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The Beach Boys - 6 Album SHM-CD Series (2014) FLAC Beolab1700
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The Beach Boys - 6 Album SHM-CD Series
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Artist...............: The Beach Boys
Album................: 6 Album SHM-CD Series
Genre................: Pop Rock
Source...............: CD
Year.................: 2014
Ripper...............: EAC (Secure mode) / LAME 3.92 & Asus CD-S520
Codec................: Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
Version..............: reference libFLAC 1.3.0 20130526
Quality..............: Lossless, (avg. compression: 59 %)
Channels.............: Stereo / 44100 HZ / 16 Bit
Tags.................: VorbisComment
Information..........: TRACKS
Posted by............: Beolab1700 on 08/01/2015
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Info and Tracklisting
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Beginning their career as the most popular surf band in the nation, the Beach Boys finally emerged by 1966 as America’s preeminent pop group, the only act able to challenge (for a brief time) the overarching success of the Beatles with both mainstream listeners and the critical community.
From their 1961 debut with the regional hit “Surfin,” the three Wilson brothers – Brian, Dennis, and Carl – plus cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine constructed the most intricate, gorgeous harmonies ever heard from a pop band. With Brian’s studio proficiency growing by leaps and bounds during the mid-’60s, the Beach Boys also proved one of the best-produced groups of the ’60s, exemplified by their 1966 peak with the Pet Sounds LP and the number one single “Good Vibrations.”
Though Brian’s escalating drug use and obsessive desire to trump the Beatles (by recording the perfect LP statement) eventually led to a nervous breakdown after he heard Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the group soldiered on long into the ’70s and ’80s, with Brian only an inconsistent participant. The band’s post-1966 material is often maligned (if it’s recognized at all), but the truth is the Beach Boys continued to make great music well into the ’70s. Displayed best on 1970’s Sunflower, each member revealed individual talents never fully developed during the mid-’60s — Carl became a solid, distinctive producer and Brian’s replacement as nominal bandleader, Mike continued to provide a visual focus as the frontman for live shows, and Dennis developed his own notable songwriting talents. Though legal wranglings and marginal oldies tours during the ’90s often obscured what made the Beach Boys great, the band’s unerring ability to surf the waves of commercial success and artistic development during the ’60s made them America’s first, best rock band.
The origins of the group lie in Hawthorne, California, a southern suburb of Los Angeles situated close to the Pacific coast. The three sons of a part-time song plugger and occasionally abusive father, Brian, Dennis, and Carl grew up a just few miles from the ocean — though only Dennis had any interest in surfing itself. The three often harmonized together as youths, spurred on by Brian’s fascination with ’50s vocal acts like the Four Freshmen and the Hi-Lo’s. Their cousin Mike Love often joined in on the impromptu sessions, and the group gained a fifth with the addition of Brian’s high school football teammate, Al Jardine. His parents helped rent instruments (with Brian on bass, Carl on guitar, and Dennis on drums) and studio time to record “Surfin’,” a novelty number written by Brian and Mike. The single, initially released in 1961 on Candix and billed to “the Pendletones” (a musical paraphrase of the popular Pendleton shirt), prompted a little national chart action and gained the renamed Beach Boys a contract with Capitol. The group’s negotiator with the label, the Wilsons’ father, Murray, also took over as manager for the band. Before the release of any material for Capitol, however, Jardine left the band to attend college in the Midwest. A friend of the Wilsons’, David Marks, replaced him.
1964 Shut Down Volume 2
Another erratic early album from the Beach Boys; few other rock LPs have such a wide gap between the best and worst material. On the good side, you have absolute classics in the Chuck Berry-ish “Fun, Fun, Fun” and the superb “Don’t Worry Baby,” one of the most advanced pop productions of 1964 with its breathtaking harmonies and unusual lyric. “The Warmth of the Sun” is one of the most melodic (and melancholic) ballads they ever recorded, and “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” is one of their best oldies covers. Yet the rest reduces the oceanic scale of the classics to dishwater, whether they’re throwaway hot rod tunes and instrumentals, innocuous high-school romantic ditties, or a soulless cover of “Louie Louie.” When this album hit the racks in early 1964, the Beatles were proving that you could make LPs that were all killer, no filler; the Beach Boys would soon be forced to up their ante. [Surfer Girl/Shut Down, Vol. 2, a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Surfer Girl onto one disc, adding the 45 version of “Fun, Fun, Fun,” a German version of “In My Room,” and the previously unreleased Brian Wilson composition “I Do.”]
