MiC up for order on Amazon, August release

[Chocolate Shake Man]

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

Well, I agree that on a rarities only box set, those tracks would be good and not a surprising inclusion. From the start, though, I knew that we would be getting a limited number of these out-and-out rarities and so I would think that with such a small space, they would typically go for the stuff that is a bit more legendary.

[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.

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

No -- if they removed Don't Go Near The Water (backing track) they wouldn't have been able to put on another song, just another version of a song that was already on there. And if they removed *both* versions of Don't Go Near The Water, they still wouldn't have been able to include "other songs" plural, just "another song" singular.

And since Don't Go Near The Water allows them to represent both Mike and Al's contributions to Surf's Up, if it was removed then balance would probably have led them to include one of their other contributions. Just be glad we're not getting Student Demonstration Time instead

[Chocolate Shake Man]

No -- if they removed Don't Go Near The Water (backing track) they wouldn't have been able to put on another song, just another version of a song that was already on there.

I'm sorry, but what evidence do you have of that?

[Nicko1234]

I'm sorry, but what evidence do you have of that?

Mr Hickey has commented a few times about the fact that including a song twice like this saves Capitol money. This money saving is obviously what's helped them to keep the RRP down to $149.  

What I said a while ago though is that if disc 5 had been entirely made up of live recordings then it wouldn't have been a problem as you would have had more natural doubling up of tracks.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

And at the same time, the point seems to be that not including some rare, unreleased track also saves money. Which, I guess, means that there are now three entirely unconnected excuses as to why Carry Me Home wasn't on this collection. I am reminded of Chevy Chase's Jaws: "Candygram? Plummer, ma'am?"

[AndrewHickey]

And at the same time, the point seems to be that not including some rare, unreleased track also saves money.

No, it doesn't, and nobody's said that.

For a project like this, the mechanical royalties have to be kept down -- not because of the cost early on, but because when it's selling at a lower price (as we all know it will) they'll still have to pay. The way mechanical royalties (the royalties for songwriting) work is that they're based on the time that composition takes up, at a cost of "9.1 cents or 1.75 cents per minute of playing time or fraction thereof, whichever is larger" per copy.

Note that that's *per composition*. In other words, five different one minute songs would cost five times as much as the same song performed five times.

The twenty-two (I think it was) songs that appear in multiple forms on the set will save Universal around $2 per set. Not a huge amount at first glance, but still a significant cost when you remember that they don't get anything like the full sales price themselves, and that they'll still have to be paying that money when the box set price has eventually dropped to half of what it is now.

Nobody's officially said that this was a reason for the duplicate songs here, but it definitely *was* a consideration for the Good Vibrations box, and the people who compiled that have said so. And in the late 90s/early 2000s, there were abortive plans to reissue the 60s albums on single CDs with bonus tracks, and Brad Elliot talked on the old cabinessence.com board at the time about how they were having to choose bonus tracks taking this into account. So I would be *ASTONISHED* if it hadn't been thought about during the planning for this box, since it's obviously been a consideration.

(I would bet quite a large sum of money it's the main reason for the mono/stereo CD releases, too -- in most cases it will have cut the mechanical royalties per CD to less than half of what the twofers were costing).

But an unreleased track costs no more money than a released one -- but putting the two versions of California Feeling on will have saved money compared to putting two different unreleased tracks on.

But if you were to take off one of the versions of Don't Go Near The Water -- or Slip On Through, This Whole World or what have you -- it would free up *space*, but it wouldn't free up money for another song.

[AndrewHickey]

What I said a while ago though is that if disc 5 had been entirely made up of live recordings then it wouldn't have been a problem as you would have had more natural doubling up of tracks.

That's true. It still wouldn't satisfy those who want more actual unreleased songs, though.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

And at the same time, the point seems to be that not including some rare, unreleased track also saves money.

No, it doesn't, and nobody's said that.

For a project like this, the mechanical royalties have to be kept down -- not because of the cost early on, but because when it's selling at a lower price (as we all know it will) they'll still have to pay. The way mechanical royalties (the royalties for songwriting) work is that they're based on the time that composition takes up, at a cost of "9.1 cents or 1.75 cents per minute of playing time or fraction thereof, whichever is larger" per copy.

