Beach Boys playtapes

[bgas]

I hope they'll also offer a vinyl version. Though I'm not a part of the recent vinyl revival fad(though I've never not owned a turntable since I got my first one in 1966), it would be a thrill to own a "Smile" album cover and booklet, as originally intended & designed.

Yes, I definitely would like to see a vinyl version as well, with the full sized booklet, of course.  And I'd be really surprised if they don't offer one.

I bought the cover slick and booklet reprint years ago, but it'll be great to see Frank Holmes' original cover and booklet artwork in an official release.  Personally, I'm glad Frank Holmes artwork was not used for 2004's recording of BWPS, as it makes whole lot more sense for the original 1966-67 Beach Boys recordings/sessions, which I have optimistically assumed would ultimately be released.

Speaking of vinyl, anyone know if there are any discographies indicating the various formats in which Beach Boys recordings were released?  For example, in addition to vinyl LPs and singles,  back in the pre-cassette Smile era, Beach Boys  material also saw release on 4 track, 8 track, and reel to reel.  Plus I seem to recall there may have been at least one PlayTape from that era containing perhaps two to four BB songs.

Should the "rumored" Beach Boys Price Guide ever actually get finished and published, I'm certain it will have listings for each format you mention, including Playtapes. But since you ask, these are the Playtapes which I know exist:
Surfin' Safari   P#0471  Cap.T 1808    
Surfin' Safari   P#0651  Cap.T 1808      
Surfin’ U.S.A.  P#0516  Cap. T-1890
Surfin’ U.S.A.  P #0598  Cap. T-1890
Surfer Girl    P#0450   Cap. T 1981    
Surfer Girl    P#0657   Cap. T 1981      
Little Deuce Coupe    P# 0459    Cap. T 1998        
Little Deuce Coupe    P# 0652    Cap. T 1998    
Shut Down Vol.II   P#0653   Cap. T 2027      
All Summer Long  P#0547  Cap. T-2110      
BBs Concert   P#0548  Cap. T-2198  
Pet Sounds   P# 0537   Cap. T-2458  
Wild Honey  P# 0777  Cap. T-2859    
Friends   P#0870  Cap. T-2895  
Best Of  Vol. 3  P# 0884   Cap. T 2945  
20/20    P# 1006  ( No Capitol # listed on the label)
In addition, I've been told there are these two, tho I've never actually seen them:  
BBs Today   # 0535  
Summer Days  # 0536  
And someone started a rumor that the Christmas Album and BBs Party were made on Playtape, but theres absolutely no evidence of those two at all.
Best of Vol. 1 is rumored, but as there's a Best of 3 that uses the Best Of 1 LP picture, odds are that's the one.  
Most of these tapes are available in various label styles/colors.
Hopes this info is helpful to you, even tho it's not inherently Smile related.
If you'd like any other specific info, ask.  

[Custom Machine]

I hope they'll also offer a vinyl version. Though I'm not a part of the recent vinyl revival fad(though I've never not owned a turntable since I got my first one in 1966), it would be a thrill to own a "Smile" album cover and booklet, as originally intended & designed.

Yes, I definitely would like to see a vinyl version as well, with the full sized booklet, of course.  And I'd be really surprised if they don't offer one.

I bought the cover slick and booklet reprint years ago, but it'll be great to see Frank Holmes' original cover and booklet artwork in an official release.  Personally, I'm glad Frank Holmes artwork was not used for 2004's recording of BWPS, as it makes whole lot more sense for the original 1966-67 Beach Boys recordings/sessions, which I have optimistically assumed would ultimately be released.

Speaking of vinyl, anyone know if there are any discographies indicating the various formats in which Beach Boys recordings were released?  For example, in addition to vinyl LPs and singles,  back in the pre-cassette Smile era, Beach Boys  material also saw release on 4 track, 8 track, and reel to reel.  Plus I seem to recall there may have been at least one PlayTape from that era containing perhaps two to four BB songs.

