My original Panasonic Blu-ray Player is also eight years old and still going strong, although I "only" play movies on it as I have since purchased a universal player for music listening.
COMMENT: UPDATE on the SACD fiasco: This has now become part of the history of Surf’s Up – and you were part of it. The posters over at quadraphonicquad.com, have unearthed information that has lead to solving the mystery as to why AP thought it was OK to use the EV4 quad record matrix to create new information for the rear channels of their 4-channel SACD issue. The tip of the spear, as QQ members reveal, points to an LP insert with a little notice right above my name as chief engineer and mixer, stating: “This recording has been produced so that it may be enjoyed in stereophonic sound or quadraphonically, using the Dynaco and EV Stereo-4 systems” One poster provided a photo of the insert, which was in a Reprise/Warner issue of the album with a date of 1971. (Warner—the very company that rejected the album being cut in 3D Sound— was now boosting that it could be played through an EV4 decoder for quad sound. How hypocritical is that? !) I pulled out every copy of Surf’s Up I have, which are all first issues, and also posted a photo of the inserts for my albums at quadraphonicquad.com. Those DO NOT have this quad notice on them and are also dated 1971, but issued from Brother Records Inc., which predates the Warner/Reprise issue. The notice does not appear in any CD booklet. Comparing the two insert versions, the later one by Warner/Reprise showed some of the other wording on the insert had been shifted in position to accommodate the added notice. The insert I approved, along with Carl, had evidently been changed after the first run of Surf’s Up to include this quad notice. When we mixed down Surf’s Up, EV4 was yet to be invented, so it would have been impossible to make the album for this quad format. It was made for a virtual format, rejected by Warner. I have always been under the impression that when artwork is release for an album, it is locked into all future re-issues and all other runs of that album. I can’t remember ever seeing changes to album jackets or inserts after their initial run. After Surf’s Up was mixed, mastered, and released, the Beach Boys went to Holland and I went to Australia with Frank Zappa. Meanwhile, the quad LP market was expanding. In my opinion, someone at Reprise thought it might increase sales if people, looking to buy quad LPs, were assured that this stereo disk could be decoded by their quad decoders into quad, they would buy the disk, rather than pass over it for some real quad album. So the insert was placed, but no one said anything to anyone or checked the engineering accuracy of the added statement. I have never had a reason to buy, look into, or wonder about changes to Surf’s Up. As far as I was concern it was a “done deal.” So the change went un-noticed for decades, until technology made it possible to buy 4-channel sound via the SACD. I apologize to Analogue Productions for assuming they issued the 4-track version without thought or research. AP just followed what they assumed was accurate information on the LP insert and used an EV4 decoder to extract the back channels. I might have done the same. As I have posted many times on several websites and in my book . . . the album is intended to be heard via a virtual matrix decoder over two-speakers. EV4 is the incorrect decoder and the wrong format, but you can’t blame AP for their mistake, as it remained part of the album’s art, unchanged and unchallenged for all these years. One little erroneous notice, stuck in-between a lot of other stuff on a liner note that is no longer inserted in releases of this album, LP or CD. It is an unfortunate situation all around. The current offering of Sunflower and Surf’s Up are still not sold in the correct format; confusion abounds. I wish this error had been caught a long time ago, but it has eluded us all. Now it is water under the bridge and the damage cannot be undone. The only way both albums may be heard as originally intended remains via the educational examples from my book, Recording The Beach Boys. However, the two-channel mastering on the AP SACD is very similar to the sound of the LP and should be considered for purchase as an accurate representation of the stereo master tape version for any Beach Boy fan’s collection. Good Listening, ~Stephen W. Desper
I thought that the note was also on Sunflower, which was the source of my confusion. Thanks for clearing this up.
I'm glad AP is now not the bad guy. I think they have done a wonderful job with this reissue program.
Ummm, just 'accidentally' bought the Surf's Up 2016 SHM-CD Japanese CD instead of the SACD from Amazon. Anyone here know if this release uses the same mastering as the stereo layer on the SACD? lol. I also bought the Holland one today that is probably the SHM-CD as well. Whoops. Edit: Just found Beach Boys new shm cds. » . Are these Mark Linett remasters?
I found discussion regarding the SHM CDs in this thread around page 44 as well. I'll give it a listen soon and compare it to my Sunflower/Surf's Up twofer.
After listening to the original mono mix of Smiley Smile on the SACD, I'm wondering if there's supposed to be that much "crackle" on Wonderful. I believe it's the sibilant intimate lead vocal close on a mic, but it's not stood out to me before. Is this inherent on other pressings?
