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Post by B.E. on Dec 9, 2023 0:59:26 GMT
While I may have missed one or two, I think this poll covers just about every Beach Boys release with substantial amounts of previously unreleased material. So, which are most essential? Either to you, personally, or to a new fan looking to dive deeper?
The poll will be up through Saturday, December 23rd. The results will be visible after casting your vote. Have at it!
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 9, 2023 1:35:12 GMT
Glad to see your series return!
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AGD
Denny's Drums
Posts: 23
Likes: 21
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Post by AGD on Dec 9, 2023 6:55:14 GMT
The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic isn't an archive release, it's an exercise in post-dubbing an orchestra on the original tracks. No unreleased material.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 9, 2023 11:24:29 GMT
I picked five very quickly, working in reverse chronology: Sail On Sailor, Feel Flows, Sunshine Tomorrow, Made in California, and The Smile Sessions.
Unfortunately, it occurred to me that five means fewer than six (or seven), which meant I couldn't select The Pet Sounds Sessions or Good Vibrations. The lattermost was absolutely essential for me back in the early 00s when I bought it, though admittedly the stuff I liked best from it has now been released elsewhere, often sounding better. So I feel OK about that. But the PS box, leaving that off hurts. It's possible I'll swap something out for it before the poll winds down.
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Post by kds on Dec 9, 2023 12:54:34 GMT
I went with the GV and MiC sets. Despite some repetition, there are essential rarities on both.
Smile Sessions is, IMO, the ultimate missing link in BB history. And, I selected Sail On as its my favorite era-centric release.
Had I not voted on Dec 8, my last pick might not have been Ultimate Christmas, but Morning Christmas plays pretty heavy this time of year.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 9, 2023 13:05:36 GMT
Again, I'm going to vote based on how the exercise is worded...literally. I'm viewing this poll as which releases are essential to fans, maybe even the average Beach Boys' fan. With diehards, and that includes myself, they're pretty much all essential because I/we want everything. It's hard to rank "essentialness" when you have to have everything. So, with that, I'll vote for, in no particular order:
1. Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys - Like every Beach Boys' release, it's flawed, but as a career overview (up to that point), there probably isn't a better one.
2. The SMiLE Sessions - The most essential archival release by...anybody.
3. Ultimate Christmas - Yes, the bulk of this release is The Beach Boys' Christmas Album which is nothing special, but the extra goodies, especially the 1977-78 M.I.U. Christmas songs turns it into essential. This set is basically two separate Christmas albums, and they couldn't be more different. The M.I.U. tracks are fascinating, but it's inexcusable why ALL of the songs from those sessions weren't included. I'm still waiting patiently for their official release.
4. Feel Flows - Sunflower and Surf's Up are arguably the best BB albums from the 1967-1973 era, and they are represented well with this package. There's a lot of music here. A few points deducted for the poor and questionable mixing/mastering. And, you might be perfectly happy with just the previously released two-fer. But, overall, any Beach Boys' fan could find a lot to enjoy with this set.
Choosing No. 5 is difficult. You would think that The Pet Sounds Sessions is a no-brainer. I rarely listen to it. I'm not really an instrumental/sessions fan, and that's supposed to be the charm of this release. That and the stereo version of the album. But, what makes it essential? Couldn't the average fan be fulfilled with just the regular 13 track album, mono or stereo? I think so.
Becoming The Beach Boys is definitely essential and I don't take it lightly, but it's probably more fascinating than essential. Sunshine Tomorrow is an excellent release; there's a lot of music on there, and while I don't care for it, the Hawaii concert is important. Sail On Sailor is good but not enough extra good(ies).
For No. 5, I'm going to go with Good Timin': Live At Knebworth England 1980. Brian and Dennis aren't on Live In London (yes, I know Dennis plays drums; how much is Mike Kowalski?). Brian and Dennis aren't on In Concert (yes, I know Dennis was...there). But, at least in some way, their presence is felt on Knebworth, both with Dennis' unique drumming and Brian's occasional vocals. I just think that concert was important as a document for the post-Holland, sloppy 70s, the original band (yes, augmented) on the road again, with a pretty good setlist. Fans from any era or dedication can enjoy the heck out of this release. Knebworth is also crying out for a re-release. A quick Wikipedia check shows that the album clocks in at 70:22. Please fill in those 10 minutes! How about the title track?
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 9, 2023 13:11:36 GMT
To chime in on two albums mentioned by others (well, one of which I picked, too). Ultimate Christmas: I acknowledge that it has a lot of previously unreleased material ... but my god, most of that material isn't very good! I know, I'm a bah-humbug kind of guy with holiday music, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. And I'll grant that "Morning Christmas" is fantastic and "Winter Symphony" is nice. But the rest, meh. Feel Flows: I'll just add to what Sheriff John Stone said, in that it's not just arguably the two best albums of that era (and certainly two OF the best albums of the era), but the unreleased material is also fantastic, whether it's stuff that had been released previously elsewhere (though often remixed here, for better and for worse) or first-time releases. It just shows that this couple of years was very, very, very strong. It's criminal how poorly regarded they were in America at the time.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 9, 2023 13:18:40 GMT
The Beach Boys with the Royal Philharmonic isn't an archive release, it's an exercise in post-dubbing an orchestra on the original tracks. No unreleased material. I know it's not a proper "archival" release but as an album of remixed, overdubbed, alternate versions I thought it was a better fit here than among standard 'best of' compilations or the core catalog. That reminds me, I meant to include Stack-o-Tracks, too. Feel free to write that in if you're so inclined.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Dec 9, 2023 13:54:29 GMT
To chime in on two albums mentioned by others (well, one of which I picked, too). Ultimate Christmas: I acknowledge that it has a lot of previously unreleased material ... but my god, most of that material isn't very good! I know, I'm a bah-humbug kind of guy with holiday music, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. And I'll grant that "Morning Christmas" is fantastic and "Winter Symphony" is nice. But the rest, meh. Of course it's a matter of opinion, and I respect yours, but I think most of the M.I.U. Christmas songs have some merit. You noted "Morning Christmas" and "Winter Symphony". I consider them great tracks. I think "Bells Of Christmas" is very good, both the music/melody and Al's vocal. "Christmas Time Is Here Again" is fun and rocks a little. "Melekalikimaka" isn't bad, it really isn't (that's a back-handed compliment ), and while it's not from M.I.U, "Child Of Winter" is essential. That's a very solid album side's worth of songs right there.
