Unheard BB tracks that you most would like to hear

[mikeyj]

there's a lot of stuff I'd like to hear out of curiosity; and some of it I'm sure is great. However, I'm sure some of the unreleased songs are a little "hyped-up" by those who've been privy to them. I remember the extraordinary praise Soulful Ol' Man Sunshine got a few years ago; super fans informing the rest of us what a terrific gem we were missing. Then it got released and... Meh.

I think Soulful Old Man Sunshine is pretty good actually... I mean okay it's no Surf's Up or This Whole World or GOK, but in saying that, it's pretty incredible that there are/were songs in the can for years that deserved a release such as It's Over Now, Still I Dream Of It, Soulful Old Man Sunshine, Do You Like Worms, I Love To Say Da-Da, Games Two Can Play, San Miguel, Can't Wait Too Long, I Do, 4th of July, Old Man River, California Feeling, Go And Get That Girl, A Time To Live In Dreams, Lonely Days, We're Together Again etc. and of course there are still many other tracks that are unreleased that we know are pretty good (Life Is For The Living, How's About A Little Bit Of Your Sweet Loving, Carry Me Home, It's A New Day, Looking Down The Coast, Don't Fight The Sea, You're Still A Mystery, Soul Searching, My Solution, You've Lost That Loving Feeling, Sandy Baby, Stevie, Oh Lord, Thank Him, Won't You Tell Me, I've Got A Friend (at least the live versions are good), I'm Going Your Way etc.. plus all the alternate versions (Big Sur, Wonderful, Wind Chimes) etc.. and then there's the tracks that are supposed to be good that we haven't heard (WIBNTLA the main example)

So I dunno, I think for a band who released so much good stuff (at least from 1962-1973) it's pretty unbelievable that there is anything decent left in the can. I mean take the Beatles on the other hand... they have barely anything in comparison

[MBE]

Looking and the Belagio site again, I must say any unreleased title, especally those with vocals, would be great. Some of the titles are very new to me. Anything through 74 is bound to be decent, and through 81-82 it would all be at least interesting. As far as anything after that.... but the Paley sessions should come out.

[The infamous Baldwin Organ]

Even if they're worried not enough people would buy collections of these songs to justify all of the packaging, marketing, etc.. they could do a webpage where people could download these songs directly and they'd probably make a good return that way. The Beach Boys have a pretty big fan base worldwide. What do you guys think?

[mikeyj]

Even if they're worried not enough people would buy collections of these songs to justify all of the packaging, marketing, etc.. they could do a webpage where people could download these songs directly and they'd probably make a good return that way. The Beach Boys have a pretty big fan base worldwide. What do you guys think?

Well that's what http://www.beachboyscentral.com/ is supposed to be for. Although it's said "new site coming soon" for a long time now.

[the captain]

there's a lot of stuff I'd like to hear out of curiosity; and some of it I'm sure is great. However, I'm sure some of the unreleased songs are a little "hyped-up" by those who've been privy to them. I remember the extraordinary praise Soulful Ol' Man Sunshine got a few years ago; super fans informing the rest of us what a terrific gem we were missing. Then it got released and... Meh.

I agree with your general point: the unreleased stuff is almost always overhyped. Fans always seem to love what wasn't or almost was more than what was, and I think part of that is being in the "cool kids" club of having the boots.

But on Soulful Old Man Sunshine, I think you're way off. I do think that was an awesome piece of work. It should have been completed, assembled and released in the late 60s or early 70s and I'm shocked they let it lie dormant. I'd put it in the top 10-20% of Beach Boys material.

[mikeyj]

I agree with your general point: the unreleased stuff is almost always overhyped. Fans always seem to love what wasn't or almost was more than what was, and I think part of that is being in the "cool kids" club of having the boots.

I agree with you Luther that some of the stuff IS overhyped (didn't David Leaf state how great Lazy Lizzie was or something?) but then again some of it is slammed for being rubbish (The Battle Hymn of the Republic for example). But yeah, do you agree that the Beach Boys are one of the few bands that have a fair chunk of good unreleased (meaning still unreleased or remained unreleased until rarities compilations etc..) material? I mean as I said in my earlier post, some of those songs aren't as good as some of the band's better released material, but it's still crazy how good some of them are considering they went unreleased. I mean I'm sure a lot of people on this board would love to be able to write a song even half as good as Stevie or something

[the captain]

I agree with you Luther that some of the stuff IS overhyped (didn't David Leaf state how great Lazy Lizzie was or something?) but then again some of it is slammed for being rubbish (The Battle Hymn of the Republic for example). But yeah, do you agree that the Beach Boys are one of the few bands that have a fair chunk of good unreleased (meaning still unreleased or remained unreleased until rarities compilations etc..) material? I mean as I said in my earlier post, some of those songs aren't as good as some of the band's better released material, but it's still crazy how good some of them are considering they went unreleased. I mean I'm sure a lot of people on this board would love to be able to write a song even half as good as Stevie or something

Yes, Leaf did praise "Lazy Lizzie." And that says all we need to know about David Leaf.

