Beach Boys 1968 - "I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions" and "Wake The World: The Friends Sessions"*

It's on US itunes, $59.99. In a refreshing change, people don't have to do a search to find it. It's the first thing on the Beach Boys' albums list in a release date sort.

 

LIstening on Spotify.

I find it quite odd that I haven't been able to buy this set. Why Spotify before iTunes (in Europe)? Is it some odd marketing scheme? Just a fluke? Are they just not going to sell it? Did the Beach Boys "blow it" once again? Is Capitol sabotaging them again?

 

I see. I can see it in the US store, but unfortunately can not buy it in my country. :-( Really bummed. I also can't get the Live in Michigan set from a couple of years ago in this country. Not a fan of Spotify or streaming; can't order a CD; can't buy a digital copy.

 

Ahh Thankyou Craig, I was under the suspicion these were tapes from the soundboard and in mono.
Makes perfect sense, and makes one appreciate them more considering they weren't recorded for release by any means.
I knew they did this, as did many bands did, just to get an idea how things 'came across'.
Obviously too, a straight mix from the console is no way near mixed properly for recording and releasing.
The engineer would have taken in the context of the room and mixed the show for the audience, not the recording.
Just the same, the mix doesn't sound too bad on some of those tracks for what they were intended for so
it's amazing they survived and we get to hear them.

I've always love the recording quality on the London show, these are no exception.
Stunning really. The band was pretty tight by this point, unlike they're messy Hawaii show from 67'.
Some of their earlier shows are pretty rough too as a band. Lots of false starts, sloppy endings etc.
The Beatles by far were a better performing band than The Beach Boys throughout the 60's.
By 68, we start to see them 'getting it together' and it becomes a tighter more polished group.
Carl's vocals are the highlight for me during these years. His timbre is just the bomb!
Look forward to the live stuff from here on into 73' or 74' when they were really
were at their playing and singing best IMO as a group.

 

Lossless? It's currently USD$57.31 (i.e. AUD$79.99) on ZDigital, which is pretty much the only online vendor of lossless audio in Australia that I can find.

Speaking of which, the new sets showed up on it and I am downloading them now having enjoyed Friends and 20/20 on my commutes today.

 

Are there any Europeans buying this set? And if so, where? Lossless or lossy, doesn't matter. I've checked iTunes and was told it was not available in my particular country and am not able to buy from linked Itunes shops in the US.

Looked on Amazon.de and it's not listed, as well as Amazon.co.uk. I've never been able to buy mp3 from Amazon.com.

I've streamed a few songs on Spotify but that's really not what I want. I

Where else can I look, any advice?

 

The mono stuff is likely just soundboard. That works fine, for me. When done properly with a good mixing person at the board, they can sound really good. Remember, live recording technology was still in its infancy back then. Also, there really weren’t remote trucks to follow a group around, especially not through Chicago, Waterloo and Fargo. The London stuff is a different story...a few shows in one town and equipment probably supplied by a record company. If all of the board stuff is as good as the 1968 Chicago tracks in the Made In California box set, I’m not worried

 

https://www.amazon.com/Beach-Boys-T...36_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=beach+boys+1968

 

The studio releases are essential but who really needs to pay quite a bit more for concert recordings? Can't imagine anyone making it through those more than once (if that).

 

You underestimate the hardcore fans.

 

One thing I’ve noticed, with some of the studio sessions from this period, is that Brian was going for an Americana feel (banjos, harmonica, acoustic guitar, etc.), and a touch of Hawaiian feel at times (steel guitar, ukulele). Brian was still tapped into something great at this time. I have to wonder if the rumors are true...was Brian still toying with working on SMiLE in 1968. We’ll probably never know.

 

There is a quote in the 'Endless Harmony' dvd where Mike even says, the last great 'Dyno' Brian was in
1967 with 'Heroes and Villains'. It's a comment that I don't particularly agree with, but maybe Mike
meant something else, but the recordings show that they are far from the truth of 'Dyno' Brian.
The comment probably deserves more clarification, cos like so many, we all seemed to have thought
Brian disappeared after the 'Smile' episode, which is clearly not the case.

 

I need it all.

 

Definitely in my top 5 Beach Boys deep tracks.

Early version

 

Released version



I want to make particular note of Mike’s excellent lead vocal.

 

To listen to?

 

It’s 6am here in Southern California and I’ve just started my second listen.

 

The old man can still get it done:

 

I'm not up on who ones what these days, but so far it's been Capitol (originally) material as part of these copyright releases. When we get to the originally-on-Reprise material/contract era, will the current rights-holders continue putting this stuff out annually?

 

It's amazing how they achieved this magical sound with just a few instruments.

 

Yeah, why not?!

Some of us are passionate about this.

 

So how many times have you heard "Do It Again" so far as you "do it again"? I would be up for a sampler but not the same songs over and over again in almost identical arrangements.

 

They can't get these things out in a physical format... Sigh.

 

I can’t even get them in digital format. Luckily free downloading is legal in my country. But I’d prefer to give my money to BRI. Oh well. This is my last whine on the subject.

 

That piano has always been difficult for me to digest. Brian wasn't too pleased with it either, judging by his 1967 comment on the Can't Wait Too Long session from the 1967 archival release.

The question is: why wasn't the issue solved by a piano tuner? Does anyone know?