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Author Topic: Must haves for a newer Beach Boys fan  (Read 10218 times)
The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #25 on: July 30, 2014, 09:55:31 PM »

I have been an active BB fan since about 2011 (before that was just a general liking of 60s music).  Since that time I've built a small collection of stuff.

50 Big Ones
TWGMTR
Concert CD
TLOS
Plus a song here or there from other albums.

At this point I feel I have all of the mainstream stuff that a casual fan might have, so where do I go from here?  For my birthday I plan to ask for MiC, and TSS for Christmas (I assume the box set is worth getting over the 2 CDs?).  At some point I'll also get Gershwin and Disney.  Other than that, is there anything I'm missing?

I also want to start reading some books about them.  There are so many of them and I obviously won't read them all.  So if you had to pick three, what would you choose?

Finally, what videos should I watch aside from Endless Harmony?  Any concert videos worth watching?
After all those suggestions... have you listened to Pet Sounds yet? What did you think of it?

(Come to think of it, it's rather unusual to join a BBs board before having listened to Pet Sounds -  I guess. Different strokes for different folks.  Wink )

Before joining I had listened to every song on Pet Sounds, but not all at once.  I listened to the whole thing at once as AGD suggested, but it didn't do anything more for me than listening to the songs separately.  Maybe I'm just not far enough into my interest of music yet to "get" whatever I'm missing.
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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #26 on: July 30, 2014, 10:04:16 PM »

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys!  I think I'm still going to get MiC soon since I'm won't have to pay for it (birthday or Christmas).  As for buying the albums, I've decided that I'm just going to start with Surfin' Safari and go from there.  Listening to some of their lesser known stuff has taken time for me to get used to and I enjoy browsing youtube and coming across a song I haven't heard before.  Just within the past month I discovered Time To Get Alone and now I can't get enough of it!  But if I would have found it two years ago I wouldn't have been interested. 

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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #27 on: July 30, 2014, 10:06:09 PM »

I'll definitely check out that website, Stephen.  Thanks!
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Micha
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« Reply #28 on: July 30, 2014, 11:25:35 PM »

You've GOT to go buy Love You.  "The Beach Boys Love You", it's awesome.

If you're rather into 60s type of sounds, you may think it's horrible. Most people on this board love it, to me it sounds gross. Which is a pity, as the songs are quite good.


As for buying the albums, I've decided that I'm just going to start with Surfin' Safari and go from there.

Good decision IMHO. Smiley
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shelter
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« Reply #29 on: July 31, 2014, 06:54:48 AM »

I have been an active BB fan since about 2011 (before that was just a general liking of 60s music).  Since that time I've built a small collection of stuff.

50 Big Ones
TWGMTR
Concert CD
TLOS
Plus a song here or there from other albums.

At this point I feel I have all of the mainstream stuff that a casual fan might have, so where do I go from here?  For my birthday I plan to ask for MiC, and TSS for Christmas (I assume the box set is worth getting over the 2 CDs?).  At some point I'll also get Gershwin and Disney.  Other than that, is there anything I'm missing?

In my humble opinion, anyone who considers himself a Beach Boys fan needs to own, besides the hits, at least Pet Sounds, Smile (in any form), Friends and Sunflower. I always liked the familiar stuff (the 50 Big Ones material), but it wasn't until I heard those albums that I started thinking: wait, now it's really getting interesting... So many incredible gems on those albums that you won't hear on a lot of compilations, if any.

Anyway, do yourself a huge favor and don't spend your money on the Gershwin and Disney albums yet. Those are nice enough but not that relevant. Get the albums I just mentioned, then get everything else they released until 1974 (plus Love You), and then you can start thinking about Gershwin and Disney.
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shelter
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« Reply #30 on: July 31, 2014, 06:57:01 AM »

Before joining I had listened to every song on Pet Sounds, but not all at once.  I listened to the whole thing at once as AGD suggested, but it didn't do anything more for me than listening to the songs separately.
Just a suggestion: try again, but now at night, in the dark, with headphones on. That should do the trick.  Smiley
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« Reply #31 on: July 31, 2014, 12:42:24 PM »

As a long time fan, I was recently knocked out, once again, by these guys when I took several hours cleaning and redecorating my house while listening to the entire Made In California box.....every disc, every song, in order from beginning to end.   I recommend this (not necessarily the cleaning part) to anyone who has yet to do it.   The pace and sequencing, the scope of the music over the years, makes for quite an experience.
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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #32 on: July 31, 2014, 06:37:39 PM »

Before joining I had listened to every song on Pet Sounds, but not all at once.  I listened to the whole thing at once as AGD suggested, but it didn't do anything more for me than listening to the songs separately.
Just a suggestion: try again, but now at night, in the dark, with headphones on. That should do the trick.  Smiley

Does it matter what headphones I'm using?  I don't have any that I would consider high quality.
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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #33 on: July 31, 2014, 06:38:44 PM »

As a long time fan, I was recently knocked out, once again, by these guys when I took several hours cleaning and redecorating my house while listening to the entire Made In California box.....every disc, every song, in order from beginning to end.   I recommend this (not necessarily the cleaning part) to anyone who has yet to do it.   The pace and sequencing, the scope of the music over the years, makes for quite an experience.