But yes, I absolutely do agree that the Beach Boys have had more quality unreleased material--especially compared to the quality of their released material--than most bands. Bob Dylan and Prince are two others that come to mind as having a lot of releaseable unreleased stuff, but the Beach Boys had a ton, and a lot of it seems to have been cast aside capriciously from 1970 onward. I can't find logic behind leaving "Good Time" off Sunflower or not putting the relatively minimal effort into finishing "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" in 1969 or any number of their other choices.

[grillo]

Lazy Lizzie is pretty cool. Creepy? Oh yeah. But cool nonetheless.

[Shady]

Even if they're worried not enough people would buy collections of these songs to justify all of the packaging, marketing, etc.. they could do a webpage where people could download these songs directly and they'd probably make a good return that way. The Beach Boys have a pretty big fan base worldwide. What do you guys think?

Well that's what http://www.beachboyscentral.com/ is supposed to be for. Although it's said "new site coming soon" for a long time now.

So I can guess that the BB Central site is never going to be complete then.

What a shame, I bet it's legal issues.

[Chris Brown]

there's a lot of stuff I'd like to hear out of curiosity; and some of it I'm sure is great. However, I'm sure some of the unreleased songs are a little "hyped-up" by those who've been privy to them. I remember the extraordinary praise Soulful Ol' Man Sunshine got a few years ago; super fans informing the rest of us what a terrific gem we were missing. Then it got released and... Meh.

But on Soulful Old Man Sunshine, I think you're way off. I do think that was an awesome piece of work. It should have been completed, assembled and released in the late 60s or early 70s and I'm shocked they let it lie dormant. I'd put it in the top 10-20% of Beach Boys material.

That's always shocked me too...the song is literally a small vocal edit away from being release-worthy.  It's catchy as hell and could have been a hit, or at the very least a solid album track.  You're right, it's among some of their best material...I can't imagine why they would leave it untouched and unreleased when it was 99% completed.

[the captain]

That's always shocked me too...the song is literally a small vocal edit away from being release-worthy.  It's catchy as hell and could have been a hit, or at the very least a solid album track.  You're right, it's among some of their best material...I can't imagine why they would leave it untouched and unreleased when it was 99% completed.

Not quite true, but close enough. As I recall, the "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" we hear on Endless Harmony is an assembled version of the raw material that had been recorded. So in Nov. 1969, the existing "one vocal edit away" version wasn't in existence. But all the raw material was, and so the group (or an engineer or producer or whomever) could have edited together a releasable version.

It baffles me--always has--how they could have just let it sit. IT'S CALLED A VOCAL OVERDUB, OR ANOTHER TAKE! ONE FUCKING WORD!

[Chris Brown]

That's interesting Luther, I didn't know that. 

Even so, like you said, it still wouldn't have taken much work to get it assembled if all of the raw materials were there.  And again, with something that good at their disposal, why wouldn't they do whatever needed to be done to complete it?   

[mikeyj]

Maybe they just plain forgot about it? I mean just look at all the unreleased material that they left sitting there... I mean if it was me and I was out of ideas, instead of recording 15 Big Ones, I would've just thrown say WIBNTLA, Soulful Old Man Sunshine, Won't You Tell Me, San Miguel, I'm Going Your Way etc.. into one album. But as I say maybe it is just that they forgot about some of these songs? I can't think why else it would be? I mean back in those days especially bands were so much more prolific than they are now, but yeah that's still no excuse how they can forget so many good songs like that in the vault, and yet they release so many average songs on 15 Big Ones, M.I.U. etc.. man, what a crazy band!!

[punkinhead]

It would have been nice to have those tracks released right after the success of Endless Summer called "Forgotten Tunes," perhaps it woulda done good?

[punkinhead]

well, i guess that's what 'Sprit of America' LP was...but they could have incorporated an unreleased track LP mixed with Caribou recordings (Good Timin', Rollin up To Heaven, etc.)

[the captain]

How is Spirit of America like what mikeyj was talking about? SoA was a compilation of released tunes; mikeyj is talking about unreleased ones.

