Good Vibrations (2021 Stereo Mix) + New SoundsOfSummer Info

Now, we know why he copped an attitude regarding Baby Blue. Howie is too close to the product and the people involved to be objective. I think most of us realize the great work that Carl & Steve Desper did on Sunflower and Surf’s Up. Maybe he was referring only to the Steve Moffitt albums. He will need to clarify.


As interesting as Marcella (2021) sounds, I would not want it to replace the original arrangement on a remixed CATP album. A cool alternate mix, for sure, but that is all.

My problem is not with the remixes, of course everyone knows those aren’t replacing anything and you can go get whichever version you want.
It’s with the fact that we already know their policy about previously unreleased material.
Almost everything with three or four exceptions, that was previously unreleased from Feel Flows, got 2019-21 mixes.
Come this fall, will I have to choose between a crackly rip of a rip of a rip of Carry Me Home from the 80s, and a treble boosted, compressed Beyond repair, earsplitting official copy?
Will The only version of Spark in the dark publicly available have tape hiss bouncing from ear to ear, while the organ is forced through a treble boosted pro-tools plug-in?
That’s what’s bugging me.
As I said I like the decisions made on this new Marcella mix, I think it sounds cool… minus The obvious digital treble boosting and compression.

Hmmmmmmm. Very interesting. 

If these new overcompressed mixes really are meant to appeal to fans between their late teens and mid-20s then LOL!!!! That's the demographic that has been complaining the most!

I can't recommend any of these new releases to friends - all of whom love the Beach Boys and fall under that age range (yet wouldn't consider themselves to be "hardcore" fans) - without a single one of them asking something to the effect of, "Why does it sound so weird?" or "Was it recorded like that originally?"

The music industry will always be full of misguided souls who feel they know what the kids really want. It's a tale as old as time.

I have long suspected that this delusion is the real reason why the mixes are being treated so badly.

People in the music industry bubble have a cult mentality that goes something like, "Yeah, we know the top 40 music is dogshit, but dogshit is what sells! So if we want to sell our 'not dogshit' product, we need to make it into dogshit. Otherwise, why release it?"

That is the same mentality that brought Joe Thomas into the Beach Boys' fold in 1996 and 2012. The same mentality that have left songs like Stevie, Black Widow, and I'm Begging You Please languishing in a vault for decades. The same mentality that stopped Brian Wilson from releasing Smile for thirty-odd years.

Just listened to that podcast - I don’t agree at all with the fm comments. I think The Beach Boys were immediately and heavily integrated into fm radio from the jump. They were on wbcn in Boston, which was playing in Harvard Square boutiques in 1967. (Heavy college town that goes without saying and why Student Demonstration Time charted from an LP in that area.)

But, I was not even in college in 1967-ish era, my school was close and we were there a lot to shop in the boutiques (with our school uniform skirts rolled up and mostly covered under a 3/4 jacket) and to hit one of the legendary ice cream shops, with your sundae served on an actual silver tray. This would be a few days a week before we had after school jobs. These were clearly DJs who knew what they were doing. They were playing Smiley, Pet Sounds - one side at a time, cuts from Wild Honey. They went wild when Surf’s Up was finally released.  With SDT on the other side. The mono was played on enormous stereo speakers that filled the space of these stores.  It sounded wonderful.  

Even in 1968 the BBs were in heavier fm rotation than on am. They didn’t have the commercial constraints either so they could pack their ads in between album cuts and would not interrupt an LP for a commercial.  

Do It Again marked an opener for them because it “sounded like The Beach Boys.” Their old mojo was back. But, FM (and college stations on fm) heavy rotation in all the college towns and beyond were what made a college-based tour successful and popular. FM opened that back door which became the front door for promotion and bookings.    

And often the DJ would preface the play by “Can you believe this is The Beach Boys?” And they didn’t apologize. 

Honestly, I am more interested in unreleased tracks and live stuff than anything else. I am not unhappy with Feel Flows or Sunshine Tomorrow complete with some shows that I saw. But I am not a sound expert. I like a deep bass analog sound that came out of large speakers, that could almost hypnotize you, and that is consistent with those eras, especially the 70s. And more kids are listening to vinyl which is mind-blowing.  

Granted, they are doing Spotify and other subscription based services. I think they band had bad press in the same way Paul McCartney was screwed in the press from some heavy hitters who did not want to see him succeed. Original or 2nd gen fans are buying the unreleased material. I never heard one lifer fan, jump up and down about some “mix” or “production” but they do jump up and down about unreleased tracks. And, I think you can take that to the bank.  

I wasn't saying I bought it in order to seem superior to those who didn't. I was saying I bought it because it was suggested that the box-set was primarily bought by those aged 65 and over. Well, I'm a long way off 65, as are the vast majority of the people I know who also bought it.

He did wind up buying it after all.