Okay obv there's no shortage of BB/BW threads, but to the best of my knowledge / search results, there's not really a thread dedicated to the hundreds of unreleased/demo songs that are floating around, 95% of which are awful, 5% of which are pretty amazing.
There's this thread: Greatest Unhearlded Beach Boys Song - which is sorta similar but not what I'm going for.
Anyway, there are a lot of gems to dig up and I look forward to someone out-geeking me w/ rarer and better songs.
Personal favs:
'Still I Dream of It'
Adult/Child track, it's on the Good Vibrations box set. Just a fantastic ballad - w/ better singing and production this could have been a pop standard. There's an (apparently false) rumor that he offered this to Sinatra; you can sorta see how that rumor would start.
'Can't Wait Too Long'
Included as a bonus track on one one of the two-for-one CDs, I forgot which. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say this is as good as Good Vibrations / any other BB experimental pop song. Also, pretty much the best Stereolab song ever.
'Sherry, She Needs Me'
Was 'Sandy' in his 60s version, then 'Sherry' in this 70s take, and then 'She Says That She Needs Me' in a boring 90s solo-album version. In a parallel universe, this woulda been another 60s 'Endless Summer'-type hit.
'Santa Ana Winds'
Turned into goop when they rerecorded this for Keepin' the Summer Alive. The chorus in this 70s demo version is just massssssive.
'Big Sur' (alternate take)
IMO the only reason to care about the Landlocked bootlegs.
'Stevie'
Saint Etienne do a great cover of this for the BW tribute album. I don't think this has been released anywhere else.
'You're Still a Mystery' (Andy Paley Sessions)
My favorite Paley sessions song...apparently the BB do the backing vocals?
'This Could Be the Night'
Great Harry Nilsson cover.
― iatee, Saturday, 9 May 2009 22:46 (fourteen years ago) link
On the GV box set, one of Dennis Wilson's better songs imo
― iatee, Saturday, 9 May 2009 22:49 (fourteen years ago) link
― iatee, Saturday, 9 May 2009 23:09 (fourteen years ago) link
― iatee, Saturday, 9 May 2009 23:13 (fourteen years ago) link
From the Endless Summer SDTK
Soulful Old Man Sunshine
― Admin Lolg (PappaWheelie V), Saturday, 9 May 2009 23:30 (fourteen years ago) link
er, Endless Harmony sdtk...
― Admin Lolg (PappaWheelie V), Saturday, 9 May 2009 23:31 (fourteen years ago) link
sooo don't care if I'm the only person on this thread
― iatee, Friday, 15 May 2009 20:06 (fourteen years ago) link
This song was supposed to be one of the best things they had in the can -- and it sounds pretty good, but this version doesn't really dot it justice, I don't think.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 00:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Great, kind of creepy in a "I'm predicting my own death" kind of way Dennis song.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 00:48 (fourteen years ago) link
hah I had never thought about that song like that
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 01:07 (fourteen years ago) link
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 01:11 (fourteen years ago) link
WTF that drumbeat?
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 01:19 (fourteen years ago) link
whoah never heard of some of this stuff. amazing how much there is, really. Where/when are Santa Ana Winds, California Feeling, I'm Going Your Way, Stevie, and This Could Be the Night from....? (I love love love the Modern Folk Quartet's version of the latter)
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 18:32 (fourteen years ago) link
ridiculously in-depth resources: http://www.banana-and-louie.org/unreleased.htmlhttp://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/unreleased.html
This Could Be the Night = BW solo, Harry Nilsson tribute album
Santa Ana Winds Circa 1978-1980 A version exists on bootlegs with totally different lyrics and a more "raw" production.
Stevie July 1980 Written and sung by Brian, produced by Dennis. Allegedly from the "cocaine" sessions. Heavily bootlegged.
I'm Going Your Way Early 1969
California Feeling:
"Now, for the longest time, it was accepted that the band recorded the seasonal set first and when that was (rightly) rejected, they reworked some of the tracks into another album, California Feeling (which evolved into M.I.U. Album), but research into the sessions held at MIU reveals that songs from both albums were recorded in tandem, often at the same session, and that the California Feeling album was assembled at the end of 1997 back in Los Angeles. Confusing, to say the least."
