MiC up for order on Amazon, August release

[Disney Boy (1985)]

What confuses me is: on the same disk they note that the Vocal Montage is from TSS....

I too was baffled by the inclusion of the ALREADY RELEASED Smile Backing montage - amazing though it most certainly is! But then didn't AGD or someone mention in an earlier post that for every new song included it costs the record company a certain amount and thus results in the sale price having to be increased also. So an extra 2 or 3 unreleased tracks might've meant extra £££ on the price tag - and people have been moaning enough about the price as it is...

[Disney Boy (1985)]

The "from the vaults" disc could and should be so much better but man I'm so excited for this release.

Personally I'm not going to pass judgement on the merits (or lack thereof) of the bonus disc because, you know, NONE OF US HAVE ACTUALLY HEARD IT YET! So how anyone can comment that it should've been better is beyond me - how do you know every single track won't be absolutely fantastic? Wait until you've heard the thing, then pass judgement.

[Dudd]

Hey, maybe we'll get some hidden A/C stuff

[Cabinessenceking]

Hey, maybe we'll get some hidden A/C stuff

Carl Coda aka the entire A/C album.


fingers crossed!

[AndrewHickey]

What confuses me is: on the same disk they note that the Vocal Montage is from TSS....

I too was baffled by the inclusion of the ALREADY RELEASED Smile Backing montage - amazing though it most certainly is! But then didn't AGD or someone mention in an earlier post that for every new song included it costs the record company a certain amount and thus results in the sale price having to be increased also. So an extra 2 or 3 unreleased tracks might've meant extra £££ on the price tag - and people have been moaning enough about the price as it is...

Not quite -- it was me, and it's every *song*, not necessarily every *new* song. Putting on California Girls cost the same as putting on Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again -- but putting on *two* copies of California Girls costs no more than putting on one. Basically, that's why we're getting multiple versions of some songs -- because it costs no more money to include, say, Don't Go Near The Water (instrumntal), while putting on, say, Skatetown USA or Bull Session With The Big Daddy, would have added money to the cost.

The interesting thing from that point of view is whether the Smile backing vocal montage is counted as a separate composition, or as the songs that make it up -- and if the latter, how many of the songs that make it up are already on the set in one form or another.

[Nicko1234]

Do all of the radio promos cost nothing to include btw?

[AndrewHickey]

Do all of the radio promos cost nothing to include btw?

There you're past my area of expertise. *As far as I remember* none of the previous radio promos to be released have involved using any music that was in copyright at the time -- it's all been stuff like Down By The Old Mill Stream which is in the public domain. But you'd have to look at the publishing credits for the individual tracks to see, and I don't have any of my CD booklets handy. I'd suspect they cost nothing.

[AndrewHickey]

The "from the vaults" disc could and should be so much better but man I'm so excited for this release.

Personally I'm not going to pass judgement on the merits (or lack thereof) of the bonus disc because, you know, NONE OF US HAVE ACTUALLY HEARD IT YET! So how anyone can comment that it should've been better is beyond me - how do you know every single track won't be absolutely fantastic? Wait until you've heard the thing, then pass judgement.

Absolutely agreed with this. Of the stuff on there that's been bootlegged (a surprisingly small fraction), things like Sherry She Needs Me, You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling, and the Lei'd "rehearsals" are among the best bootlegged tracks. I'm frankly drooling over it...

[TV Forces]

Why they felt the need to put eight minutes of previously released material on this disc rather than two or three rarities, well, who knows?

I'm glad you said it.  If I did, I'd be accused of whining.  Look at that beautiful font on the orange background and imagine the song titles we could be seeing.

I too was baffled by the inclusion of the ALREADY RELEASED Smile Backing montage - amazing though it most certainly is! But then didn't AGD or someone mention in an earlier post that for every new song included it costs the record company a certain amount and thus results in the sale price having to be increased also.

Please.  The Smile Sessions had something like 150 tracks and was cheaper.  It even included vinyl records, a poster, and hardcover book.

ersonally I'm not going to pass judgement on the merits (or lack thereof) of the bonus disc because, you know, NONE OF US HAVE ACTUALLY HEARD IT YET! So how anyone can comment that it should've been better is beyond me - how do you know every single track won't be absolutely fantastic? Wait until you've heard the thing, then pass judgement.

