Post Release MIC Track Discussion

[pixletwin]

Autotunoia: paranoia of the non-existant use of Autotune.

[KokoNO]

Damn. These 15 Big Ones & Love You mixes sound SO CLEAN 


If that interview re: more reissues etc the whole albums are probably remastered already. If only Capitol would release em!!

Can someone link me to said interview of whomever? Thanks.

[Amazing Larry]

Only the 15 Big Ones tracks are remixed.

[bsten]

And there's way too much darn treble!

This is exactly what I was posting about in "all of MIC" thread.  What I don't understand is, weren't Endless Harmony and Hawthorne CA compiled by the same people as the 2012 remasters and MIC?  Why the compression and treble on the latter?  Should we not be seeing the sound quality improve over the years?  My depressing theory is that it's yet another example of "designed for earbuds" contemporary mastering.

Take "Marcella' for example. Sounded really bright, glassy and and piercing to me when I first sampled it, so I pulled out my 2000 Sandoval-Hersch version to compare. While both may or may not be dynamically compromised, the earlier one just has a richer, better overall balance than the "whiter and brighter," 2013 Linett version (though, one might argue that even *that* earlier one is a bit over-EQed). The new Linett version also seems to have a bit of a channel imbalance -- with a louder right channel -- if one listens or looks at the waveform. Odd.

I don't know what anyone else's preference is, but personally again, and while perhaps not perfect, I'll still stick with that aforementioned Sandoval-Hersch 2000 version for this particular track.


(Note: I didn't pull out "Classics" to compare that mastering, but the earlier, '93 box set version, mastered by Larry Walsh and ML almost sounds like it's from an inferior tape source and with some possible NR on it. I also didn't dig out the original Gastwirt, CATP version. But, I seem to recall that one as being pretty uninspired, tape source-wise, as well.)

The SH version has a much richer, fuller sound, no doubt about it.
Please enlighten me - what album/release/version/year?

[bsten]

Endless Harmony was not compiled, mixed or mastered by Mark Linett.

... At least not the first issue with the ugly cover. He returned within a year or so to redo some things for the second version.

So there are two different mixes? Which cover is on which one?

[bsten]

On first listen the Transcendental Meditation backing track doesn't really add anything to the album version.

Slip on Through sounds very unnatural to me.

Lots of good stuff too though.

TM must be the worst BB song ever... But that's MO...

I recall reading - many many years ago - that either
(memory doesn't serve me well) it was based on, or
a re-write of, or inspired by some 50's jazz tune. Not
strange at all, since most of the Wrecking Crew members
were jazz musicians. Does anyone else recall reading this?

[Matt Bielewicz]

I can't believe how many people have problems with ponies and puppies. I legit love the lyrics. What fitting images to have with the loving beauty of the track.

Well — I do hear ya. The lyrics do kind of fit the vibe of Friends. I think I said on here when I first heard the track, that they remind me of an Athena poster, which is pretty much exactly what Ebb And Flow said straight after your post. For those that don't know, Athena is, or possibly was (they may now be no more for all I know), a UK High Street retailer of the kind of mawkishly over-sentimental posters that adorn the walls of sub-teenaged girls' rooms: puppies with big eyes looking sad, horses looking cute and fluffy kittens with pat one-liners underneath. I'm sure there are similar places in the States...

So although the lyrics sort of fit, they also pull me up short. I can sure see why the Boys canned them in 1968, when putting them in would have been a sure-fire way to wreck your credibility in the first few seconds of the new album (although of course tragically, back in 1968 Friends managed to do that anyway without any help from the ponies OR the puppies...).

Point is, I'd like to respect that creative decision from back then, and keep the fauna out of the track as the Boys did in '68, while still giving myself access to the superlative harmonies that grace the latter part of the new version. Working on a re-edit now...

[pixletwin]

With regard to Meant For You, less was definitely more, but the extended version is interesting in context of MiC.

[Nicko1234]

The spoken word bits on I Get Around, Surfer's Rule and There's no Other really are the definition of barrel scraping. A shame they couldn't have included one or two of the genuinely unreleased songs from the Party sessions.