Note that that's *per composition*. In other words, five different one minute songs would cost five times as much as the same song performed five times.

The twenty-two (I think it was) songs that appear in multiple forms on the set will save Universal around $2 per set. Not a huge amount at first glance, but still a significant cost when you remember that they don't get anything like the full sales price themselves, and that they'll still have to be paying that money when the box set price has eventually dropped to half of what it is now.

Nobody's officially said that this was a reason for the duplicate songs here, but it definitely *was* a consideration for the Good Vibrations box, and the people who compiled that have said so. And in the late 90s/early 2000s, there were abortive plans to reissue the 60s albums on single CDs with bonus tracks, and Brad Elliot talked on the old cabinessence.com board at the time about how they were having to choose bonus tracks taking this into account. So I would be *ASTONISHED* if it hadn't been thought about during the planning for this box, since it's obviously been a consideration.

(I would bet quite a large sum of money it's the main reason for the mono/stereo CD releases, too -- in most cases it will have cut the mechanical royalties per CD to less than half of what the twofers were costing).

But an unreleased track costs no more money than a released one -- but putting the two versions of California Feeling on will have saved money compared to putting two different unreleased tracks on.

But if you were to take off one of the versions of Don't Go Near The Water -- or Slip On Through, This Whole World or what have you -- it would free up *space*, but it wouldn't free up money for another song.

Gotcha. I suppose I did understand it that way before but it got mangled up in my translation. At any rate, none of this suggests that if they removed one of the "Don't Go Near The Water" tracks they "wouldn't have been able to put on another song." That implies that you know that they had some kind of quota and that once they reached that, they had to start doubling up when in reality, even though it may have cost more, they could have in all likelihood been able to include one more new song.

[AndrewHickey]

Gotcha. I suppose I did understand it that way before but it got mangled up in my translation. At any rate, none of this suggests that if they removed one of the "Don't Go Near The Water" tracks they "wouldn't have been able to put on another song." That implies that you know that they had some kind of quota and that once they reached that, they had to start doubling up when in reality, even though it may have cost more, they could have in all likelihood been able to include one more new song.

If my posts implied that I knew of a specific quota, then I apologise (I've got high blood pressure at the moment and it affects my concentration, making me prone to silly errors and inaccuracies right now). But put it this way -- I no more know of a precise quota on how much Universal were prepared to spend on mechanical royalties than you know of an unreleased song that's precisely the same length as the backing track for Don't Go Near The Water so it could have fit into the same space on an otherwise-totally-full CD [EDIT -- deleted that bit because it makes no sense. I did have a point but I'm not sure what it was. See the bit before about silly errors...]

The people putting the box together had to balance a lot of conflicting requirements -- to put on all the hits, give a broad overview of the band's career, include enough rarities to keep the hardcore fans happy, have everything in releasable sound quality, have the set work well as a coherent listening experience, keep the band themselves happy and not be too expensive to turn a profit.

I do *strongly* suspect that the box set compilers absolutely pushed the limits of what they could get on the set within those parameters, and that they couldn't have fit another song on no matter what. I don't know for certain that they couldn't have squeezed one more unreleased song in, but I would be *extremely* surprised if they could have.

And given that, I don't think that thinking of the backing tracks, a capella versions and live tracks as "taking other songs' places" is a particularly useful way to think. Possibly a more interesting way to look at things -- rather than "if they'd cut this song out we could have had Carry Me Home or Life Is For The Living", which is probably not the case -- would be "given the parameters they were working with, are these twenty-two duplicates the ones they should have chosen?"

Would This Whole World (instrumental) perhaps have been better than the a capella version? Would a 1976 live version of It's OK have been more interesting than the 1993 version of Vegetables? -- Those are the kind of questions the compilers will have had to consider, and possibly more interesting ones to think about...

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I do *strongly* suspect that the box set compilers absolutely pushed the limits of what they could get on the set within those parameters,

I suspect you're right and, yes, I do think they did a good job here. I suppose, though, that it is disappointing then when all these parties are together (creative talent, supervisors, business people, etc.) they end up making some very safe choices when, in the past, they made some very bold choices (Pet Sounds and Smile boxes, Hawthorne). I think it's actually the mixture of the safe and the bold on this box that I find so vexing. But I'm still happy it will exist.

