Made In California

[Jason]

Discuss, review, and rate Made In California, released August 27, 2013.

[pixletwin]

Easy 5 from me. It has it's short comings but in the end it tells a great story.

[alf wiedersehen]

Easy 5 from me. It has it's short comings but in the end it tells a great story.

I agree. It may be missing some stuff we all want, but it also has a great deal of stuff we've always asked for.
I thought it was nice that, even on the greatest hits material (mostly the first disc), it still presented them in new ways, like stereo mixes.

[bluesno1fann]

Only one complaint for this box set.
That would be that a majority of the box set are songs already released, so you're essentially buying the same songs again.
The unreleased tracks make up for it, but there are still a lot of unreleased songs that deserve to be released. "I'm Going Your Way", "Carry Me Home", "We Got Love", "Walkin'", etc. are missing from this box set.
By far the best track off this box set is "WIBNTLA", and IMHO that's the main reason to get this box set.
4.5 out of 5.

[Niko]

There are 2 problems with this boxset, but they really only affect us hardcore fans.
1: The tracks we want not being there.
2: Tracks we already have.

Yeah, so I really really wanted All I Wanna Do to be in there...and I dont really need TWGMTR again.
As long as you get over that, it's a fantastic box set. All the new remasters are great, and it's been so good having all these new tracks.

Wild Honey, Country Air and Darlin' deserve a special shout out -- they sound amazing 

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Well, it's an amazing box-set... So many of my friends and family are going to be getting this for Xmas (whether they want it or not).

There's a few tracks where I'm unhappy with the mixes - in particular You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling (whatever they were trying to do, I wish they hadn't bothered) - but mostly it all sounds superb!

That there's still so many great unreleased tracks in the vaults I hope means we're due a rarities CD at some point in the not too distant future - why else leave off Stevie, Big Sur, etc.?

However the rarities they included are all terrific (YLTLF excluded), in particular Wouldn't It Be Nice To Live Again - which really is a stunning piece of work - the lovely Where Is She, and the extended Meant For You, which if I listen to one more time might result in my girlfriend throwing the CD player out of the window...

So, a few minor quibbles yes, but it's jut such a enormous, impressive collection I can't really give it anything below a 5.

[rab2591]

5/5 stars.

Cannot even express how pleased I am with this boxset. The tracklisting, the rarities, the remixes - mindblowingly good. I thought the design of the set was creative and tasteful (though I'd love it if they went back to jewel cases to hold these CDs).

Standouts: Where Is She?, Be With Me (demo), Do You Wanna Dance (stereo), WIBNTLA, the extended Meant For You, unplugged 'There's No Other', the instrumental tracks on the rarities disc, stereo Wild Honey tracks. Have to praise whoever pieced these tracks together: the piano snippet at the start of 'Where Is She' is my second favorite moment on this set (WIBNTLA being first) - I'm so glad someone thought to edit that in!

As for it being a boxset with songs we already have: It was advertised as a career spanning boxset, so there's no avoiding buying these songs again given the context of the set. I think those involved with making MiC knew us fans would be shelling out money for stuff we already owned, so they were more inclined to add songs with new mixes, remastering, etc. Hearing original mono mixes of songs, a new stereo mix of Fun Fun Fun, etc is a real treat.

One thing I have to agree with people on (mentioned in other threads), is that the inclusion of the Good Vibrations session track on the rarities disc wasn't really necessary. We got an entire disc of GV on TSS, part of it in TPSS, 15 minutes of it on the GV boxset, 7 minutes of it on the GV 40th CD, 7 minutes of it on the SS/Wild Honey twofer. Not really a rarity at this point.

The one track I was hoping to God would be on here was the backing track to In The Back Of My Mind. It's one of the most beautiful compositions of the last century, imo. And it would've been great to hear a polished stereo version of it.

For all my bitching above: I can't even begin to realize how difficult the process of putting a boxset together is. All the compiling, the countless hours listening to tapes (though that may be the fun part!) the mixing, the approval from the band/record company, designing, etc. You can't please everyone - so my complaints are minor. I feel blessed knowing I was able to hear such music in my time, and that there are very talented and perceptive people putting these sets together for us.

This set is incredible and does the band a heap of justice. Thanks to everyone involved and I look forward to many more years of releases from our favorite band!

[Marcella]

5/5 stars

From the moment I listened to 30 second preview tracks in another country's Spotify a day or two before the offiicial US release date I was struck by the amazing sound quality of songs I have known intimately for decades. Everything old sounded new and fresh again.

Purists complain about some of the tinkering they did with existing tracks, yet those same people complain about buying tracks that they already own--you can't have it both ways. Linnett/Boyd/Wolfe have managed to make me listen to the complete 174 song collection, whereas with any other box set collection of an artist I love I would have long since created a smaller playlist of tracks new to me from the box set.

Thank you a thousand times over for making tracks like Where is She?, Sherry She Needs Me, My Love Lives On, Alternate Meant for You make it feel like the Boys are out creating new music in their "old" voices. As a straight-laced collector with no boots, MiC allowed me to hear so much new music, and for that it is a no doubt 5 star collection.

