The Beach Boys Look Back with 'Wendy' - another MIC teaser!

[SonicVolcano]

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-beach-boys-look-back-with-wendy-20130820

BBC Live in the studio 1964.

Enjoy

[hypehat]

Good find!

Wonder why, with the exception of Where Is She played on the radio earlier, they're previewing this release with live tracks?

[doc smiley]

If Carl was still with us I'd doubt we'd ever hear that one... horrible guitar break in the middle! 

[SonicVolcano]

Hehe, I noticed that too. Sound quality isn't the best. I wonder why?

[Nicko1234]

Yeah, not the best performance by Carl but an interesting inclusion I guess.

[Shady]

Do they really think a live version of Wendy is going to get the average fan excited for this release

[Freddie French-Pounce]

Hehe, I noticed that too. Sound quality isn't the best. I wonder why?

These won't be taken from master tapes, liekly dub discs pressed for playing elsewhere. Similar releases, such as the Kinks at the BBC, have a similar quality.

[Matt Bielewicz]

Ah, man, I really don't like 'Wendy'. Never have. Whiny Brian, a stop-start track (but not in a good way, like H&V or '...I Once Knew', or indeed like Where Is She...!)... this will never do it for me.

[drbeachboy]

Ah, man, I really don't like 'Wendy'. Never have. Whiny Brian, a stop-start track (but not in a good way, like H&V or '...I Once Knew', or indeed like Where Is She...!)... this will never do it for me.

Love Wendy. Love it for all the same reasons that you don't. Different strokes, baby!

[Phoenix]

Hehe, I noticed that too. Sound quality isn't the best. I wonder why?

These won't be taken from master tapes, liekly dub discs pressed for playing elsewhere. Similar releases, such as the Kinks at the BBC, have a similar quality.

And now I know why The Beatles At The BBC sounds so bad and more than likely, why it's out of print.   

[TV Forces]

And now I know why The Beatles At The BBC sounds so bad and more than likely, why it's out of print.   

If it is out of print, it's because it's being reissued soon.
But it's still "in stock" everywhere.

[Matt Bielewicz]

Love Wendy. Love it for all the same reasons that you don't. Different strokes, baby!

Totally, I agree. Wouldn't it be dull if we all felt the same? But having now listened to this BBC Wendy recording, this is the sort of track I wish wasn't cluttering up MiC. I mean, I admit that I reach that point of view in no small measure because I basically don't like the song, but it's not just that...

Basically, this is a reasonably competent live performance of almost exactly the same arrangement you've got on All Summer Long, only not as polished because it's live (particularly as regards the middle eight guitar solo...!). And seeing as I'm not a particular fan of the song, that reduces further in my mind to 'like the album version (which I'm not wild about anyway)... only not played as well'.

I *guarantee* I'll never rip this track to my iPod. Why would I bother? And even if you like the song, would you take this version over the album cut? If you would, I'd be genuinely interested to hear why.

This stands in stark contrast to something like 'Help You, Rhonda', or the version of California Girls from the same Lei'd In Hawaii studio session; although they're versions of tracks we all know backwards and inside out, they do something very different with their arrangements. That, I'm always willing to hear as an interesting variant, so it will go on my iPod.

[drbeachboy]

Love Wendy. Love it for all the same reasons that you don't. Different strokes, baby!

Totally, I agree. Wouldn't it be dull if we all felt the same? But having now listened to this BBC Wendy recording, this is the sort of track I wish wasn't cluttering up MiC. I mean, I admit that I reach that point of view in no small measure because I basically don't like the song, but it's not just that...

Basically, this is a reasonably competent live performance of almost exactly the same arrangement you've got on All Summer Long, only not as polished because it's live (particularly as regards the middle eight guitar solo...!). And seeing as I'm not a particular fan of the song, that reduces further in my mind to 'like the album version (which I'm not wild about anyway)... only not played as well'.

I *guarantee* I'll never rip this track to my iPod. Why would I bother? And even if you like the song, would you take this version over the album cut? If you would, I'd be genuinely interested to hear why.

This stands in stark contrast to something like 'Help You, Rhonda', or the version of California Girls from the same Lei'd In Hawaii studio session; although they're versions of tracks we all know backwards and inside out, they do something very different with their arrangements. That, I'm always willing to hear as an interesting variant, so it will go on my iPod.

Oh, I agree with you on this particular BBC track. I thought you were talking of the song in general. I think they did this on Ed Sullivan and was performed much,  much better. Yep, I agree, a wasteful track on the box set.

[BergenWhitesMoustache]

Hehe, I noticed that too. Sound quality isn't the best. I wonder why?