[AndrewHickey]

I do *strongly* suspect that the box set compilers absolutely pushed the limits of what they could get on the set within those parameters,

I suspect you're right and, yes, I do think they did a good job here. I suppose, though, that it is disappointing then when all these parties are together (creative talent, supervisors, business people, etc.) they end up making some very safe choices when, in the past, they made some very bold choices (Pet Sounds and Smile boxes, Hawthorne). I think it's actually the mixture of the safe and the bold on this box that I find so vexing. But I'm still happy it will exist.

I actually remember exactly the same complaints being made about Hawthorne as are being made about this box. I made more than a few of them myself, come to that... remember, that only had two actually new songs on, and it, too, had versions of California Girls, Surfin' USA, Good Vibrations, Barbara Ann, Little Deuce Coupe...

To me, at least, this seems much less 'safe' a set of choices than Hawthorne does.

[runnersdialzero]

No -- if they removed Don't Go Near The Water (backing track) they wouldn't have been able to put on another song, just another version of a song that was already on there.

I'm sorry, but what evidence do you have of that?

What evidence do you have to the contrary? I never understood the whole "They clearly chose the 'Don't Go Near The Water' backing track over 'Carry Me Home'" kind of thinking that some fans always assume takes place in compilations of existing recordings. I doubt it was choosing one over the other in 99% of the tracklist choices here. As much as I think the tracklist could be improved, I really doubt it came to be as a result of this happening much, if ever.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

What evidence do you have to the contrary?

Do you know how burden of proof works? I'm not the one making a claim. I'm certainly not making this one:

They clearly chose the 'Don't Go Near The Water' backing track over 'Carry Me Home'" kind of thinking

I suggest you re-read what I wrote.

[Chocolate Shake Man]

I actually remember exactly the same complaints being made about Hawthorne as are being made about this box. I made more than a few of them myself, come to that... remember, that only had two actually new songs on, and it, too, had versions of California Girls, Surfin' USA, Good Vibrations, Barbara Ann, Little Deuce Coupe...

To me, at least, this seems much less 'safe' a set of choices than Hawthorne does.

Hmmm...I don't know about that. With Hawthorne, only about 10 out of 60 songs were re-mixes. The overwhelming majority of the tracks were demos, sessions highlights, vocals only, music only, alternate versions, and live. That's not the case with this album. But, that's not really my point, because I wasn't expecting another Hawthorne. However, I don't agree that this is a less safe set of choices.

[runnersdialzero]

Do you know how burden of proof works?

No

[The Shift]

Just checked HMV jp - Japanese track list looks slightly different but at 2.30am I don't have the energy to check exactly what the differences are…

Might just be a running order thing… then again…

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Nice overview from spincds.com. My apologies if it's already been posted.


Made in California (6CD Box)

by The Beach Boys

Notes borrowed from, amongst others, The Second Disc

Made in California details the Hawthorne, California band’s history from 1961 to the present day over 6 CDs, with more than 7-1/2 hours of music and 60 previously unreleased tracks (17 of them live).  Designed in the style of a high school yearbook, Made in California tells the Beach Boys’ story through all of their hits plus never-before-released songs, alternate takes, demos, rare mixes, and live performances. The first disc of Made in California takes Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, David Marks and Al Jardine from 1961 (previously unissued home recordings and rehearsal highlights of “Surfin’”) to 1964 (Top 10 single “Dance, Dance, Dance”), taking in the No. 1 hit “I Get Around” with a session introduction and other favorites including “Surfin’ USA,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “In My Room,” “The Warmth of the Sun” and “All Summer Long.”  

The second disc kicks off with Dennis Wilson’s rare lead on 1965’s “Do You Wanna Dance” in its 2012 true stereo mix, and ends with the title track to 1967’s Wild Honey in its true stereo mix.  This disc is an exploration of Brian Wilson’s most creatively fertile period in which he and his bandmates and collaborators created Pet Sounds and SMiLE.  Both albums are represented extensively, and the CD also finds room for “California Girls” (Bruce Johnston’s first appearance on record with The Beach Boys), “Barbara Ann” and the yearning “Let Him Run Wild.” 

