The review of the new Beach Boys box set I posted last week led to some interesting comments. The consensus seems to be that while Made in California has a number of legit selling points, it’s not quite the perfect six discs of Beach Boys classics and rarities. This inspired me to compile my own sextet of sun, fun, and warped psychedelia.
I believe a perfect Beach Boys compilation is more necessary
than, say, a Beatles or Who comp because those groups generally made albums
that demand to be heard from beginning to end. The Beach Boys didn’t quite
reach this place until 1965’s Today.
Before then, they mostly made hit-and-miss albums like Shut Down Volume 2. While that particular album houses the absolute
classics “Don’t Worry Baby,” “The Warmth of the Sun,” “Why Do Fools Fall in
Love,” and “Fun, Fun, Fun,” the rest of it is pretty poor. Most of the other
early discs generally have a higher ratio of good stuff than Shut Down Volume 2, but even the best of
them (All Summer Long) has some junk
(“Our Favorite Recording Sessions”) that disrupt the flow of classics.
So in an unprecedented stroke of generosity and
self-congratulatory megalomania, I’ve decided to share with you, Dear Reader,
my formula for the perfect six-disc Beach Boys box set. This set will not
negate The Beach Boys albums that are truly deserving of beginning-to-end play
(Today!, Pet Sounds, SMiLE, Wild Honey, Friends, etc.), but you’ll no longer have to suffer through
“‘Cassius’ Love vs. ‘Sonny’ Wilson” to bathe in the beauteous glow of “The
Warmth of the Sun.” No, no, no. No thanks necessary. Your musical enjoyment
is thanks enough.
As you may notice, I’ve included a couple of solo tracks for
a more complete Wilsonology. I’ve also reproduced the “lost” album Landlocked at the end of Disc Four (that
accounts for why I decided to include the so-so tracks “Take a Load Off Your
Feet” and “Good Time”). When it was
chronologically sound, I occasionally coupled single A-sides with their
respective B-sides. Pretty clever!
You may notice some of your favorite tracks are not
included. For example, many fans love the strange and childlike Beach Boys Love You album. This is one
cult of which I am not a member, so I shut out that album. You may decide to
cut some other tracks to make room for Love
You representatives. But let me be clear: you cannot do this. It violates
everything for which you stand and hurts my feelings deeply. Twelve demerits.
Since I don’t consider listening to music through my tinny,
tiny computer speakers to be listening to music, I actually went the
old-fashioned route and burned the music to actual CDRs and played them on my
actual stereo. To get my no-longer-secret formula right, you have to do this
too. An iTunes playlist will not do.
Now the work begins. You will need a lot of discs to make
this patented (patent pending) compilation. I pulled most of the tracks from
the remastered twofers Capitol released in 2000 and 2001. In the track list I’ve
noted where I slipped in tracks from other discs.
INGREDIENTS
So here’s what you’ll need to get started:
Surfin' Safari / Surfin' USA
Surfer Girl/Shut Down, Vol. 2
Little Deuce Coupe / All Summer Long
Today/ Summer Days (and Summer Nights)
Pet Sounds 1990 CD with Bonus Tracks
Pet Sounds
(Mono and Stereo twofer)
(Mono and Stereo twofer)
The Smile Sessions (2CD)
Smiley Smile / Wild Honey
Friends / 20/20
Sunflower / Surf's Up
Carl & The Passions - So Tough / Holland
Endless Harmony (Soundtrack)
Smile
(Brian Wilson solo album)
(Brian Wilson solo album)
Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy Edition)
(Dennis Wilson solo album)
(Dennis Wilson solo album)
Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys
Made In California
Landlocked
Elmer's Glue
Glue-On Glitter
Ronzoni Elbow Macaroni
(8 Boxes)
(8 Boxes)
DIRECTIONS
And now, the music…
Disc One
1.
Home Recordings/Surfin’ Rehearsal Highlights
[Made in California]
2.
Surfin’
3.
Surfin’ Safari
4.
409
5.
Surfin’ USA
6.
Shut Down
7.
Lana
8.
Farmer’s Daughter
9.
Lonely Sea
10. Surfer
Girl
11. Little
Deuce Coupe
12. Catch
a Wave
13. The
Surfer Moon
14. Hawaii
15. Be
True to Your School (Single Version)
16. In
My Room
17. Back
Home [Made in California]
18. Car
Crazy Cutie
19. Cherry,
Cherry Coupe
20. Spirit
of America
21. Custom
Machine
22. Fun,
Fun, Fun (Album Version)
23. Why
Do Fools Fall in Love
24. I
Get Around
25. Don’t
Worry Baby
26. The
Warmth of the Sun
27. All
Summer Long
28. We’ll
Run Away
29. Girls
on the Beach
30. Wendy
31. Don’t
Back Down
32. Little
Honda
33. Hushabye
34. When
I Grow Up (To Be a Man)
35. She
Knows Me Too Well
Disc Two
1.
Radio Spot (1964 Mono) [Made in California]
2.
Dance, Dance, Dance
3.
Do You Wanna Dance
4.
Good to My Baby
5.
Don’t Hurt My Little Sister
6.
Guess I’m Dumb [Made in California]
7.
Please Let Me Wonder
8.
Kiss Me, Baby
9.
