Story about the Return of the Shut Down Vol. 2 Masters

[c-man]

4/9/2009
 
BEACH BOYS MASTER TAPES RETURNED AFTER 45 YEARS
Beach Boys Master Tapes Returned After 45 Years

By Howie Edelson

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The new Beach Boys collection due out on May 19th, called Summer Love Songs, was made possible by a longtime fan coming forth with previously unknown session tapes for such classics as "Don't Worry Baby," "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" and others. The reels -- which contained the discarded multi-tracks from the Beach Boys' 1964 Shut Down Vol. II album -- enabled the group's production team to create the first true stereo mixes for some of the Beach Boys' most beloved tracks.
 
After the success of the reissue of Dennis Wilson's Pacific Ocean Blue album, Wilson's biographer Jon Stebbins told us that an article in a Northern California newspaper about his work on the project led to the long lost Beach Boys tapes: ["The article was published in the local entertainment weekly and I got an email subsequently from a singer-songwriter named Lance Robison who lives here on the central coast, and he said that he had some Beach Boys tapes that I might be interested in. I hear that thing a lot in my line of business. But, anyway, I emailed him back and asked him a few pertinent questions about it. And his response to my initial email was pretty astounding."] SOUNDCUE (:26 OC: . . . was pretty astounding.)
 
Stebbins admits that he was speechless at his first sight of the 45-year-old master tapes: ["He pulled out three tape boxes, and they were original multi-track masters from the Beach Boys' Shut Down Vol. II album. I also knew that the Beach Boys had been missing the master tape -- the multi-track masters. So whereas before, all you had was a 'left' and a 'right' two tracks for a stereo mix; now you could turn it into, y'know, 6, 8, 10 tracks (and) spread it across the spectrum. So, true stereo mixes of these things."] SOUNDCUE (:28 OC: . . . of these things.)
From there Stebbins brought the tapes directly to the Beach Boys' official archivist, Alan Boyd. Boyd, who has spent years cataloging the band's session masters and live tapes, had never thought these multi-tracks had survived. Prior to 1965, it was not Capitol Records' standard policy to have artists deliver session tapes along with the finished masters to the label. It's not that the tapes were thought to be "missing" or "lost" -- they were never expected to still exist.
Alan Boyd recalls hearing the session tapes as being an incredible personal and professional moment: ["I have been somewhat fanatical about this music since I was about five years old. Y'know, I may have found my way into this job as some deep-seated desire to figure out what made this music tick. It never gets old. When you find something like this for the first time and you really get to hear the creative process, and the boys are getting comfortable with the song and working their way through it. Uh, no, it was a definite 'Whoa, hands are shaking' kind of thing."] SOUNDCUE (:24 OC: . . . kind of thing.)
The missing master tapes enabled Boyd and engineer Mark Linnett to make the first true stereo mixes for "Don't Worry Baby" and "Why Do Fools Fall In Love," both of which lead off the upcoming release.
The full tracklisting to Summer Love Songs is: "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" (new stereo mix), "Don't Worry Baby" (new stereo mix)," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "God Only Knows," "Surfer Girl," "California Girls," "Please Let Me Wonder," "In The Parkin' Lot," "Your Summer Dream," "Kiss Me, Baby," "Hushabye" (new stereo mix), "I'm So Young" (new stereo mix), "Good To My Baby" (new stereo mix), "Fallin' In Love" (new stereo mix of Dennis Wilson solo track)," "Time To Get Alone" (new stereo mix), "Our Sweet Love," "Help Me, Rhonda," "Keep An Eye On Summer," "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder)," and "Girls On The Beach."
Jon Stebbins wrote the groundbreaking books Dennis Wilson: The Real Beach Boy and the David Marks biography The Lost Beach Boy.
Alan Boyd directed the Beach Boys' 1998 official documentary, Endless Harmony.

[Howie Edelson]

That's from an item I wrote for United Stations Radio Networks and read by jocks on about 750 stations syndicated all across North America. Thanks to Stebbins and Boyd for some very cool insight into the '64 masters.

Howie

[The infamous Baldwin Organ]

thanks so much for that.

were there any other songs on those missing tapes? it could be great for future releases.

[king of anglia]

How the hell did these tapes end up with this dude?

[Jon Stebbins]

thanks so much for that.

were there any other songs on those missing tapes? it could be great for future releases.

Yeah, the songs on the tape were Don't Worry Baby, Why Do Fools fall In Love, In The Parking Lot, Pom Pom Play Girl, This Car of Mine and Denny's Drums. All of them were in all the various stages from pre-take run thoughs to lead vocal and overdub stage...chatter, outtakes...the whole she-bang. And the quality was pristine.