Here you go again.  Every single track may be "absolutely fantastic."  How can "Transcendental Meditation (instrumental track)" and "Pom Pom Play Girl" not be?    But to say it can't be improved upon without listening to it first is not accurate.  Take out the SMiLE vocal montage we already have and give us two new tunes and there, it's improved.  You may not want to "pass judgement" on it, but you are surely this sets biggest defender ever without actually hearing it yet.  As fans we should be able to talk about this stuff without you guys trying to shut people up who are pointing out areas they personally wish were different.

[AndrewHickey]

Please.  The Smile Sessions had something like 150 tracks and was cheaper.  It even included vinyl records, a poster, and hardcover book.

Tracks != songs. Most of those tracks were multiple versions of the same songs. And you'll note that Made In California has 172 tracks.

Here you go again.  Every single track may be "absolutely fantastic."  How can "Transcendental Meditation (instrumental track)" and "Pom Pom Play Girl" not be?    But to say it can't be improved upon without listening to it first is not accurate.  Take out the SMiLE vocal montage we already have and give us two new tunes and there, it's improved.  You may not want to "pass judgement" on it, but you are surely this sets biggest defender ever without actually hearing it yet.  As fans we should be able to talk about this stuff without you guys trying to shut people up who are pointing out areas they personally wish were different.

No-one's trying to shut anyone up -- and if they were they would be singularly unsuccessful in doing so. If you "Take out the SMiLE vocal montage we already have and give us two new tunes" it's almost certainly also more expensive. I'm certainly not saying I would have made all the same decisions that the compilers of the box did, but I think all the decisions they made are justifiable ones, and I haven't been this excited about an archival release in years.

[LostArt]

And let's not forget...ask 50 people on this message board what their ideal MiC box tracklist would be, and I guarantee that you'll get 50 different answers.  Discuss 'would've/should've' all you'd like, that's what message boards are for...but in the end, what we're getting is what we're getting.  I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again...as a potential consumer of this product, I need to ask myself 2 questions...

I've seen the tracklist and the package description.  Do I like it enough to want to own it? Yes.
I've seen a very early price point.  Are the contents of the box (tracklist and package) worth the money that I'll have to pay to buy it? Yes.

End of discussion.  Ask yourselves the same 2 questions, and then decide for yourselves.  I just don't get the bitching about stuff that isn't going to change. But, by all means, do carry on about your ideal tracklists and such.  Maybe we can get another 77 pages of posts about stuff that isn't going to happen.     

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Gee TV Forces has sure got his knickers in a twist... MIC's biggest defender am i? Suits me. I think it looks awesome and i'm extremely pleased with the track list. Not sure why i should pretend to think otherwise... And i love Pom Pom Play Girl and cannot wait to hear the TM backing track!

[Ram4]

As for the price, if the only way you could get all the unreleased tracks on this box would be you had to pay $150.00, are some of you saying you wouldn't?  For an official release of 6 discs, right now it IS expensive.  But again, would you rather not have this stuff ever come out or is it worth paying for to own them?  So in that context, it's worth it.

They included the Smile Session Vocal Montage because this is a career spanning box, it is pretty damn impressive, and it is more of a "from the vaults" type of track, so I can see why it's included.  Yeah I know, we want a 7th disc of unreleased stuff.

[drbeachboy]

To me, they're not fooling anybody. Most of those who say it is too expensive are only trying to justify illegally downloading it for FREE. I think we all realize that not buying it will not equate with not listening to it.

[Generation42]

So the '67 version of "Surf's Up" is different from the one on The Smile Sessions.

Hmm, interesting...

This has me curious, too.  We know that, what, five 1967 takes were discovered at the end of that reel, correct?  Could be a new one.

Personally, I'm actually holding out hope that a new mix was made in 2012 of the studio version of "Surf's Up," featuring the Brian vocal, but without the vocal lag present on the TSS version (though it would probably not be called "1967 version," were this the case).  I guess we'll see soon enough.

[Mitchell]

To my ears (and I could be wrong), the TSS SU67 is edited, probably compiled from the best bits of the 5 takes or whatever it was. So the new version could just be a new mix/edit (hopefully dry, or au naturel) or maybe more like a session excerpt. Another thing that will be neat to hear!

[Amazing Larry]

To my ears (and I could be wrong), the TSS SU67 is edited, probably compiled from the best bits of the 5 takes or whatever it was. So the new version could just be a new mix/edit (hopefully dry, or au naturel) or maybe more like a session excerpt. Another thing that will be neat to hear!