[Mr. Tiger]

OK, I just finished listening to the whole thing. These are my first comments because I avoided all samples before my box arrived yesterday.

There was never a chance that this set was going to carry the same impact for me as the GV Box, which really kicked my BB fandom into high gear. Now most of the music is fused into my cortex but it's still fun to listen to it all again in another context with new mixes, added chatter, etc etc

Here were my favorites of the "new" (with asterisks) tracks as I listened through the set for the first time:

Country Air - this mix was really different and fun! There were some elements I missed from the old mix (was the "come on!" missing?), but also a lot of weird effects popping out... excellent.

Meant For You (alternate) - it was fascinating to hear the track continue on, but the mystery and concise brilliance of the fragment on Friends was still the right decision for that album.

Help Me Rhonda (w Dennis) - I'm not usually into live tracks because in my mind they never improve on the originals. However, this one got me thinking that perhaps Al was miscast in the lead role all these years. Sacrilege, I know, but the devil may care desperation of the lyric suddenly comes to life here and it's amazing. I don't know if 1964/65 Dennis could have pulled it off, though.

Guess I'm Dumb - majestic, evocative, beautiful, brilliant. Yes, I heard this outtake before, but now it's part of the official BB canon where it belongs.

Mona Kana - great Dennis track; quite SMiLE influenced (yes I heard it before but it has been a while).... I wonder if he ever planned lyrics to it.

Had To Phone Ya (Instrumental) - I've always enjoyed this backing track, which is very reminiscent of Love to Say Dada but in some ways, it betters it.

I Believe In Miracles - YES! THIS IS THE TRACK I MISSED FROM THE SMILE SESSIONS! I HAD NO IDEA THIS WAS IN THE BOX! SUCH HIGH QUALITY! WOW! Oh, it's over? Still, that was amazing.

Why - OK, how many people did a double take when they realized that this is an MIU outtake? Wow, great chord changes. Brian clearly still had "it"... I know you all already knew that.

I liked a lot of other tracks, but these were the most thrilling for me on first listen. I'm sure others will emerge over time....

[Letsgoawayforawhile]

I keep listening to Sound Of Free.
What an amazing song!

[bsten]

Considering Sound of Free was released not as a BB song, but by Dennis Wilson & Rumbo, it's a miracle it (and a few others) made it to the box...

Now, I wonder if Almost summer will ever make it to a BB box.. Actually, I like it - should have been a BB song. And the day someone says there IS a BB recorded version, I will, I will, I....'m gonna cry...

Now, where's We got love??

[Pablo.]

Two observations and a question.

1 -  Without pretending to say that The Beatles invented everything: It's unquestionable that "Where is she" is influenced by "She's leaving home". Another two factors: the beginning of the B part -with melody and chords that echo the "Silenty closing her bedroom door", and the time signature. This is not derogatory to "Where is shy", a really nice song which should have been developed and release in its time: is Brian beign influenced by Paul as "Here There and Everywhere", "Penny Lane", "You mother should known", "Dear Boy", "The Back seat of my car", and many others, including "New" are Paul's songs with Brian's influence over them.

2 - Re: The piano stylings of the "California feelin'" demo. Maybe is an example of Brian's love for Randy Newman's Sail away LP?

3 - What's the story with the backing tracks of "Soul searchin'" and "You're still a mystery"? For years it has been said that the bootlegged versions were the vocals from the Was session flown into the Paley instrumental tracks. The MIC versions are basically the same than the Landylocked  ones (or also, in the case of "SS", The GIOMH version) Who is credited with the production on the MIC liners? Of course this will be cleared with the soon-to-be-online C-Man's session research...

[SonicVolcano]

It's a great set, but it's a shame the Blondie/Ricky era is practically overlooked.

Where is Hard Times, We Got Love, It's A New Day, Carry Me Home? Or a different live Leaving This Town?

Also, the live set could have lived without all the 90s performances, except for Summer In Paradise. Sail On Sailor with Carl is nice, but it features a cheap piano and synths.