Carl Wilson’s R&B lead on “Darlin’” from Wild Honey opens the third disc, which takes in highlights from Friends (“Friends,” “Little Bird,” “Busy Doin’ Nothin’”), 20/20 (“Be with Me,” “I Can Hear Music,” “Time to Get Alone”), Sunflower (“Add Some Music to Your Day,” “Forever,” “This Whole World”), and Surf’s Up (the majestic title track, the stunning “’Til I Die”).  There are also a number of rarities on this disc such as Dennis Wilson’s “Fallin’ in Love (Lady)” and the never-on-CD “Sound of Free,” plus 2012 mixes of “Sail Plane Song,” “We’re Together Again,” and Al Jardine’s “Susie Cincinnati.” 

The fourth CD continues with more from Surf’s Up (Carl Wilson’s psychedelic tour de force “Feel Flows,” Bruce Johnston’s warmly nostalgic “Disney Girls (1957)”) before revisiting Carl and the Passions – So Tough (Jardine, Love and Carl Wilson’s Transcendental Meditation-inspired “All This is That,” Brian’s rocking “Marcella”), Holland (“Sail On, Sailor,” “California Saga – California,” “The Trader”), 15 Big Ones (“It’s OK,” “Had to Phone Ya,” an extended “Rock and Roll Music”), The Beach Boys Love You (the quirky “Solar System,” the ravishing “The Night is So Young”), M.I.U. Album (“Come Go with Me”) and L.A. (Light Album) (the back-to-basics “Good Timin,’” Carl’s “Angel Come Home,” Dennis’ “Baby Blue”).  This CD also showcases the brief addition of Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar to the line-up.  But the rarities on this disc will most impress, including Dennis Wilson’s near-mythic “(Wouldn’t It Be Nice to) Live Again,” the Beach Boys’ original take of Brian and Steve Kalinich’s “California Feelin’” with Carl, Bruce and Brian on lead, and a 2012 mix of “It’s a Beautiful Day” from the Americathon soundtrack. 

The box’s fifth CD presents highlights from Keepin’ the Summer Alive (“Goin’ On”), the Steve Levine-produced The Beach Boys (“Getcha Back”), Made in U.S.A. (“California’ Dreamin’”), Still Cruisin’ (the inevitable “Kokomo,” originally on the Cocktail soundtrack) and 2012’s reunion That’s Why God Made the Radio (the title track, the single version of “Isn’t It Time”).  The never-before-released “Soul Searchin’” and “You’re Still a Mystery” – The Beach Boys’ final recordings together with Carl Wilson – are the indisputable highlights of this disc, which also includes a lengthy live-in-concert portion.  Fifteen songs span the period of 1965 to 1993.  (The much-maligned Summer in Paradise studio album, which lacked any involvement from Brian Wilson, is represented via a 1993 live performance of its title track.) 

The final CD offers 31 more unreleased tracks including a “Stack-o-Tracks” instrumental treatment of Glen Campbell’s “Guess I’m Dumb” (perhaps the best non-Beach Boys production ever by Brian Wilson), a cappella versions of “Slip on Through” and “This Whole World,” 15 Big Ones outtake “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,”  a demo of the dark “Be with Me,” the “California Feelin’” demo, and the outtake “Sherry, She Needs Me,” which became “She Says That She Needs Me” on Brian’s Imagination album.  Radio spots and BBC performances also appear on this exciting grab-bag of vault material. 

Made in California is packaged in a pseudo-high school yearbook, and contained hand-written, yearbook-style inscriptions from the surviving band members, plus essays and rare photos.

[wantsomecorn]

The INEVITABLE Kokomo! 

[runnersdialzero]

d00d sounds pretty knowledgeable about the band and seems pretty please. Good to hear ^_^ and yeah, "the inevitable 'Kokomo'" made me giggle.

[Andrew G. Doe]

Nice overview from spincds.com. My apologies if it's already been posted.


