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Post by Vale on Jan 7, 2019 4:30:54 GMT -5
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys is a 1993 boxed set released by Capitol Records which collects tracks spanning The Beach Boys' entire career to that point on four CDs. A fifth disc contains mostly studio session tracks, complete vocal and instrumental tracks, and rare live performances. The set also includes a car window decal. Though it never charted, Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys went gold in the US just over four months after its release. Source: wikipedia Released: July 29, 1993
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Post by Vale on Jan 7, 2019 4:32:28 GMT -5
10.
This Boxset is a great treasure, considering its release date. I like it very much because it brings to light many SMiLE tracks on an official release. Also, it has true gems like "4th Of July", "Still I Dream Of It" and many others. This is what a boxset should look like and I'm very fond of it.
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Post by filledeplage on Jan 7, 2019 9:25:41 GMT -5
10. This Boxset is a great treasure, considering its release date. I like it very much because it brings to light many SMiLE tracks on an official release. Also, it has true gems like "4th Of July", "Still I Dream Of It" and many others. This is what a boxset should look like and I'm very fond of it. Another 10 from me - and love especially Discs 3 and 4. |
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Post by E on Jan 7, 2019 11:29:05 GMT -5
I rate it very highly indeed. It's one of the best box sets going - or at least one that sets out to do the job it does. Documentation could have been more detailed, however.
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Post by kds on Jan 7, 2019 14:20:04 GMT -5
Rated a nine.
As was the case when boxsets became popular in the late 80s / early 90s, this one is padded with already released hits. It's still a great collection though.
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Departed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2019 4:32:46 GMT -5
10
I don't own it but Ive seen the tracklists and heard all the songs elsewhere, so I appreciate how comprehensive it is.
This was the first and for nearly two whole decades the ONLY official release of SMiLE sessions, which is a huge plus. It's thanks to this collection that the pre-TSS boxset fanmixes I listened to had some good quality tracks on them, for which I'm eternally grateful.
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dumbchops
Dude/Dudette
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Favorite Album: Sail On Sailor
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Post by dumbchops on Jan 17, 2019 20:09:24 GMT -5
I've had this set since 2000 and it exposed me to the later 70's tracks for the first time. I also really enjoyed all of the unreleased songs and the "mini-SMiLE" on disc 2. I would give it a 10 but I had to dock a point for the inclusion of "Barbara Ann" yet again.
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Post by AGD on Jan 18, 2019 5:33:23 GMT -5
Rated a nine. As was the case when boxsets became popular in the late 80s / early 90s, this one is padded with already released hits. It's still a great collection though. Maybe so, but it also included these previously unreleased tracks on discs 1-4: Little Surfer Girl Punchline Things We Did Last Summer Ruby Baby Heroes And Villains (sections) Wonderful Wind Chimes Heroes And Villains (intro) Do You Like Worms Vega-Tables/Mama Says I Love To Say Da Da Surf's Up (demo) Games Two Can Play I Just Got My Pay H.E.L.P. Is On The Way 4th Of July It's Over Now Still I Dream Of It Our Team ... and of course the whole of disc 5: In My Room (demo)/Radio Spot 1/I Get Around track/Radio Spot 2/Dance, Dance, Dance track/Hang On To Your Ego session/God Only Knows session/Good Vibrations sessions#/Heroes And Villains track/Cabin Essence track/Surf's Up track/Radio Spot 3/All Summer Long (vocals/track)/Wendy (v/t)/Hushabye (v/t)/When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) (v/t)/Wouldn't It Be Nice (v/t)/California Girls (vocals)/Radio Spot 4 /Concert intro-Surfin' USA/Surfer Girl /Be True To Your School/Good Vibrations/Surfer Girl |
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Post by E on Jan 18, 2019 7:31:33 GMT -5
But it was meant to be a best of (30 Years of the BB) plus loads of other stuff, which it was.
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Post by kds on Jan 18, 2019 8:11:07 GMT -5
Rated a nine. As was the case when boxsets became popular in the late 80s / early 90s, this one is padded with already released hits. It's still a great collection though. Maybe so, but it also included these previously unreleased tracks on discs 1-4: Little Surfer Girl Punchline Things We Did Last Summer Ruby Baby Heroes And Villains (sections) Wonderful Wind Chimes Heroes And Villains (intro) Do You Like Worms Vega-Tables/Mama Says I Love To Say Da Da Surf's Up (demo) Games Two Can Play I Just Got My Pay H.E.L.P. Is On The Way 4th Of July It's Over Now Still I Dream Of It Our Team ... and of course the whole of disc 5: In My Room (demo)/Radio Spot 1/I Get Around track/Radio Spot 2/Dance, Dance, Dance track/Hang On To Your Ego session/God Only Knows session/Good Vibrations sessions#/Heroes And Villains track/Cabin Essence track/Surf's Up track/Radio Spot 3/All Summer Long (vocals/track)/Wendy (v/t)/Hushabye (v/t)/When I Grow Up (To Be A Man) (v/t)/Wouldn't It Be Nice (v/t)/California Girls (vocals)/Radio Spot 4 /Concert intro-Surfin' USA/Surfer Girl /Be True To Your School/Good Vibrations/Surfer Girl Right, which is why I think it's still a great collection, especially since that marked the first official release of the Smile material. |
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Post by Vale on Jan 18, 2019 15:45:48 GMT -5
But it was meant to be a best of (30 Years of the BB) plus loads of other stuff, which it was. Maybe at that time they thought this could have been the ‘definitive collection’... |
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Departed
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2019 16:02:02 GMT -5
I gave this a 10 for being just such a comprehensive set, but also for the attractive physical presentation - I’m a sucker for that kind of thing.
