Saturday, September 14, 2013

Psychobabble’s Perfect Beach Boys Box Set Recipe!


The review of the new Beach Boys box set I posted last week led to some interesting comments. The consensus seems to be that while Made in California has a number of legit selling points, it’s not quite the perfect six discs of Beach Boys classics and rarities. This inspired me to compile my own sextet of sun, fun, and warped psychedelia.

I believe a perfect Beach Boys compilation is more necessary than, say, a Beatles or Who comp because those groups generally made albums that demand to be heard from beginning to end. The Beach Boys didn’t quite reach this place until 1965’s Today. Before then, they mostly made hit-and-miss albums like Shut Down Volume 2. While that particular album houses the absolute classics “Don’t Worry Baby,” “The Warmth of the Sun,” “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” the rest of it is pretty poor. Most of the other early discs generally have a higher ratio of good stuff than Shut Down Volume 2, but even the best of them (All Summer Long) has some junk (“Our Favorite Recording Sessions”) that disrupt the flow of classics.

So in an unprecedented stroke of generosity and self-congratulatory megalomania, I’ve decided to share with you, Dear Reader, my formula for the perfect six-disc Beach Boys box set. This set will not negate The Beach Boys albums that are truly deserving of beginning-to-end play (Today!, Pet Sounds, SMiLE, Wild Honey, Friends, etc.), but you’ll no longer have to suffer through “‘Cassius’ Love vs. ‘Sonny’ Wilson” to bathe in the beauteous glow of “The Warmth of the Sun.” No, no, no. No thanks necessary. Your musical enjoyment is thanks enough.

As you may notice, I’ve included a couple of solo tracks for a more complete Wilsonology. I’ve also reproduced the “lost” album Landlocked at the end of Disc Four (that accounts for why I decided to include the so-so tracks “Take a Load Off Your Feet” and “Good Time”). When it was chronologically sound, I occasionally coupled single A-sides with their respective B-sides. Pretty clever!

You may notice some of your favorite tracks are not included. For example, many fans love the strange and childlike Beach Boys Love You album. This is one cult of which I am not a member, so I shut out that album. You may decide to cut some other tracks to make room for Love You representatives. But let me be clear: you cannot do this. It violates everything for which you stand and hurts my feelings deeply. Twelve demerits.

Since I don’t consider listening to music through my tinny, tiny computer speakers to be listening to music, I actually went the old-fashioned route and burned the music to actual CDRs and played them on my actual stereo. To get my no-longer-secret formula right, you have to do this too. An iTunes playlist will not do.

Now the work begins. You will need a lot of discs to make this patented (patent pending) compilation. I pulled most of the tracks from the remastered twofers Capitol released in 2000 and 2001. In the track list I’ve noted where I slipped in tracks from other discs.

INGREDIENTS

So here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Surfin' Safari / Surfin' USA

Surfer Girl/Shut Down, Vol. 2

Little Deuce Coupe / All Summer Long

Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights)

Pet Sounds 1990 CD with Bonus Tracks 

Pet Sounds (Mono and Stereo twofer)

The Smile Sessions (2CD)

Smiley Smile / Wild Honey

Friends / 20/20

Sunflower / Surf's Up

Carl & The Passions - So Tough / Holland

Endless Harmony (Soundtrack)

Smile (Brian Wilson solo album)

Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy Edition) (Dennis Wilson solo album)

Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys

Made In California

Landlocked

Elmer's Glue

Glue-On Glitter

Ronzoni Elbow Macaroni (8 Boxes)