[A Million Units In Jan!]

Whenever people come forth with this sort of material (which probably doesn't happen that often) are they ever questioned extensively about where they got ahold of it, or is it more of a 'no questions asked' type of deal, and you're just happy to get your hands on the tapes?

[Alan Boyd]

At this point, we're just happy to get a hold of the tapes!

[punkinhead]

is this why the original SOT boot was just the era, not necessarily  the album?   perhaps there's a 20 minute version of Cassius Love vs. Wilson layin around   

[Shane]

Amazing, amazing, amazing.  I always hold out hope for stuff like this to reappear.

About 10 years ago, I went to a junk shop, and found two 1/4" mixdown reels of instrumental tracks from the 1970s funk/disco group The Brothers Johnson.  I paid about $5 for the two of them.  I figure if I can find something like this in the wild, it is only a matter of time before something from the Beach Boys would appear.

Wouldn't it be cool if the fans one day got to hear the sessions that are on these reels?     

[mikeyj]

the songs on the tape were Don't Worry Baby, Why Do Fools fall In Love, In The Parking Lot, Pom Pom Play Girl, This Car of Mine and Denny's Drums.

This is REALLY awesome... I just wish The Warmth of the Sun had been found

[Sciencefriction]

the songs on the tape were Don't Worry Baby, Why Do Fools fall In Love, In The Parking Lot, Pom Pom Play Girl, This Car of Mine and Denny's Drums.

This is REALLY awesome... I just wish The Warmth of the Sun had been found

And Keep An Eye On Summer, I love those two songs.

[Joshilyn Hoisington]

Great story!  You can't make that kind of thing up.

[Jon Stebbins]

One of the things about this that is strange for me, is that I've always had a GIANT pet peeve about the 1964 stereo mix of Don't Worry Baby. Lead vocal all the way on the left, backing vocals all the way on the right. How many times in my life have I heard it on oldies radio, or in a grocery store, or a shopping mall...and the stereo balance is slightly off...leaving Brian's lead vocal barely discernible. I can think of at least a dozen times when I've muttered some four letter word to myself, saying, why can't they play the mono version, or why can't the DJ balance it properly..or why did Chuck Britz mix such a glorious song in that way? I love the song so much...and it really tortured me to hear it firing on less than all cylinders. And then the missing multi-track falls out of the sky.

[Jay]

One of the things about this that is strange for me, is that I've always had a GIANT pet peeve about the 1964 stereo mix of Don't Worry Baby. Lead vocal all the way on the left, backing vocals all the way on the right. How many times in my life have I heard it on oldies radio, or in a grocery store, or a shopping mall...and the stereo balance is slightly off...leaving Brian's lead vocal barely discernible. I can think of at least a dozen times when I've muttered some four letter word to myself, saying, why can't they play the mono version, or why can't the DJ balance it properly..or why did Chuck Britz mix such a glorious song in that way? I love the song so much...and it really tortured me to hear it firing on less than all cylinders. And then the missing multi-track falls out of the sky.

Ha....Don't Worry Baby is my all time favorite Beach Boys songs! I'm glad that a few alternate takes now exist. Not that I'd probably ever get to hear them. 

[Andrew G. Doe]

or why did Chuck Britz mix such a glorious song in that way?

I think using the term 'mixed' here might be over-egging it slightly: my impression is that Chuck just copied the 3-track master as it stood, with a little eq, reverb, maybe balanced it a bit.

And let's be fair - a lot of the Beatles stereo mixes pre-Abbey Road are much worse.

[Rocker]

And it wasn't uncommon in those days to mix songs this way.
Although I also don't like that mix, it's always fun to play with the channels and listen to DWB without lead-vocals or without background-vocals. You can study the song better that way.

[c-man]

or why did Chuck Britz mix such a glorious song in that way?

I think using the term 'mixed' here might be over-egging it slightly: my impression is that Chuck just copied the 3-track master as it stood, with a little eq, reverb, maybe balanced it a bit.

And let's be fair - a lot of the Beatles stereo mixes pre-Abbey Road are much worse.