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:00 (fourteen years ago) link
(copied and pasted that stuff)
Bonanza Theme 1981 Allegedly from the "cocaine" sessions with Brian and Dennis.
oh man
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:03 (fourteen years ago) link
Battle Hymn Of The Republic - November 5, 1974 - Mike Love on lead vocals yessssss
― tylerw, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:04 (fourteen years ago) link
so where can i hear this "Country Love" album ...?
― tylerw, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:13 (fourteen years ago) link
http://warnakeysbeachboysblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/1978-was-very-very-weird-time-for-beach.html
the alt links still work
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:28 (fourteen years ago) link
haha, thanks! now i have to decide if i REALLY need to hear that shit. "It's like Mike Love is trying to rape my family and kill my God with one album." i mean, that sounds like a pretty heavy experience.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:31 (fourteen years ago) link
anyone ever heard the Celebration stuff...?
Warnakey's professed hatred of country music is a little wtf
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:39 (fourteen years ago) link
18. Everything I Touch Turns To Tears
lolz you don't say
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:40 (fourteen years ago) link
Okay, the first track "First Love" is already busting out with the Chuck Mangione-trumpet solo
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:51 (fourteen years ago) link
I've heard the Celebration stuff, let me look through my very messy bootleg collection to see if I still have it. A few years ago it was pretty hard to find some of this stuff online, but w/ all the mp3 blogs today, if it exists, you can find it.
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:54 (fourteen years ago) link
"Too Cruel" opens with the "starlight/starbright/I wish I may I wish I might" rhyme, then transitions to a shitty disco groove with some really awful thin-sounding synths.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:58 (fourteen years ago) link
you realize that you are making it sound sorta awesome right?
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 19:59 (fourteen years ago) link
"You're Looking Better" is not so bad, sounds like something off of Carl's solo albums - poor use of (presumably black?) female backing vocals, really thin production. Kinda lacking a hook though.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:02 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah, definitely d/ling this when i get home ... "Everything I Touch Turns To Tears"? "Beth On The Mesa"? Hell yes for song titles alone.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:04 (fourteen years ago) link
"Little Darlin" = inexplicable lyrics about outer space/alien love (I think?), with appropriately space-age synths, perhaps marred by fairly unnecessary Neil Schon-like guitar solo
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:06 (fourteen years ago) link
LOL, agreed.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:07 (fourteen years ago) link
ohhh terribly limpid blues rocker "I Don't Wanna Know" is next, kinda in the vein of Clapton's "After Midnight". I can hear the guitarist grimacing through his solo.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:08 (fourteen years ago) link
http://rapidshare.com/files/217228926/BB_-_Journals.part04.rar
celebration stuff on there
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:09 (fourteen years ago) link
thanks! If I survive through these other two I'll give that a listen
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:10 (fourteen years ago) link
I've always wanted to hear Mike's Looking Back With Love album (were they ALL plays on his last name, btw?) -- not b/c it's supposed to be any good, but b/c Curt Boettcher produced it.
― Naive Teen Idol, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:20 (fourteen years ago) link
"Brian's Back"
teenage gamblersittin in a ramblerlistening to the radioand then standing in the grandstandsfollowing the gameplanwatching life's plays unfoldfell in love with a pretty cheerleaderI even married oneAnd we once rode a cab out of Salt Lake City nowcomin up was fun, fun, fun
They say that Brian's backWell I've known him for so longThey say Brian's backWell I never knew that he was goneStill they say Brian's backI know he's had his ups and downsThey say Brian is backBut in my heart he's always been around
I still rememberHim sounding sweet and tenderSittin on grandma's lapAnd those harmony highscould bring tears to my eyesguess I'm just a little sap [?]Good vibrations caused such a sensationNot to mention old Pet SoundsAnd we travelled the worldAs the banners unfurledI guess you'd have to say we got around
(chorus repeats)
They say that Brian is back...
Definitely hear the hand of Carl in this - actually quite pretty, and the vocal arrangement is more Beach Boys-y and less disco-fied. Production's still a little schlocky but more restrained than the other stuff. And that's gotta be him on the choruses and doing the wordless quote from "You Still Believe in Me" at the end.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:20 (fourteen years ago) link
omg "Viggie" opens with "Stairway to Heaven"-style panflute melody. wtf kind of name for a girl is Viggie anyway? this is really painful.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:23 (fourteen years ago) link
my fav from the paley sessions: 'you're still a mystery' http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O2VEMIPF
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:23 (fourteen years ago) link
"The Right Kind of Love" is a mess - starts out as a ballad, then goes into some kind of third-rate dixieland breakdown (complete with clarinet) - and again with the female backup singers. oh here comes the saxophone (I wonder if that is actually Mike Love playing, probably not...)
