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Post by B.E. on Jul 4, 2022 17:31:13 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Jul 4, 2022 17:35:40 GMT
And that, folks, is what we call a teaser!
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Post by B.E. on Jul 4, 2022 18:47:46 GMT
So, while I was working out last week, I was in the mood for the Beach Boys, but I needed something that rocked from start to finish. Lately, I've taken to listening to live albums. But, studio...live...when you think about it, the Beach Boys don't really have an album that quite fits the bill. So, I settled for In Concert and just put up with the slow bits and skipped a few tracks entirely. Since then, I decided on this single LP tracklist, made a few edits, and I am absolutely thrilled with results!
1. Sail On, Sailor 2. Sloop John B (3:11) (removed the count-in at the end) 3. California Girls 4. Help Me, Rhonda (4:27) (removed the intro to "Surfer Girl" at the end) 5. Darlin' 6. Marcella (3:26) (Removed the intro to "Caroline, No" and faded-in the background noise at the end of "Surfer Girl") 7. Wouldn't It Be Nice (2:49) (substituted the end of "Leaving This Town" from "thank you very much" onward) 8. Heroes and Villains 9. Funky Pretty 10. Surfin' USA 11. Fun Fun Fun
Length: 37 minutes
This album ROCKS!!! I wish I could share this edit here so you could hear how smooth the transitions are. I cut around 30 seconds each from "Help Me, Rhonda" and "Marcella" thereby retaining every ounce of energy and momentum. In that regard, the transition from "Darlin'" to "Marcella" is awesome. And I didn't touch that. They just launch right into "Marcella" - so good. Sequence-wise, I might have liked to incorporate "Surfin' USA" or "Fun Fun Fun" earlier, but it's hard to deviate too much from the original sequence for various reasons. I wasn't sure "Funky Pretty" was going to make the cut initially, but I'm really digging it now. The vocal trade-offs at the end is awesome. Mike is holding it down with his part (which is probably my favorite part of the entire song) while Blondie does his wild thing and Carl gets downright aggressive! I'm digging it. Also, in this presentation of the album, I think the dated 70s sounds of the original are largely curtailed. It's really only in the beginning of "Funky Pretty" that it's really prevalent here.
Rating/ranking-wise, where I had the original album in a virtual tie with Concert and Live in London in the mid '7's, I think I'd have to rate this at least a high '8' if not a '9', which leaves it flirting with my top 10. It's really that great of a listen. Obviously, the material is nearly all A+, but these happen to be most of my favorite performances from the original album, too. "Let The Wind Blow", "You Still Believe In Me", and "Caroline, No" being other highlights. But "Marcella" still tops.
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 29, 2024 19:52:56 GMT
I was going through the newish book The Beach Boys by the Beach Boys today and was struck by something Mike said about this album. He is quoted as saying: "In November 1973, Warner/Reprise released a concert album that was heavily weighted towards our early songs." (He goes on to say basically that its success with that formula is what led Capitol to do its hits comps shortly thereafter.)
I don't know about you all, but I've never really thought of In Concert as "weighted towards [the] early songs." I suppose it depends to some degree on what you want to call "early," but in my mind, for this band, I think of "early" as pre-Pet Sounds. By that definition, six of 20 songs, or just under a third, of the album is dedicated to early stuff. Then eight are what I'd call (to that point) mid-period, meaning from Pet Sounds through the end of the '60s. And the remaining six are new, meaning from the 70s.
My impression of this album was really always that it was a nice representation of their catalog without over-emphasizing the early hits! I always liked that it had a good number of then-newer tunes.
What do you think? Did In Concert start the course toward the Capitol comps and establishing the band more as a legacy act than a contemporary one?
