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Post by B.E. on Dec 22, 2023 14:36:01 GMT
The poll is open through tomorrow, so get in your votes! (I still need to vote and comment, myself.)
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Post by lonelysummer on Dec 22, 2023 20:41:36 GMT
Some of these I rated much higher at the time of release than I do now. Beach Boys Rarities was a godsend back in 1983, and I still play it out of nostalgia, but it's been surpassed by many of the sets that have come out since then. The big three for me are Sunshine Tomorrow, Feel Flows and Sail on Sailor. Of course, Smile Sessions has to be in there, too. Fifth spot I'm giving to Ultimate Christmas, but it's a tough call. Knebworth certainly deserves a spot - especially the video.
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Post by jk on Dec 22, 2023 22:00:23 GMT
I voted for:
- Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys - The Pet Sounds Sessions - Endless Harmony Soundtrack - Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace of a Musical Legacy - Becoming the Beach Boys
These are pretty well in the order of preferred listening (over the years). I was given the first one as a birthday present, probably in 2003 when I'd just been smitten, and I thought it was incredible.
I don't own the last one. I gave it a listen in hospital after a bigger-than-expected operation, so I do have a soft spot for it. I read the first three chapters of Jim Murphy's book the night before the operation and regrettably haven't opened it since. Pity, as it was a great read thus far. One day...
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Post by lonelysummer on Dec 23, 2023 4:35:18 GMT
I voted for: - Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys - The Pet Sounds Sessions - Endless Harmony Soundtrack - Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace of a Musical Legacy - Becoming the Beach Boys These are pretty well in the order of preferred listening (over the years). I was given the first one as a birthday present, probably in 2003 when I'd just been smitten, and I thought it was incredible. I don't own the last one. I gave it a listen in hospital after a bigger-than-expected operation, so I do have a soft spot for it. I read the first three chapters of Jim Murphy's book the night before the operation and regrettably haven't opened it since. Pity, as it was a great read thus far. One day... I'm not sure what Becoming the Beach Boys is. Is that the Hite Morgan sessions? I have a version of that released on vinyl by Sundazed.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 23, 2023 13:38:13 GMT
I voted for: - Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys - The Pet Sounds Sessions - Endless Harmony Soundtrack - Hawthorne, CA: Birthplace of a Musical Legacy - Becoming the Beach Boys These are pretty well in the order of preferred listening (over the years). I was given the first one as a birthday present, probably in 2003 when I'd just been smitten, and I thought it was incredible. I don't own the last one. I gave it a listen in hospital after a bigger-than-expected operation, so I do have a soft spot for it. I read the first three chapters of Jim Murphy's book the night before the operation and regrettably haven't opened it since. Pity, as it was a great read thus far. One day... I'm not sure what Becoming the Beach Boys is. Is that the Hite Morgan sessions? I have a version of that released on vinyl by Sundazed. Yes, it's very similar to Lost & Found, but more expansive. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Becoming_the_Beach_Boys:_The_Complete_Hite_%26_Dorinda_Morgan_Sessions
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Post by B.E. on Dec 23, 2023 14:32:07 GMT
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?
I get where you're coming from regarding The Pet Sounds Sessions, but I disagree. I'm generally not a big instrumental/sessions fan either, but I do love 'vocals only' tracks. This set has the entire album vocals only, not to mention the first ever stereo mix of the album, and some very interesting alternate versions (e.g. the original speed "Caroline, No", among others). Couple that with Pet Sounds being my favorite album of all-time and arguably the greatest album of all-time, and it's just gotta make the cut, IMO. That said, I don't own it. I had relied on streaming it as I built up my Beach Boys collection, but it has long since become unavailable. Now that I've recently gotten back into my collection - and filling in the gaps - I've got my eye out for this box set, for sure. Knebworth is definitely worthy of consideration but, personally, some of Mike's subpar leads and especially the noticeable autotune of them, really holds it back. I don't think it's going to make my top 5 as a result. It's nice to see the consideration posters are giving some of these less obvious choices, though. Whether it's Knebworth, Ultimate Christmas, Becoming the Beach Boys, etc .
