The Complete Hite Morgan Sessions Will Be Released

[MarcellaHasDirtyFeet]

Releasing stuff like this but not live concerts from the Blondie/Ricky days makes no sense to me.
Keep scraping that barrel.

As John Lennon once said (in an approving tone): "It's history, man!"
P.S., he was referring to bootlegs of Beatles stuff, of which he was a big collector.

Huh. I did not know that.

[“Big Daddy”]

Some new pictures via Amazon of this set:

[Bicyclerider]

There are a few takes missing - Luau take 4, Lavender take 3, Surfin Safari takes 1-2, 7-9, Judy overdub take 3, Barbie overdub 6, Young Girl overdub take 2.  So is this really the "complete" Hite Morgan sessions?

Nevertheless I'm excited about this release and also for Jim's liner notes which should be revealing.

[c-man]

There are a few takes missing - Luau take 4, Lavender take 3, Surfin Safari takes 1-2, 7-9, Judy overdub take 3, Barbie overdub 6, Young Girl overdub take 2.  So is this really the "complete" Hite Morgan sessions?

Nevertheless I'm excited about this release and also for Jim's liner notes which should be revealing.

They were missing from the proposed First Wave lineup too, right? So I tend to think they're missing from the tapes altogether...as in erased...

[lostbeachboy]

Who's the dude on the cover..?

[Jim Murphy]

Becoming the Beach Boys: The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions are indeed the complete Hite and Dorinda Morgan sessions.  Every second of every tape. 

As Craig astutely pointed put, any appearance of "missing takes" is because they either never existed in the first place or they simply no longer exist -- erased, taped over, skipped. 

Becoming the Beach Boys: The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions is a beautiful 2 CD set -- a tri-fold digipack with a twenty-page booklet with color photographs.  I hope Beach Boys fans appreciate the diligence, perseverance, and creativity Brad Rosenberger and his team at Omnivore Recordings poured into this package.  As Mikie pointed out, referencing the Coda in my book (The Hite Morgan Tapes--Discovery, Illumination and Litigation) that examines the decades of litigation and legal entanglements ensnaring the tapes, suffice it to say that releasing this package was no easy task.  The tracks were remastered from the original tapes by Mark Linett, Alan Boyd weighed in with his unparalleled knowledge of the Beach Boys, and I had the honor to write the liner notes based on my book Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963.  These folks, myself included, of course, care deeply about preserving the Beach Boys' musical legacy.  And not just preserving it, but getting it right.  As right as anyone can in 2016.  That these historic recordings are being released in a physical format, given the changes and financial constraints in the music business, well, that just flirts with the miraculous. 

The extension of "Becoming" from the book to the CD set was a purposeful decision by Brad Rosenberger.  This is all of the band's earliest recordings, even as they called themselves the Pendletones, compiled, remastered, and sequenced thoughtfully into a musical and historical document detailing, through music and words, how five boys from California formed America's greatest band on the way to becoming the Beach Boys.     

"Here in these seminal recordings are the nascent Beach Boys, the premiere vocal group of American popular music, and this is where it all began."

[Bicyclerider]

Comparing the track list with the list for First Wave, the following takes SEEM to be missing from the Complete Hite Morgan sessions and present on First Wave:

Lavender - rehearsal/demo take 4

Barbie overdub take 2

Young Girl overdub take 2

Surfin' Safari - edit takes 6 & 9


Of course it's possible that on this release some false starts weren't considered "takes" and if the take wasn't slated each time, it may just be a matter of semantics.  
                      

[The Cool One]

I remember they perfomed a version of John B Sails on that sessions

[c-man]

I remember they perfomed a version of John B Sails on that sessions

Aren't you thinking of the version taped at the Wilson's home and included on the boot The Gargage Tapes?

[Mooger Fooger]

The package arrived an hour ago and I am just listening to the Surfer Girl sessions right now. This set is AMAZING! Sound quality: outstanding! Historical importance: Second to none. Even at this raw stage you can ghear Brian's genius. Wow! If you already haven't I URGE you to order this set. A real fly-on-the-wall look into,as the set title says, the boys becoming the Beach Boys.

Stop press: Surfer Girl Take 9 overdub lead vocal contains like a female singine, "we ride the surf together..." No mention made in the notes that I can find.

[The_Beach]

Was their a few of these recordings released on MIC box set?

Brother Records finally gave us something the fans wanted! but there is way more popular stuff unreleased then this! But i am not going to complain one bit! I will always be happy with ANYTHING that gets released of the Beach Boys! This is a great set!!!