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Post by B.E. on Apr 29, 2024 23:39:20 GMT
He is quoted as saying: "In November 1973, Warner/Reprise released a concert album that was heavily weighted towards our early songs." (He goes on to say basically that its success with that formula is what led Capitol to do its hits comps shortly thereafter.) What do you think? Did In Concert start the course toward the Capitol comps and establishing the band more as a legacy act than a contemporary one? My impression was the same as yours - that the tracklist was balanced. And as you broke down, it’s almost perfectly balanced. The only thing I can think of to even remotely defend Mike’s description is if the tracklist weren’t representative of their setlist in 1973, but I don’t believe that’s the case. Either way, “heavily weighted towards our early songs” is just demonstrably false. So, no, I don’t think that specifically would have inspired Capitol to release those compilations, but I do think they might have taken notice of the relative commercial success of the album in general and thought there was a market for further Beach Boys releases.
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Post by lonelysummer on Apr 30, 2024 4:44:14 GMT
I was going through the newish book The Beach Boys by the Beach Boys today and was struck by something Mike said about this album. He is quoted as saying: "In November 1973, Warner/Reprise released a concert album that was heavily weighted towards our early songs." (He goes on to say basically that its success with that formula is what led Capitol to do its hits comps shortly thereafter.) I don't know about you all, but I've never really thought of In Concert as "weighted towards [the] early songs." I suppose it depends to some degree on what you want to call "early," but in my mind, for this band, I think of "early" as pre- Pet Sounds. By that definition, six of 20 songs, or just under a third, of the album is dedicated to early stuff. Then eight are what I'd call (to that point) mid-period, meaning from Pet Sounds through the end of the '60s. And the remaining six are new, meaning from the 70s. My impression of this album was really always that it was a nice representation of their catalog without over-emphasizing the early hits! I always liked that it had a good number of then-newer tunes. What do you think? Did In Concert start the course toward the Capitol comps and establishing the band more as a legacy act than a contemporary one? I think that's just Mike spinning it towards his preference for the oldies. He was always pushing for their inclusion, because he knew the response they would get.
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Post by kds on Apr 30, 2024 13:19:53 GMT
I was going through the newish book The Beach Boys by the Beach Boys today and was struck by something Mike said about this album. He is quoted as saying: "In November 1973, Warner/Reprise released a concert album that was heavily weighted towards our early songs." (He goes on to say basically that its success with that formula is what led Capitol to do its hits comps shortly thereafter.) I don't know about you all, but I've never really thought of In Concert as "weighted towards [the] early songs." I suppose it depends to some degree on what you want to call "early," but in my mind, for this band, I think of "early" as pre- Pet Sounds. By that definition, six of 20 songs, or just under a third, of the album is dedicated to early stuff. Then eight are what I'd call (to that point) mid-period, meaning from Pet Sounds through the end of the '60s. And the remaining six are new, meaning from the 70s. My impression of this album was really always that it was a nice representation of their catalog without over-emphasizing the early hits! I always liked that it had a good number of then-newer tunes. What do you think? Did In Concert start the course toward the Capitol comps and establishing the band more as a legacy act than a contemporary one? I don't think it's weighted too heavily towards the hits era. But, it did seem like the audience were more into the hits, so maybe that's what Mike's referring to?
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 30, 2024 13:26:14 GMT
I don't think it's weighted too heavily towards the hits era. But, it did seem like the audience were more into the hits, so maybe that's what Mike's referring to? Based on the context and fuller quote, I don't think so. I mean, I think he did realize that, but it doesn't seem to be what he's saying in the quote. It seems to be specifically about the selection of tunes for the album, and how it shaped future comps. BUT ... yeah, I think your point is accurate. I don't think that was any secret for anyone, and I think it was a sore spot for most of the band. In boots, you can always hear the audiences love old songs, even when the band sometimes introduces them a little saltily. (Even Mike would say "here's another oldie but moldy" or something derogatory.) I'd imagine when you're trying to prove you're not some old surf-and-cars band, but the audiences mostly love your surf-and-car songs, it got old. It was around or right after that time that Guercio convinced them they could lean on their great catalog (without abandoning new music).