Should the "rumored" Beach Boys Price Guide ever actually get finished and published, I'm certain it will have listings for each fromat you mention, including Playtapes. But since you ask, these are the Playtapes which I know exist:
Surfin' Safari   P#0471  Cap.T 1808    
Surfin' Safari   P#0651  Cap.T 1808      
Surfin’ U.S.A.  P#0516  Cap. T-1890
Surfin’ U.S.A.  P #0598  Cap. T-1890
Surfer Girl    P#0450   Cap. T 1981    
Surfer Girl    P#0657   Cap. T 1981      
Little Deuce Coupe    P# 0459    Cap. T 1998        
Little Deuce Coupe    P# 0652    Cap. T 1998    
Shut Down Vol.II   P#0653   Cap. T 2027      
All Summer Long  P#0547  Cap. T-2110      
BBs Concert   P#0548  Cap. T-2198  
Pet Sounds   P# 0537   Cap. T-2458  
Wild Honey  P# 0777  Cap. T-2859    
Friends   P#0870  Cap. T-2895  
Best Of  Vol. 3  P# 0884   Cap. T 2945  
20/20    P# 1006  ( No Capitol # listed on the label)
In addition, I've been told there are these two, tho I've never actually seen them:  
BBs Today   # 0535  
Summer Days  # 0536  
And someone started a rumor that the Christmas Album and BBs Party were made on Playtape, but theres absolutely no evidence of those two at all.
Best of Vol. 1 is rumored, but as there's a Best of 3 that uses the Best Of 1 LP picture, odds are that's the one.  
Most of these tapes are available in various label styles/colors.
Hopes this info is helpful to you, even tho it's not inherently Smile related.
If you'd like any other specific info, ask.  

Thanx for the detailed PlayTape info, bgas.  I never owned a PlayTape portable, and I certainly hadn't recalled that so many BB albums made it to that format.  My recollection is that PlayTapes usually did not contain a full album.  So, when you have Surfin USA listed twice, does that indicate about half of the tracks from the album on two different PlayTapes?  When BB Today is listed once, does that indicate a shortened album?  I'm also curious if you own any of these PlayTapes, and a unit to play them on.  If so, can you post some pixs?

Yeah, I forgot about the forthcoming BB Price Guide.  You're talking about the one by Perry Cox, who did the Beatles price guide, right?  Last i heard (from a friend of his) he was still working on it, but that was about a year ago.

[bgas]

I hope they'll also offer a vinyl version. Though I'm not a part of the recent vinyl revival fad(though I've never not owned a turntable since I got my first one in 1966), it would be a thrill to own a "Smile" album cover and booklet, as originally intended & designed.

Yes, I definitely would like to see a vinyl version as well, with the full sized booklet, of course.  And I'd be really surprised if they don't offer one.

I bought the cover slick and booklet reprint years ago, but it'll be great to see Frank Holmes' original cover and booklet artwork in an official release.  Personally, I'm glad Frank Holmes artwork was not used for 2004's recording of BWPS, as it makes whole lot more sense for the original 1966-67 Beach Boys recordings/sessions, which I have optimistically assumed would ultimately be released.

Speaking of vinyl, anyone know if there are any discographies indicating the various formats in which Beach Boys recordings were released?  For example, in addition to vinyl LPs and singles,  back in the pre-cassette Smile era, Beach Boys  material also saw release on 4 track, 8 track, and reel to reel.  Plus I seem to recall there may have been at least one PlayTape from that era containing perhaps two to four BB songs.