[zachrwolfe]

‍

[Jason]

Well, coming off of the heels of the 2012 Greatest Hits and 50 Big Ones compilations, Made In California can't help but feel redundant, what with reprising all of the material from the aforementioned compilations, not to mention much of what was on the Good Vibrations box set. As a listen, it's certainly cohesive and entertaining despite the presence of stereo mixes as opposed to the original mono. The typical listener might not care, but those of us will bitch about it ad nauseam. The Good Vibrations box has more of a nostalgia value, since at the time there was no career retrospective like it in the case of the Beach Boys. This treads much of the same ground and therefore might not feel as revelatory.

As an excuse to sneak out what is essentially a three-disc box set of previously unreleased or unavailable material, it succeeds admirably. A minor quip on my part, but it would have been nice for this box to be a place to get all of the various minutiae from other releases available again, like the exclusive tracks from Rarities, soundtrack items, remixes, live versions and such, but, as before, that's a minor quip - they're all easy enough to find. The archival material on the box can be easily compiled into a listenable set itself. I did the same with the Good Vibrations box set, the two-fer bonus tracks, and the various minutiae, so naturally I have done the same with Made In California.

I don't think we'll see a box set of this magnitude with the Beach Boys' name on it ever again. Short of the band giving a green light to anything the compilers see fit to release in the future, this might be the last gasp for archival material. I hope I'm wrong.

5 for the music, 4.75 for the box.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

[rab2591]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

[Amazing Larry]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

As another Zach, I'll hop on this. Listen to 1:04-1:09 in Sherry She Needs Me and you'll see.
You'll all see...

[Orange Crate Art]

5 all the way!

[alf wiedersehen]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

As another Zach, I'll hop on this. Listen to 1:04-1:09 in Sherry She Needs Me and you'll see.
You'll all see...

Do you mean the "She-eh-eh-eh-erry baby" sweeping falsetto part?

[Disney Boy (1985)]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

As another Zach, I'll hop on this. Listen to 1:04-1:09 in Sherry She Needs Me and you'll see.
You'll all see...

Do you mean the "She-eh-eh-eh-erry baby" sweeping falsetto part?

Sounds good to me.

[Amazing Larry]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

As another Zach, I'll hop on this. Listen to 1:04-1:09 in Sherry She Needs Me and you'll see.
You'll all see...

Do you mean the "She-eh-eh-eh-erry baby" sweeping falsetto part?

Nope. The first "Sherry, baby, it's time we said goodbye."

[Alan Smith]

4.

A great release, but my individual minor quibbles (perpetually rehashed items, missed opportunities in terms of the unreleased or strays, sessionography not included but available via a link, CD 3 mastering errors) matched to a big ticket price, knocks a point off the board.

I think concept and efforts of the producers, and Mike's involvement, were stellar - my  quibbles relate to EMI's shortcomings.

[drbeachboy]

5

Considering that this comp is career spanning, we got exactly as advertised. As many have said, I can quibble with a few missing pieces and the addition of a few things I feel unnecessary, but overall I am very happy with how it turned out. For a retail price of $150.00 it is a bit pricey, especially considering the quality control issues, it should have been perfect, but wasn't. But this about the music and for that it is damn near perfect.

[drbeachboy]

To the two people who each rated this set a 0 and 1, I would love to read your reasons why you voted it so low, though I do have a singular suspicion why you did.

[alf wiedersehen]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

As another Zach, I'll hop on this. Listen to 1:04-1:09 in Sherry She Needs Me and you'll see.
You'll all see...

Do you mean the "She-eh-eh-eh-erry baby" sweeping falsetto part?

Nope. The first "Sherry, baby, it's time we said goodbye."

I'll be honest, I really don't hear anything.

[rab2591]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

As another Zach, I'll hop on this. Listen to 1:04-1:09 in Sherry She Needs Me and you'll see.
You'll all see...

Yeah, I definitely hear something. Funny enough, the SOT boot of the song sounds perfectly fine without the vocal correction (though it's double tracked, and the MiC version isn't) - wonder why they used it.

[Disney Boy (1985)]

To the two people who each rated this set a 0 and 1, I would love to read your reasons why you voted it so low, though I do have a singular suspicion why you did.

It's called being a troll. It's also called being incredibly boring and desperately seeking a reaction.

[Amazing Larry]

Outstanding boxset. The use of really badly done melodyne was a stupid decision and I can't even imagine how they could've thought it was a good idea to keep it in. I would have loved some more rarities. But all in all, it does the band a lot of justice and I love all the new stereo mixes, remasters, and most of all the rarities.

4.899934562816/5.

Melodyne? What's that?

I believe he's talking about the program that can change pitch, notes, tempo of a song, etc.

Zach, where are you hearing this used on here?

As another Zach, I'll hop on this. Listen to 1:04-1:09 in Sherry She Needs Me and you'll see.
You'll all see...

Do you mean the "She-eh-eh-eh-erry baby" sweeping falsetto part?

Nope. The first "Sherry, baby, it's time we said goodbye."

I'll be honest, I really don't hear anything.

If you listen closely, you'll hear some WEIRD garbling that isn't in any other version.

[zachrwolfe]

‍