MiC up for order on Amazon, August release

[SloopJohnB]

[...]

Songs Only On Good Vibrations: Funky Pretty [...]

This made me realize Funky Pretty isn't on MiC... 

[The Shift]

UK Amazon has the set out on Aug 19, a week 'afore the US date. 

[The Shift]

Just looking at the artwork again - Disc one pictures both Al and Dave… Photoshop?

[Mendota Heights]

Just looking at the artwork again - Disc one pictures both Al and Dave… Photoshop?

They performed together.

[AndrewHickey]

UK Amazon has the set out on Aug 19, a week 'afore the US date. 

Still won't let us pre-order though...
Think we should have an online Brit pre-listening party? Ask the Americans if they prefer Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again, Where Is She or the alternate Don't Worry Baby are, then say "Oh, I'm sorry, you've not heard those, have you?"...

[The Shift]

UK Amazon has the set out on Aug 19, a week 'afore the US date. 

Still won't let us pre-order though...
Think we should have an online Brit pre-listening party? Ask the Americans if they prefer Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again, Where Is She or the alternate Don't Worry Baby are, then say "Oh, I'm sorry, you've not heard those, have you?"...

… but then they have the luxury of a BAD Beach tour…

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

UK Amazon has the set out on Aug 19, a week 'afore the US date. 

Still won't let us pre-order though...
Think we should have an online Brit pre-listening party? Ask the Americans if they prefer Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again, Where Is She or the alternate Don't Worry Baby are, then say "Oh, I'm sorry, you've not heard those, have you?"...

or maybe do a deal to send them 30 seconds of the track in exchange for...oh wait...maybe not

[Shady]

The intention of this new set was clearly to update the old one, but they should have found a way to make the previous release meaningless. The way it stands, you're probably better off having both on your shelf (especially because of the Mono/Stereo divide between them).

Great point. It's more of a Part 2 box set.

[AndrewHickey]

Just looking at the artwork again - Disc one pictures both Al and Dave… Photoshop?

They performed together.

Yeah, but this has Brian as well. If you look at the image ( http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QhwNuzbOL._SL1500_.jpg ) Al's fairly clearly 'shopped in.

[Phoenix]

Yeah, but in that case, do you accept the argument that questions the point of view that Goin' To The Beach and Don't Go Near the Water (instrumental) are more releasable than Carry Me Home and We Got Love?

To me, that's pretty much proof of the conscious decision to airbrush Blondie and Ricky from the group's history.  Only Blondie is represented vocally on the box, on just two songs, and both of those were written by Brian.

[Jim V.]

Yeah, but in that case, do you accept the argument that questions the point of view that Goin' To The Beach and Don't Go Near the Water (instrumental) are more releasable than Carry Me Home and We Got Love?

To me, that's pretty much proof of the conscious decision to airbrush Blondie and Ricky from the group's history.  Only Blondie is represented vocally on the box, on just two songs, and both of those were written by Brian.

I'm not debating the fact that there coulda been a bit more Blondie and Ricky on the box (I personally really like "Here She Comes"), but I don't really think they are being airbrushed out of their history. After all, they are included in the picture on disc 4, which I think is a cool acknowledgement of them. I wish they woulda stayed in the band longer (may have made the music for interesting for longer), but the facts are they were only in the group a few years apiece, so obviously they don't have much presence on the set. Look at it this way: Bruce has been in the group for around 40 years altogether, and he got only one song on the box. There's also nothing from Dave (although there really isn't any Dave written Beach Boys material besides something possibly recorded during the bands sessions in 2011/2012).

However, I do think it woulda been cool if they had been asked to join the C50 band as they were actual Beach Boys, and woulda added nicely to the proceedings. However, it also probably woulda confused a lot of the public who would probably say "since when are there two black guys in The Beach Boys?"

[Freddie French-Pounce]

UK Amazon has the set out on Aug 19, a week 'afore the US date. 

Epic, And considering my local CD shop gets things the Thursday before [or even Wednesday], I can't wait! looks like it's the 15th August I can't wait for

[AndrewHickey]

Yeah, but in that case, do you accept the argument that questions the point of view that Goin' To The Beach and Don't Go Near the Water (instrumental) are more releasable than Carry Me Home and We Got Love?

To me, that's pretty much proof of the conscious decision to airbrush Blondie and Ricky from the group's history.  Only Blondie is represented vocally on the box, on just two songs, and both of those were written by Brian.

They only had leads -- even joint leads -- on six released studio tracks total. Bruce only gets Disney Girls, a verse of Summer In Paradise and his few lines on Add Some Music on the box.

Bruce is shown on one CD label, for his forty-plus years in the band -- he doesn't appear to be shown on disc two, even though that's entirely made up of recordings from his period in the band. Blondie and Ricky are shown on one, for their two years in the band.

Blondie and Ricky aren't being airbrushed out, but they were only in the band for a relatively short time, their songs are not the best regarded from the albums they were on, and their songs didn't have much involvement from the other Beach Boys, so don't add much to the story of the band's artistic progression.

