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Post by B.E. on Nov 24, 2023 17:11:26 GMT
1) I've recently been getting back into my music collection and it occurred to me that the Beach Boys never released a major collection/box set of their albums. Whether that's all of their albums in one collection or spread out over multiple sets. Obviously, the Beach Boys have had a long career with multiple record label stops, but off the top of my head there's been almost nothing. Many, many twofers, a 1967 deluxe set that included three albums (Today, SDSN, and Pet Sounds), and the US Singles Collection. Of course, they've reissued large portions of their catalog at a time (multiple times), but have they offered a set of those albums or only individual album purchases? Help me out, there must have been at least a few other box sets containing more than two albums, no? Were the Best of the Beach Boys Vol. 1-3 issued as a box set, for instance?
2) Assuming I'm not entirely mistaken and managed to forget a major, career-spanning box set, what do you think about this? A huge, missed opportunity? An unfortunate development given the incredible box sets of some of their peers? Or would such a set be unnecessary? Unwarranted? Impossible? I don't know, you tell me.
3) Again, assuming I'm not mistaken (or even if I am), how about coming up with our own? How would you do it? Feel free to allow any degree of record label/publisher cooperation you'd like!
Also, feel free to discuss the Beach Boys solo releases, too. How about a Brian Wilson box set?
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
Likes: 532
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Post by Emdeeh on Nov 24, 2023 21:47:47 GMT
Made in California
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 24, 2023 22:45:50 GMT
I guess if your point is there hasn't been a box set that comprises the albums, that's true. Though each album has been reissed, as you noted. (Maybe the last few weren't ever reissued, but certainly most have been--a few times.) Otherwise there have been a few career-spanning box sets. As Emdeeh notes, Made In California was one; Good Vibrations in the '90s was another. As long as I can get the albums, I'm not concerned about them being reissued together as part of a box set. In fact, I'd look at that as just one more time I'm being asked to buy the same music again, unless there were something new and unique about it. And at this point, with all the rarities sets, reissues, bonus tracks, copyright extensions, etc., that seems pretty unlikely to get my attention anyway.
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AGD
Denny's Drums
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Post by AGD on Nov 25, 2023 0:01:07 GMT
The Beach Boys Deluxe Set (1967) comprised The Beach Boys Today !, Summer Days (And Summer Nights !!) & Pet Sounds.
Close Up (1969) comprised Surfin' USA & All Summer Long.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 26, 2023 14:12:41 GMT
Boy oh boy, have I been going down this rabbit hole! Apparently, I haven't been paying much attention to these sorts of box sets, because there are a lot of them! At first, I was sort of giving the Beach Boys a break, thinking perhaps only a few artists (like the Beatles) had these sorts of collections and the Beach Boys just had too many albums for this to really be feasible. Well, that's simply not the case. Here's a list of "complete album" box sets put together at SHF in 2017. I added a few, but not many. So, this list is outdated.
ABBA - The Studio Albums (vinyl) America - Warner Bros Years Be Bop Deluxe - Futurist Manifesto Beatles - The Beatles Collection Beatles - The Beatles (Stereo Box) Beatles - The Beatles in Mono Beatles - The Capitol Albums, vol. 1 Beatles - The Capitol Albums, vol. 2 Beatles - The U.S. Albums Björk – dual disc brick Blue Oyster Cult - Complete Columbia Albums Collection Butterfield Blues Band - Complete Albums Byrds - 12 Dimensions: The Columbia Recordings 1965-1972 Dave Brubeck - Complete Columbia David Bowie - A New Career in a New Town 1977-1982 David Bowie - Five Years 1969-1973 David Bowie - Who Can I Be Now? 1974-1976 Kate Bush - This Woman's Work (The Kick Inside to The Sensual World) Syd Barrett - Crazy Diamond Alice Cooper - Studio Albums Billy Cobham - Atlantic Box Cars - Elektra years