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:29 (fourteen years ago) link
he shoulda done an album called "Love & Sax"
― tylerw, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:31 (fourteen years ago) link
skipping Sumahama, familiar with that one.... Daybreak sounds like another Carl collaboration, arrangement is pretty weird on this - starts with just the bass and some swirling strings, then adds some quiet marimba and pedal steel guitar and a repeated refrain. This is some pretty good yacht rock actually.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:31 (fourteen years ago) link
ooh once more scarred by the sax solo
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:33 (fourteen years ago) link
realllly wasn't gonna listen to the mike love albums, but I guess I have to now
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:34 (fourteen years ago) link
I take it back, Daybreak is pretty much terrible by the end. Not really sure if Carl is on it, hard to tell.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:35 (fourteen years ago) link
"Tricia" is a pretty good little rocker (saved the best for last, I guess). Definitely hear Carl on this, has a nice little driving beat and hook. Weird slide guitar solo.
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:38 (fourteen years ago) link
... and now, on to the country album...
I like 'you're looking better'
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:44 (fourteen years ago) link
"Today I Started Loving You" cover sounds like any other countrypolitan 70s production but Mike's flat vocal delivery doesn't really do the song any favors.
"Dallas" is about how rockers should stay away and he'll never play there again (even though now he "lives in a palace/and drinks from a chalice"...? lolz now picturing Mike Love pimp cup)
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:48 (fourteen years ago) link
this isn't nearly as bad as I imagined it would be.
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:49 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah a lot of it isn't awful per se, its just kinda lifeless
― Tennis Bum (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:52 (fourteen years ago) link
'wrinkles' = lollllllllll
― iatee, Wednesday, 20 May 2009 20:56 (fourteen years ago) link
ugh "salt lake city". some odd inclusions on this...
― fit and working again, Saturday, 19 April 2014 01:23 (nine years ago) link
I actually really like SLC – the ascending two bass opening riff, the aforementioned Steve Douglas breakdown, and the verse melody.
On a semi-related note, many years ago I imagined what this song would sound like as realized by Cupid & Psyche-era Scritti Politti. Not sure why.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 19 April 2014 01:38 (nine years ago) link
from a q&a at his website:
Hi Brian, which Beach Boys album would you say was your favorite and why?Well, my favorite is Summer Days and Summer Nights because it had cool rock and roll songs like Salt Lake City, you know?
― fit and working again, Saturday, 19 April 2014 01:58 (nine years ago) link
Great minds
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 19 April 2014 02:30 (nine years ago) link
having lived in slc i just can't get behind this song.
― fit and working again, Saturday, 19 April 2014 02:45 (nine years ago) link
I like the s/t more than any other solo BW I've heard. There's some crap on it, but some gold too imo
― How dare you tarnish the reputation of Turturro's yodel (Shakey Mo Collier), Saturday, 19 April 2014 16:20 (nine years ago) link
Other than SMiLE, the debate over the best BW solo record is not exactly a barnburner of a competition. Even putting aside the atrocious production, the record is a slog. None of its songs rank with anything on LA Light Album much less a record in the BB canon. "Love and Mercy" is fine enough I suppose for what it is but it's ordinary melodically and its lyrics are Landyized psychodrivel. It got elevated to a degree unworthy of its quality as a song simply because it was the first song Brian had released in over a decade that appeared to be about his emotional state.
For all the people who were involved in this record, it's stunning how little of them understood a thing about what made Brian special.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 19 April 2014 17:08 (nine years ago) link
Sonically it sounds like a logical progression from Love You. Rio Grande and One For the Boys are easily better than anything on L.A. Light c'mon now
― How dare you tarnish the reputation of Turturro's yodel (Shakey Mo Collier), Saturday, 19 April 2014 18:55 (nine years ago) link
I should have said nothing on S/T ranks with the *best* stuff on LA – ie, "Good Timin'"and "Baby Blue."
"One for the Boys" is fine enough, but hardly "Our Prayer." It strikes me the same way all BW's modern day a capella pieces do: nice but inessential.