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Post by Jason (The Real Beach Boy) on Apr 2, 2019 7:49:23 GMT -5
10. Sure, we can nitpick about this or that song not being included, but as a comprehensive retrospective of the band's career, it is the gold standard.
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Post by Awesoman on Jun 11, 2021 8:45:27 GMT -5
Have always held a soft spot for this one as I was just getting into the Beach Boys around the time this thing came out. Prior to hearing this box set I was barely a teenager and recently picked up SIP thinking it was "good music" (how hopelessly naive I was at the time). Then I got this thing for Christmas that year and it forever cemented my diehard fandom of the group. This was my first real exposure to any of their music from the late-60's and onward and it fascinated me that the Beach Boys were far more than just a surf/car/girls band. At the time this box set perfectly encapsulated just what the band was about and what they were capable of. Most of the music featured here has received better remastering since this release, but I still think this box set works better as a starting point into serious fandom than even MIC did.
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petsite
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Post by petsite on Jun 11, 2021 22:56:58 GMT -5
This is still my favorite box. Mark did some really great work on this along with David and Andy. While MIC is more comprehensive, this set has the original mixes (many of them the original MONO mixes) that makes it my fave. Also, I got to meet Bob Hanes because of this. That was either a good thing or a VERY DEEP RABBIT HOLE!
Also, when this was issued in Europe and Japan, it came with a 6th added CD because some tracks that were hits in the EU weren't on the main box.
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Post by boogieboarder on Jun 14, 2021 12:38:22 GMT -5
Before this box set came out, the word went out that the producers wanted suggestions from Beach Boys fans. I sent a letter, not naming specific songs, but suggesting that since the 2fers had just been released a couple of years before, that for every song that also appeared on a 2fer, if if appeared in stereo on a 2fer, it should be in mono on the box set, and if it was mono on a 2fer, it should be in stereo on the box set. They didn't follow my advice, but they did send me this promotional disk before the box set was released, along with a letter thanking me for writing. I think they sent one to everybody who sent in their requests. It was nice to receive, especially as it had a sneak preview of some of the previously unreleased songs making their debut.  |
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Post by DaveKFloyd on Jun 15, 2021 6:20:48 GMT -5
I absolutely adore this box set. It was the first thing I ever bought myself concerning The Beach Boys (everything before that was loaned from my Dad's LP collection) and whenever I put it in the CD player it brings back all of those memories. I've been listening to it just this morning actually so I'm practically in Heaven...
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Post by Moon Dawg on Jul 10, 2021 18:30:35 GMT -5
This may seem picky, but somebody cut off part of the opening pedal steel on "Cotton Fields." And the grunt at the start of "Break Away" seems to be missing. Sorry.
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Post by boogieboarder on Jul 10, 2021 20:49:01 GMT -5
Reviewers and critics say that Made in California has replaced this box set, but if so, there’s just too many good rarities on this box set that are now orphaned. Just as many of the bonus tracks on the 2fers are now orphaned. You really have to buy an awful lot of compilations to collect all their recordings.
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Post by dauber on Jul 12, 2021 12:10:32 GMT -5
Personally I think Made in California is a better career retro box set by leaps and bounds, but man, Good Vibrations was quite groundbreaking in 1993.
When the box came out, my intersest in The Beach Boys was slightly waning. I hadn't yet acquired all the Capitol two-fer CDs (I had most of 'em), and I wasn't going to buy the Caribou CDs until I acquired all the Capitol ones. I knew about the GV box, but I had no plans to buy it. I mean, why bother when I still haven't even acquired all the Capitol albums yet?
I wasn't planning to buy it...until I heard my brother listening to Steve & Garry on the radio. I was 18 at time, he was 28 and had just gotten married and was living with us for a bit. I could never stand Steve Dahl (always liked Garry Meier though), but...they were playing stuff from the Good Vibrations box and commenting on it. Steve was especially antsy to hear "Do You Like Worms" and "Love To Say Da Da" because the titles cracked him up. Then they played the disc 5 version of "God Only Knows." When I heard that a capella ending, it just blew my mind. Steve was audibly stunned too. He said something like, "My GOD!......why didn't they just release it like this in the first place??" I decided I NEEDED the box set; it was worth the price JUST for that one track.