[Micha]

Just looking at the artwork again - Disc one pictures both Al and Dave… Photoshop?

They performed together.

Yeah, but this has Brian as well. If you look at the image ( http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QhwNuzbOL._SL1500_.jpg ) Al's fairly clearly 'shopped in.

You can tell as the light on his face comes from the other side than on the other guys.

[TimmyC]

As detailed on AGD's site, there are an INSANE amount of unreleased tracks. THAT'S what they should have released, not the same exact songs over and over.  

And the vast majority of those unreleased tracks are unreleased for a reason.

Yeah, but in that case, do you accept the argument that questions the point of view that Goin' To The Beach and Don't Go Near the Water (instrumental) are more releasable than Carry Me Home and We Got Love?

*THAT* is the kind of discussion I want us to be having (again, not that I'm trying to impose my will on others and force them *only* to discuss that kind of thing...)

For the record, though, no, I don't. If Goin' To The Beach has been finished, as reported, we don't know what it will sound like (though if it's just the bootlegged instrumental track it probably should remain in the vaults). As for Don't Go Near The Water, I honestly think that the backing track of that is one of the most interesting things the band had done up to that point, and a vital ignored link in their evolution.

Carry Me Home I love, but I've heard both that there's no surviving releasable-quality copy and that Brian doesn't want it released because he doesn't want to hear Dennis singing about dying. Either of those would be a reasonable reason not to put it out, I think. And We Got Love is... just not very good at all. It should probably go on some rarities-roundup release at some point, but not on something that's supposed to present a picture of the band's career, because it's very far from a highlight.

The live version isn't bad at all. Which is much more than I can say for the studio chaplin/fataar tracks. They are truly horrible. And at least We Got Love has a Mike Love co-write.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Yeah, but in that case, do you accept the argument that questions the point of view that Goin' To The Beach and Don't Go Near the Water (instrumental) are more releasable than Carry Me Home and We Got Love?

To me, that's pretty much proof of the conscious decision to airbrush Blondie and Ricky from the group's history.  Only Blondie is represented vocally on the box, on just two songs, and both of those were written by Brian.

They only had leads -- even joint leads -- on six released studio tracks total. Bruce only gets Disney Girls, a verse of Summer In Paradise and his few lines on Add Some Music on the box.

Bruce is shown on one CD label, for his forty-plus years in the band -- he doesn't appear to be shown on disc two, even though that's entirely made up of recordings from his period in the band. Blondie and Ricky are shown on one, for their two years in the band.

Blondie and Ricky aren't being airbrushed out, but they were only in the band for a relatively short time, their songs are not the best regarded from the albums they were on, and their songs didn't have much involvement from the other Beach Boys, so don't add much to the story of the band's artistic progression.

Yeah, I mostly agree. Personally I really like several of Blondie and Ricky's songs, especially Hard Times, and one composition by them would've been nice, but I think they're represented well enough on the box, and I was really pleased to see their picture appear on CD 4.

As for people expressing bafflement as to the inclusion of the Don't Go Near The Water and Transcendental Meditation backing tracks, I'm really looking forward to listening to these! The fact that they're not particularly well-regarded songs I think is almost the point - in much the same way that Had To Phone Ya is a rather average song but has a fantastic backing track, perhaps we'll find the same applies with DGNTW and TM. Let's wait and see.

[TimmyC]

I genuinely think that the cries of 'rip-off' from one or two board members are fair enough if that's how people feel.

Not, though, when it's coming from people who'd been saying for months how much they were looking forward to the box set. We've known for a long time what kind of thing this would be, and complaining when it was first announced would make reasonable sense -- I quite possibly did myself (I can't be bothered to look back and check, but I'm not exactly keen on rebuying stuff I've already got either).

Complaining now -- loudly and repeatedly, so that any discussion of the box becomes dominated by people shrieking about how ripped-off they feel about something they're not buying anyway -- is just annoying.

Why can't you just let us all complain about what is OBVIOUSLY patently absurd - i.e. the constant repetition of the same songs over and over again that Capitol knows a large majority of the fans will buy no matter what just to get the few morsels they've thrown out? I don't care if that's what they said they were delivering all along. It's still WHACK. As detailed on AGD's site, there are an INSANE amount of unreleased tracks. THAT'S what they should have released, not the same exact songs over and over.  

What I always feel they should have done is do two new boxed sets. One should have just been wall-to-wall rarities (including cuts from the Good Vibrations box) and the other should have been a five disc chronological overview of their career. The way this box works (and Good Vibrations for that matter), is that it wastes the time and money of hardcore fans by mostly including the same songs they've heard thousands of times over and it also annoys casual fans who are forced to suffer through weaker tracks and alternate versions when they really want a career overview. I honestly think combining both approaches in a boxed set is always a recipe for disaster. Diehards will flip around to the meat of the new package and casuals will simply opt out for a Greatest Hits disc.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!! You hit the nail on the head.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

*THAT* is the kind of discussion I want us to be having (again, not that I'm trying to impose my will on others and force them *only* to discuss that kind of thing...)