Should the "rumored" Beach Boys Price Guide ever actually get finished and published, I'm certain it will have listings for each fromat you mention, including Playtapes. But since you ask, these are the Playtapes which I know exist:
Surfin' Safari   P#0471  Cap.T 1808    
Surfin' Safari   P#0651  Cap.T 1808      
Surfin’ U.S.A.  P#0516  Cap. T-1890
Surfin’ U.S.A.  P #0598  Cap. T-1890
Surfer Girl    P#0450   Cap. T 1981    
Surfer Girl    P#0657   Cap. T 1981      
Little Deuce Coupe    P# 0459    Cap. T 1998        
Little Deuce Coupe    P# 0652    Cap. T 1998    
Shut Down Vol.II   P#0653   Cap. T 2027      
All Summer Long  P#0547  Cap. T-2110      
BBs Concert   P#0548  Cap. T-2198  
Pet Sounds   P# 0537   Cap. T-2458  
Wild Honey  P# 0777  Cap. T-2859    
Friends   P#0870  Cap. T-2895  
Best Of  Vol. 3  P# 0884   Cap. T 2945  
20/20    P# 1006  ( No Capitol # listed on the label)
In addition, I've been told there are these two, tho I've never actually seen them:  
BBs Today   # 0535  
Summer Days  # 0536  
And someone started a rumor that the Christmas Album and BBs Party were made on Playtape, but theres absolutely no evidence of those two at all.
Best of Vol. 1 is rumored, but as there's a Best of 3 that uses the Best Of 1 LP picture, odds are that's the one.  
Most of these tapes are available in various label styles/colors.
Hopes this info is helpful to you, even tho it's not inherently Smile related.
If you'd like any other specific info, ask.  

Thanx for the detailed PlayTape info, bgas.  I never owned a PlayTape portable, and I certainly hadn't recalled that so many BB albums made it to that format.  My recollection is that PlayTapes usually did not contain a full album.  So, when you have Surfin USA listed twice, does that indicate about half of the tracks from the album on two different PlayTapes?  When BB Today is listed once, does that indicate a shortened album?  I'm also curious if you own any of these PlayTapes, and a unit to play them on.  If so, can you post some pixs?

Yeah, I forgot about the forthcoming BB Price Guide.  You're talking about the one by Perry Cox, who did the Beatles price guide, right?  Last i heard (from a friend of his) he was still working on it, but that was about a year ago.

Yeah, the one by Coxie;and the man that is doing the real work on the book.  
As for the Playtapes, all the ones in the (existing)list are mine. There are 4 songs on each tape, so yeah, two tapes = 8 songs. Don't know why they didn't release 3 for each LP to get all the songs out, but there's no evidence supporting that. PS was one such rumor, but only the one tape.  
I'll put some tapes in Media, when I get the chance

[bgas]

Hope you like the scans. Almost forgot to include the Hollyridge Strings, and I'm showing Best of Vol 3 with the two different pics.  I'm not the most adept scanner.  

[smile-holland]

That first Surfin' USA one is a killer: am I reading this correctly? "Mobile Surfer"?

Until last week I hadn't really heard of this format (or didn't pay too much attention to it). Thanks for sharing bgas.


Found a few more, googling on the internet:

 
green instead of red


hard to see, but the orange Surfin' Safari playtape on the left has the same line-up of songs as your white copy

[bgas]

That first Surfin' USA one is a killer: am I reading this correctly? "Mobile Surfer"?

Until last week I hadn't really heard of this format (or didn't pay too much attention to it). Thanks for sharing bgas.


Found a few more, googling on the internet:

 
green instead of red


hard to see, but the orange Surfin' Safari playtape on the left has the same line-up of songs as your white copy

Yes, as I mentioned, there are lots of variations for the Playtapes; mostly in the color, or lack thereof, of the labels.

[Custom Machine]

Thanks for the scans, bgas, and thanks Smile-Holland for the photo of a PlayTape in its retail packaging, which is how I recall seeing them.  That is, when I did see them, as they were definitely a niche format.  I recall only one chain of stores, White Front, that sold them.

Bgas, how large were these things?  My recollection is that they were rather small.  Also, I notice that the tapes say Channel 1 and Channel 2, rather than Program 1 and Program 2.  The only players I recall seeing were small portables with one speaker.  Thus, were the songs on PlayTapes in mono, rather than stereo?