Edit: As an aside, I've been thinking recently about how Knebworth should have been released at the time (say, June 1981). It's not like there was a realistic prospect for a studio album in its place. Or at the very least, a live album could have been released at some point in the mid 80s pulling from various concerts (including, Knebworth). And without the autotune, it would sound better than what we got.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 23, 2023 15:20:11 GMT
Great point about Knebworth. They hadn't released a live album since 1973, after all, and in those seven years, they had released another five studio albums. And Knebworth does feature a handful of songs from those albums ("Lady Lynda," "Keepin the Summer Alive," "School Days," "Rock and Roll Music") as well as a few others not previously released on live albums ("Cotton Fields," "Be True to Your School," "You Are So Beautiful").
It's hard to say exactly how it might have been received at the time, and perhaps they were more bullish on the Ten Years of Harmony comp released in December 1981 than on another live album. (Was there room for both in the same year? Or is that overkill?)
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Post by B.E. on Dec 23, 2023 15:47:10 GMT
Great point about Knebworth. They hadn't released a live album since 1973, after all, and in those seven years, they had released another five studio albums. And Knebworth does feature a handful of songs from those albums ("Lady Lynda," "Keepin the Summer Alive," "School Days," "Rock and Roll Music") as well as a few others not previously released on live albums ("Cotton Fields," "Be True to Your School," "You Are So Beautiful"). It's hard to say exactly how it might have been received at the time, and perhaps they were more bullish on the Ten Years of Harmony comp released in December 1981 than on another live album. (Was there room for both in the same year? Or is that overkill?) With Ten Years of Harmony not being released until December 1981 (and KTSA being released way back in March 1980), I think there was room. They could have waited until mid 1982, but with the contemporary material in the Knebworth setlist, I'd think early-mid 1981 makes more sense. I doubt any album would have sold very well at that time. "Come Go With Me" from Harmony and "The Beach Boys Medley", which was included on Sunshine Dream in 1982, were hits but not the albums. That said, the following quote from In Concert's wikipedia page caught my eye recently: So, perhaps a live album was their best shot? They were a popular live act after all.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 23, 2023 16:17:44 GMT
Okay, I've finally worked out my votes. You can really get turned around with this topic. In chronological order:
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys The Pet Sounds Sessions The Smile Sessions Made In California Sunshine Tomorrow: 1967
The toughest choice for me was the GV box set. I don't own it, but from what I know about it, I think it's probably the best compilation/archival release ever released by the group. If a person could only own and listen to one Beach Boys release, this is it. New fan or diehard. Mono single mixes to deep cuts. And very well balanced. That said, nearly all of it is contained on other releases. In its place, I nearly went with Ultimate Christmas. Unlike many of these other releases, the extra stuff on Ultimate Christmas is mostly only found there. And while the quality of some of the "bonus tracks" are quite poor, there are about a half dozen that are essential, IMO. Perhaps the biggest revelation for me in this exercise is being reminded just how much essential "bonus tracks" are on Made in California. I don't own that box set either, but I purchased about a dozen of the previously unreleased tracks on iTunes. And, as I'm realizing, I could have (and perhaps will) purchase more. But scrolling through the tracklist of the first 2 1/2 discs reveals nothing essential, IMO. Especially after Wild Honey was released in stereo in its entirety with Sunshine Tomorrow. I'm also reminded that with many of these releases (e.g. Endless Harmony, Hawthorne, Made in California, Feel Flows), the main draw (for me) is the previously unreleased Dennis material.