My best-man gift from my brother was a $50 gift certificate redeemable at any store at the mall. I went to Musicland (owned by Sam Goody) and used it toward the GV box. Of course, the first thing I did was try to find that "God Only Knows" outtake.
Now, even though I wasn't terribly familiar with the '70s stuff except for 15 Big Ones and a vague recollection of hearing So Tough (thank you, public libraries!), I did remember hearing "Surf's Up" on the radio a few years prior and dug the song, so I cued up that song on disc 3. I was doing stuff on my Amiga 600 at my computer desk while listening. Sure enough, it was as cool as I remembered, but I got lazy and let the disc play out through "'Til I Die," a song I was not familiar with. What I heard just...paralyzed me. WTF was THAT!? Holy God...the most amazing thing my ears had ever heard. I re-cued "'Til I Die" and listened again, this time sitting on my floor, right next to the speakers. The sun was starting to set too. Wow. And was that "Pipeline" I heard coming out of Carl?? (And why, in the past 28 years, does it seem I'm the only person to notice that??) That just adds to the awe and divinity and Brian's tragic story.
That...did it for me. My fandom was no longer waning. I needed to hear everything I possibly could from The Beach Boys (except Summer in Paradise). I sucked in the '70s stuff that was on disc 3 and some of the material on disc 4. Screw the idea of waiting to complete the '60s Capitol twofers -- I needed to get back to the store and buy some of those Caribou CDs...except I learned a hard lesson: they were out of print; I should have bought them when I first saw them. Ughghghgh.  (It really did not make sense to me that the box set gave teasers to albums you couldn't buy.)
Good Vibrations reignited my fandom...but not enough to make The Beach Boys my favorites over The Beatles.  |
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Post by Will/P.P. on Jun 23, 2022 13:40:03 GMT -5
Reviewers and critics say that Made in California has replaced this box set, but if so, there’s just too many good rarities on this box set that are now orphaned. Just as many of the bonus tracks on the 2fers are now orphaned. You really have to buy an awful lot of compilations to collect all their recordings. You sure do. This set of songs - so important to get out into the world all in one place. Nothing will replace the Good Vibrations Box. All those original mono mixes on Cd for the first time for me. I didn't even buy a Cd player until 1989. Unfortunately, it didn't replace all my vinyl boots, either. Some Adult/Child when I wanted it all. Only some SMiLE music when I wanted it all - most of which did come later. To give me everything I desired in 1993 would have been impossible. But, Hey!, we did get that special Box-Set tour! I rate this a ten toes hangin'. |
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petsite
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Post by petsite on Aug 25, 2022 2:05:11 GMT -5
Here is the Billboard story about this release. Just came across it in one of my old backup folders. Forgot I had it.
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Post by jk on Aug 25, 2022 16:47:06 GMT -5
Here is the Billboard story about this release. Just came across it in one of my old backup folders. Forgot I had it.
Thanks for that, ps. And thanks for reminding me I still needed to vote (ten, a no brainer).  I was just getting seriously into the Boys when I was given this box set as a birthday present in 2003. I loved it, still do. Not everything is my cup of tea but all told, it's one heck of a trip! Folks you just have to read the late Paul Williams' ecstatic review of GV30. "I Believe You Anyway" can be found in How Deep Is The Ocean?, a collection of his essays and conversations. |
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petsite
Author/Historian/ Researcher
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Post by petsite on Aug 26, 2022 3:47:04 GMT -5
Here is the Billboard story about this release. Just came across it in one of my old backup folders. Forgot I had it.
Thanks for that, ps. And thanks for reminding me I still needed to vote (ten, a no brainer). I was just getting seriously into the Boys when I was given this box set as a birthday present in 2003. I loved it, still do. Not everything is my cup of tea but all told, it's one heck of a trip! Folks you just have to read the late Paul Williams' ecstatic review of GV30. "I Believe You Anyway" can be found in How Deep Is The Ocean?, a collection of his essays and conversations. I love that read from Paul. I still re-read it all of the time. Talking about putting all of the CDs on cassettes (as CD players for the car in '93 were $$$$$$$). So cool. |
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Post by Al S on Aug 30, 2022 2:58:47 GMT -5
Here is the Billboard story about this release. Just came across it in one of my old backup folders. Forgot I had it.
Fascinating pick-up from Davd Leaf about the reaction to GV’s early live performance - in contrast to the lack of anticipation. |
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(It really did not make sense to me that the box set gave teasers to albums you couldn't buy.)