I definitely plan to do that!
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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #34 on: July 31, 2014, 06:40:39 PM »

You've GOT to go buy Love You.  "The Beach Boys Love You", it's awesome.

If you're rather into 60s type of sounds, you may think it's horrible. Most people on this board love it, to me it sounds gross. Which is a pity, as the songs are quite good.


As for buying the albums, I've decided that I'm just going to start with Surfin' Safari and go from there.

Good decision IMHO. Smiley

Yeah I don't think I'm ready for Love You just yet.  Tip Toe
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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #35 on: July 31, 2014, 06:43:00 PM »

I have been an active BB fan since about 2011 (before that was just a general liking of 60s music).  Since that time I've built a small collection of stuff.

50 Big Ones
TWGMTR
Concert CD
TLOS
Plus a song here or there from other albums.

At this point I feel I have all of the mainstream stuff that a casual fan might have, so where do I go from here?  For my birthday I plan to ask for MiC, and TSS for Christmas (I assume the box set is worth getting over the 2 CDs?).  At some point I'll also get Gershwin and Disney.  Other than that, is there anything I'm missing?

In my humble opinion, anyone who considers himself a Beach Boys fan needs to own, besides the hits, at least Pet Sounds, Smile (in any form), Friends and Sunflower. I always liked the familiar stuff (the 50 Big Ones material), but it wasn't until I heard those albums that I started thinking: wait, now it's really getting interesting... So many incredible gems on those albums that you won't hear on a lot of compilations, if any.

Anyway, do yourself a huge favor and don't spend your money on the Gershwin and Disney albums yet. Those are nice enough but not that relevant. Get the albums I just mentioned, then get everything else they released until 1974 (plus Love You), and then you can start thinking about Gershwin and Disney.

Yup, as I said before, I love discovering the rare gems on YouTube.  I'm not looking forward to the day when I've finally heard every released Beach Boys song known to man lol.
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The Cincinnati Kid
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« Reply #36 on: August 01, 2014, 12:07:44 PM »

Is Endless Summer Quarterly a must have?  And is the $30 for year's worth of issues?
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« Reply #37 on: August 01, 2014, 05:08:21 PM »

Is Endless Summer Quarterly a must have?  And is the $30 for year's worth of issues?

IMO, yes, and yes, for four issues if you live in the U.S. The most recent issue includes an early glimpse into Craig's sessionography Thumbs Up
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« Reply #38 on: August 01, 2014, 08:43:22 PM »

Before joining I had listened to every song on Pet Sounds, but not all at once.  I listened to the whole thing at once as AGD suggested, but it didn't do anything more for me than listening to the songs separately.  Maybe I'm just not far enough into my interest of music yet to "get" whatever I'm missing.
I had Pet Sounds for about 9 years, and listened to it once in a while, before I "got" it. There were 3, maybe 4, good songs, and the rest were just OK. I didn't "get" it until after I had really gotten in TSS in spring of 2012. Sometimes you have to listen to some other stuff before you figure out why a certain work is particularly good.
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« Reply #39 on: August 01, 2014, 10:52:48 PM »

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« Reply #40 on: August 01, 2014, 11:20:55 PM »

I didn't get Pet Sounds for a while after buying it either. I was a kid and while I appreciated the fact that the songs were deep and orchestral I wanted the rocking summer themes of the earlier hits and 15BOs.  Then my girl dumped me and Pet Sounds told me everything was okay!

Agree you should listen to it in darkness, either with headphones or the volume cranked up (not too loud though). Dig it in mono first with your heart, then pull it apart in stereo with your head, to get inside Brian's.

You're welcome to borrow my Seinheiser 'phones.

As for listening to MiC from end to end while cleaning, you're welcome to use my Seinheisers for that too. You can start in the kitchen - that's always filthy - and work your way through to the bathroom which is disgusting.

I'd add Today! to Shelter's list of must-have albums.
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« Reply #41 on: August 02, 2014, 05:29:18 AM »

Thanks for all of the suggestions, guys!  I think I'm still going to get MiC soon since I'm won't have to pay for it (birthday or Christmas).  As for buying the albums, I've decided that I'm just going to start with Surfin' Safari and go from there.  

Get Surfin' U.S.A. first whydoncha?  You need Surfin' U.S.A. in mono. You need Little Deuce Coupe in mono.

I don't know what C-Kid needs, but I absolutely prefer the pre-Friends albums in mono. I remember when about 8 years ago a kind soul sent me mp3 needledrops of the mono albums, and I listened to Shut Down Vol.2, which I until then thought was a minor effort of Brian's, but listening to the mono version I thought "God, what a beautiful album!"
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« Reply #42 on: August 02, 2014, 11:05:27 AM »

Is Endless Summer Quarterly a must have?  And is the $30 for year's worth of issues?