Made in California (6CD Box)

by The Beach Boys

Notes borrowed from, amongst others, The Second Disc

Made in California details the Hawthorne, California band’s history from 1961 to the present day over 6 CDs, with more than 7-1/2 hours of music and 60 previously unreleased tracks (17 of them live).  Designed in the style of a high school yearbook, Made in California tells the Beach Boys’ story through all of their hits plus never-before-released songs, alternate takes, demos, rare mixes, and live performances. The first disc of Made in California takes Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, David Marks and Al Jardine from 1961 (previously unissued home recordings and rehearsal highlights of “Surfin’”) to 1964 (Top 10 single “Dance, Dance, Dance”), taking in the No. 1 hit “I Get Around” with a session introduction and other favorites including “Surfin’ USA,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “In My Room,” “The Warmth of the Sun” and “All Summer Long.”  

The second disc kicks off with Dennis Wilson’s rare lead on 1965’s “Do You Wanna Dance” in its 2012 true stereo mix, and ends with the title track to 1967’s Wild Honey in its true stereo mix.  This disc is an exploration of Brian Wilson’s most creatively fertile period in which he and his bandmates and collaborators created Pet Sounds and SMiLE.  Both albums are represented extensively, and the CD also finds room for “California Girls” (Bruce Johnston’s first appearance on record with The Beach Boys), “Barbara Ann” and the yearning “Let Him Run Wild.” 

Carl Wilson’s R&B lead on “Darlin’” from Wild Honey opens the third disc, which takes in highlights from Friends (“Friends,” “Little Bird,” “Busy Doin’ Nothin’”), 20/20 (“Be with Me,” “I Can Hear Music,” “Time to Get Alone”), Sunflower (“Add Some Music to Your Day,” “Forever,” “This Whole World”), and Surf’s Up (the majestic title track, the stunning “’Til I Die”).  There are also a number of rarities on this disc such as Dennis Wilson’s “Fallin’ in Love (Lady)” and the never-on-CD “Sound of Free,” plus 2012 mixes of “Sail Plane Song,” “We’re Together Again,” and Al Jardine’s “Susie Cincinnati.” 

The fourth CD continues with more from Surf’s Up (Carl Wilson’s psychedelic tour de force “Feel Flows,” Bruce Johnston’s warmly nostalgic “Disney Girls (1957)”) before revisiting Carl and the Passions – So Tough (Jardine, Love and Carl Wilson’s Transcendental Meditation-inspired “All This is That,” Brian’s rocking “Marcella”), Holland (“Sail On, Sailor,” “California Saga – California,” “The Trader”), 15 Big Ones (“It’s OK,” “Had to Phone Ya,” an extended “Rock and Roll Music”), The Beach Boys Love You (the quirky “Solar System,” the ravishing “The Night is So Young”), M.I.U. Album (“Come Go with Me”) and L.A. (Light Album) (the back-to-basics “Good Timin,’” Carl’s “Angel Come Home,” Dennis’ “Baby Blue”).  This CD also showcases the brief addition of Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar to the line-up.  But the rarities on this disc will most impress, including Dennis Wilson’s near-mythic “(Wouldn’t It Be Nice to) Live Again,” the Beach Boys’ original take of Brian and Steve Kalinich’s “California Feelin’” with Carl, Bruce and Brian on lead, and a 2012 mix of “It’s a Beautiful Day” from the Americathon soundtrack. 

The box’s fifth CD presents highlights from Keepin’ the Summer Alive (“Goin’ On”), the Steve Levine-produced The Beach Boys (“Getcha Back”), Made in U.S.A. (“California’ Dreamin’”), Still Cruisin’ (the inevitable “Kokomo,” originally on the Cocktail soundtrack) and 2012’s reunion That’s Why God Made the Radio (the title track, the single version of “Isn’t It Time”).  The never-before-released “Soul Searchin’” and “You’re Still a Mystery” – The Beach Boys’ final recordings together with Carl Wilson – are the indisputable highlights of this disc, which also includes a lengthy live-in-concert portion.  Fifteen songs span the period of 1965 to 1993.  (The much-maligned Summer in Paradise studio album, which lacked any involvement from Brian Wilson, is represented via a 1993 live performance of its title track.) 

