MIC Absentees

[mikeddonn]

There has already been a lot of discussion on another thread about unreleased songs which should have been released.  Maybe Disney Boy created this thread so as not to go over old ground! 

I can't give a definitive 5 but would have liked to have more latter day stuff like Where I Belong and Somewhere Near Japan.  And when the first box set came out I remember thinking why is there no Feel Flows etc.  This one again has a lot of those I can't believe that isn't on it moments.  Especially when you see some of the songs that are on it!

[Smilin Ed H]

Just to recap...

Ok, five songs that didn't make the MIC line-up but which you really wish had, and why you wish they had (unreleased tracks not included, because obviously everyone wants to see unreleased material officially released). And in the interests of keeping the thread interesting and to the point, no more than five suggestions each (no big long lists please).

Okay, okay...

Cuddle Up
Johnny Carson
Pet Sounds
Steamboat
She Knows Me Too Well

[rab2591]

Bonus Absentees:
6.  Come to the Sunshine (if it could be found)

The Beach Boys did a cover of this!? What year was it recorded?

 Brian and Van Dyke recorded "Come to the Sunshine" maybe late '75; the very beginning of the 15 BIG ONES era, more or less. I don't know if anyone else in The Beach Boys participated.

Thanks! I hope this sees the light of day sometime....Sounds like a cool collab.

[Sam_BFC]

More votes for
1/ Somewhere Near Japan
and
2/ My Diane
over here.

Plus
3/ Lahaina Aloha
if they were serious about being career spanning.

Would have loved a stereo mix of
4/ Aren't You Glad
if it is possible.

I know Dennis is well represented, but
5/ Baby Blue
is one of his most gorgeous songs IMO.  Cuddle Up (45 mix) could also have filled this hole.

[Nicko1234]

More votes for
1/ Somewhere Near Japan
and
2/ My Diane
over here.

Plus
3/ Lahaina Aloha
if they were serious about being career spanning.

Would have loved a stereo mix of
4/ Aren't You Glad
if it is possible.

I know Dennis is well represented, but
5/ Baby Blue
is one of his most gorgeous songs IMO.  Cuddle Up (45 mix) could also have filled this hole.

Isn't Baby Blue included?

[RonBaker2003]

1-East Meets West (one of the very best later singles...with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons...a good sounding single that still sounds good).
2-Happy Endings (the Beach Boys sing with the King of Rock and Roll...and it's a different sort of sound.)
3-You Are So Beautiful (live with Dennis.  I got to see him sing this with the Beach Boys--minus Carl who was on a solo tour)
4-the tracks they recorded live with Chicago.

[Mikie]

Baby Blue is already on there, as it should be. MIA From MIC are Cuddle Up and San Miguel, but we finally got Sound Of Free.

[rab2591]

Baby Blue is already on there, as it should be. MIA From MIC are Cuddle Up and San Miguel, but we finally got Sound Of Free.

One of my favorite Dennis songs - I was so glad to see that on the set. Hoping the quality is better than the boot I have.

[Eric Aniversario]

Then I kissed her
Girl don't tell me
You still believe in me
She knows me too well
Keepin the summer alive

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[Sam_BFC]

More votes for
1/ Somewhere Near Japan
and
2/ My Diane
over here.

Plus
3/ Lahaina Aloha
if they were serious about being career spanning.

Would have loved a stereo mix of
4/ Aren't You Glad
if it is possible.

I know Dennis is well represented, but
5/ Baby Blue
is one of his most gorgeous songs IMO.  Cuddle Up (45 mix) could also have filled this hole.

Isn't Baby Blue included?

Blimey, my mistake, missed that one...

[Summer_Days]

Big Sur ("Landlocked")

You're absolutely right, I don't know how I forgot that one....

[Wah Wah Wah Ooooo]

You're so Good To Me
Then I Kissed Her
Girl Don't Tell Me
LONG PROMISED ROAD  - WTF?
Where I Belong
Somewhere Near Japan.

That's 6...sue me.

[Moon Dawg]

 1. Steamboat
  2. She Knows Me too Well
  3. With Me Tonight
  4. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
  5. Noble Surfer
  6. All I Wanna Do


 In general, MIC makes the band's post 1977 output seem like less of a black hole and/or abyss than the GV box. On GV, the bottom falls out almost immediately after the LOVE YOU tracks. This time, we get a bit more. Despite the patchy quality of much of that era, this is a good thing.

 I'm just glad somebody had the sense to get "Lonely Sea" and "Feel Flows" on the new set.

 Was David Leaf involved this time? Nope? Good.

 

 Apologies to David Leaf.

[Les P]

Considering the wealth of material we are getting, it seems rather ungrateful to criticize the selections.  But from the perspective of selecting songs that really should appear on (presumably) the last comprehensive retrospective of their career, here we go:

1.  Cool Cool Water (Sunflower version) – way out front
2. You Need a Mess of Help
3. Little Pad (stereo mix)
4. Keepin’ the Summer Alive (live at Knebworth)
5. Somewhere Near Japan

6. That Same Song (Documentary version)*

1.   This is the only one of the five I would say should definitely be on here, hands down.  Obviously not complex songwriting, but it’s one of their finest vocal arrangements after Smile.  A peak for the group and Steve Desper.  I know there are already 5 excellent Sunflower songs on MiC, but a career retrospective with “Brian’s Back” but without “Cool Cool Water” is…well, just not right.