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Post by kds on Apr 30, 2024 13:31:20 GMT
I don't think it's weighted too heavily towards the hits era. But, it did seem like the audience were more into the hits, so maybe that's what Mike's referring to? Based on the context and fuller quote, I don't think so. I mean, I think he did realize that, but it doesn't seem to be what he's saying in the quote. It seems to be specifically about the selection of tunes for the album, and how it shaped future comps.BUT ... yeah, I think your point is accurate. I don't think that was any secret for anyone, and I think it was a sore spot for most of the band. In boots, you can always hear the audiences love old songs, even when the band sometimes introduces them a little saltily. (Even Mike would say "here's another oldie but moldy" or something derogatory.) I'd imagine when you're trying to prove you're not some old surf-and-cars band, but the audiences mostly love your surf-and-car songs, it got old. It was around or right after that time that Guercio convinced them they could lean on their great catalog (without abandoning new music). That would certainly be news if it's the case.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 1, 2024 12:03:58 GMT
I guess I'm the dissenting opinion. I bought In Concert when it was relatively new (the late 1970s). I thought it was/is weighed heavily toward the oldies, but I do include the Pet Sounds' songs (especially "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and Sloop John B") in that group. Including "Good Vibrations", that would be 11 out of 20 songs I would categorize as oldies:
1. Sloop John B 2. You Still Believe In Me 3. California Girls 4. Caroline No 5. Help Me Rhonda 6. Surfer Girl 7. Wouldn't It Be Nice 8. Don't Worry Baby 9. Surfin' U.S.A. 10. Good Vibrations 11. Fun, Fun, Fun
It's a bit of a reach but I almost want to include "Darlin'" in that group. While I appreciate the "newer" songs - they're all good ones - back when I purchased the album, I gravitated more toward the 1963-1966 songs. I will admit that, because of the on-stage lineup at that time, the oldies were performed with a more updated, contemporary sound than say, 1964's Beach Boys Concert or even 1969's Live In London.
While I'm sure Capitol Records was monitoring The Beach Boys' setlists in 1973, I wouldn't be surprised if they (Capitol) were influenced by the success of In Concert. It peaked at #25 on Billboard, higher than any other Reprise album until 15 Big Ones. I don't think it's a big reach to say that In Concert had at least some inspiration/influence on the release of Endless Summer.
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Post by Kapitan on May 1, 2024 12:17:43 GMT
I'd agree with you if a person were to include the PS stuff as oldies.
For me, there are two reasons I don't.
One is the musical side of it. Granted, that is a subjective thing and was a gradual change. But the music on Pet Sounds is such a far cry, such a development from the early hits, it's hard to lump them together as "early hits." However one major weakness in that idea is that you can see hints of those styles going back right into the early years.
The easier to defend, second reason is just the chronology splitting relatively well: 1961-65 era; 1966-69 era; 1970-present (1973 at the time) era. But hey, if you wanted to just split into early and late, then 1966 would fall on the early side.
In the end I just think WIBN or GV etc simply are too advanced, too big a shift from the early hits to be lumped in with them.
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Post by lonelysummer on May 1, 2024 18:53:58 GMT
I guess I'm the dissenting opinion. I bought In Concert when it was relatively new (the late 1970s). I thought it was/is weighed heavily toward the oldies, but I do include the Pet Sounds' songs (especially "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and Sloop John B") in that group. Including "Good Vibrations", that would be 11 out of 20 songs I would categorize as oldies:
1. Sloop John B 2. You Still Believe In Me 3. California Girls 4. Caroline No 5. Help Me Rhonda 6. Surfer Girl 7. Wouldn't It Be Nice 8. Don't Worry Baby 9. Surfin' U.S.A. 10. Good Vibrations 11. Fun, Fun, Fun
It's a bit of a reach but I almost want to include "Darlin'" in that group. While I appreciate the "newer" songs - they're all good ones - back when I purchased the album, I gravitated more toward the 1963-1966 songs. I will admit that, because of the on-stage lineup at that time, the oldies were performed with a more updated, contemporary sound than say, 1964's Beach Boys Concert or even 1969's Live In London.