The final CD offers 31 more unreleased tracks including a “Stack-o-Tracks” instrumental treatment of Glen Campbell’s “Guess I’m Dumb” (perhaps the best non-Beach Boys production ever by Brian Wilson), a cappella versions of “Slip on Through” and “This Whole World,” 15 Big Ones outtake “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,”  a demo of the dark “Be with Me,” the “California Feelin’” demo, and the outtake “Sherry, She Needs Me,” which became “She Says That She Needs Me” on Brian’s Imagination album.  Radio spots and BBC performances also appear on this exciting grab-bag of vault material. 

Made in California is packaged in a pseudo-high school yearbook, and contained hand-written, yearbook-style inscriptions from the surviving band members, plus essays and rare photos.

One small problem with this - he's patently not heard a note of the actual set but wrote that from the trackliating and a passing knowledge with maybe a few forums. Thus, except for total newbies, this 'overview' is entirely pointless. "YLTLF", btw, is NOT a 15BO outtake, so how knowledgeable the dood is, is open to question.

[Jay]

I've always wanted to hear a vocals only version of Slip On Through to hear Mike's vocal more clearly. For years I thought it was an actual bass guitar.   I think Slip On Through is a sorely overlooked example of Mike's talent. You often hear about Brian using the groups vocals as instruments, but it seems like he wasn't the only member to do it.

[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.

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.

Bruce was brought in as a replacement bass player and BACKING vocalist on the road (as most of Brian's leads were performed by Al or Carl in concert).  During that time Brian (and later the group) used a good bit of backing musicians in the studio for the backing tracks.  Eventually the group realized Bruce was also a talented lead singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer, and used him in those capacities over the years. During his time in the band, he's played on 14 studio albums and contributed SIX lead vocals (including "Add Some Music To Your Day"); none of which were released as singles.  And while not a vocalist on it, he's also the lead performer (as well as writer and producer) on "The Nearest Faraway Place", bringing his total number of leads to SEVEN.

From the word go, Blondie and Ricky were brought into the group as full fledged members and served as lead vocalists, songwriters, producers, and multi- instrumentalists, both on stage and in the studio.  And while the band was still using backing musicians at the time of their arrival, they and Carl provided a LOT of  instrumental tracks in the studio during that time.  On their only TWO studio albums with the band they provided lead vocals on FIVE tracks (including "Funky Pretty), one of which was released as the A-side to a single.  They also sang lead on "We Got Love", which was released on the one live album they appeared on (and in limited quantity on the initial pressings of Holland), bringing their total of officially released leads to SIX.  Their roles in the band were 100% equal to everyone else at the time, while Bruce has always (with the exception of Sunflower) always served as a bit of a "junior member".

The group's previous box set included eight songs from their time in the band, including two featuring lead vocals from either of them.   Made In California features only five songs from that period and just one lead vocal.  The pair appear on four songs from the box's live subset but only one, vocally.  Additionally, the new box focuses more heavily on the early 70's and specifically on Dennis's work and unreleased tracks from that era but serves up some pretty glaring omissions in the opinions of several people on this board (which I know means nothing in the grand scheme but...).

Although I really like "Hard Times" I never expected it to be on this collection.  It was never approved for release by the group and was written and produced by two guys who haven't been in the band for almost 40 years.  However, "We Got Love" WAS approved for release...TWICE!  Seeing as it's only available as a live track on In Concert, the inclusion of the studio track seemed like a no-brainer.  Beyond that, with the stronger focus on Dennis's material from this period, don't you think it's a bit odd that neither song he asked Blondie to sing lead on was included?  You'd think one would have made the cut, just to help show Dennis's versatility as a producer and songwriter. 

As for the two of them being pictured on the face of disc four...  I said "air brushing" not "erasing".   

You may think I'm chasing a conspiracy theory where the isn't one.  (And maybe I am.  I certainly don't know what went on behind the scenes.)  But neither Blondie and Ricky were invited to contribute anything to C50.  No guest appearances like Stamos and California Saga, not even cameos like Hinche and Bonhomme, no contributions to the video interviews, and now the extremely minimal representation on Made In California.  All that makes me think it's the powers-that-be, self-streamlining their own bio.  ...Again.