[Bill M]

From what I understand about PlayTapes (which isn't a whole lot - just read some stuff on line), most tapes were mono -  stereo signal would be multed to the one speaker.  Channel (or program) 1 & channel 2 would be playing at the same time & you'd select which channel (song) you want to hear on the player.  Some of the pictures I've seen on line of the players had a 3 position selectable switch for channel 1, channel 2, or stereo.  But it seems most of the tapes weren't made in stereo, so I'm guessing that if you'd select the stereo position, you'd hear 2 songs at the same time!

[bgas]

Thanks for the scans, bgas, and thanks Smile-Holland for the photo of a PlayTape in its retail packaging, which is how I recall seeing them.  That is, when I did see them, as they were definitely a niche format.  I recall only one chain of stores, White Front, that sold them.

Bgas, how large were these things?  My recollection is that they were rather small.  Also, I notice that the tapes say Channel 1 and Channel 2, rather than Program 1 and Program 2.  The only players I recall seeing were small portables with one speaker.  Thus, were the songs on PlayTapes in mono, rather than stereo?

From what I understand about PlayTapes (which isn't a whole lot - just read some stuff on line), most tapes were mono -  stereo signal would be multed to the one speaker.  Channel (or program) 1 & channel 2 would be playing at the same time & you'd select which channel (song) you want to hear on the player.  Some of the pictures I've seen on line of the players had a 3 position selectable switch for channel 1, channel 2, or stereo.  But it seems most of the tapes weren't made in stereo, so I'm guessing that if you'd select the stereo position, you'd hear 2 songs at the same time!

Playtapes, in size, were approximately  3 X 3-1/2 X 1/2 inches, and were predominately mono.  All the ones I have are mono
I think there were supposed to be stereo carts  towards the end of the Playtape production, but I don't know whether this happened.  Most of the players Ive seen/owned are small portables;  I think it's possible to find ads in older Billboard Mags that have pictures of players( and tapes), but I can't point you to any specific ones. 

As to the packaging, the original packages were Black and White( vaguely visible for one of the Surfin Safari Carts, but I wanted to show the tapes)

There are at least two people working on complete discographies for Playtape listings, with varying degrees of completion. It's not as if the Playtape principals are jumping up with original catalog listings to help out.  Mostly an EBay discovery process, with random fluke hits elsewhere. 

[Shane]

Wow.  What an incredible collection you have, bgas (including the Murry 4 track tape I sold you... LOL!)

I have to say that in 20 years of yard sailing/thrift store shopping/junk buying/dumpster diving... I have never run across a single playtape by ANY artist.

[Steve Mayo]

while doing a little looking on another subject i ran across this ad...


link: http://books.google.com/books?id=XCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA73&dq=billboard+magazine+september+23+1967&hl=en&ei=vfxrTdBq0OqBB7OX3csK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=billboard%20magazine%20september%2023%201967&f=false

page 20 and beyond..ad for playtapes and different players for those tapes...and articles on the tape format

[bgas]

while doing a little looking on another subject i ran across this ad...


link: http://books.google.com/books?id=XCgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA73&dq=billboard+magazine+september+23+1967&hl=en&ei=vfxrTdBq0OqBB7OX3csK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=billboard%20magazine%20september%2023%201967&f=false

page 20 and beyond..ad for playtapes and different players for those tapes...and articles on the tape format

and when you follow down the pages and see all of the countries worldwide, where Playtape was introduced, it just seems even more amazing that most of them seem to have been destroyed. For if not, where are all the tapes? 

[kmangold01]

I found a sealed playtape taken from the Surfer Girls album recently at the bottom of a box of vinyl and would be interested in swapping it.  Interested parties should send an email to: kmangold01@yahoo.com

The coloring on this one is red, and, having no way to play this tape, I'd like to see someone get some enjoyment out of it.