01 Fun, Fun, Fun
02 Don’t Worry Baby
03 In The Parkin’ Lot
04 ‘Cassius’ Love Vs ‘Sonny’ Wilson
05 The Warmth Of The Sun
06 This Car Of Mine
07 Why Do Fools Fall In Love
08 Pom, Pom Play Girl
09 Keep An Eye On Summer
10 Shut Down, Part II
11 Louie, Louie
12 Denny’s Drums (Mono)
1964 All Summer Long
The best pre-1965 Beach Boys album featured their brilliant number one single “I Get Around,” as well as other standout cuts in the beautifully sad “Wendy,” “Little Honda” (one of their best hot rod tunes, covered by the Hondells for a hit), and their remake of the late-’50s doo wop classic “Hushabye.” The nostalgic “All Summer Long,” another great production, seemed (whether intentionally or not) like a sort of farewell to the frivolous California beach culture that had supplied the lyrical grist for most of their music up to this point, with a longing, regretful chorus that was totally at odds with the bouncy arrangement. Other relatively little-known treasures are the sumptuous ballad “Girls on the Beach,” with some of their best early harmonizing, and “Don’t Back Down,” with uncommonly anxious lyrics. You can’t give an unqualified high rating, however, to an album that also contained such disposable filler as the “Our Favorite Recording Sessions” comedy bit and “Do You Remember?,” a “let’s-pay-tribute-to-rock’s-early-days” number with a sh*t-eating grin wide enough to qualify as an oldies radio ID jingle. [Little Deuce Coupe/All Summer Long, a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Little Deuce Coupe onto one disc, adding the 45 version of “Be True to Your School,” alternate takes of “Little Honda” and “Don’t Back Down,” and the previously unreleased “All Dressed Up for School.”]
01 I Get Around
02 All Summer Long
03 Hushabye
04 Little Honda
05 We’ll Run Away
06 Carl’s Big Chance
07 Wendy
08 Do You Remember?
09 Girls On The Beach
10 Drive-In
11 Our Favorite Recording Sessions (Mono)
12 Don’t Back Down
1965 Today!
Brian Wilson’s retirement from performing to concentrate on studio recording and production reaped immediate dividends with Today!, the first Beach Boys album that is strong almost from start to finish. “Dance, Dance, Dance” and “Do You Wanna Dance” were upbeat hits with Spector-influenced arrangements, but Wilson began to deal with more sophisticated themes on another smash 45, “When I Grow Up,” on which these eternal teenagers looked forward to the advancing years with fear and uncertainty. Surf/hot rod/beach themes were permanently retired in favor of late-adolescent, early-adult romance on this album, which included such decent outings in this vein as “She Knows Me Too Well,” “Kiss Me Baby,” and “In the Back of My Mind.” The true gem is “Please Let Me Wonder,” one of the group’s most delicate mid-’60s works, with heartbreaking melodies and harmonies. Be aware that the version of “Help Me, Rhonda” found here is an inferior, earlier, and slower rendition; the familiar hit single take was included on their next album, Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). [Today!/Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) onto one disc, adding alternate takes of “Dance, Dance, Dance,” “I’m So Young,” and “Let Him Run Wild,” as well as a previously unreleased studio version of “Graduation Day.” Most significantly, it also adds the non-LP single from late 1965, “The Little Girl I Once Knew,” which looked forward to Pet Sounds in its studio experimentation and lyrical themes.]
01 Do You Wanna Dance?
02 Good To My Baby
03 Don’t Hurt My Little Sister
04 When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
05 Help Me, Ronda
06 Dance, Dance, Dance
07 Please Let Me Wonder
08 I’m So Young
09 Kiss Me, Baby
10 She Knows Me Too Well
11 In The Back Of My Mind
12 Bull Session With The ‘Big Daddy’
1965 Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)
Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) was a bit of a regression from the success of Today!, lapsing back into that distressing division between first-rate cuts and lightweight also-rans that characterized their pre-1965 albums. The difference is that the very best tracks were operating on a more sophisticated level than the 1962-1964 classics. “Help Me, Rhonda” was a number one single and would be their last Top 40 exercise in sheer fun for a while. More impressive was “California Girls,” with its symphonic arrangement, glorious harmonies, and archetypal statement of Californian lifestyle. On the other hand, subpar efforts like “Amusement Park U.S.A.” and “Salt Lake City,” throwbacks to the empty-headed summer filler of previous days, will necessitate that the CD remote button remains close at hand. The answer song “The Girl From New York City” and the cover “Then I Kissed Her” are well done but don’t break new ground. Yet a couple of cuts are among their most essential LP-only efforts. “Let Him Run Wild” is a soulful ballad with a great Brian Wilson falsetto vocal. “Girl Don’t Tell Me,” with its gorgeous melody, fine lead vocal debut from Carl Wilson, and subtle depiction of romantic rejection and disappointment, may be the best obscure pre-Pet Sounds Beach Boys track. [Today!/Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!), a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Today! onto one disc, adding alternate takes of “Dance, Dance, Dance,” “I’m So Young,” and “Let Him Run Wild,” as well as a previously unreleased studio version of “Graduation Day.” Most significantly, it also adds the non-LP single from late 1965, “The Little Girl I Once Knew,” which looked forward to Pet Sounds in its studio experimentation and lyrical themes.]
