I know there's a different version on the Good Vibrations boxset called "You're With Me Tonight".  Sounds more like a complex production, so that might be it.

I made a conscious effort to make it flow like an album in concept and sound. Any feedback is welcome.

1. Break Away
2. Wake The World
3. This Whole World
4. Add Some Music To Your Day
5. Friends
6. All I Wanna Do
7. Forever
8. Our Sweet Love
9. I Went To Sleep
10. Time To Get Alone
11. Let The Wind Blow
12. 'Til I Die

I'll take you up on it. I played around with the sequencing a bit. It's an obsession of mine. What do YOU think?

1. Add Some Music To Your Day
2. Wake The World (I'll be there when you're calling me)
3. Friends (at night I get a call and I know that you're well)
4. Time To Get Alone (to the park)
5. I Went To Sleep (I took a walk and sat down in a park)
6. All I Wanna Do (when I sit and close my eyes)
7. Our Sweet Love (will last Forever)
8. Forever (so I'm going away - breaking away?)
9. Breakaway (why change the part of me that has to be free)
10. Let The Wind Blow
11. Til I Die (I'm a leaf on a windy day)
12. This Whole World (happy cause you're livin' and you're free)

Any direction you go with these songs is pretty awesome for me.  I like the lyrical connections you put in there.  On my order, I just liked the idea of Break Away starting off.  It just gave me that feeling of inviting in the listener.  The first songs I had were genuinely happy, moving from the very beginning of the day, to exploring the day, to enjoying a gift within the day.  The next area moves on towards emotional relation, starting with friends and then a relationship suite (in the same order it came on Sunflower).  I Went To Sleep maintains this light mood while also hinting at a change in direction.  Time To Get Alone has reminders back of the experiences in the day, but occasional melancholy tones are brought with the final two, which I find to work together nicely despite on opposite ends of the timeline.  I like it though.

That is a great line-up.  I am not a big fan of Add Some Music for whatever reason.  I don't know what I'd open up with instead, though.  Maybe Darlin', I don't know.  Good list, though, and 4 out of 12 in 3/4 time.

I might not have included ASMTYD if the mood wasn't so relevant and if it was without the powerful middle section (Carl+Brian+group).  I love Darlin' as a song, although maybe it's more rootsy than the theme I was going for with this.  I had been toying with Little Bird as well, which maybe would take a similar place that ASM holds, concept-wise.

Did a sort of 'greatest non-hits' myself for the same period awhile back. A lot of the same tunes and one you can play that sounds great and nobody knows who the f*** it is! 

A ton of people are thrown when I say that the music I am playing is the Beach Boys.  I probably would have been the same way a couple years ago really.  I like the idea of an album that flows well and has top-notch quality so that's why I like the idea of a custom tracklist.

What does it for me in the song are Carl's bits in the chorus.  Being slightly late for the Light Album aside, there were many where it seems like they were short on material, had a fair amount of good stuff to give, and opted for a worse choice.  An addition of this on the two-fers would have at least been nice.  Ten Years of Harmony and the like had some good rare stuff on it but I'd rather not have to get some other tracks over again.  It's bad enough that LDC duplicates half of its content from other releases.

With some free time on my hands I thought about constructing my own BB compilation, although in the sense that I did it, I made a conscious effort to make it flow like an album in concept and sound.  Basically I compiled some of my favorite stuff from Wild Honey to Surf's Up that I found to be relevant for what I was going after.  You'll see there are a few spots where the track lineup connects with real LP track lineups.  I only went with 12 songs like the standard LP seemed to have. I tried to make the ones I selected form some kind of creative connection, granted it's hard to be perfect.  Most of all I wanted to go with songs I thought were particularly strong, although some may not always agree.  Any feedback is welcome.

1. Break Away
2. Wake The World
3. This Whole World
4. Add Some Music To Your Day
5. Friends
6. All I Wanna Do
7. Forever
8. Our Sweet Love
9. I Went To Sleep
10. Time To Get Alone
11. Let The Wind Blow
12. 'Til I Die

I'm going to have to go with the Beatles.  Now don't get me wrong because I really enjoy their stuff.  They're a top ten band for me, and the only reason this is ever being brought up is the untouchable ranking that they so often seem to hold.  There are bands that take me to a higher level of emotion,  Beach Boys being one of them.  Even if the Beatles were held in similar regard to the BB I woudn't be mentioning this at all.  Just that my perception of overrated of being placed on a higher plateau in general than I believe true.

Pet Sounds was the first Beach Boys album I heard, as it was the only BB CD we had in collection.  Endless Summer we had on vinyl but I never really had a chance to listen to that.  I really did find it hard to get into at first, save for the two songs I already knew (Sloop John B and Wouldn't It Be Nice).  Relistening is insanely strong though, as I must have listened to it a good 20 times more than any other BB record (that says something for me considering I don't like to overwork my listens).  It wasn't until I got into Wild Honey and the like that I liked Pet Sounds to the extent I do now.