For the record, though, no, I don't. If Goin' To The Beach has been finished, as reported, we don't know what it will sound like (though if it's just the bootlegged instrumental track it probably should remain in the vaults).

You're right -- we don't know what it will sound like though going on title and time period alone, I would be surprised if it was better than Carry Me Home or, for that matter, 4/4 Big Sur.

As for Don't Go Near The Water, I honestly think that the backing track of that is one of the most interesting things the band had done up to that point, and a vital ignored link in their evolution.

I'm not sure it is as vital as you suggest but, yes, it is an interesting backing track. I suppose I threw it in there because, by that point in the CD collection, listeners will have already heard the song and it does seem like overkill to include them both at the exclusion of other songs.

Carry Me Home I love, but I've heard both that there's no surviving releasable-quality copy and that Brian doesn't want it released because he doesn't want to hear Dennis singing about dying.

Yes, I've heard these reasons too though they are not entirely compatible which leads me to think that both might very well be made up. After all, if there was no surviving releasable-quality copy, the release of the song would never be an issue for Brian. Furthermore, Alan Boyd does have a version of the song on his computer that is releasable enough to make PongHit consider the song to be "more intense than WIBNTLA," leading me to believe there is a version out there in the hands of the people responsible for this set that is certainly better than the version circulating.

And We Got Love is... just not very good at all. It should probably go on some rarities-roundup release at some point, but not on something that's supposed to present a picture of the band's career, because it's very far from a highlight.

Well, that's a matter of opinion, I guess. I think it's a great song and would be far more welcomed by me than quite a few of the tracks on this set. I would certainly not consider everything on here "a highlight." Furthermore, "a picture of the band's career" is something different from "the highlights of the band's career" since the last 30 or so years of the band's career has been, mainly, lowlights with some great moments.

[AndrewHickey]

I suppose I threw it in there because, by that point in the CD collection, listeners will have already heard the song and it does seem like overkill to include them both at the exclusion of other songs.

It's not at the exclusion of other songs, though. The reason there are multiple versions of some songs on this set is the same as the reason why disc five of the Good Vibrations set only had versions of songs that were on the other discs -- it's cheaper to put on two versions of the same song than two different songs.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I suppose I threw it in there because, by that point in the CD collection, listeners will have already heard the song and it does seem like overkill to include them both at the exclusion of other songs.

It's not at the exclusion of other songs, though. The reason there are multiple versions of some songs on this set is the same as the reason why disc five of the Good Vibrations set only had versions of songs that were on the other discs -- it's cheaper to put on two versions of the same song than two different songs.

In other words, including them both allowed them to exclude other songs?

[The Radiant Radish]

Get a closer look at  that mock up image with this very large version:



Quite a cross section of design styles represented across the discs.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Just looking at the artwork again - Disc one pictures both Al and Dave… Photoshop?

They performed together.

Yeah, but this has Brian as well. If you look at the image ( http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QhwNuzbOL._SL1500_.jpg ) Al's fairly clearly 'shopped in.

I don't see Brian in that image... mainly 'cause he's not there.

[AndrewHickey]

Just looking at the artwork again - Disc one pictures both Al and Dave… Photoshop?

They performed together.

Yeah, but this has Brian as well. If you look at the image ( http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QhwNuzbOL._SL1500_.jpg ) Al's fairly clearly 'shopped in.

I don't see Brian in that image... mainly 'cause he's not there.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. Brian's not in that image, but the way it's arranged it looks like he's on the CD itself, just that bit of the CD is covered up.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

Just looking at the artwork again - Disc one pictures both Al and Dave… Photoshop?

They performed together.

Yeah, but this has Brian as well. If you look at the image ( http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91QhwNuzbOL._SL1500_.jpg ) Al's fairly clearly 'shopped in.

I don't see Brian in that image... mainly 'cause he's not there.

Sorry, I wasn't very clear. Brian's not in that image, but the way it's arranged it looks like he's on the CD itself, just that bit of the CD is covered up.

Yeah. The picture is cut off. I would say it is next to impossible that they wouldn't use a picture with Brian in it for Disc 1 of the set.

[monicker]

That book looks pretty thick 

As for people expressing bafflement as to the inclusion of the Don't Go Near The Water and Transcendental Meditation backing tracks, I'm really looking forward to listening to these! The fact that they're not particularly well-regarded songs I think is almost the point - in much the same way that Had To Phone Ya is a rather average song but has a fantastic backing track, perhaps we'll find the same applies with DGNTW and TM. Let's wait and see.

I think that's probably it. I was going to say that i wonder what the book will say about these two backing tracks/how they will explain their inclusion (there's gotta be a very specific reason), and i think what you just said is it--a chance to reevaluate unpopular songs from another perspective in order to gain a new appreciation for them. Though i think TM and DGNTW are anything but "average." I would buy an entire box set of sessions for those two tracks alone