Cheap Trick - The Complete Epic Albums Collection Chicago - The Studio Albums 1969-1978 (vol. 1) Chicago - The Studio Albums 1979-2008 (vol. 2) Clash - Sound System Creedence Clearwater Revival - several Johnny Cash - Complete Columbia Leonard Cohen - Complete Studio Albums Collection Lloyd Cole and the Commotions - Collected Recordings 1983-1989 Phil Collins - Take a Look at Me Now Ry Cooder - 1970-1987 Ry Cooder - Soundtracks Stanley Clarke - Complete Epic Bob Dylan--The Complete Albums Collection Vol. 1 Bob Dylan - The Original Mono Recordings Deep Purple - The Complete Albums 1970 - 1976 Dire Straits - Studio Albums Boxset (vinyl) Doobie Brothers - Warner Bros Years Doors - The Complete Studio Recordings Dr. John - Atco Albums Collection Miles Davis--The Complete Columbia Collection Nick Drake - Fruit Tree Sandy Denny - Box Set Eels - The Complete Dreamworks Albums (vinyl) Electric Light Orchestra - The Classic Albums Collection Aretha Franklin - Atlantic Albums Ella Fitzgerald - Complete Songbooks Faces - You Can Make Me Dance, Sing or Anything Family - Once Upon a Time Fleetwood Mac - The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions Foghat - The Complete Bearsville Album Collection Foreigner - Complete Atlantic Genesis - the four cube sets: 1970-1975, 1976-1982, 1983-1998, Live 1973-2007 Goldey and Creme - Body of Work Grateful Dead - Beyond Description (1973-1989) Grateful Dead - The Golden Road (1965-1973) Marvin Gaye - Volume 1-3 box sets George Harrison - The Apple Years 1968-1975 George Harrison - The Dark Horse Years 1976-1992 George Harrison - The Vinyl Collection Hawkwind - This is Your Captain Speaking Hollies: Clarke Hicks & Nash Years, Changin' Times, Head Out Of Dreams. Ian Hunter - Stranded in reality Steve Hackett - The Charisma Years 1975-1983 Steve Hillage - Searching for the Spark Billy Joel - Complete Album Jam - Direction Reaction Creation Norah Jones - The Vinyl Collections Fela Anikulapo Kuti - The Complete Works Of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti Freddie King - Taking Care of Business Kinks - Kinks In Mono Kraftwerk - The Catalogue Kris Kristofferson - Complete Columbia and Monument Albums John Lennon - Signature Box Led Zeppelin - several Little Feat - Rad Gumbo Loggins & Messina - Japanese box (?) John Mellencamp - 1978-2012 Joni Mitchell - Studio Albums 1968-1979 Madonna - Complete Studio Albums Manfred Mann's Earth Band - 40th Anniversary Box Misfits - box set Monkees - Classic Album Collection Taj Mahal - The Complete Taj Mahal on Columbia Harry Nilsson - The RCA Albums Collection Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - The Complete Studio Albums 1976-1991 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - The Complete Studio Albums 1994-2014 Elvis Presley - The RCA Albums Collection Pere Ubu - Datapanik in the Year Zero Pink Floyd - Discovery and Immersion sets Police - Message In A Box Pretty Things - Bouquets from a Cloudy Sky Richard Pryor - And it's Deep Too Queen - 40 Queen - The Crown Jewels (Queen to the Game) Queen - The Studio Collection (Queen to Made in Heaven) (vinyl) Lou Reed - The RCA & Arista Collection Lou Reed - The Sire Years: Complete Album Box Otis Redding - Soul Manifesto Ramones - Sire Years Rascals - All I Really Need Replacements - Complete Studio Albums Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones in Mono Roxy Music - The Complete Studio Recordings Todd Rundgren - Complete Bearsville Bruce Springsteen - The Album Collection vol. 1 & vol. 2 Frank Sinatra - Capitol Years Frank Sinatra - Complete Columbia Frank Sinatra - Reprise Studio Recordings Seeds - Flower Punk Simon and Garfunkel - several Smiths - Complete Spooky Tooth - The Island Years - An Anthology Steely Dan - Citizen Steely Dan (Can't Buy A Thrill to Gaucho) Sting - The Studio Collection V1 and V2 (combined as "Complete Studio Collection") (vinyl) Talking Heads – dual disc brick The The - London Town (Soul Mining to Dusk) Thirteenth Floor Elevators - Sign of the 3 Eyed Men Stevie Ray Vaughan - Complete Epic Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly And See Bill Withers - Complete Sussex & Columbia Albums Collection Box (2012) Weather Report - Complete Columbia (2 boxes) Neil Young - Original/Official Albums Series ZZ Top - The Complete Studio Albums 1970-1990
Some of these have 60+ CDs!!!
