greatest hits packages, Pet Sounds mono & stereo re-mastered CD (all four of these releases available also on MP3), two DVD releases (also on Blu-ray), and a box set being released at the end of this summer.

Everything that was released happened (and is still happening) over a fourteen month time frame. Seems like a lot of folks worked very hard around the clock to make all this music available.

Bruce Johnston
Montecito
June 11, 2013

PS: I think that there's a 'not yet edited' DVD/film of our BB 50th tour waiting in the wings, too.

So Bruce had no input on this box set...

Hmmm, that explains why it's not a total disaster  ..

That is strange though, not one person mentioned this career spanning box set to him, incredible.

[HeyJude]

future archival releases.

One can hope...

If this was The beatles it would have promoted and compiled much differently.

I hadn't thought about this for a while as I'm not much of a fan any more, but those Anthology cds are a hideous disaster, in retrospect...

Why the hell didn't they just stick 'Strawberry Fields (take 1)' or whatever on there instead of cobbling together different takes like that? Awful.

They did. They had the clean Strawberry Fields demo, Strawberry Fields take 1, and Strawberry Fields take 7 -- except that they faded the latter out to fade in a bit of percussion track right at the end.

They either edited SFF (take one) or used a different source tape from the one that collectors know of.  Take One of SFF as it appears on collector's cds contains lush backing vocals not found on "Anthology"

They used the same original multitrack, they simply mixed out the backing vocals. An artistic decision that I and most fans disagreed with, but it's the same uncut Take 1, just mixed differently.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

I noticed on Amazon that Burt Bacharach's new set (which also has 6 discs and a book) is $78.95 (or £36.35) which would be a fair price for MiC. I haven't seen many sets that are anything like this price unless they have many more discs.

More than a fair price! Like I said, let the hype simmer down and a retailer will have a much better price for this one too. That 130 price is cashing in on the excitement and it seems to be working.

Not that there is a comparison, but back in 1993 I belonged to BMG music service and scored the GV box set through them for under 30 bucks. All those clubs are long gone now.

Glad I didn't fork over any $ for 50 Big Ones.

[JohnMill]

FWIW. Bruce has posted on the brit site. Incredible to say, but he has no clue it would seem about just what is released.


Re(2): "Made In California" is up for preorder with "Wouldn't It Be Nice(To Live Again)" included!
Posted on June 11, 2013 at 10:26:02 PM by Bruce Johnston

Bobbreckwoldt:
I recently was doing an interview with Uncut Magazine for their July issue but I actually did not realize that the BB 50th live album is a 'collection' of several worldwide performances instead of a single recording from one concert. In addition, I had no idea that we had an upcoming box set in the works. Perhaps Uncut Magazine might find someone else from the band to interview who is more in the 'info loop' than me & I would not blame them.

I decided to go to Amazon's site today to look at what BB CD & DVD releases have been available since June 2012 and to see if any future releases will be listed.....
I counted one 'new' 2012 studio album, two greatest hits packages, Pet Sounds mono & stereo re-mastered CD (all four of these releases available also on MP3), two DVD releases (also on Blu-ray), and a box set being released at the end of this summer.

Everything that was released happened (and is still happening) over a fourteen month time frame. Seems like a lot of folks worked very hard around the clock to make all this music available.

Bruce Johnston
Montecito
June 11, 2013

PS: I think that there's a 'not yet edited' DVD/film of our BB 50th tour waiting in the wings, too.

So Bruce had no input on this box set...

Hmmm, that explains why it's not a total disaster  ..

That is strange though, not one person mentioned this career spanning box set to him, incredible.

Shady if it was any other band I'd be surprised.  But with this band as long as I've been following them now, nothing surprises me.

[Shady]

FWIW. Bruce has posted on the brit site. Incredible to say, but he has no clue it would seem about just what is released.


Re(2): "Made In California" is up for preorder with "Wouldn't It Be Nice(To Live Again)" included!
Posted on June 11, 2013 at 10:26:02 PM by Bruce Johnston

Bobbreckwoldt:
I recently was doing an interview with Uncut Magazine for their July issue but I actually did not realize that the BB 50th live album is a 'collection' of several worldwide performances instead of a single recording from one concert. In addition, I had no idea that we had an upcoming box set in the works. Perhaps Uncut Magazine might find someone else from the band to interview who is more in the 'info loop' than me & I would not blame them.

I decided to go to Amazon's site today to look at what BB CD & DVD releases have been available since June 2012 and to see if any future releases will be listed.....
I counted one 'new' 2012 studio album, two greatest hits packages, Pet Sounds mono & stereo re-mastered CD (all four of these releases available also on MP3), two DVD releases (also on Blu-ray), and a box set being released at the end of this summer.

