Stack-o-tracks' Wild Honey

[Rocker]

I was listening to the Stack-o-Tracks album recently and wondered during "Wild Honey" is there was a new mix done. The bass seems louder (which actually sounds very good). What abut the whole album? Were the instrumental tracks remixed compared to Brian's original masters?

[c-man]

I was listening to the Stack-o-Tracks album recently and wondered during "Wild Honey" is there was a new mix done. The bass seems louder (which actually sounds very good). What abut the whole album? Were the instrumental tracks remixed compared to Brian's original masters?

Well, for some of them, like this one - of course. Reason being is that for "Wild Honey", the instruments were recorded on more than one track (the bass, for instance, occupies its own track on the original 8-track tape). Therefore, this song HAD to be remixed without the vocals - whereas for some of the early songs, all the instruments were on one mono track, so they could just mute the vocals and do a direct transfer.

[hideyotsuburaya]

the original vinyl release of Stack-O-Tracks contents were 100% mono.  No stereo there at all, even though the LP jacket printing says stereo and the catalogue number indicates duo-phonic (a phoney stereo type and it wasn't even that).  I liked it because it contained the instrumental track backing to the single version of little saint nick, a very different (and so appealing) mix than the stereo vocal versions on other albums

in 1990 when S-O-T debuted on a CD, with 5 bonus tracks, some of the material there was now in stereo.  Great!  The stereo backing track for Little Honda was a real surprise that way.  But other tracks like Do It Again, Wild Honey, and Darlin' still were mono only

[Bicyclerider]

Since we now have a stereo Wild Honey and presumably the tapes necessary have been found, they should reissue Stack O Tracks in all stereo - with additional tracks.  I'd particularly like to hear more Love You tracks.  Make it a career spanning collection.

[Greg Parry]

Until I heard the 1990 CD I'd always assumed the Pet Sounds basic tracks were recorded in mono, because...well, that's what I'd always read. It was quite a shock to hear the WIBN track in stereo, and I didn't really understand what I was hearing. Had mucho fun with the pan pot on my amp.

It wasn't until I got the PS boxed set that I discovered they'd been recorded live over three tracks and then sweetened.

Stack O Tracks didn't leave my CD player for a few weeks. We're used to hearing the instrumental tracks now, but back then this was a Disk of Revelations akin to a spiritual experience. Again the Beach Boys were way ahead of the game by creating the concept of the forensically curated boxed set way back in 1968.

Looking forward to more revelations with the new boxed set.

[Rocker]

I was listening to the Stack-o-Tracks album recently and wondered during "Wild Honey" is there was a new mix done. The bass seems louder (which actually sounds very good). What abut the whole album? Were the instrumental tracks remixed compared to Brian's original masters?

Well, for some of them, like this one - of course. Reason being is that for "Wild Honey", the instruments were recorded on more than one track (the bass, for instance, occupies its own track on the original 8-track tape). Therefore, this song HAD to be remixed without the vocals - whereas for some of the early songs, all the instruments were on one mono track, so they could just mute the vocals and do a direct transfer.

Ah, that makes sense. Thank you! I didn't know about that. I must say, it is great to hear this bass-y track on loudspeakers. Sounds really good.It would be interesting to get more info about how the Stack-o-Tracks album was done. Do we have anything? With that I mean "How came the idea up? By whom? Who did the work? Who chose the songs? What was the criteria? Were all of the Boys involved?" etc.