[Mooger Fooger]

Keep in mind I haven't listened to "Lost and Found" for some time, but there were alot of takes I don't think I had heard before. In the cases where stuff had been released previously, it is mentioned in the booklet. MiC only had a few of the tracks on here, mainly Surfin'. Pretty much every track on this set goes: Hite Morgan home demo, rehearsals, takes, final take, master with whatever overdubs may have been done. For example the Surfer Girl sessions , Brian asks Hite if they could do an overdub for the bass, he is refused. I have not heard that before, I dont think. The quality, given the age of the material is outstanding. I was reluctant to get this, but am very glad I did.

To Bicyclerider: I have only done a cursory listen, and there are several takes on the one track in a few places. I am not at home so I can't cross check, but you may be right. However there are points where you definitely hear the tape stop/start. I will need to listen again tonight or tomorrow.

[Pretty Funky]

Stop press: Surfer Girl Take 9 overdub lead vocal contains like a female singine, "we ride the surf together..." No mention made in the notes that I can find.

A clue here?

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7487799/beach-boys-earliest-recordings-becoming-the-beach-boys

This new set, made in full cooperation with the band, contains all of the available tapes plus studio chatter. The group on these recordings was comprised of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, as well as friend Al Jardine and cousin Mike Love. The CD also contains songs by Kenny and the Cadets, which included Brian and Carl Wilson, their mother Audree Wilson, Al Jardine and Val Poliuto.

[Cristian Kiper]

It's already out on Spotify.

[Jim Murphy]

Here's a link to an interview I did recently with Tony Basilio on The Tony Basilio Show in which we discuss Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963 (McFarland Books, 2015) and Becoming the Beach Boys: The Complete Hite & Dorinda Morgan Sessions (Omnivore Recordings, 2016).


https://bbbjmurphy.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/2016-07-08-tony-basilio-with-james-b-murphy-becoming-the-beach-boys.mp3

[Rocker]

I listened to some samples on amazon.de It's interesting - even with just 30 sec. samples - to hear how they got better and more confident in performing "Surfin'" from take 1 to the master.

[Peadar 'Big Dinner' O'Driscoll]

I listened to some samples on amazon.de It's interesting - even with just 30 sec. samples - to hear how they got better and more confident in performing "Surfin'" from take 1 to the master.

Full thing is on Spotify. It sounds great though some people find it hard to understand why I'm listening to the same song over and over ;-)

[Mooger Fooger]

According to the CD liner notes, these tracks were previously released:

Surfin' (Master take) b/w Luau -Candix 301

Barbie (Single master) b/w What is a Young Girl Mad Of  -Randy 422

Surfin' Safari (stereo overdub)  -Germany Ariola 45 411

Surfin' Safari (Master), Barbie (Album Master), Judy (Master), Surfer Girl (Master), Beach Boys Stomp (aka Karate) (overdub take 2 on take 1)  -Beach Boys Biggest Hits ERA 805

Surfin' (demo), Luau (demo, take 1 and take 6), Lavender (rehearsal, take 2), What is A Young Girl Made Of (overdub, take 7), Surfin' Safari (take 6), Judy (Take 2), Beach Boys Stomp (aka Karate) Master  -Lost and Found DCC DZS-054

Surfin' (take 1 and 7) -Good Vibrations 30Years of the Beach Boys Capitol C2 0777 7 812594 2 4

[Smilin Ed H]

Review: http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/becoming-beach-boys-complete-hite-and.html

[JK]

Review: http://fridaynightboys300.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/becoming-beach-boys-complete-hite-and.html

Thanks, Ed. Good to see the Friday Night Boys are still as disparate as ever. :=) 

[Smilin Ed H]

More so as we age.

[tunestony]

Hey guys,

I just interviewed Brad Rosenberger, president of Omnivore Recordings, about this set for my Icon Fetch podcast.  The link is:

http://www.iconfetch.com/great-music-interviews/2016-shows/1017-show-275-becoming-the-beach-boys-82916.html

He talks about actually having the tapes at his house (and how nervous it made him), before returning it to the Morgans. 

Hope you enjoy.


Tony

[HeyJude]

I haven't listened to the interview yet, but it is interesting that BRI apparently owns the copyrights to the recordings themselves, while the Morgans still retain physical ownership of the tapes. I believe this is covered in Murphy's book.

[bonnevillemariner]

Hey guys,

I just interviewed Brad Rosenberger, president of Omnivore Recordings, about this set for my Icon Fetch podcast.  The link is:

http://www.iconfetch.com/great-music-interviews/2016-shows/1017-show-275-becoming-the-beach-boys-82916.html

Great interview, Tony.  I've enjoyed all of your Beach Boys related episodes.  I'm still a bit stumped on the name of the podcast, though...

In the interview, Rosenberger mentions that the identity of the female singer is still unknown. I wonder if anybody's ever asked any of the Boys if they remember who it was?

[jiggy22]

It's so cool to hear the group trying out some kind of instrumental track for the early takes of "Lavender", I wish a backing track was actually fleshed out for the final take!