2.   Because it rocks in a loose way that was a new, exciting direction for them in the early 70s.

3.   Smiley Smile is under-represented.  Here we get some beautiful Smile-worthy melodies, yet it’s goofy enough to represent what SS is about.  I could see "She's Goin' Bald" as perhaps more representative of SS; "Little Pad" is just a personal preference musically.

4.   Shows the band could still rock even among the dreck of the 80s, in an improved version of a late-period fun-in-the-sun song.

5.   One of the better post-70s tracks among a very small pool of contenders.  

6.*   OK, technically not released on album, but has been released publicly and presumably exists on multi-track somewhere.  Again, a much more energetic version of an album track, featuring a rarely attempted gospel style that is otherwise unrepresented.

[Micha]

Probably the most unpopular list...

1. Drive-In
2. Here Today
3. Woncha Come Out Tonight
4. Pitter Patter
5. Summer In Paradise (Europe studio version /w McGuinn)

Unreleased: First of all What'd I Say and Big Sur 4/4.

[Don Malcolm]

Lots of great ideas in this thread.

I will pick just one, and stay typecast....

LIVE version of "Mess of Help".

And still want Billy to do his remix--but that's a separate topic! 

[Disney Boy (1985)]

There has already been a lot of discussion on another thread about unreleased songs which should have been released.  Maybe Disney Boy created this thread so as not to go over old ground! 

I can't give a definitive 5 but would have liked to have more latter day stuff like Where I Belong and Somewhere Near Japan.  And when the first box set came out I remember thinking why is there no Feel Flows etc.  This one again has a lot of those I can't believe that isn't on it moments.  Especially when you see some of the songs that are on it!

Yes, that's exactly my reasoning, thanks man. Gee, didn't realize it was going to cause such annoyance amongst the more emotionally unstable members of the board...

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Considering the wealth of material we are getting, it seems rather ungrateful to criticize the selections.  But from the perspective of selecting songs that really should appear on (presumably) the last comprehensive retrospective of their career, here we go:

1.  Cool Cool Water (Sunflower version) – way out front
2. You Need a Mess of Help
3. Little Pad (stereo mix)
4. Keepin’ the Summer Alive (live at Knebworth)
5. Somewhere Near Japan

6. That Same Song (Documentary version)*

1.   This is the only one of the five I would say should definitely be on here, hands down.  Obviously not complex songwriting, but it’s one of their finest vocal arrangements after Smile.  A peak for the group and Steve Desper.  I know there are already 5 excellent Sunflower songs on MiC, but a career retrospective with “Brian’s Back” but without “Cool Cool Water” is…well, just not right.

2.   Because it rocks in a loose way that was a new, exciting direction for them in the early 70s.

3.   Smiley Smile is under-represented.  Here we get some beautiful Smile-worthy melodies, yet it’s goofy enough to represent what SS is about.  I could see "She's Goin' Bald" as perhaps more representative of SS; "Little Pad" is just a personal preference musically.

4.   Shows the band could still rock even among the dreck of the 80s, in an improved version of a late-period fun-in-the-sun song.

5.   One of the better post-70s tracks among a very small pool of contenders.  

6.*   OK, technically not released on album, but has been released publicly and presumably exists on multi-track somewhere.  Again, a much more energetic version of an album track, featuring a rarely attempted gospel style that is otherwise unrepresented.

Good choices/explanations. Very good point re Cool Cool Water, though I'd hope for the album version rather than the single version (which features some shocking editing).

Either Little Pad or She's Goin' Bald would've suited me re Smiley Smile, but yes, I really do think it deserved at least another track to represent it on the box. It is, after all, ''the most under-rated album in the entire catalogue'' (copyright Bruce Johnston, 2013).

I'm surprised the excellent live rendition of That Same Song didn't make it onto the live section of MIC. It really is incredible, would've been great to have had a clear sounding audio recording of it. Still, there's always the video on YouTube to keep us going (and what a clip it is! They all look as if they're having the time of their lives, even Brian.)

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[humanoidboogie]

I would like to see the unique songs from the 1983 "Rarities" album re-issued. It's not exactly awesome stuff, but it would be nice to see that butt ugly album made redundant.

[Nicko1234]

I would like to see the unique songs from the 1983 "Rarities" album re-issued. It's not exactly awesome stuff, but it would be nice to see that butt ugly album made redundant.

With a Little Help from my Friends certainly could have been included. Especially as the Rarities version had the wrong edit/mix I believe.

[The Shift]

I'd like to come up with my five now but would rather wait until after the tracklist for the Love & Mercy biopic soundtrack CD has been announced, as I'm pretty sure that might mop up one or two exclusions from this time around, especially those that showcase Brian's personal development as a composer and producer (and maybe even lyricist!).

[Micha]

Probably the most unpopular list...

1. Drive-In
2. Here Today
3. Woncha Come Out Tonight
4. Pitter Patter
5. Summer In Paradise (Europe studio version /w McGuinn)

Unreleased: First of all What'd I Say and Big Sur 4/4.

At work I remembered two more songs that I should have included: Santa Ana Winds and Summer's Gone. Together with one more song I had left off because of the 5 song limit, my list should be 8 songs:

1. Drive-In
2. Here Today
3. She's Got Rhythm
4. Woncha Come Out Tonight
5. Pitter Patter
6. Santa Ana Winds
7. Summer In Paradise (Europe studio version /w McGuinn)
8. Summer's Gone

[RonBaker2003]

Why would "Here Today" be an unpopular choice?  It's one of my favorite Pet Sounds recordings.