That said, we're all entitled to our own view of the facts as they're presented and I don't begrudge anyone for seeing things differently than I.  I just wanted to clarify why I feel the way I do.

[Nicko1234]

No, it doesn't, and nobody's said that.

For a project like this, the mechanical royalties have to be kept down -- not because of the cost early on, but because when it's selling at a lower price (as we all know it will) they'll still have to pay. The way mechanical royalties (the royalties for songwriting) work is that they're based on the time that composition takes up, at a cost of "9.1 cents or 1.75 cents per minute of playing time or fraction thereof, whichever is larger" per copy.

Note that that's *per composition*. In other words, five different one minute songs would cost five times as much as the same song performed five times.

The twenty-two (I think it was) songs that appear in multiple forms on the set will save Universal around $2 per set. Not a huge amount at first glance, but still a significant cost when you remember that they don't get anything like the full sales price themselves, and that they'll still have to be paying that money when the box set price has eventually dropped to half of what it is now.

Nobody's officially said that this was a reason for the duplicate songs here, but it definitely *was* a consideration for the Good Vibrations box, and the people who compiled that have said so. And in the late 90s/early 2000s, there were abortive plans to reissue the 60s albums on single CDs with bonus tracks, and Brad Elliot talked on the old cabinessence.com board at the time about how they were having to choose bonus tracks taking this into account. So I would be *ASTONISHED* if it hadn't been thought about during the planning for this box, since it's obviously been a consideration.

(I would bet quite a large sum of money it's the main reason for the mono/stereo CD releases, too -- in most cases it will have cut the mechanical royalties per CD to less than half of what the twofers were costing).

But an unreleased track costs no more money than a released one -- but putting the two versions of California Feeling on will have saved money compared to putting two different unreleased tracks on.

But if you were to take off one of the versions of Don't Go Near The Water -- or Slip On Through, This Whole World or what have you -- it would free up *space*, but it wouldn't free up money for another song.

All true but I guess part of that could be put down to Capitol's penny pinching. There are plenty of bands (most much less revered than The Beach Boys) who have their albums released on single CDs with several bonus tracks for example.

[monicker]

Nice overview from spincds.com. My apologies if it's already been posted.


Made in California (6CD Box)

by The Beach Boys

Notes borrowed from, amongst others, The Second Disc

Made in California details the Hawthorne, California band’s history from 1961 to the present day over 6 CDs, with more than 7-1/2 hours of music and 60 previously unreleased tracks (17 of them live).  Designed in the style of a high school yearbook, Made in California tells the Beach Boys’ story through all of their hits plus never-before-released songs, alternate takes, demos, rare mixes, and live performances. The first disc of Made in California takes Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love, David Marks and Al Jardine from 1961 (previously unissued home recordings and rehearsal highlights of “Surfin’”) to 1964 (Top 10 single “Dance, Dance, Dance”), taking in the No. 1 hit “I Get Around” with a session introduction and other favorites including “Surfin’ USA,” “Surfin’ Safari,” “In My Room,” “The Warmth of the Sun” and “All Summer Long.”  

The second disc kicks off with Dennis Wilson’s rare lead on 1965’s “Do You Wanna Dance” in its 2012 true stereo mix, and ends with the title track to 1967’s Wild Honey in its true stereo mix.  This disc is an exploration of Brian Wilson’s most creatively fertile period in which he and his bandmates and collaborators created Pet Sounds and SMiLE.  Both albums are represented extensively, and the CD also finds room for “California Girls” (Bruce Johnston’s first appearance on record with The Beach Boys), “Barbara Ann” and the yearning “Let Him Run Wild.” 

Carl Wilson’s R&B lead on “Darlin’” from Wild Honey opens the third disc, which takes in highlights from Friends (“Friends,” “Little Bird,” “Busy Doin’ Nothin’”), 20/20 (“Be with Me,” “I Can Hear Music,” “Time to Get Alone”), Sunflower (“Add Some Music to Your Day,” “Forever,” “This Whole World”), and Surf’s Up (the majestic title track, the stunning “’Til I Die”).  There are also a number of rarities on this disc such as Dennis Wilson’s “Fallin’ in Love (Lady)” and the never-on-CD “Sound of Free,” plus 2012 mixes of “Sail Plane Song,” “We’re Together Again,” and Al Jardine’s “Susie Cincinnati.” 