Everything that was released happened (and is still happening) over a fourteen month time frame. Seems like a lot of folks worked very hard around the clock to make all this music available.

Bruce Johnston
Montecito
June 11, 2013

PS: I think that there's a 'not yet edited' DVD/film of our BB 50th tour waiting in the wings, too.

So Bruce had no input on this box set...

Hmmm, that explains why it's not a total disaster  ..

That is strange though, not one person mentioned this career spanning box set to him, incredible.

Shady if it was any other band I'd be surprised.  But with this band as long as I've been following them now, nothing surprises me.

People call Brian crazy. Every single Beach Boy is nuts

[guitarfool2002]

I wasn't going to mention Bruce's message, but it's more than a little hard to believe the topic of this box set didn't come up at any time as he and Mike are/were touring. Unless they travel separately or something. 

Seriously, though, that is a baffling comment for someone in the actual band to make, you know?

[Mahalo]

The further Bruce the "Friends Hater" is away from this set, the better. Seriously. That soul-less dork hates Friends. How can you hate Friends?!! Meant For You is 20 seconds of heaven.

[JohnMill]

The further Bruce the "Friends Hater" is away from this set, the better. Seriously. That soul-less dork hates Friends. How can you hate Friends?!! Meant For You is 20 seconds of heaven.

Hmm I just noticed there is an alternate version of "Meant For You" on this new boxset.  Curiouser and Curiouser...

[Shady]

The further Bruce the "Friends Hater" is away from this set, the better. Seriously. That soul-less dork hates Friends. How can you hate Friends?!! Meant For You is 20 seconds of heaven.

Best description of Bruce I've ever heard..

"Let's take a trip down to Kokommmmoooo"

Dork!

[leggo of my ego]

The further Bruce the "Friends Hater" is away from this set, the better. Seriously. That soul-less dork hates Friends. How can you hate Friends?!! Meant For You is 20 seconds of heaven.

Best description of Bruce I've ever heard..

"Let's take a trip down to Kokommmmoooo"

Dork!

 

[SMiLE Brian]

I agree with TV Forces on the rarities, but will still buy this box. I wonder what track Billy C. is referring to.....

[Mahalo]

I'm sick of RnR music, and Come Go with Me too. No, Al- I will not go with you. That was valuable CD space that could've been better allocated.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

I'm sick of RnR music, and Come Go with Me too. No, Al- I will not go with you. That was valuable CD space that could've been better allocated.

I've heard one of the preliminary remixes of Rock 'n' Roll Music, and I have to say it's actually pretty...revelatory might be a bit inaccurate, but it was pretty fantastic.  Mind you this was over 5 years ago.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Glad this has  finally  been officially announced! I can't wait for disc six....there's a treat on there that everyone has missed in the excitement over CF74 and WIBNTLA...

Which one Billy?

[drbeachboy]

I'm sick of RnR music, and Come Go with Me too. No, Al- I will not go with you. That was valuable CD space that could've been better allocated.

I've heard one of the preliminary remixes of Rock 'n' Roll Music, and I have to say it's actually pretty...revelatory might be a bit inaccurate, but it was pretty fantastic.  Mind you this was over 5 years ago.

Of the ones that I am familiar with, I am looking forward to the A Capella Slip On Through, because the bv's are really cool, but mixed way too low to fully appreciate. Also, the backing track of Guess I'm Dumb. That is one cool tune.

[Phoenix]

As I said earlier, I'm very happy with the track listing, just for the inclusion of WIBNTLA and the live version of "Wild Honey" (provided it features Blondie on vocals).  My main disappointment isn't about what's left off but the fact that this was the last shot (at least in my lifetime) to get good quality versions of true "off the wall" (by casual fans ideas) rarities.  My biggest gripes are the omissions of "Big Sur (early version)", "We Got Love", "Hard Times", "It's A New Day", "In The Back Of My Mind (1975 version)", "Honkin' Down the Highway (Billy vocal)", and "Chasing The Sky".  Including any ONE of them would have increased my delight by about 20% (and as I said, I'm already very happy with it).  To those who say "They're out there."  Yeah.  I know they are.  They're even in here (on this computer) but most of them sound like crap!  This isn't about the curiosity of hearing something "new" or having it in some form to complete my collection.  I REALLY like everyone of those recordings that I've heard and would love to be able to listen to them in the same clarity and quality as "Kokomo", "Barbara Ann", or any of the band's officially released songs.


On a almost unrelated note, I can't believe they left off "Somewhere Near Japan" (and to a lesser extent "Keepin' the Summer Alive").  We may have great quality versions of it but, along with "Chasing The Sky", these songs are exactly the kind of late period hidden gems that should be shared with the casual fans in order to get them to take a closer stuff at even the later albums of the band's career.