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 23, 2023 16:28:39 GMT
The GV box would definitely have been on my essentials list at one point, but the stuff I liked best from it at the time was the Smile stuff and some other previously unreleased Sunflower-era stuff, as well as the two Adult/Child songs. I think all but "Still I Dream of It" is more or less available on other comps I've chosen, whether TSS, MiC, or Feel Flows. So that's the route I went. Had it not be for those subsequent releases, GV would absolutely have been the definitive comp, in my book.
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Emdeeh
Pacific Coast Highway
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Post by Emdeeh on Dec 23, 2023 18:01:45 GMT
In list order, no ranking: Good Vibes box set Smile Sessions Made in California Sunshine Tomorrow Feel Flows
If I could have picked one more, it would have been Knebworth.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 24, 2023 14:56:16 GMT
Thanks for participating. 10 voters cast 50 votes.
Top 5 Most Essential Archival Releases
The Smile Sessions - 9 Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys - 7 Made In California - 7 Feel Flows - 7 Sunshine Tomorrow: 1967 - 6
We ended up with a strong consensus for the top 5. The other vote-getters were:
The Pet Sounds Sessions - 3 Ultimate Christmas - 3 Sail On Sailor - 3 Lost & Found/Becoming the Beach Boys - 2 Endless Harmony - 1 Hawthorne, CA - 1 Knebworth - 1
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Post by Kapitan on Dec 24, 2023 16:16:37 GMT
I'm not sure why, but I am a little surprised to see that TSS got the most votes.
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Post by carllove on Dec 30, 2023 19:43:41 GMT
I voted awhile ago - but was too busy to elaborate so why not bump this thread…
1. Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys - The one that got me started on my love for the Boys. Had discs two and three in my car CD player for over five years. It covers the Boys from the beginning to “Kokomo”. My first introduction to Smile tracks . So many versions of “Heroes and Villians”! Yes I DO like “Do You Like Worms”! Yes to “Hang On To Your Ego”. Love it all! The poster from the set is on the wall of my office, right behind my desk.
2. Feel Flows - Sunflower and Surf’s Up- Was so excited when this was announced and it arrived from Amazon the day of release. Finally replaced the GV discs in my car with Discs two and five of Feel Flows. I had no idea how talented Dennis was, until I heard his stuff here. Loved the alternate version of “This Whole World”. It was everything I would have hoped it would be and more.
3. Sunshine Tomorrow - 1967- Just listened to this today while folding clothes. My favorite Beach Boys era at the moment. Love the stuff that missed making it onto Wild Honey and the live performances. Gonna be my next CD purchase. I need this in physical form.
4. The Smile Sessions - What else can be said about this. It is wonderful, but for some reason, I prefer Smile tracks in smaller bites. It is A LOT!
5. Made In California - Very comprehensive collection and includes previously unreleased tracks that weren’t on GV. I still prefer GV though. I doubt I will ever purchase this, but it was an important release. It just won over Wake The World since I was a little underwhelmed the first time I heard WTW. I thought I would love it as much as I did Sunshine Tomorrow - but it fell short.
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Post by B.E. on Dec 30, 2023 22:12:39 GMT
I voted awhile ago - but was too busy to elaborate so why not bump this thread… 1. Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys - The one that got me started on my love for the Boys. Had discs two and three in my car CD player for over five years. It covers the Boys from the beginning to “Kokomo”. My first introduction to Smile tracks . So many versions of “Heroes and Villians”! Yes I DO like “Do You Like Worms”! Yes to “Hang On To Your Ego”. Love it all! The poster from the set is on the wall of my office, right behind my desk. I recently watched an unboxing video and noticed that they reused some of the CD artwork (from discs 2 and 3) on the 20 Good Vibrations and 20 More Good Vibrations compilations in 1995 and 1999. (The 1995 compilation happened to be my initial gateway to the group.) I previously hadn't picked up on the continuity in title and artwork across these '90s compilations. What do you think of the CD artwork in the box set? Seems a little odd to me, but I don't think it detracts from the set any.
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