01 The Girl From New York City
02 Amusement Park U.S.A.
03 Then I Kissed Her
04 Salt Lake City
05 Girl Don’t Tell Me
06 Help Me, Rhonda
07 California Girls
08 Let Him Run Wild
09 You’re So Good To Me
10 Summer Means New Love
11 I’m Bugged At My Ol’ Man
12 And Your Dream Comes True
1966 Pet Sounds
The best Beach Boys album, and one of the best of the 1960s. The group here reached a whole new level in terms of both composition and production, layering tracks upon tracks of vocals and instruments to create a richly symphonic sound. Conventional keyboards and guitars were combined with exotic touches of orchestrated strings, bicycle bells, buzzing organs, harpsichords, flutes, Theremin, Hawaiian-sounding string instruments, Coca-Cola cans, barking dogs, and more. It wouldn’t have been a classic without great songs, and this has some of the group’s most stunning melodies, as well as lyrical themes which evoke both the intensity of newly born love affairs and the disappointment of failed romance (add in some general statements about loss of innocence and modern-day confusion as well). The spiritual quality of the material is enhanced by some of the most gorgeous upper-register male vocals (especially by Brian and Carl Wilson) ever heard on a rock record. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” “God Only Knows,” “Caroline No,” and “Sloop John B” (the last of which wasn’t originally intended to go on the album) are the well-known hits, but equally worthy are such cuts as “You Still Believe in Me,” “Don’t Talk,” “I Know There’s an Answer,” and “I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times.” It’s often said that this is more of a Brian Wilson album than a Beach Boys recording (session musicians played most of the parts), but it should be noted that the harmonies are pure Beach Boys (and some of their best). Massively influential upon its release (although it was a relatively low seller compared to their previous LPs), it immediately vaulted the band into the top level of rock innovators among the intelligentsia, especially in Britain, where it was a much bigger hit.
01 Wouldn’t It Be Nice
02 You Still Believe In Me
03 That’s Not Me
04 Don’t Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulders)
05 I’m Waiting For The Day
06 Let’s Go Away For A While
07 Sloop John B
08 God Only Knows
09 I Know There’s An Answer
10 Here Today
11 I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times
12 Pet Sounds
13 Caroline No
1967 Smiley Smile
After the much-discussed, uncompleted Smile project — which was supposed to take the innovations of Pet Sounds to even grander heights — collapsed, the Beach Boys released Smiley Smile in its place. (To clarify much confusion: Smiley Smile is an entirely different piece of work than Smile would have been, although some material that ended up on Smiley Smile would have most likely been used on Smile. Also, much of Smiley Smile was in fact recorded after the Smile sessions had ceased.) For fans expecting something along the lines of Sgt. Pepper (and there were many of them), Smiley Smile was a major disappointment, replacing psychedelic experimentation with spare, eccentric miniatures. Heard now, outside of such unrealistic expectations, it’s a rather nifty, if rather slight, effort that’s plenty weird — in fact, often downright goofy — despite Brian Wilson’s retreat from both avant pop and active leadership of the group. “Wind Chimes,” “Wonderful,” “Vegetables,” and much of the rest is low-key psychedelic quirkiness, with abundant fine harmonies and unusual arrangements. The standouts, nonetheless, were two recent hit singles in which Brian Wilson’s ambitions were still intact: the inscrutable mini-opera “Heroes and Villains,” and the number one hit “Good Vibrations,” one of the few occasions where the group managed to be recklessly experimental and massively commercial at the same time. A 1990 Capitol CD combines this and Wild Honey onto one disc, adding previously unreleased in-progress versions of “Good Vibrations” and “Heroes and Villains,” the a cappella B-side “You’re Welcome,” a 1967 version of “Their Hearts Were Full of Spring,” and an excellent outtake, “Can’t Wait Too Long.”
01 Heroes And Villains
02 Vegetables
03 Fall Breaks Back To Winter (Woody Woodpecker Symphony)
04 She’s Goin’ Bald
05 Little Pad
06 Good Vibrations
07 With Me Tonight
08 Wind Chimes
09 Gettin’ Hungry
10 Wonderful
11 Whistle In
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