The fourth CD continues with more from Surf’s Up (Carl Wilson’s psychedelic tour de force “Feel Flows,” Bruce Johnston’s warmly nostalgic “Disney Girls (1957)”) before revisiting Carl and the Passions – So Tough (Jardine, Love and Carl Wilson’s Transcendental Meditation-inspired “All This is That,” Brian’s rocking “Marcella”), Holland (“Sail On, Sailor,” “California Saga – California,” “The Trader”), 15 Big Ones (“It’s OK,” “Had to Phone Ya,” an extended “Rock and Roll Music”), The Beach Boys Love You (the quirky “Solar System,” the ravishing “The Night is So Young”), M.I.U. Album (“Come Go with Me”) and L.A. (Light Album) (the back-to-basics “Good Timin,’” Carl’s “Angel Come Home,” Dennis’ “Baby Blue”).  This CD also showcases the brief addition of Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar to the line-up.  But the rarities on this disc will most impress, including Dennis Wilson’s near-mythic “(Wouldn’t It Be Nice to) Live Again,” the Beach Boys’ original take of Brian and Steve Kalinich’s “California Feelin’” with Carl, Bruce and Brian on lead, and a 2012 mix of “It’s a Beautiful Day” from the Americathon soundtrack. 

The box’s fifth CD presents highlights from Keepin’ the Summer Alive (“Goin’ On”), the Steve Levine-produced The Beach Boys (“Getcha Back”), Made in U.S.A. (“California’ Dreamin’”), Still Cruisin’ (the inevitable “Kokomo,” originally on the Cocktail soundtrack) and 2012’s reunion That’s Why God Made the Radio (the title track, the single version of “Isn’t It Time”).  The never-before-released “Soul Searchin’” and “You’re Still a Mystery” – The Beach Boys’ final recordings together with Carl Wilson – are the indisputable highlights of this disc, which also includes a lengthy live-in-concert portion.  Fifteen songs span the period of 1965 to 1993.  (The much-maligned Summer in Paradise studio album, which lacked any involvement from Brian Wilson, is represented via a 1993 live performance of its title track.) 

The final CD offers 31 more unreleased tracks including a “Stack-o-Tracks” instrumental treatment of Glen Campbell’s “Guess I’m Dumb” (perhaps the best non-Beach Boys production ever by Brian Wilson), a cappella versions of “Slip on Through” and “This Whole World,” 15 Big Ones outtake “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,”  a demo of the dark “Be with Me,” the “California Feelin’” demo, and the outtake “Sherry, She Needs Me,” which became “She Says That She Needs Me” on Brian’s Imagination album.  Radio spots and BBC performances also appear on this exciting grab-bag of vault material. 

Made in California is packaged in a pseudo-high school yearbook, and contained hand-written, yearbook-style inscriptions from the surviving band members, plus essays and rare photos.

One small problem with this - he's patently not heard a note of the actual set but wrote that from the trackliating and a passing knowledge with maybe a few forums. Thus, except for total newbies, this 'overview' is entirely pointless. "YLTLF", btw, is NOT a 15BO outtake, so how knowledgeable the dood is, is open to question.

I don't know, doooooooooooooooood, considering that you misspelled "tracklisting"(which is not even a real word) as "trackliating," you probably don't know anything and have no credibility.

[SurfRiderHawaii]

Nice overview from spincds.com. My apologies if it's already been posted.


Made in California (6CD Box)

by The Beach Boys

One small problem with this - he's patently not heard a note of the actual set but wrote that from the trackliating and a passing knowledge with maybe a few forums. Thus, except for total newbies, this 'overview' is entirely pointless. "YLTLF", btw, is NOT a 15BO outtake, so how knowledgeable the dood is, is open to question.

Yeah, shame on him. You'd think he'd realize that the set is geared mainly to the casual fan, containing all the hits and deep cuts with some rarities. Oh wait, he does.

Geez AGD, you've done almost nothing in this thread but chastise people who aren't happy with the set. Now, someone writes a glowing article and you run them down. Guess some people just love to bask in misery.

All I can say is Fake Beard