DIRECTIONS

And now, the music…

Disc One


1.     Home Recordings/Surfin’ Rehearsal Highlights [Made in California]

2.     Surfin’

3.     Surfin’ Safari

4.     409

5.     Surfin’ USA

6.     Shut Down

7.     Lana

8.     Farmer’s Daughter

9.     Lonely Sea

10. Surfer Girl

11. Little Deuce Coupe

12. Catch a Wave

13. The Surfer Moon

14. Hawaii

15. Be True to Your School (Single Version)

16. In My Room

17. Back Home [Made in California]

18. Car Crazy Cutie

19. Cherry, Cherry Coupe

20. Spirit of America

21. Custom Machine

22. Fun, Fun, Fun (Album Version)

23. Why Do Fools Fall in Love

24. I Get Around

25. Don’t Worry Baby

26. The Warmth of the Sun

27. All Summer Long

28. We’ll Run Away

29. Girls on the Beach

30. Wendy

31. Don’t Back Down

32. Little Honda

33. Hushabye

34. When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)

35. She Knows Me Too Well

Disc Two

1.     Radio Spot (1964 Mono) [Made in California]

2.     Dance, Dance, Dance

3.     Do You Wanna Dance

4.     Good to My Baby

5.     Don’t Hurt My Little Sister

6.     Guess I’m Dumb [Made in California]

7.     Please Let Me Wonder

8.     Kiss Me, Baby

9.     In the Back of My Mind

10. Runaway [Made in California]

11. Help Me Rhonda (Single Version)

12. The Girl from New York City

13. Then I Kissed Her

14. Girl Don’t Tell Me

15. You’re So Good to Me

16. California Girls

17. Let Him Run Wild

18. The Little Girl I Once Knew

19. There’s No Other Like My Baby (Unplugged Mix) [Made in California]

20. Barbara Ann [Made in California]

21. Ruby Baby [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

22. Radio Spot-Wonderful KYA [Made in California]

23. Wouldn’t It Be Nice

24. You Still Believe in Me

25. That’s Not Me

26. Sloop John B

27. God Only Knows

28. Hang on to Your Ego

29. Here Today

30. I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times

31. Trombone Dixie [Pet Sounds 1990 CD with Bonus Tracks]

32. Caroline No

Disc Three

1.     Good Vibrations

2.     Our Prayer

3.     Heroes and Villains (Alternate Take from Smiley Smile/Wild Honey)

4.     Heroes and Villains Part 2 [Made in California]

5.     Do You Like Worms? [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

6.     Cabin Essence

7.     Wonderful

8.     Vega-Tables

9.     Wind Chimes [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

10. The Elements: Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow

11. I Love to Say Da Da [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

12. Child is Father of the Man

13. Surf’s Up (Previously Unreleased solo version) [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

14. The Letter [Made in California]

15. I Believe in Miracles [Made in California]

16. Heroes and Villains

17. Fall Breaks and Back to Winter

18. She’s Goin’ Bald

19. Little Pad

20. With Me Tonight

21. Gettin’ Hungry

22. Wild Honey

23. Aren’t You Glad

24. I Was Made to Love Her

25. Country Air

26. Darlin’

27. Let the Wind Blow

28. Here Comes the Night

29. How She Boogalooed It

30. Can’t Wait Too Long [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

31. Cool Cool Water [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

Disc Four

1.     Meant for You [Made in California]

2.     Friends

3.     Little Bird

4.     Passing By

5.     Busy Doin’ ‘Nothin’

6.     Sail Plane Song [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]

7.     Transcendental Meditation

8.     Radio Spot Murray the K [Made in California]

9.     Do It Again

10. Wake the World

11. Bluebirds Over the Mountain

12. Never Learn Not to Love

13. I Can Hear Music

14. I Went to Sleep

15. Time to Get Alone

16. Mona Kana [Made in California]

17. Break Away

18. Celebrate the News

19. Walk on By

20. Loop De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ in an Aeroplane) [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]

21. Susie Cincinnati [Made in California]

22. San Miguel [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

23. H.E.L.P. Is on the Way [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

24. Take a Load Off Your Feet

25. Carnival [Landlocked]

26. I Just Got My Pay [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

27. Good Time [Made in California]

28. Big Sur [Landlocked]

29. Fallin’ in Love [Made in California]

30. When Girls Get Together [Landlocked]

31. Lookin’ at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)

32. ’Til I Die

33. Soulful Old Man Sunshine [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]

Disc Five

1.     Slip on Through

2.     This Whole World

3.     Add Some Music to Your Day

4.     It’s About Time

5.     Games Two Can Play [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

6.     All I Wanna Do

7.     Forever

8.     Our Sweet Love

9.     Where Is She? [Made in California]

10. Sound of Free [Made in California]

11. Don’t Go Near the Water

12. Long Promised Road

13. Feel Flows

14. 4th of July [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]

15. A Day in the Life of a Tree

16. Surf’s Up

17. (Wouldn’t It Be Nice To) Live Again [Made in California]

18. You Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone

19. Here She Comes

20. Marcella

21. Hold On, Dear Brother

22. All This Is That

23. Cuddle Up

Disc Six

1.     Wonderful/Don’t Worry Bill [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]

2.     Heroes and Villains (live) [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]

3.     Sail On Sailor

4.     The Trader

5.     Steamboat

6.     California Saga/Big Sur

7.     California Saga/The Beaks of Eagles

8.     California Saga/California

9.     Funky Pretty

10.     Barnyard Blues [Made in California]

11. Rock and Roll Music (with Extra Verse) [Made in California]

12. It’s OK (Alternate Mix) [Made in California]

13. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling [Made in California]

14. Sherry, She Needs Me [Made in California]

15. Come Go with Me [Made in California]

16. Angel, Come Home [Made in California]

17. Baby Blue [Made in California]

18. River Song [Pacific Ocean Blue]

19. Sail On Sailor (Live Louisville 1995) [Made in California]

20. You’re Still a Mystery [Made in California]

21. On a Holiday [Brian WIlson Presents Smile]

22. That’s Why God Made the Radio [Made in California]

23. Carl Wilson Coda [Made in California]
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