[punkinhead]

Well, I was contradicting myself, sorry. I was calling it a 'forgotten tunes/hits' package and Spirit of America is kinda like that. Sorry.

[Dancing Bear]

there's a lot of stuff I'd like to hear out of curiosity; and some of it I'm sure is great. However, I'm sure some of the unreleased songs are a little "hyped-up" by those who've been privy to them. I remember the extraordinary praise Soulful Ol' Man Sunshine got a few years ago; super fans informing the rest of us what a terrific gem we were missing. Then it got released and... Meh.

Exactly. What about "My Little Red Book"? Meh x 5637265237

I usually trust AGD's word on this subject, and he's very restrained when commenting on material in the vaults.

[Aegir]

That's always shocked me too...the song is literally a small vocal edit away from being release-worthy.  It's catchy as hell and could have been a hit, or at the very least a solid album track.  You're right, it's among some of their best material...I can't imagine why they would leave it untouched and unreleased when it was 99% completed.

Not quite true, but close enough. As I recall, the "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" we hear on Endless Harmony is an assembled version of the raw material that had been recorded. So in Nov. 1969, the existing "one vocal edit away" version wasn't in existence. But all the raw material was, and so the group (or an engineer or producer or whomever) could have edited together a releasable version.

It baffles me--always has--how they could have just let it sit. IT'S CALLED A VOCAL OVERDUB, OR ANOTHER TAKE! ONE friggin' WORD!

Did they really not release it because Carl said "shunshine"? I figured that the vocal we hear on the complete assembled version was just a scratch demo vocal that the EH compilers used because it's the only one available.

[Jay]

My theory is that they didn't release some "forgotten" songs out of sheer bad timing. Imagine something like I'm Going Your Way being released in 1981, after their previous album had songs like When Girls Get Together on it. Songs like I'm Going Your Way would just have been WAY TO GOOD to release at that time period. 

[Dove Nested Towers]

I didn't know the Beach Boys recorded a version of Come to the Sunshine. I love that song.

Technically, they didn't - it was a BW/VDP recording.

Interesting! When was it done? Contemporary period to Harper's Bizarre, or later, if you're at liberty to expand on your answer?

[Dove Nested Towers]

Slightly-OT, but I'll tell you which song that HAS been booted I'd LOVE to hear in better quality, "All of My Love." That one just gets me, just a minute of music but so moving and powerful. I'd wager that outside of the scratchy, fuzzy version I have, it's 10x better, especially since I can tell there are some Dennis backgrounds that are blending into the track on my version (due to the fedility) that would knock your socks off...

So, how about Poops/Hubba Hubba on CD, Jon?

Amen! All of My Love, the organ duets, the "piano duets acetate", the It's About Time percussion
fragment (or whatever that is) and Barbara all circulated as a piece together. The latter is of course
now out, but it would be great to hear the others in good quality.

[Andrew G. Doe]

I didn't know the Beach Boys recorded a version of Come to the Sunshine. I love that song.

Technically, they didn't - it was a BW/VDP recording.

Interesting! When was it done? Contemporary period to Harper's Bizarre, or later, if you're at liberty to expand on your answer?

Mid-October 1975, at the Sound Factory. The story goes that Brian wanted to include it on 15 BO but couldn't get hold of the master.

[Andrew G. Doe]

That's always shocked me too...the song is literally a small vocal edit away from being release-worthy.  It's catchy as hell and could have been a hit, or at the very least a solid album track.  You're right, it's among some of their best material...I can't imagine why they would leave it untouched and unreleased when it was 99% completed.

Not quite true, but close enough. As I recall, the "Soulful Old Man Sunshine" we hear on Endless Harmony is an assembled version of the raw material that had been recorded. So in Nov. 1969, the existing "one vocal edit away" version wasn't in existence. But all the raw material was, and so the group (or an engineer or producer or whomever) could have edited together a releasable version.

It baffles me--always has--how they could have just let it sit. IT'S CALLED A VOCAL OVERDUB, OR ANOTHER TAKE! ONE friggin' WORD!

Did they really not release it because Carl said "shunshine"? I figured that the vocal we hear on the complete assembled version was just a scratch demo vocal that the EH compilers used because it's the only one available.

Carl's vocals are indeed merely ('merely' !) work vocals, but it was the song's inclusion on the 1993 box that he vetoed, and yes, because he flubbed "shunsine".

[Autotune]

I sorry, I can't hold it no more...

Soulful Old Man Sunshine: an unfinished over-production of an edge-less, incomplete song that has a nice verse. And hyped as hell.

There. I said it!