I'm pretty sure all the reverb on TSS mix is to cover up some heavy handed NR.

[Nicko1234]

To me, they're not fooling anybody. Most of those who say it is too expensive are only trying to justify illegally downloading it for FREE. I think we all realize that not buying it will not equate with not listening to it.

Sorry but that is absolute garbage. People are saying it is too expensive because the price is far higher than box sets for other bands/singers. Simple as that.

[drbeachboy]

To me, they're not fooling anybody. Most of those who say it is too expensive are only trying to justify illegally downloading it for FREE. I think we all realize that not buying it will not equate with not listening to it.

Sorry but that is absolute garbage. People are saying it is too expensive because the price is far higher than box sets for other bands/singers. Simple as that.

Tell you what, let's wait and see how many discuss the songs that they haven't bought. If it's indeed garbage, it'll be no different than half the stuff that is discussed in this forum.

[Nicko1234]

As for the price, if the only way you could get all the unreleased tracks on this box would be you had to pay $150.00, are some of you saying you wouldn't?  For an official release of 6 discs, right now it IS expensive.  But again, would you rather not have this stuff ever come out or is it worth paying for to own them?  So in that context, it's worth it.

Yes.
 
If when TWGMTR was released it had been twice as expensive as other chart CDs then would that have been acceptable?

If Capitol`s thinking was, `let`s jack up the price because the BB fans will pay whatever we ask for it` then that would be a sad indictment.

[Nicko1234]

Tell you what, let's wait and see how many discuss the songs that they haven't bought. If it's indeed garbage, it'll be no different than half the stuff that is discussed in this forum.

I didn`t say that nobody will download stuff. Of course they will as it`s the 21st century. But your assertion that people are only trying to justify that is guff.

This box set is twice as expensive as the market average. It is perfectly legitimate to complain about that.

[drbeachboy]

As for the price, if the only way you could get all the unreleased tracks on this box would be you had to pay $150.00, are some of you saying you wouldn't?  For an official release of 6 discs, right now it IS expensive.  But again, would you rather not have this stuff ever come out or is it worth paying for to own them?  So in that context, it's worth it.

Yes.
 
If when TWGMTR was released it had been twice as expensive as other chart CDs then would that have been acceptable?

If Capitol`s thinking was, `let`s jack up the price because the BB fans will pay whatever we ask for it` then that would be a sad indictment.

But it wasn't. As a 12 song CD album, it was priced accordingly. Even cheaper the week of release. If I couldn't afford MIC, I just wouldn't buy it. There were times back in the late 60s and 70s when I couldn't afford the $3-$4 bucks for new albums and guess what? I didn't buy them until I could afford it. It is pretty simple really.

[Nicko1234]

But it wasn't. As a 12 song CD album, it was priced accordingly. Even cheaper the week of release. If I couldn't afford MIC, I just wouldn't but it. There were times back in the late 60s and 70s when I couldn't afford the $3-$4 bucks for new albums and guess what? I didn't buy them until I could afford it. It is pretty simple really.

Exactly. It wasn`t. So why should this box set cost twice the market average?

[drbeachboy]

Tell you what, let's wait and see how many discuss the songs that they haven't bought. If it's indeed garbage, it'll be no different than half the stuff that is discussed in this forum.

I didn`t say that nobody will download stuff. Of course they will as it`s the 21st century. But your assertion that people are only trying to justify that is guff.

This box set is twice as expensive as the market average. It is perfectly legitimate to complain about that.

How many times do you have to be told? It will come down by release date. Call UMe and complain that is more than you can afford. Pissing and moaning in here for months on end isn't going to make it any cheaper. Say it once, I understand. Keep repeating and your beating a dead horse.

[Nicko1234]

How many times do you have to be told? It will come down by release date. Call UMe and complain that is more than you can afford. Pissing and moaning in here for months on end isn't going to make it any cheaper. Say it once, I understand. Keep repeating and your beating a dead horse.

It is not about being more than a person can afford. Jeez.

And here`s a genuine question for you. Now this set may well go down in price before it is released but why is it that so many other box sets that are also due for release this summer are already at a low price?

A quick glance at Amazon shows the BBs box set is currently 95.60 GBP. Buffalo Springfield`s set is 15.60 GBP for 4 discs. The Clash`s 81.50 GBP for 13 discs. Harry Nilsson`s 53.56 GBP for 17 discs. Doesn`t really add up does it.