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Post by B.E. on Nov 26, 2023 14:20:37 GMT
Anybody have any of these box sets?
I have the Beatles Collection (LP), Beatles Stereo (CD), and Beatles Mono (CD). I also just ordered the 60-CD Elvis RCA Collection! And I've been interested in the Dylan Mono box for years. I'm thinking about picking up the digital version.
By the way, the packaging of the George Harrison Vinyl Collection is just beautiful. Check that out if you haven't. If you tilt the box one way or the other you see younger George or older George. Incredible.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 26, 2023 14:22:29 GMT
Close Up (1969) comprised Surfin' USA & All Summer Long.
Ah, yes, I had a feeling I was forgetting something. Even if it is a mere two album collection.
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Post by Kapitan on Nov 26, 2023 14:31:09 GMT
Anybody have any of these box sets? I have the Dylan mono recordings set and used to have the Velvet Underground one, though I don't know what ever happened to it. (I think it must have been left behind in some move many years ago.)
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Post by B.E. on Nov 26, 2023 18:18:12 GMT
So, initially, when I thought a true complete album set for the Beach Boys was too far-fetched, I was brainstorming a few different approaches based on either splitting their catalog into 2 or 3 box sets (again, just for fun, I'm not too concerned with legal technicalities). But, first, to recap: they have 29 studio albums (including Stars & Stripes) and 4 live albums (at a minimum, but I think it'd only be appropriate to include Concert, Live in London, In Concert, and 50th Anniversary Tour in such a set). By the way, I am definitely a proponent of including live albums. They are real, official albums that are part of the catalog, and if completeness is the aim, then should be included. Besides, the Beach Boys don't have many, anyway. The Bob Dylan Complete Album Collection Vol. 1 includes his 35 studio albums and six live albums as of its release in 2013, for example. Anyway, here are some rough ideas:
1) Two sets. One for the 19 Capitol albums (basically, all the '60s albums, Still Cruisin' and TWGMTR, with the possible exception of Smiley Smile, and all the live albums except In Concert) and one for the 13 Brother(w/Reprise/Caribou) albums (basically, Sunflower - BB85, and Summer in Paradise, and possibly Smiley Smile). A little awkward, although it would give you an excuse not to include Stars & Stripes which was released by River North.
2) Two sets by era. I think this would be better than the above. Say, 1962-1969 and 1970-2013 or 1962-1973 and 1976-2013.
3) Three sets by label (Capitol, Reprise, Caribou) or by era. I don't like this as much.
4) One complete set with a bonus disc for the strays and a detailed book. This would be the best, in my opinion.
I think releasing option #4 during the reunion would have been awesome! The sets aren't just for the fans who have bought all the albums multiple times, but for newer fans who are looking to dive-in and here's all their albums in one-shot, remastered, and in shiny/brand new packaging! Also, this would have rectified the treatment of some of the later albums which are either hard to find, haven't been reissued at all, and/or are generally ignored by BRI/The Beach Boys. The more I dug into this topic and saw just how many artists have/had these sets available for fans, I'm quite bewildered that the Beach Boys aren't among them.
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Post by lonelysummer on Nov 26, 2023 20:21:35 GMT
One question: who can afford these things?
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Post by B.E. on Nov 26, 2023 20:52:32 GMT
One question: who can afford these things? If nothing else, I think I’ve established that there’s a market for it (not to mention, two of us have posted that we own some of these sets in this very thread). That said - as is the case with smaller releases - good luck if you’re interested in a title that’s gone out of print. So, timing certainly is a factor. I’m sure that part of the reason I wasn’t as knowledgable about some of these releases is that I felt like they were out of my price range when I was younger and so I didn’t really pay close attention. But if you’re starting from scratch, buying a collection might actually be cheaper than tracking each album down individually. And some fans trade in their old albums for the new set. Whatever the case, like other types of box sets, there’s a market for it.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 26, 2023 21:33:03 GMT
One question: who can afford these things? That's what I was wondering. Who are they targeting? Completists? People who have money to burn? An expensive gift for somebody? I'm thinking of new fans who get really hooked by a comp or a studio album or two and just jump in and by the lot. But, if you've been a big fan for a few (or many) years, you would probably already have a decent amount of the albums. Do you want to duplicate/start over? Is there a consistency in the sound that you're looking for? The levels and mastering is "all over the place" if you nickel and dime it, I'll grant you that.