Yes, "Santa's Got An Airplane" and "(I Saw Santa) Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" are somewhat weak entries, but they are not without some musical merit; some parts are cool. Two songs that are conspicuous by their absence - "Alone On Christmas Day" and "Go And Get That Girl" - are two of the stronger cuts and should've been included on Ultimate Christmas. I really think "Alone On Christmas Day" is touching and Carl's vocal was definitely needed with "Go And Get That Girl". OK, I give you that "Santa's On His Way" ("H.E.L.P. Is On The Way") is for Beach Boys' diehards only, and the "Christmas Carol Medley" is embarrassing. Throw in the charming "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and the instrumental "Why" to fill out the album.
With some remixing/remastering, proper sequencing, and including all of the M.I.U. tracks, you have an enjoyable album. Again, the degree of "enjoyable" is a matter of opinion. Would you agree to fascinating?
Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys (1978) - Executive Producer: Sheriff John Stone
Side 1 1. Christmas Time Is Here Again 2. Melekalikimaka 3. Winter Symphony 4. Why
5. Alone On Christmas Day 6. Go And Get That Girl 7. Santa's On His Way
Side 2 1. Santa's Got An Airplane 2. Child Of Winter 3. (I Saw) Santa Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree 4. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 5. Bells Of Christmas 6. Morning Christmas 7. Christmas Carol Medley
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 9, 2023 14:33:02 GMT
With some remixing/remastering, proper sequencing, and including all of the M.I.U. tracks, you have an enjoyable album. Again, the degree of "enjoyable" is a matter of opinion. Would you agree to fascinating? Merry Christmas From The Beach Boys (1978) - Executive Producer: Sheriff John Stone
Side 1 1. Christmas Time Is Here Again 2. Melekalikimaka 3. Winter Symphony 4. Why
5. Alone On Christmas Day 6. Go And Get That Girl 7. Santa's On His Way Side 2 1. Santa's Got An Airplane 2. Child Of Winter 3. (I Saw) Santa Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree 4. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 5. Bells Of Christmas 6. Morning Christmas 7. Christmas Carol Medley How about, "fascinating to a small subset of Beach Boys fans, though more for the history of the album's non-creation than the music itself"? (I'm guessing you're not going to go for my suggested edit!)
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
Posts: 520
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Post by Emdeeh on Dec 9, 2023 14:34:43 GMT
I agree with AGD. The RPH album is a Frankensteined project, with passive participation from the BBs (in the sense of using previous recordings as the source). I don't see it fitting in with archival releases at all.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 9, 2023 15:03:09 GMT
I agree with AGD. The RPH album is a Frankensteined project, with passive participation from the BBs (in the sense of using previous recordings as the source). I don't see it fitting in with archival releases at all. Then don’t vote for it.
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AGD
Denny's Drums
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Likes: 21
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Post by AGD on Dec 10, 2023 6:40:34 GMT
I agree with AGD. The RPH album is a Frankensteined project, with passive participation from the BBs (in the sense of using previous recordings as the source). I don't see it fitting in with archival releases at all. Then don’t vote for it. The point is that it doesn't belong on this list in the first place, any more than the recently expanded Sounds Of Summer would. Stack O' Tracks either (since you brought it up), as there's no previously unreleased material on it.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 10, 2023 12:34:29 GMT
B.E., this is a great poll/question because it's truly hard to settle on an answer. (The only thing that could ruin the fun would be a condescending pedant not participating, but nitpicking. But even that isn't sufficient to throw cold water on it.) The more I think about this, the more the question is whether I'm thinking about breadth or depth. If breadth, then MiC, Good Vibrations, Endless Harmony, Hawthorne are especially valuable. But for depth, I'd point to the best of the album-specific selections: PSS, TSS, Sunshine Tomorrow, Feel Flows, Sail On Sailor.So in a way, this poll would be easier if I knew whether I was doing it for somebody else or myself. I could as that somebody else what they're into, what they're looking for, and make that recommendation appropriately. If myself, I could do what I did, which is mixing and matching to suit my taste. (Though I'm still considering changing my responses.)
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Post by B.E. on Dec 10, 2023 14:39:12 GMT
The point is that it doesn't belong on this list in the first place, any more than the recently expanded Sounds Of Summer would. Stack O' Tracks either (since you brought it up), as there's no previously unreleased material on it. I understood the point the first time. I thought my previous response made that clear. I chose the thread title for its conciseness, knowing full well I wanted to include a couple of other misfits. This is a poll designed with future polls in mind, not a definitive list. Normally, I explain my reasoning a bit more in the opening. I'd like to think that would have avoided this.
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