While I'm sure Capitol Records was monitoring The Beach Boys' setlists in 1973, I wouldn't be surprised if they (Capitol) were influenced by the success of In Concert. It peaked at #25 on Billboard, higher than any other Reprise album until 15 Big Ones. I don't think it's a big reach to say that In Concert had at least some inspiration/influence on the release of Endless Summer. If we're going to include GV and WIBN, might as well include H&V.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on May 1, 2024 19:26:11 GMT
I guess I'm the dissenting opinion. I bought In Concert when it was relatively new (the late 1970s). I thought it was/is weighed heavily toward the oldies, but I do include the Pet Sounds' songs (especially "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and Sloop John B") in that group. Including "Good Vibrations", that would be 11 out of 20 songs I would categorize as oldies:
1. Sloop John B 2. You Still Believe In Me 3. California Girls 4. Caroline No 5. Help Me Rhonda 6. Surfer Girl 7. Wouldn't It Be Nice 8. Don't Worry Baby 9. Surfin' U.S.A. 10. Good Vibrations 11. Fun, Fun, Fun
It's a bit of a reach but I almost want to include "Darlin'" in that group. While I appreciate the "newer" songs - they're all good ones - back when I purchased the album, I gravitated more toward the 1963-1966 songs. I will admit that, because of the on-stage lineup at that time, the oldies were performed with a more updated, contemporary sound than say, 1964's Beach Boys Concert or even 1969's Live In London.
While I'm sure Capitol Records was monitoring The Beach Boys' setlists in 1973, I wouldn't be surprised if they (Capitol) were influenced by the success of In Concert. It peaked at #25 on Billboard, higher than any other Reprise album until 15 Big Ones. I don't think it's a big reach to say that In Concert had at least some inspiration/influence on the release of Endless Summer. If we're going to include GV and WIBN, might as well include H&V. This is also in reference to Kapitan's above post...While it's certainly not etched in stone, many (most?) times I will categorize the early years as 1962-1966, ending with Pet Sounds/"Good Vibrations". I think a "good place" to start the next era would be 1967 and Smiley Smile. Even though both "Good Vibrations" and "Heroes And Villains" would've appeared on SMiLE and both did appear together on Smiley Smile, there are distinct differences musically, vocally, and lyrically between the two songs. I'll bet if you polled Beach Boys' fans - serous and casual - they would be more apt to group "Good Vibrations" in with the earlier, fun, sunshine, "pop" songs. Capitol Records tacked it onto Endless Summer for the original CD release and it's been there ever since.
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Post by Kapitan on May 1, 2024 19:28:01 GMT
I'll bet if you polled Beach Boys' fans - serous and casual - they would be more apt to group "Good Vibrations" in with the earlier, fun, sunshine, "pop" songs. Maybe so. But what about if you polled them in 1973, which was when Mike's 2024 narrative was allegedly going on? Would a fan in 1973 call the Pet Sounds music and GV "early"? I doubt it.
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Post by lonelysummer on May 1, 2024 22:17:27 GMT
I'll bet if you polled Beach Boys' fans - serous and casual - they would be more apt to group "Good Vibrations" in with the earlier, fun, sunshine, "pop" songs. Maybe so. But what about if you polled them in 1973, which was when Mike's 2024 narrative was allegedly going on? Would a fan in 1973 call the Pet Sounds music and GV "early"? I doubt it. The perceived split in those days was probably with PS/GV. The original Endless Summer album didn't contain anything newer than California Girls. Spirit of America make an exception for Breakaway, but otherwise, the "modern" Beach Boys music was handled by Brother/Reprise with their Good Vibrations - Best of the Beach Boys comp in 1975. That one did reasonably well, too - top 25 in Billboard.
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