Wouldn't It Be Nice - 5/5
You Still Believe In Me - 5/5
That's Not Me - 4.5/5
Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) - 5/5
I'm Waiting For The Day - 5/5
Let's Go Away For A While - 5/5
Sloop John B - 5/5
God Only Knows - 5/5
I Know There's An Answer - 4.5/5
Here Today - 5/5
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times - 4.5/5
Pet Sounds - 5/5
Caroline No - 5/5

The ones I rated slightly lower than others were not based on lack of validity as a song (they're produced and performed to their full potential actually).  I just don't get quite as much enjoyment out of them as I might with my ultimate BB favorites.  Pet Sounds still is easily a 5.

Holland is a very consistent work without really a song I consider particularly weak (obviously I prefer some to others).  Side 2 is my favorite, as I love every minute of those 4 songs.  Sail On, Sailor is decent although I really don't consider it to be the best song of the era as I've often heard it called.  I hardly realize how much I enjoy the album as a whole because of how cohesive it is.

Sail On, Sailor - 4.5/5
Steamboat - 5/5
California Saga: Big Sur - 4/5
California Saga: The Beaks of Eagles - 4/5
California Saga: California - 5/5
The Trader - 5/5
Leaving This Town - 4.5/5
Only With You - 5/5
Funky Pretty - 5/5

That'll round to a 5.

I quite like Carl and the Passions - So Tough, especially in contrast to its mediocre reputation.  You get a lot of different stuff on the album that you won't find elsewhere in the BB catalogue.  Some of the styles don't go well together at all as far as an album concept goes, but nevertheless, it works for me.

You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone - 4/5
Here She Comes - 4.5/5
He Come Down - 3.5/5
Marcella - 5/5
Hold On Dear Brother - 4/5
Make It Good - 4/5
All This Is That - 5/5
Cuddle Up - 4.5/5

And that will round to a 4.  All This Is That is the big highlight IMO.

Wild Honey kind of is what brought me into the Beach Boys.  Not the entire album, but I was listening to samples of Sounds of Summer one day when I was a casual listener.  The two songs that caught my ear were Darlin' and Wild Honey.  From there I ventured further into their catalogue and was soon hooked.  I really do quite enjoy the album.  Carl's voice was so unique on this album, and he's all over it.

Wild Honey - 5/5
Aren't You Glad - 5/5
I Was Made To Love Her - 3.5/5
Country Air - 5/5
A Thing Or Two - 4/5
Darlin' - 5/5
I'd Love Just Once To See You - 4.5/5
Here Comes The Night - 4.5/5
Let The Wind Blow - 5/5
How She Boogalooed It - 3.5/5
Mama Says - 3.5/5

I gotta round down to a 4, just because of the 2 or 3 tracks which I rate a little lower than the others.  A 4.5 would do this album much more justice IMO though.

I can agree with She's Goin' Bald now I suppose, but I refuse the Al on Surf's Up.

They did shorten Here Comes the Night. It gets rid of all the cool vocal parts, though. I like the long one much better.

True, but upon listen I think it would be possible to get down to at least 6 minutes for those desirable vocal parts.  The song takes a good two minutes to even get to when the real singing begins, and then there's another one similar around the 8 or 9 minutes mark if I recall.  The sax solo I actually quite like so I wouldn't take that away unless I had to.

Looking back there's another I wasn't sure about.  For the closeup of She's Goin' Bald, I was confident Dennis did "You're Too Late Mama" ending, rather than Mike.  Any insight into this?

Smiley Smile is a very difficult one for me to review, but you especially need time to relisten to and get a full perspective of it.  At first, it overwhelmed of disjointed fragments, which it could be considered somewhat.  The sounds for the most part are quite pleasant even with the weaker tracks though, and lose marks mainly for cohesiveness between the sections or just missing out on what makes some songs so good.  I don't like to compare it to SMiLE, partly because that would be unfair and also considering I like to hear the music in itself.

Heroes and Villains - 5/5
Vegetables - 4.5/5
Fall Breaks and Back To Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony) - 3.5/5
She's Goin' Bald - 4/5
Little Pad - 4.5/5
Good Vibrations - 5/5
With Me Tonight - 4.5/5
Wind Chimes - 4/5
Gettin' Hungry - 3/5
Wonderful - 4/5
Whistle In - 3.5/5

Which ends up to a 4 rating, which describes my thoughts fairly well I guess.

L.A. has some great moments for me, but also poor tracklisting in the second half and 2 or 3 tracks that really don't do it for me at all.  A few of the songs are deja vu of the early 70's democratic albums, and it would on that level if you took the best half of the songs IMO.  I don't have a problem at all with trying new things, but I will base it on my listening enjoyment as I always try to do.