I think part (or most) of the "blame" hear falls on Brian's production choices for that particular song...see, normally he would've done the backing track in mono, or done it in stereo but mixed it down to a "Stage Two" tape so that it was in mono, then had the group sing their lead & backing vocals, at the same time, onto one of the two remaining tracks, and, finally, double those vocals on the third track.  Then, Chuck would've put the instrumental track in the center, with the two vocal tracks opposite each other in stereo.  For "DWB", Brian arranged it so he sang a very high, falsetto part in the background, behind the lead, which he was also singing.  So, there was no chance of doubling the vocals...unless he had done another bounce to a "Stage Three" multi-track...which he sometimes did...had he done that for "DWB", Chuck's stereo mix would've been more like the stereo mix for "Little Deuce Couple", for instance.  Dammit Brian!   

Oh well, I'm REALLY looking forward to hearing the NEW, IMPROVED stereo mix!   

[Alf64]

  So is it possible that these new discoveries will be released in the near future? I'd break open my piggy bank for it.

[Wrightfan]

And let's be fair - a lot of the Beatles stereo mixes pre-Abbey Road are much worse.

Totally 100% agree. Ugh, Nowhere Man in particular (shivers)

That Yellow Submarine remaster though...is like it came from the heavens 

[Jonathan Blum]

And then the missing multi-track falls out of the sky.

...And reading this story, I now realize just how mindblowing this is.  Whoooo!

Cheers,
Jon Blum

[yrplace]

or why did Chuck Britz mix such a glorious song in that way?

I think using the term 'mixed' here might be over-egging it slightly: my impression is that Chuck just copied the 3-track master as it stood, with a little eq, reverb, maybe balanced it a bit.

And let's be fair - a lot of the Beatles stereo mixes pre-Abbey Road are much worse.

I think part (or most) of the "blame" hear falls on Brian's production choices for that particular song...see, normally he would've done the backing track in mono, or done it in stereo but mixed it down to a "Stage Two" tape so that it was in mono, then had the group sing their lead & backing vocals, at the same time, onto one of the two remaining tracks, and, finally, double those vocals on the third track.  Then, Chuck would've put the instrumental track in the center, with the two vocal tracks opposite each other in stereo.  For "DWB", Brian arranged it so he sang a very high, falsetto part in the background, behind the lead, which he was also singing.  So, there was no chance of doubling the vocals...unless he had done another bounce to a "Stage Three" multi-track...which he sometimes did...had he done that for "DWB", Chuck's stereo mix would've been more like the stereo mix for "Little Deuce Couple", for instance.  Dammit Brian!   

Oh well, I'm REALLY looking forward to hearing the NEW, IMPROVED stereo mix!   

I'm gonna jump in here with a bit of an explanation about the "wide" stereo mixes on the original albums. The consoles in the 60's could only send a chl entirely ("hard") left, center or hard right. It wasn't possible to do it any other way which is why for example when the final 3 track of Don't Worry Baby had one track with Brian's doubled vocal, a track with a mixdown of the two BG vocal tracks and a track with the backing track there was no choice but to put the leads on one side the bgs on the other and the track in the center. And like all productions from that period, the mono mix was what mattered and what Brian worked toward. This was partly the result of the limitations of the technology, having to bounce between 3 track machines in order to be able to do the needed overdubs, but mostly it was because creating mono records to be heard on AM radio and played on 45 rpm mono records was the standard that everyone was creating for. The stereo mixes for this kind of record were a novelty and stereo for rock music didn't come of age until around 1967 when the technology made new techniques possible. So going back to "Don't Worry Baby" , because the newly found tapes contain the original backing track with the two uncombined BG vocal tracks, we could sync that with Brian's doubled lead to create a more modern stereo mix where the backing track and Brian are in the center and the Bgs are split to the  left and right but not panned hard left and right. I hope that helps...... And let me  add that finding these tapes is one of the most amazing and exciting things that has happened in the 22 plus years that I have been working with the catalog. And hopefully we'll be lucky enough to have other discoveries like this in the future  ........Mark

[grillo]

Sweet Mark! I personally love ANY new mix of a song, tidbit of a new song, or even a hint of a possibility of a scrap of a new song, so keep 'em coming (on beachboyscentral ideally!)

[Sciencefriction]

That was incredibly insightful Mark, I'm very thankful that you shared that.  I'm really interested in the engineering/production side of recording so any info I can pick up is great.  I never knew that was the case, aside from the three-track bit, we're fortunate that Brian was a very resourceful and talented individual as well as having very talented and resourceful people around him.

[bringahorseinhere?]

ooooohhhhhhhhh!!!

Great topic!!!   we need to keep revisiting this to know more about this lost tape!

RickB

[Jon Stebbins]

The extended version of Don't Worry Baby on the MIC box with Brian's single track lead vocal is only possible because of these tapes.