Remastered Beach Boys Mono LPs

[Rich Strauss]

Analogue Productions has started releasing remastered Mono LPs of the Beach Boys Capitol LPs.

So far, they've issued the first 4:

Surfin' Safari
Surfing U.S.A.
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe

They may eventually release these in a box set. But, I couldn't wait. I bought all 4. They are $30 each.

The Beach Boys were the first 60s group that I collected starting in the early 1970s. I managed to find sealed Mono LPs of all their early LPs in the 70s. I only played them on quality equipment, so they look and play mint.

I started by playing the original Surfin' Safari. The vinyl is still dead quiet and the sound is what I remember. It sounded great. Then I played the new remastered LP. I couldn't believe the difference. The new vinyl is dead quiet as well, but the sound is much fuller. The original LP suddenly sounds thin. The folks at Analogue Productions stated that they didn't have to compromise the sound quality because they assumed that their listeners have broad frequency playback equipment. Capitol must have rolled off the highs & lows so as not to distort on the players that their teenage audience was using. These new LPs are a much more enjoyable listen. The original LPs are back on the shelf.

I can't wait for the next 4 which should include my favorites:

Summer Days (And Summer Nights!)
Today
All Summer Long

If you love the Beach Boys, you owe it to yourself to get these new Mono LPs.

 

[axel]

There are vinyl reissues of "Today" and "Summer Days" from 2010. In the Steve Hoffmann forum people were discussing certain "from the vaults" reissues, but I can't find any releases with that specific title. I wonder if they are talking about the ones from 2010. It seems the "from the vaults" releases have a decent sound. But they aren't remastered, I guess, so they probably just sound as the original releases, or close.

The Analogue Productions releases certainly sound like being a revelation. I have all kinds of dissatisfying releases of the Beach Boys catalogue. Even an original UK mono pressing of "All Summer Long", in EX condition, sounds muffled and boomy. On the other hand a stereo version on MFP from 1973 sounds really great. It has a real cheesy cover though. And you wonder: who came up with the idea to have Eric Burdon surfing on a Beach Boys cover...?

 

[captainsalty]

sounds good, will pick up surfer girl and little deuce coupe. the "two-fer" cd of little deuce coupe sounds so bad it is disgusting. that all summer cover is really hideous. sometimes i wonder why those people were allowed to do cover artwork. i mean, record covers used to be an important factor of the whole product, so why let a moron do the job? i have a small faces boot cd which has the most ridiculous cover EVER.

 

[axel]

The sound of that "All Summer Long" throw-away release with the bad cover is in fact the best sounding Beach Boys LP I have (apart from the remastered Pet Sounds). The harmony vocals on "Girls On the Beach" are unbelievably bright. The maximum of Beach Boys harmonies. A big vocal wave. I would love to have all their records in that sound...

 

[axel]

By the way, the most ridiculous Beach Boys cover "art" must be this one (sound is bad, too). There can only be one explanation for this temerity: the band was sitting in the living room of some recording company's honcho's parents. And ten people couldn't keep him from having this printed. Just look how cosily Carl's and Mike's legs are covered with woolen blankets!

 

[axel]

Just to get back to good taste and style. The original "All Summer Long" cover is one of my favorites of all time. And one of their best albums, too, IMO.

 

[captainsalty]

agree with both points.

the cover is perfect. it essentially captures the music and the feel of the record.

as for the best BB record: a tie between this and "today". i had this on cassette first and played it to death. almost everything on it is pure gold. i wish they would have continued in this direction. "wendy" for example is a pop song, but it sounds new and exciting. all the traces of corny-ness that could be found on prior records are gone here.

well done, mr. wilson. a shame that you went down the toilet two or three years later.

 

[cotintail]

First post on this forum!

As a longtime BB fan I have seen many reissues and boots. Still care for the original issued LP's more than most reissues. Very interested in the drama that revolved around and is Brian Wilson, not much more than the actual music created. True that Brian flushed away the better part of his talent, but can't help to be enamored of later stuff like Love You which saw reissue on LP last year.

Pet Sounds delineated so much of what came before and after no doubt. Yet the endless stream of reissues and remasters continues to delineate fans.

Personally, Pet Sounds taught me the distinct listening pleasure of Mono recordings. While I follow the work of Steve Hoffman, I do not believe his DCC version is the best. I think it's the pictured Japanese version. Also, the "Past Masters" Japanese versions that followed in the late 80's were head and shoulders above the two-fer's that followed. IMHO

Much of what I feel about why Mono is great is echoed in this Steve Hoffman interview: http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?action=printpage;topic=6503.0

Finally, last year LA Weekly reported that Brian was ready to release some of what I think is called the "Cocaine Tapes": http://www.laweekly.com/music/brian-wilsons-secret-bedroom-tapes-4392791

Have heard a little from scouring the internet. Probably wouldn't buy or be able to sell this stuff. If you've heard anything American Spring had done, it's that without the Rovell sisters. Listen to this interview for insight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20l4v2ihN5M

Coked the f-up!

Here's more links to more of the running commentary around Pet Sounds:

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-ultimate-mono-pet-sounds-cd-poll.272451/ From the Steve Hoffman forum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Steve_Hoffman_(audio_engineer) Look for the "Definitive Proof" section.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/dhinterviews/Tape Op Magazine.htm

Man that's some crazy stuff! A true contemporary musical genius for sure!

"Today" is a top favorite and while I love my original Mono version, the Brian and Mark Linett versions made in 2005 are very, very good! And true to Brian's original intent even if remastered! I am so much looking forward to Analouge Productions reissue of "Today" in Stereo! http://www.analogueproductions.com/index.cfm?do=detail&Title_ID=95577

 

[soundog III]

By the way, the most ridiculous Beach Boys cover "art" must be this one (sound is bad, too). There can only be one explanation for this temerity: the band was sitting in the living room of some recording company's honcho's parents. And ten people couldn't keep him from having this printed. Just look how cosily Carl's and Mike's legs are covered with woolen blankets!

One thing the band was certainly accomplished at post BW being at the helm was awkward photo sessions. I recommend the following only for those of a robust constitution. (Truth told I couldn't bear to subject viewers to the entire pic, though I will allow that Dennis comes across better than the rest, as per usual...)

 

[soundog III]

Follows a few items from prime time, trust a few of these will hit the spot with fans. OK, this may go on for a bit...

 

[soundog III]

These are pictured in chronological order from date of publication, sourced from a worldwide array of mags & papers.

Nice early pic published 2/66.

 

[soundog III]

 

[soundog III]

 

[soundog III]

 

[soundog III]

 

[soundog III]

 

[soundog III]

 

[soundog III]

 

[soundog III]

Well deserved accolades, this is defintely an outlier of sorts amongst BB pics, in that it captures the band late '66 / early '67 inclusive of Brian. Perhaps Bruce's absence could be explained by his non - appearance on the LP awards on display?

 

[Frantic]

I'll have to pull out my original unpublished/never seen 8x10 glossys of them playing in Sacramento circa 1964/1965.