The BBs deserve a live box set, too

[jeffcdo]

I only have the first ("fence" cover) Endless Harmony so I'm not sure of the differences between that and the second ("car" cover). 

Compare Endless Harmony's stereo California Girls to MIC.

[Andrew G. Doe]

So it hasn't bothered anyone else yet that the Beach Boys' voices are autotuned to the point of sounding like car horns throughout this ENTIRE collection (previously-released material included)?

The only completely  untouched track seems to be the Surfin' rehearsal. Even instruments are sometimes apparently run through the bitch.  Some of the supposed original alternate mixes (especially Sail Plane) sound like they are likely contemporary Pro Tools experiments.

How much did this cost again?!

Hasn't bothered me, mostly because what you're claiming is flat-out nonsense. Suggest you make an immediate appointment with your audiologist. Every single track ? Seriously ?? You any kin to Phil Cohen ?

[runnersdialzero]

The spoken word bits on I Get Around, Surfer's Rule and There's no Other really are the definition of barrel scraping. A shame they couldn't have included one or two of the genuinely unreleased songs from the Party sessions.

They're just a bit of session recordings before and after songs. They aren't there in place of other songs, I would hardly call it "barrel scraping."

I did it a few times on a Beach Boys mix I made for friends actually, just as a "for fun" thing when there was a bit of amusing/interesting dialog. I think it's here for the exact same reason.

[Wirestone]

Endless Harmony was not compiled, mixed or mastered by Mark Linett.

... At least not the first issue with the ugly cover. He returned within a year or so to redo some things for the second version.

So there are two different mixes? Which cover is on which one?

First version, released in 1998:



Revised version, from 2000:



I believe there's a third version, too, that fixes some minor mistakes in one of those main two versions.

[Wirestone]

Only the 15 Big Ones tracks are remixed.

Only one is, actually. R&R Music. The It's OK alternate mix comes from '76.

[Wirestone]

3 - What's the story with the backing tracks of "Soul searchin'" and "You're still a mystery"? For years it has been said that the bootlegged versions were the vocals from the Was session flown into the Paley instrumental tracks. The MIC versions are basically the same than the Landylocked  ones (or also, in the case of "SS", The GIOMH version) Who is credited with the production on the MIC liners? Of course this will be cleared with the soon-to-be-online C-Man's session research...

On SS, the production credit is: BW, AP and DW
On YSAM, the credit it: DW, BW and AP

My suspicion is that YSAM actually uses the Was instrumental track, which is why he's credited first.

[Amazing Larry]

Only the 15 Big Ones tracks are remixed.

Only one is, actually. R&R Music. The It's OK alternate mix comes from '76.

I thought Had To Phone Ya was a remix, but I guess not.

[Wirestone]

Only the 15 Big Ones tracks are remixed.

Only one is, actually. R&R Music. The It's OK alternate mix comes from '76.

I thought Had To Phone Ya was a remix, but I guess not.

Some of the 70s stuff sounds different, I suspect, because Mark L. hasn't remastered it since the 1993 set, if at all. The Brother years twofers from 2000 were handled by someone else.

[EgoHanger1966]

The spoken word bits on I Get Around, Surfer's Rule and There's no Other really are the definition of barrel scraping. A shame they couldn't have included one or two of the genuinely unreleased songs from the Party sessions.

I'd usually agree with you, but in these cases I think they are well worth including. IGA intro gives a good break down of instruments that are on the backing track (harpsichord!), Surfer's Rule gives the listener some classic Murry, and Carl's thing at the beginning of "There's No Other" is laugh-out-loud funny, if you're hip to Love vs. Wilson on Shut Down II.

[Dave Modny]

The SH version has a much richer, fuller sound, no doubt about it.
Please enlighten me - what album/release/version/year?

Sandoval-Hersch:

http://www.amazon.com/Carl-The-Passions-Tough-Holland/dp/B00004TJXT

[Amazing Larry]

Is it just me, or are the Mike's vocals after the Pony bit the same as the ones before the Pony bit.