― Naive Teen Idol, Saturday, 19 April 2014 19:05 (nine years ago) link
i iike the first solo record enough but "rio grande" is the only essential track on there. that lucky old sun is a decent album that i don't recall seeing mentioned much on ilm.
― fit and working again, Saturday, 19 April 2014 19:13 (nine years ago) link
I'll rep for That Lucky Old Sun as his best non-Smile solo album by a substantial margin... Even if the songs on the self-titled were any good, which they aren't, they would be tanked by the embarrassing production. It's like Love You plus the worst of the '80s.
― skip, Monday, 21 April 2014 02:03 (nine years ago) link
"Cry" off of Imagination is nice, even a bit bluesy in a few places and I can't think of anything else BW did i'd describe as such.
The '90s Paley sessions were promising.... I much prefer the early take of "Gettin' In Over My Head" to the one that was re-recorded for the like-titled album.
― Lee626, Monday, 21 April 2014 06:25 (nine years ago) link
the post s/t solo BW stuff I've heard has all sounded very fussy and labored, plus his voice is well and truly shot it seems like. the big 80s wall o synths doesn't really bother me. there are some atrociously stupid lyrics but that has always been par for the course.
― How dare you tarnish the reputation of Turturro's yodel (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 21 April 2014 23:37 (nine years ago) link
Never really warmed to the s/t album. The Paley sessions tracks (Landylocked boot in my case) definitely tided me over throughout the latter half of the 90s, along with Orange Crate Art. There's something to be said for wringing every last bit of magic out of what you have, even when there's not much to choose from. Back then, it seemed BW's legacy was as much about what was missing as it was about what's there.
If I think too much about it, I become cynical. Compared to, say, Paul McCartney or Miles Davis (just to name two other idols with long recording histories), BW's track record is pretty spotty. However, when I actually try to imagine being 24 and trying to make the best pop song ever written...
― Dominique, Tuesday, 22 April 2014 04:11 (nine years ago) link
omg that interview
― iatee, Tuesday, 22 April 2014 04:25 (nine years ago) link
Are there any modern or more recent songs you're fond of?I liked Take My Breath Away. A group called Berlin.
does anyone have Lei'd in Hawaii I seem to have lost it when my last hard drive died
― Οὖτις, Friday, 11 July 2014 20:14 (nine years ago) link
I had no idea about the connection between Charles Lloyd and the Beach Boys. Literally never seen it referred to anywhere before today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0HBok8LMKI
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 28 August 2014 16:17 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pplzKDgcmj0
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 28 August 2014 16:19 (nine years ago) link
idly thumbing through Leaf's "Beach Boys and the California Myth" and was struck by how much he dwells on stuff that was in the vaults/unreleased at the time - some of which has since circulated, some of which is clearly fake (including a purported sleeve + tracklisting for Landlocked), some of which seems like it was just mislabeled, and other stuff that is genuinely still buried. He even includes pictures of reel cases from the Beach Boys "recording library" with titles scrawled on the sides.
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 14 September 2016 17:18 (seven years ago) link
this is a great thread, really makes me want to dig into the BBs catalog (i really only know the usual suspects)
― brimstead, Wednesday, 14 September 2016 19:37 (seven years ago) link
here's another one I hadn't heard before today - "Sea Cruise" ("15 Big Ones" outtake w Dennis on lead, generally better than some of the other crap on that album)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRMZx6h__hg
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 14 September 2016 20:31 (seven years ago) link
man this stuff is like a bottomless well, here's Dennis' "I'm Going Your Way"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ejCohq5Gvw
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 14 September 2016 23:09 (seven years ago) link
Hi Brian, which Beach Boys album would you say was your favorite and why?Well, my favorite is Summer Days and Summer Nights because it had cool rock and roll songs like Salt Lake City, you know?― fit and working again, Friday, April 18, 2014 9:58 PM (two years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Is there such thing as "the truth" in teh BBs bootleg soap opera? True, their connections to Saltair and Lagoon Park in Farmington, UT run deep, but it seems more like Brian may have not really cared about much more than securing their Utah fan base.
Davis met Brian Wilson four years ago at a BMI awards dinner saluting the musical genius. "He remembered coming to Salt Lake, but it was not a big deal. When you talk to Mike Love, Salt Lake was big time to them. He loved Salt Lake City. But Wilson remembered writing 'Salt Lake City' as one of those fun songs they sat down and did."