Good Timin' - 5/5
Lady Lynda - 4/5
Full Sail - 4/5
Angel Come Home - 4/5
Love Surrounds Me - 4.5/5
Sumahama - 3/5
Here Comes The Night - 2/5
Baby Blue - 4.5/5
Goin' South - 3.5/5
Shortenin' Bread - 2/5

I'm giving L.A. a 3 as well, giving HCTN a credit of 2 songs considering its length (which ironically is also the biggest problem with it).  If you shortened that song keeping in the best bits down to about 4 minutes my enjoyment of it would grow considerably.

It is indeed the right place to post about this--these threads never die.

But your scores actually averages out to a 3.4666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666666etc.

That is, unless some songs count for more than others.

Haha yeah I used the calculator and I figure I'd round down because it's below 3.5.   That decimal place is about where I'd put it but I can't vote in the poll like that.  I guess I should do its twofer cousin, L.A. next.

I suppose the YNAMOFTSA Brian voice I was thinking about was the 3rd one (which has been mentioned as parting with the rest).  I had heard Brian was intentionally singing it in the gritty tone it is.  I can see how it sounds like Carl, but just from the numerous places I've heard it mentioned I was sure it's Brian.

Well I thought I should give my thoughts on what surprisingly the first Beach Boys album I heard upon purchase (I had PS on CD already).  I know this thread hasn't been replied to in a long time, but this does seem like the official review place so I think it's okay.

M.I.U is not an  al bum I have a problem listening to.  The idea that the Beach Boys did much better than this doesn't mean much cosidering the peaks they achieved.  This is pleasant enough with the biggest concerns being the production for me.  There are notable highlights and considerable lowlights.  I figured I'd rate each track...

She's Got Rhythm - 4/5
Come Go With Me - 3.5/5
Hey Little Tomboy - 4/5
Kona Coast - 3.5/5
Peggy Sue - 2.5/5
Wontcha Come Out Tonight - 4/5
Sweet Sunday Kinda Love - 3/5
Belles of Paris - 2/5
Pitter Patter - 3.5/5
My Diane - 4.5/5
Match Point Of Our Love - 4/5
Winds of Change - 2.5/5

Overall it averages out to a 3.

A couple of things I'm not sure about from the Surf's Up album.  I was always sure the falsetto just before the tag in 'Til I Die was Brian.  It doesn't sound like Carl at any rate.  And with the title track, isn't it Brian on the tag?  I heard something about it being slightly sped up considering the range he sang it on, but I've never heard of Al doing it even if I can see it sounds like him.

Yeah. the "Until I Die" in falsetto just before the tag IS Brian. Carl is the main voice singing the title phrase DURING the tag, which is what I've listed. Maybe I should clarify that.

Okay, that makes sense then.

I'm still not sure if I'll be completely convinced on Surf's Up.  Claims by the people themselves have been contradictory before, so much so that I'm almost more inclined to follow third-person observation.

Hmm, now you have made me think twice about that. I don't have the track available at the moment as I'm not at home, but you could be right in regards to Surf's Up. I'm still pretty sure it's Al but as we all know, Brian+Al can sound REALLY similar at times.

I agree TTGA, that part in 'Til I Die sends a shiver down my spine every time. Especially on that vocal session since there is no music audible. Incredible stuff.

I haven't heard it in a bit either, so I'll revisit it.  The amount of history on that part I've heard on the actual 1971 sessions just make me wonder how it could be anything else.

I'm glad someone else shares the feelings.  I'd have to give other moments like the middle of ASMTYD and TTGA (inspiring my name).


Another part I thought I would revisit was "...Mess of Help...".  I was pretty confident the maniacal background harmony on the main part of the song was Brian, even though that really threw me off the first time.  I'm basing a lot of that on what I've heard, and if I didn't know otherwise it could very well have been something else.

Not sure I agree with you on Surf's Up. It's Al to me. But you could be right. As for 'Til I Die, if you are talking about the bit "Until I Die" just before the tag, then yes that is Brian to my ears as well. Is that the part you mean? Firstly it just sounds like Brian. And secondly there is that session outtake where Brian+Carl are overdubbing vocals and you can cleary hear that it's Brian. And then they both go into their falsettos for the backing vocals on the tag. Incredible!!

If I didn't know any information on the Surf's Up tag, I could go either way on Brian or Al.  It just made me wonder because every source I've seen lists the tag as a 1971 Brian.  It was something like Brian didn't want to work on the session, Carl did most of it, but then when it came time to recording he was there to sing it.  I can see the similarities to it in vocal quality with the lead moments Brian has on Break Away (BA- "That Very Same Love" vs. SU - "Have You Listened").

'Til I Die I was already pretty sure about, but was just caught offguard when in this thread it was listed as Carl.  That moment in the song has to be one of my all-time favorite BB moments!

A couple of things I'm not sure about from the Surf's Up album.  I was always sure the falsetto just before the tag in 'Til I Die was Brian.  It doesn't sound like Carl at any rate.  And with the title track, isn't it Brian on the tag?  I heard something about it being slightly sped up considering the range he sang it on, but I've never heard of Al doing it even if I can see it sounds like him.