Endless Summer Quarterly [ESQ] is essentially $7.50 an issue with a one year subscription.  Since the individual issue are sold @ $10 each, it makes sense to subscribe (as opposed to paying individual prices).  More than ever — as we enter into a VERY interesting period in Beach Boys history — ESQ will be worthwhile (with the 50th anniversaries of Concert, Christmas, Today, Summer Days, Party, Pet Sounds, Smile [period], Wild Honey, etc., in the coming years). 

Each issue offers:
•  exclusive interviews
•  previously unpublished images
•  48 pages of BB-related content
•  access to all members of the group

Over the last few years it has been a really cool to be around Mike, Bruce, David, Al and Brian.  It is sooooo cool to hear them wax nostalgic about these songs and albums that (on some level) have defined my life.  I don't have a favorite camp, as there were no camps when the music was being created in the beginning.  When I fell in love with The Beach Boys sound in 1979 / 1980 all I knew was the music, and that's what drives the spirit of every issue of ESQ. 

The best thing about ESQ is no one is trying to re-write history.  In fact, over the last several years they kind of rely on me to fill in the gaps of their memories…considering that this stuff happened over 50 years ago.  The great thing about that is the great research provided by Jon Stebbins, Ian Rusten and Domenic Priore in various books (in addition to information, etc., as provided by David leaf, Peter Reum, Craig Slowinski, AGD, etc.).  There are a lot of great books out there, and it is ESQ's mission to create companion pieces to those that already exist.

For example:  The Summer 2014 edition of ESQ celebrates the All Summer Long, Ride The Wild Surf and little Old Lady From Pasadena albums.  The idea is to put these albums on while you are reading.  Since we all already have the records, these are essentially "collectible books" to accompany those albums.  Thanks to Craig Slowinski's sessionography on the All Summer Long album (accompanying) Mike's interview we are all more informed.

With the Internet, we are not able to "break any story," but we do have plenty of exclusives.  In the Spring 2014 edition of ESQ I interviewed Joe Thomas about the song "Sail Away" from Brian's upcoming solo / duets album.  Brian even submitted a lyric passage.  I ran the interview (w/out lyrics) on Brian's birthday on Beach Boys Examiner over two and half months after the segment ran in ESQ.  All the interviews are new and exclusive.  There may be context that is repeated, but the goal in every issue is to provide the reader with an insightful / valuable firsthand reading experience.  For the record: All surviving members are invited every issue to comment on the current edition topic.  Schedules often dictate those decisions.   

ESQ is a two-man operation.  I do all the fun creative stuff (interviews, layout, design, formatting, etc.), and Lee Dempsey maintains the database and mails out individual issues.  I handle the quarterly mailings.  It is ESQ's mission to provide the reader with direct access to the Beach Boys (and Dean), and you will get that in every issue.  Maybe, with a little help from this board, we can convince Lee — in what ever little bit of free time that he has — to write (again) in ESQ. 

Here are a few links:
http://www.esquarterly.com/merchandise.html#top
http://www.esquarterly.com/order.html
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.456655387486.254920.183982922486&type=1
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« Reply #43 on: August 02, 2014, 11:19:52 AM »


You're welcome to borrow my Seinheiser 'phones.
   

  If I PM my address, can you mail them to me?
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« Reply #44 on: August 02, 2014, 11:21:52 AM »

Pet Sounds is an amazing album.  It took me four years to wrap my mind around it, but when it hit me there was no looking back.
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« Reply #45 on: August 02, 2014, 11:25:44 AM »


You're welcome to borrow my Seinheiser 'phones.
   

  If I PM my address, can you mail them to me?

They're available at BeachTorrent
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« Reply #46 on: August 02, 2014, 11:27:32 AM »

Way back in the mid-90's when I just started getting into the band, I picked up a few greatest hits compilations, and even admitted to enjoying their most recent studio album at the time, Summer In Paradise (No really.  Scout's honor.).  Then for Christmas I received the 30th Anniversary box set, and I became a diehard fan.  
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« Reply #47 on: August 02, 2014, 11:40:27 AM »


You're welcome to borrow my Seinheiser 'phones.
   

  If I PM my address, can you mail them to me?

They're available at BeachTorrent

But I want to use YOUR phones!  And Since I'm not at/near your crib, it'd be easier if you just mailed them to me....
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« Reply #48 on: August 02, 2014, 11:59:47 AM »

It's interesting to me how Pet Sounds does not appear to be an album that instantly appeals to people.  I remember not thinking all that much of it when I first listened to it.  I've also had friends listen to it and didn't get anything out of it.  Whereas there are a number of other classic albums that people immediately enjoy, this one has always been a grower.
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« Reply #49 on: August 02, 2014, 12:37:35 PM »

It's interesting to me how Pet Sounds does not appear to be an album that instantly appeals to people.  I remember not thinking all that much of it when I first listened to it.  I've also had friends listen to it and didn't get anything out of it.  Whereas there are a number of other classic albums that people immediately enjoy, this one has always been a grower.

Really?  I see this posted here alot. definitely can be a "grower"  I'm certain
All I can remember, and yes it's been a LONG time, is loving this album from the first time I l heard it.
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