― PappaWheelie V, Wednesday, 14 September 2016 23:37 (seven years ago) link
I still want to hear that "Sail On Sailor" writing tape White writes about with Brian telling VDP to convince him he's not insane.
He was dead wrong about "California Feeling" tho.
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 15 September 2016 00:43 (seven years ago) link
there was a beach boys cd my friend was playing years ago, I think it may have been a promo or bonus disc thing for a beach boys box set. It was an idiosyncratic mix of acapellas, outtakes, alternate mixes, maybe a couple radio spots. it had a turquoise/teal cover with a portrait of the boys in the middle.. Really nice collection, wish I could find out what it was.
― brimstead, Thursday, 15 September 2016 00:55 (seven years ago) link
Hard to say, there are a million of those things
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 15 September 2016 01:52 (seven years ago) link
Sea Cruise is soooo much better than pretty much everything on 15 Big Ones. Maybe just because Dennis singing though.
― skip, Wednesday, 21 September 2016 18:54 (seven years ago) link
it's ok (no pun intended) but frankie ford's version kills dennis's
― a confederacy of lampreys (rushomancy), Wednesday, 21 September 2016 19:25 (seven years ago) link
heyo
THE BEACH BOYS OPEN THE VAULTS FOR ‘1967 – SUNSHINE TOMORROW,’TO BE RELEASED WORLDWIDE ON JUNE 30 New 2CD & Digital Collection Features New, First-Ever Stereo Mix of ‘Wild Honey,’ Plus 54 Previously Unreleased 1967 Studio Session Tracks & Live Recordings New ‘Wild Honey’ Stereo Mix Also Debuts in 50th Anniversary 180-Gram Vinyl Edition Los Angeles – May 23, 2017 – The Beach Boys have personally overseen the creative process for a new 2CD and digital collection, 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow, to be released worldwide on June 30 by Capitol//UMe. 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow features producers Mark Linett and Alan Boyd’s new, first-ever stereo mix of The Beach Boys’ 1967 Wild Honey album and throws open the legendary band’s vault to debut 54 sought-after 1967 rarities, 50 years after they were put to tape. Previously unreleased highlights on the new collection include The Beach Boys’ shelved “live” album, Lei’d in Hawaii, studio recordings from the Wild Honey and Smiley Smile album sessions, and several standout concert recordings spanning 1967 to 1970. Wild Honey’s new stereo mix will also debut in a 180-gram vinyl 50th Anniversary Edition on June 30. 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow dives into a fascinating and frenetic chapter in The Beach Boys’ long, groundbreaking creative arc, exploring the band’s dynamic year in the studio and on tour. The Beach Boys’ final studio session for the shelved SMiLE album took place on May 18th, 1967, with Smiley Smile album sessions booked at Brian Wilson’s new home studio from June 3rd through the end of July. The band’s 12th and 13th studio albums were released exactly three months apart to cap the year’s studio efforts: Smiley Smile on September 18th followed by Wild Honey on December 18th. “I wanted to have a home environment trip where we could record at my house,” recalls Brian Wilson in the liner notes for 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow. “I wanted to try something different, something new. I produced Smiley Smile, but Mike inspired me. He said ‘Brian, let’s make a really good, easygoing album’. We had an engineer convert my den into a studio. We had my piano detuned to make it ring more.” “Just prior to that, Brian had built up this production peak and then just completely reversed field, and (for Smiley Smile) did something so light and airy, and y’ know, easy,” explains Mike Love. “That was an underground album, I figure, for us. It was completely out of the mainstream of what was going on at that time, which was all hard rock, psychedelic music, and here we come with a song called ‘Wind Chimes.’ It just didn’t have anything to do with what was going on – and that was the idea.” “Times were changing,” adds Al Jardine. “We were happy to put our musical skills to work. We didn’t have to look at the clock; there was virtually 24-hour availability to experiment.” “Take away their sorrow / Give them sunshine tomorrow” On August 25th and 26th, 1967, The Beach Boys (absent Bruce Johnston, but with Brian Wilson on organ in his first concert appearances with the band in more than two years) recorded two concerts and rehearsals in Honolulu for a prospective live album to be titled Lei’d In Hawaii, applying a new Smiley Smile-inspired aesthetic to the performances. Just over two weeks later, the band (with both Brian and Bruce participating) began re-recording the live set in-studio at Brian’s house and at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood, after the Honolulu concert tapes were deemed unusable. Although completed and mixed, the final planned audio element of a canned concert audience was not added and the Lei’d In Hawaiiproject was canceled. Those live, in-studio performances morphed into sessions for the Wild Honey album, primarily comprised of original Brian Wilson/Mike Love compositions. In a 1976 look back at 1967’s most heralded albums, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau praised Wild Honey with an “A+” review, writing, “It’s perfect and full of pleasure; it does what it sets out to do almost without a bad second.” Bruce Johnston says that Wild Honey showcases a band devoid of pressure: “Here’s the thing – the most important thing – you need to know aboutWild Honey. It was just an album for us to exhale and do something real simple; but as it’s Brian and Mike’s music, it’s still fabulous and not so simple. I love the album.” Two days after wrapping the Wild Honey sessions on November 15th, 1967, Mike Love, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, and Bruce Johnston returned to the road for The Beach Boys’ Thanksgiving Tour, premiering several songs from the forthcoming album at their concerts. Preorder The Beach Boys’ 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow here: https://UMe.lnk.to/19672CDPreorder The Beach Boys’ Wild Honey vinyl LP here: https://UMe.lnk.to/WIldHoneyStereo2017LP The Beach Boys continue to hold Billboard / Nielsen SoundScan’s record as America’s top-selling band for albums and singles, and they are also the American group with the most Billboard Top 40 chart hits (36). “Good Vibrations” was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame® in 1994. ‘Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best Of The Beach Boys’ has achieved triple-Platinum sales status and ‘The SMiLE Sessions,’ released to worldwide critical acclaim in 2011, was heralded as the year’s Best Reissue by Rolling Stone and earned a GRAMMY Award® for Best Historical Album. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and recipients of The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, The Beach Boys are a beloved American institution that remains iconic around the world. thebeachboys.comfacebook.com/thebeachboystwitter.com/thebeachboys Excerpted from the 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow Producers Notes by Mark Linett and Alan Boyd:After the decision was made to shelve the unfinished SMiLE album in early 1967, The Beach Boys opted to return to recording as a self-contained band, working mostly at Brian Wilson’s home and using rented recording equipment. The two albums they released that year, Smiley Smile and Wild Honey, were both originally presented in mono only (with Capitol also issuing re-channeled “pseudo stereo” editions). Smiley Smile was remixed and released in stereo in 2012. Now, at last, The Beach Boys and Capitol present the first true stereo mix of Wild Honey, along with outtakes, session highlights, and selected backing tracks from both the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey sessions. Note that the 8-track master for “Mama Says” could not be located, so that song is presented here in its original mono mix. In addition, the organ solo on “How She Boogalooed It” was actually overdubbed as the song was being mixed to mono (as was the organ on the rest of the song), so that section is also presented in mono. The Beach Boys: 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow [2CD, digital] Disc 1 Wild Honey Album (Stereo)(New stereo mix, except as noted *. Recorded September 15 to November 15, 1967 at Brian Wilson’s house and at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood, California)1. Wild Honey (2:45)2. Aren't You Glad (2:16)3. I Was Made To Love Her (2:07)4. Country Air (2:21)5. A Thing Or Two (2:42)6. Darlin’ (2:14)7. I'd Love Just Once To See You (1:49)8. Here Comes The Night (2:44)9. Let The Wind Blow (2:23)10. How She Boogalooed It (1:59)11. Mama Says * (Original Mono Mix) (1:08) Wild Honey Sessions: September - November 1967 (Previously Unreleased)12. Lonely Days (Alternate Version) (1:45)13. Cool Cool Water (Alternate Early Version) (2:08)14. Time To Get Alone (Alternate Early Version) (3:08)15. Can't Wait Too Long (Alternate Early Version) (2:49)16. I'd