In the Back of My Mind
10. Runaway
[Made in California]
11. Help
Me Rhonda (Single Version)
12. The
Girl from New York City
13. Then
I Kissed Her
14. Girl
Don’t Tell Me
15. You’re
So Good to Me
16. California
Girls
17. Let
Him Run Wild
18. The
Little Girl I Once Knew
19. There’s
No Other Like My Baby (Unplugged Mix) [Made in California]
20. Barbara
Ann [Made in California]
21. Ruby
Baby [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
22. Radio
Spot-Wonderful KYA [Made in California]
23. Wouldn’t
It Be Nice
24. You
Still Believe in Me
25. That’s
Not Me
26. Sloop
John B
27. God
Only Knows
28. Hang
on to Your Ego
29. Here
Today
30. I
Just Wasn’t Made for These Times
31. Trombone
Dixie [Pet Sounds 1990 CD with Bonus Tracks]
32. Caroline
No
Disc Three
1.
Good Vibrations
2.
Our Prayer
3.
Heroes and Villains (Alternate Take from Smiley Smile/Wild Honey)
4.
Heroes and Villains Part 2 [Made in California]
5.
Do You Like Worms? [Good Vibrations: Thirty
Years of The Beach Boys]
6.
Cabin Essence
7.
Wonderful
8.
Vega-Tables
9.
Wind Chimes [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of
The Beach Boys]
10. The
Elements: Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow
11. I
Love to Say Da Da [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
12. Child
is Father of the Man
13. Surf’s
Up (Previously Unreleased solo version) [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The
Beach Boys]
14. The
Letter [Made in California]
15. I
Believe in Miracles [Made in California]
16. Heroes
and Villains
17. Fall
Breaks and Back to Winter
18. She’s
Goin’ Bald
19. Little
Pad
20. With
Me Tonight
21. Gettin’
Hungry
22. Wild
Honey
23. Aren’t
You Glad
24. I
Was Made to Love Her
25. Country
Air
26. Darlin’
27. Let
the Wind Blow
28. Here
Comes the Night
29. How
She Boogalooed It
30. Can’t
Wait Too Long [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
31. Cool
Cool Water [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
Disc Four
1.
Meant for You [Made in California]
2.
Friends
3.
Little Bird
4.
Passing By
5.
Busy Doin’ ‘Nothin’
6.
Sail Plane Song [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]
7.
Transcendental Meditation
8.
Radio Spot Murray the K [Made in California]
9.
Do It Again
10. Wake
the World
11. Bluebirds
Over the Mountain
12. Never
Learn Not to Love
13. I
Can Hear Music
14. I
Went to Sleep
15. Time
to Get Alone
16. Mona
Kana [Made in California]
17. Break
Away
18. Celebrate
the News
19. Walk
on By
20. Loop
De Loop (Flip Flop Flyin’ in an Aeroplane) [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]
21. Susie
Cincinnati [Made in California]
22. San
Miguel [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
23. H.E.L.P.
Is on the Way [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
24. Take
a Load Off Your Feet
25. Carnival
[Landlocked]
26. I
Just Got My Pay [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
27. Good
Time [Made in California]
28. Big
Sur [Landlocked]
29. Fallin’
in Love [Made in California]
30. When
Girls Get Together [Landlocked]
31. Lookin’
at Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)
32. ’Til
I Die
33. Soulful
Old Man Sunshine [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]
Disc Five
1.
Slip on Through
2.
This Whole World
3.
Add Some Music to Your Day
4.
It’s About Time
5.
Games Two Can Play [Good Vibrations: Thirty
Years of The Beach Boys]
6.
All I Wanna Do
7.
Forever
8.
Our Sweet Love
9.
Where Is She? [Made in California]
10. Sound
of Free [Made in California]
11. Don’t
Go Near the Water
12. Long
Promised Road
13. Feel
Flows
14. 4th
of July [Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of The Beach Boys]
15. A
Day in the Life of a Tree
16. Surf’s
Up
17. (Wouldn’t
It Be Nice To) Live Again [Made in California]
18. You
Need a Mess of Help to Stand Alone
19. Here
She Comes
20. Marcella
21. Hold
On, Dear Brother
22. All
This Is That
23. Cuddle
Up
Disc Six
1.
Wonderful/Don’t Worry Bill [Endless Harmony
Soundtrack]
2.
Heroes and Villains (live) [Endless Harmony Soundtrack]
3.
Sail On Sailor
4.
The Trader
5.
Steamboat
6.
California Saga/Big Sur
7.
California Saga/The Beaks of Eagles
8.
California Saga/California
9.
Funky Pretty
10.
Barnyard Blues [Made in California]
11. Rock
and Roll Music (with Extra Verse) [Made in California]
12. It’s
OK (Alternate Mix) [Made in California]
13. You’ve
Lost That Lovin’ Feeling [Made in California]
14. Sherry,
She Needs Me [Made in California]
15. Come
Go with Me [Made in California]
16. Angel,
Come Home [Made in California]
17. Baby
Blue [Made in California]
18. River
Song [Pacific Ocean Blue]
19. Sail
On Sailor (Live Louisville 1995) [Made in California]
20. You’re
Still a Mystery [Made in California]
21. On
a Holiday [Brian WIlson Presents Smile]
22. That’s
Why God Made the Radio [Made in California]
23. Carl
Wilson Coda [Made in California]