These won't be taken from master tapes, liekly dub discs pressed for playing elsewhere. Similar releases, such as the Kinks at the BBC, have a similar quality.

Taped off the radio when rebroadcast (most likely from a transcription disc) in 1966. Then subjected to all kinds of digital clean uppery.

I think it sounds pretty good, considering! The vocals sound oddly similar to the studio version in places

[guitarfool2002]

I'm disappointed to see some of the comments about sound quality regarding various radio broadcasts, specifically releases like the Beatles BBC set and similar items.

I'd chalk it up to a misunderstanding of what these tapes are, how they were sourced, and basically the nature of radio broadcast airchecks in general.

First, the reason why things like the Beatles BBC sound as they do is because in some cases historical value far outweighs the quality of the recording itself. For some of these broadcasts, there may be only *ONE* (count 'em) existing recording of that particular broadcast, and in some cases that one recording was someone who placed a microphone next to a radio speaker at home and recorded it on a home reel-to-reel machine of varying quality. So you'd get broadcast noise along with issues with tape and machinery before the performance is even a factor.

If it's the only known copy of that performance, wouldn't that outweigh the lack of sound quality in 2013 terms?

Next, we get spoiled sometimes by clear quality radio airchecks: These are rare, and were often taken directly from the board signal before it got transmitted, which would be like a soundboard recording of a live concert. They don't suffer from the same broadcast and other noise issues, but are still mixed differently than a normal recording for the AM broadcast, in most cases. Also, the BBC or other US stations may have also run a copy like this as the band pre-recorded an appearance, and in rare cases these tapes were kept rather than wiped and reused.

Plus, the overwhelming majority of these broadcasts sourced before 1967 and even some beyond that were AM radio, which is a more narrow frequency range and the music was mixed as such. In no way was it 2013 standards for quality or clarity, remember they were mixing these for the average kid who had an average transistor radio with an average speaker of 2-3 inches. Or car radios with one speaker perhaps 3-6 inches wide. That's it.

I'd gently recommend keeping those kinds of issues in mind before criticizing anything sourced from a radio broadcast for its sound quality.

And if that broadcast was or is the only known recording that exists, consider the historical value of having a recording of a tiny moment in time that would otherwise have been lost to time had a listener at home not decided to record off their radio that day.

[humanoidboogie]

Hehe, I noticed that too. Sound quality isn't the best. I wonder why?

These won't be taken from master tapes, liekly dub discs pressed for playing elsewhere. Similar releases, such as the Kinks at the BBC, have a similar quality.

And now I know why The Beatles At The BBC sounds so bad and more than likely, why it's out of print.   

The Beatles at the BBC will be re-released in September.  And it doesn't sound that bad, considering the Beeb didn't keep any of the masters (apart from one or two, IIRC)...

[Rocky Raccoon]

The Beach Boys BBC session was considered a long lost artifact until now, the quality shouldn't really matter.  Sounds fine to me anyhow.

[Cabinessenceking]

Strange that they would release this of all things. Wendy is a mystery song for me. It never really was a hit, and it is often forgotten yet I feel it is continually pushed to the public to appear more than what it actually was. Hell, I'd take Barbara Ann over this song anyday regardless if it's the studio version or an unheard BBC live cut from 1964...

[Wrightfan]

Love the little bit I heard. The quality makes it sound like garage rock.

[Gohi]

Definitely more evidence for my theory that Carl was never a great lead guitarist.
(Very impressed by his rhythm guitar and his ability to play complex chords and sing awesome vocals at the same time)

[Rocker]

I really like this for what it is. The striped shirts era, especially the years with Brian, are the most interesting live years to me. Just the boys pure, no other musicians and the guys knocking out thos harmonies (and rocking the halls for the most part too!). They were a very interesting live act to me. That's also why I'd love to have the Chicago '65 show in it's entirety.

[Justin]

3 samples already released...and haven't heard one of them!  Gotta hold on till next week.......

[Kurosawa]

It's real, that's what I like. Carl messes up the guitar break a little? No problem for me, the singing is still nice. Warts and all, still sounds good.

[runnersdialzero]

Definitely more evidence for my theory that Carl was never a great lead guitarist.
(Very impressed by his rhythm guitar and his ability to play complex chords and sing awesome vocals at the same time)

d00d was only 18 at the time of this recording. Give 'im a break, Grow-Hee.

[Gohi]

Definitely more evidence for my theory that Carl was never a great lead guitarist.
(Very impressed by his rhythm guitar and his ability to play complex chords and sing awesome vocals at the same time)

d00d was only 18 at the time of this recording. Give 'im a break, Grow-Hee.

eh his studio solos ain't much betta thanx