Love Just Once To See You (Alternate Version) (2:22)17. I Was Made To Love Her (Vocal Insert Session) (1:35)18. I Was Made To Love Her (Long Version) (2:35)19. Hide Go Seek (0:51)20. Honey Get Home (1:22)21. Wild Honey (Session Highlights) (5:39)22. Aren't You Glad (Session Highlights) (4:21)23. A Thing Or Two (Track And Backing Vocals) (1:01)24. Darlin’ (Session Highlights) (4:36)25. Let The Wind Blow (Session Highlights) (4:14) Wild Honey Live: 1967 - 1970 (Previously Unreleased)26. Wild Honey (Live) (2:53) - recorded in Detroit, November 17, 196727. Country Air (Live) (2:20) - recorded in Detroit, November 17, 196728. Darlin’ (Live) (2:25) - recorded in Pittsburgh, November 22, 196729. How She Boogalooed It (Live) (2:43) - recorded in Detroit, November 17, 196730. Aren’t You Glad (Live) (3:12) - recorded in 1970, location unknown 31. Mama Says (Session Highlights) (3:08)(Previously unreleased vocal session highlights. Recorded at Wally Heider Recording, November 1967) Disc 2 Smiley Smile Sessions: June - July 1967 (Previously Unreleased)(Recorded June and July 1967 at Brian Wilson’s house, Western Recorders, SRS, and/or Columbia Studios, except as noted *)1. Heroes And Villains (Single Version Backing Track) (3:38)2. Vegetables (Long Version) (2:55)3. Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (Alternate Mix) (2:28)4. Wind Chimes (Alternate Tag Section) (0:48)5. Wonderful (Backing Track) (2:23)6. With Me Tonight (Alternate Version With Session Intro) (0:51)7. Little Pad (Backing Track) (2:40)8. All Day All Night (Whistle In) (Alternate Version 1) (1:04)9. All Day All Night (Whistle In) (Alternate Version 2) (0:50)10. Untitled (Redwood) * (0:35)(Previously unreleased instrumental fragment. Studio and exact recording date unknown. Discovered in tape box labeled “Redwood”) Lei'd In Hawaii “Live” Album: September 1967 (Previously Unreleased)(Recorded September 11, 1967 at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood, CA, with additional recording September 29, 1967 (except as noted *). Original mono mixes from assembled master ½” reel, dated September 29, 1967, discovered in the Brother Records Archives.)11. Fred Vail Intro (0:24)12. The Letter (1:54)13. You're So Good To Me (2:31)14. Help Me, Rhonda (2:24)15. California Girls (2:30)16. Surfer Girl (2:17)17. Sloop John B (2:50)18. With A Little Help From My Friends * (2:21)(Recorded at Brian Wilson’s house, September 23, 1967)19. Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring * (2:33)(Recorded during rehearsal, August 26, 1967, Honolulu, Hawaii)20. God Only Knows (2:45)21. Good Vibrations (4:13)22. Game Of Love (2:11)23. The Letter (Alternate Take) (1:56)24. With A Little Help From My Friends (Stereo Mix) (2:21) Live In Hawaii: August 1967 (Previously Unreleased)(The Beach Boys recorded two complete concerts and rehearsals in Honolulu on August 25 and 26, 1967. Brian Wilson rejoined the group onstage for these shows; Bruce Johnston was not present. The following tracks derive from the original 1” 8-track master reels discovered in the Brother Records Archives.)25. Hawthorne Boulevard (1:05)26. Surfin' (1:40)27. Gettin’ Hungry (3:19)28. Hawaii (Rehearsal Take) (1:11)29. Heroes And Villains (Rehearsal) (4:45) Thanksgiving Tour 1967: Live In Washington, D.C. & Boston (Previously Unreleased)(The touring Beach Boys - Mike, Carl, Dennis, Al, and Bruce – embarked on a Thanksgiving Tour immediately after delivering the finished Wild Honey album to Capitol Records. For this tour, the band was augmented by Ron Brown on bass and Daryl Dragon on keyboards.)30. California Girls (Live) (2:32) - recorded in Washington, DC, November 19, 196731. Graduation Day (Live) (2:56) - recorded in Washington, DC, November 19, 196732. I Get Around (Live) (2:53) - recorded in Boston, November 23, 1967 Additional 1967 Studio Recordings (Previously Unreleased)33. Surf’s Up (1967 Version) (5:25)(Recorded during the Wild Honey sessions in November 1967)34. Surfer Girl (1967 A Capella Mix) (2:17)(Previously unreleased mix of Lei’d In Hawaii take from the Wally Heider Recording sessions in September 1967)
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 15:37 (six years ago) link
will get
― Dominique, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 16:59 (six years ago) link
man if they are planning on doing this for all the subsequent albums...
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 17:01 (six years ago) link
"54 sought-after 1967 rarities" hrm
i'll check this out but it doesn't look like there's much here that i'll listen to more than once.