Yes, that's the way to do them! listened to Holland and Surfs Up (the CD layer) from AP this last weekend (cranked as well) and found the both to be a very significant improvement from the 2000 versions I have. Better clarity, more detail, deeper bass, etc.... I want to hear Sunflower now. These AP releases have been such a great success.
I've only given it a couple of listens so far, take this with a grain of salt if you will. Beach Boys' Party! may be the first SACD from this line that doesn't offer a drastic improvement in sound quality. I figured the album wasn't a sonic marvel having owned the recent special edition. There is nothing inherently wrong with the SACD, I think the recording may have been rougher than other Beach Boys' albums. The completist in me couldn't pass on it.
The completist in me will get all of these AP SACDs too. Including Party! -- eventually. But man, the Party Sessions release that came out last year (and in Hi-Res!!) is really just fantastic. Currently, it's my ideal way of listening to these recordings. It presents this material in the format that it actually was -- a party in the studio. The released album cleaned it all up and overdubbed it to make it sound like a "party" in someone's living room. But in reality - that effort appears to have been totally unnecessary. There was an actual party during those sessions. It was the Beach Boys, loose and relaxed, hanging in the studio. I know why they did it the way they did -- and it's actually a cool idea. But the full reality of the sessions accomplishes that goal much, much better, to me any way. One of those rare times when the expanded re-release of something truly out does the original album and idea.
I've got Holland arriving in a couple days, thus completing my collection. A collection I started at the beginning of the summer with their first two albums, and promising myself I would take my time getting. They're that good!!!
The 2012 Pet Sounds remaster from itunes is it just the mono version? On itunes US there is only one seperate Mono version with a 2012 date. When you said the mono version from the LA tape is much better are you referring to the itunes version you downloaded? I'm trying to figure out which physical CD would contain the itunes version you prefer. Many Thanks Scott
Yes. I downloaded the (p) 2015 mono/stereo version. I think there is no physical version because the download is coming from an HD source. It is of course AAC 256 - iTunes Standard - not lossless.
Hi, is the consensus here that to get the new Kevin Gray masterings in digital form, one must purchase the SACDs from Analog Productions? I know there is confusion because Capitol also released hi-res downloads available at places like HDTracks at the same time the AP SACDs/vinyl were released. I'm just curious as it seems the Kevin Gray SACD of Pet Sounds gets rave reviews in SH forums, while the download is described as dynamically compressed/limited. Can anyone confirm that any of the downloads are the Kevin Gray mastering? I am most interested in these SACDs, but would opt for the downloads instead (if they are not inferior): The Beach Boys - Surf's Up CAPP 070 SA The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds CAPP 067 SA The Beach Boys - Holland CAPP 071 SA The Beach Boys - Sunflower CAPP 069 SA The Beach Boys - Smiley Smile CAPP 068 SA
If the download is under the Analogue Productions label, it will feature Kevin Gray's work. The other downloads don't mention him at all so don't assume he is on those. I looked over it all at the Acoustic Sounds site today and luckily its all indicated clearly what you will want to purchase. I suggest you use them.
There was some discussion of this in Beach Boys in Hi-Res thread. It gets confusing... but some of the HDtracks downloads did appear to be Kevin's work. But the titles you mention are most likely NOT, with the possible exception of Smiley Smile. That might have been Kevin's, but honestly I don't remember. I have the stereo and it's really good. I haven't purchased the SACD yet. If you want downloads and Kevin's work, then stick with Acoustic Sounds and get the DSD releases. Personally, while I love the convenience of downloads, I'd opt for the SACDs in this case. You get the disc, a CD layer and something you could hold on to.
Just finished listening Smiley Smile SACD. It was a revelation. Remind me again why is this album called "lo-fi?"
It definitely isn't. I don't call it "low-fi" at all--"underproduced" or "DIY", maybe. I still haven't grabbed the SMILEY SMILE SACD. Curious, is the mono mix first, then the stereo, or the reverse?
Certainly under-produced and DIY. I think it's on Wild Honey where they dabble more into lo-fi. Smiley is probably more overly dry and simple than lo-fi. There's a lot of good quality in the sound, I agree. I really first noticed that on the Stereo remix. There's sparkle in the vocals. Vocally, the album is jam-packed with some of their tightest and most beautiful harmonies. It's just when compared to what they were doing before, with echo chambers and Chuck Britz and horn sections -- and in studios like GoldStar and Western -- that it gives off a lo-fi vibe.
The Stereo is first on all the APs I have, which is nine including Smiley Smile. I have been listening to these records in a variety of ways since I was a kid in 1963. I've never heard anything that sounds like them. Pants Party said it right - they sparkle, the vocals absolutely sparkle. We must thank Mark, too. That's what Kevin is using to make these. MIC is a wonderful thing as well, hope Kevin gives that a try one of these days.
