Beach Boys vinyl recommendations

Can anyone recommend good Beach Boys vinyl pressings? I am pretty much looking for a good hits comp and I am not really interested much in the individual records, apart from maybe Pet Sounds. Also, something that isn't going to damage my wallet too much.

Thanks,

BOB

 

I've never seen a copy of Pet Sounds on vinyl. Is that strange?

 

Jamie!? Okay, you've got to come to NYC for the Oct. 18th get-together. I'm sure we can dig up a few vinyl copies of 'Pet Sounds' at some of these vinyl haunts in the city....

 

Damn, I wish I could. I actually checked my schedule to see if I could make it.

 

Steve, you're being facetious, right?

Gads, I think the Beach Boys have put out more compilations than any other pop band on the planet, most of which are available on vinyl. "Endless Summer" is my perennial favorite of the compilations. It sold so many copies that you can't help but bump into them at used record stores.

 

Ah, but he wasn't asking for ones that sound good, just ones that wouldn't put a dent in his wallet...

 

Oops, I guess he did ask for GOOD ones... well, Endless Summer is a GOOD compilation. But does it sound GOOD? Well, it did on my crappy stereo back in junior high...

 

I just purchased a mint mono copy for $5 at a local flea market.

Unfortunately, the record turned out to have a deep, invisible, circular scratch that ruins the first song.

Oh well, at least the sleeve and insert are mint. Nice for framing!

 

I guess I have a special place in my heart for Endless Summer since it is the album that got me into the Beach Boys (as it did millions of others... that album really revitalized their career!)

I've actually been listening to a lot of the early 70's era Beach Boys lately. That's an era that I've always overlooked and have only recently come to appreciate. Sunflower, So Tough and Surfs Up... great stuff! I'm totally digging it!

 

Actually, the LP version of "Pet Sounds" that appeared as a reissue along with the "Carl and the Passions - So Tough" LP was not as bad as some other pressings (at least on my copy, the vinyl was decent and relatively free of surface noise). Sonically it left a bit to be desired, but that is the way it was with this record from the start. The "Endless Summer" comp LP always had a nice, warm sound ("In My Room" has never sounded quite the same since), but Steve's right about the mastering....and unless you're lucky, you may be stuck with some lousy vinyl.

 

The DCC of "Pet Sounds" sounds pretty good to these ears. I also like the Mofi of "Surfer Girl."

 

Me too. "Endless Summer"...and those trashy compilation LP's on Pickwick. They're gone and I can't find any discographies that even list them to see what was on them.

I was suprised when I bought the DCC Endless Summer. I definitely remember "Good Vibrations" not being on the original LP but I was shocked when I realized that "Wouldn't It Be Nice" wasn't on there at all. I don't know why, but I remember having that on my Endless Summer. Perhaps it was on one of those Pickwick comps. I know that "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" were, and they blew me away!

 

Steve wrote:

"SPIRIT OF AMERICA was even worse! They took the stereo songs and made them mono, essentially folding them down. Pointless. Why didn't they just use the correct mono mixes? Stoopid."

To my best recollection, the original vinyl was a mix of stereo and Capitol's second version of Duophonic (bass heightened on one channel, treble on the other), and included the U.S. LP debut of Breakaway. The CD was all mono, one of the dumbest decisions in CD remastering history. For God's sake, Breakaway was even released in stereo on the original single, IIRC!

 

I like those too, but both will make a pretty good dent on your wallet. Metalbob unfortunately wants good, cheap, and NOT individual albums. That's a very tall order. The best you can do is Endless Summer and Spirit of America and like Steve said....OK and less than OK respectively. I have them on vinyl, but Steve's DCC golds are the way I listen to them (another big dent on your wallet). For Pet Sounds you may look for the 80s Capitol re-issue.... It's not great but it is cheap, although I haven't seen one for sale lately.

 

If you mean the green-label Capitol '80s issue, I would urge everyone to avoid it. I bought that in '86 or so and it's in truly dreadful "duophonic" sound, even though the word "monophonic" is printed on the front of the sleeve. If anyone wants to buy mine, make an offer.

Ew.

My best Pet Sounds vinyl is the edition packaged by Brother/Warner with Carl and the Passions, as StrawberryFields mentioned. Nice clean vinyl, real mono, pretty good sound. I found a mint copy for about $10, and I see 'em all the time. (I never did get the DCC Pet Sounds vinyl, to my regret, but I do cherish the gold CD.)

 

I remember the post a while back about Steve's GH comp on Razor and Tie still being available on their website. Well, it sold out immediately and I've checked EBAY and Half periodically and don't find any.

Thanks for the insight.

BOB

 

Thanks for the correction Jeff. To tell you the truth I have not listened to mine since 1986. That's about when I bought the first Japanese CD of PS. Since I have Steve's DCC CD and two copies of the DCC LP, I've had no need to even find my green label Capitol. I was thinking of framing the 80s re-issue cover though.

 

beach boys vinyl compilations

There is a double vinyl lp called sunshine dream released in 1982 (SVBB-12220)

It contains:

Darlin'
Caroline, No
Good Vibrations
Wouldn't it be nice
Friends
Heroes and Villains
Cotton Fields
Then I Kissed Her
Sloop John B
Do It Again

to name but a few.

If you feel guilty about spending too much, DON'T BUY

SPEND to enjoy!

 

Actually, the green label version IS mono, other than "Wouldn't It Be Nice", which is Duophonic. I used to have a copy of it and always thought it sounded so odd to start off in crappy fake stereo and then move right into the original mono.

 

From what I've heard the best Pet Sounds was the circa '74 Brother/Reprise with the brown cover,but it may be the same master as the Carl & The Passions one.

 

My first Pet Sounds was this 1974 Reprise pressing. After a few years of playing it non-stop I needed a replacement. I may still have it (sorry I have too many LPs). My second Pet Sounds was the 1980 Capitol green label. I've just cleaned and listened to it (cover still in shrink). I hate to disagree with my buddy Jeff P., and therefore I hope we have different animals. My pristine green label Pet Sounds sounds fine to me... mono as mono can be. It's NOT even close to Steve's DCC LP, BUT it's not $150 either.
Cheers