― new noise, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 18:11 (six years ago) link
I always think that about sessions boxes too, but you'd be surprised how cool it is to have some 45 second harmony vocal track pop up in shuffle. And I don't think I've heard Lei'd in Hawaii anyway, so you know, need to have.
― Dominique, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 18:18 (six years ago) link
Lei'd in Hawai'i - the rehearsal stuff w/minimal instrumentation - is just beautiful
― Οὖτις, Tuesday, 23 May 2017 18:19 (six years ago) link
Wasn't Redwood the pre 3-Dog Night band that Brian was writing and producing for?
― dan selzer, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 01:45 (six years ago) link
Yes
― Οὖτις, Wednesday, 24 May 2017 01:59 (six years ago) link
W danny hutton
33. Surf’s Up (1967 Version) (5:25)(Recorded during the Wild Honey sessions in November 1967)
!!!
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 29 June 2017 13:00 (six years ago) link
This comes out tomorrow, BTW.
Can't wait -- probably will snag it on Saturday, and I do want the liners.
― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 29 June 2017 13:08 (six years ago) link
I've been listening to this era a bunch as I have been playing a Smile boot and the 2nd and 3rd disc of the GV set in my car for my daughters as I drive them around to various softball events this summer. They adore "Good Vibrations" and most of the sessions (they prefer the Hum-de-daa section) -- and the older one actually complained when I turned off the cantina version of "Heroes and Villains"! Also, with a bit of perspective in a post-Smile Sessions era, it is straight up hilarious in retrospect how much Smile material made it out in drips and drabs over the years ... the woodshop stuff at the end of "Do It Again" being among the most WTF.
I am honestly probably too excited about what the Wild Honey-era "Surf's Up" will turn out to be. Is it another Brian solo rendition? A "back to basics" take similar to what they were doing in late-'67? Something else?
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 29 June 2017 14:31 (six years ago) link
so is that another take of this smile sessions version, or just a longer edit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3TRns_zssM
― Rodney Stooksbury for President (rushomancy), Friday, 30 June 2017 01:20 (six years ago) link
It sounds like the same thing except with some aborted takes/practice lines at the start.
― skip, Friday, 30 June 2017 19:04 (six years ago) link
I am so bummed this site: http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/unreleased.html is dead. now how am I going to tag all of the rarities from iatee's mix with the right year argggh
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 6 July 2017 20:29 (six years ago) link
archive.org to the rescue
https://web.archive.org/web/20121020054242/http://www.btinternet.com/~bellagio/unreleased.html
― city worker, Thursday, 6 July 2017 20:33 (six years ago) link
the wayback machine is your friend.
lol xp
― new noise, Thursday, 6 July 2017 20:40 (six years ago) link
heyo!
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 6 July 2017 20:58 (six years ago) link
many thx
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 6 July 2017 20:59 (six years ago) link
Listened to some of Sunshine Tomorrow on Spotify the last few days ... I have sort of a weird reaction at this point to the dog's breakfast comps the Beach Boys release (Hawthorne, Endless Harmony), which often feature a handful of tracks I adore but a bunch of live takes I'm less interested in.
That said, I do like that they are digging into presenting this post-Smile, quiet piano and organ era of the band, which is an underrated period in the band's history (but appreciated by Xgau, who gave Wild Honey an A+ IIRC) and texturally off the charts. As a result, I love the shit out of things like alternate takes of "Can't Wait Too Long" which I could probably put on loop for an hour and not get bored of. Most of the alternate takes are actually pretty great, just a bit leaner than the (already lean) versions that were previously released.
Another highlight: the rehearsal take of "Heroes and Villains" live in Honolulu (not on Lei'd in Hawaii IIRC, or in the bgd while Mike trashes the shit out of it in a "humorous" monologue). As a rule, I love the hell out of that organ and bass sound on LiH -- and the arrangement of H&V is fabulous.
One other thing that occurred to me this past weekend: has there been any interest in someone taking a whack at remixing some of the material from this era? By which I don't mean remixing in the sense of adding beats but along the lines of what Stephen Desper did with "Til I Die" on the version released on Endless Harmony -- cutting and pasting parts to repeat sections and emphasize vocal backgrounds and the like. Feel like this would be an awesome undertaking.
― Naive Teen Idol, Friday, 7 July 2017 15:49 (six years ago) link