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Post by B.E. on Nov 26, 2023 22:28:41 GMT
One question: who can afford these things? That's what I was wondering. Who are they targeting? Completists? People who have money to burn? An expensive gift for somebody? I'm thinking of new fans who get really hooked by a comp or a studio album or two and just jump in and by the lot. But, if you've been a big fan for a few (or many) years, you would probably already have a decent amount of the albums. Do you want to duplicate/start over? Is there a consistency in the sound that you're looking for? The levels and mastering is "all over the place" if you nickel and dime it, I'll grant you that. My take - "Yes" to all of the above, and more. Or in the case of the last two questions "For some fans, yes". Also, I wouldn't underestimate the appeal for some of the packaging. Or that - to Kapitan's earlier point - it's unique for any number of reasons (stereo vs mono, different mixes, different format, etc.), so while you could file that under "duplicate", it both is and isn't, IMO. I'd be surprised if Beach Boys fans truly wouldn't be interested if the price were right for them. Or even if that's the case, that they wouldn't personally be interested now, in the future, or at any point in the past, wouldn't you still think the Beach Boys are as deserving as these other artists? That it should be available to those fans who are interested? And might you have an opinion on how such a set should be put together?
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Post by kds on Nov 27, 2023 3:05:07 GMT
Anybody have any of these box sets? I have the Beatles Collection (LP), Beatles Stereo (CD), and Beatles Mono (CD). I also just ordered the 60-CD Elvis RCA Collection! And I've been interested in the Dylan Mono box for years. I'm thinking about picking up the digital version. By the way, the packaging of the George Harrison Vinyl Collection is just beautiful. Check that out if you haven't. If you tilt the box one way or the other you see younger George or older George. Incredible. I have The Police box. I got a great deal through BMG. Since I only had a greatest hits comp at the time, it was an easy and cheap way to get their whole (albeit much smaller than others on this list) studio output. I also have a UFO box with all their albums from 1974-80, the complete initial run of their classic lineup.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Nov 27, 2023 13:17:32 GMT
That's what I was wondering. Who are they targeting? Completists? People who have money to burn? An expensive gift for somebody? I'm thinking of new fans who get really hooked by a comp or a studio album or two and just jump in and by the lot. But, if you've been a big fan for a few (or many) years, you would probably already have a decent amount of the albums. Do you want to duplicate/start over? Is there a consistency in the sound that you're looking for? The levels and mastering is "all over the place" if you nickel and dime it, I'll grant you that. My take - "Yes" to all of the above, and more. Or in the case of the last two questions "For some fans, yes". Also, I wouldn't underestimate the appeal for some of the packaging. Or that - to Kapitan's earlier point - it's unique for any number of reasons (stereo vs mono, different mixes, different format, etc.), so while you could file that under "duplicate", it both is and isn't, IMO. I'd be surprised if Beach Boys fans truly wouldn't be interested if the price were right for them. Or even if that's the case, that they wouldn't personally be interested now, in the future, or at any point in the past, wouldn't you still think the Beach Boys are as deserving as these other artists? That it should be available to those fans who are interested? And might you have an opinion on how such a set should be put together?
I think The Beach Boys are absolutely deserving of a career-spanning boxed set. They are an institution. In addition to the quality of the music, I can't think of any group who had more actual releases/albums, so it would be quite the undertaking. But, yeah, it would be nice to at least have something like that available for the niche of fans who desire it.
Just off the top of my head, I think I would play it fairly safe with how I comprise the set. I would make it simple and as close to original as possible. I know this would be a controversial issue, but I would release all of the albums in the stereo format. I would stick to the original artwork - front, back, and liner notes. For CDs, I would prefer jewel cases not just for durability/preservation, but also for the liner notes (on the paper insert) where it applies.
As someone who has made endless Beach Boys' comps over the years, I've always been frustrated by the various volume levels of the albums. Frankly, they're all over the place. I would make it a priority to master all of the albums at the same volume level. It makes for a much more pleasing - and easier - listen as you go from one album to another during a listening session.
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