Brian Wilson Sessions (FLAC)

Here's a lovely boxset from 1994 of Brian Wilson tidbits, mostly Landy-era. Some of these tracks aren't as great-sounding as you'd find on more recent boots (especially the case with Sweet Insanity), but this is worth having for anyone wanting to hear this stuff in flac.

Disc 1: Sweet Insanity + more Landy productions
Disc 2: Sweet Insanity outtakes
Disc 3: Outtakes (incl. alternate versions and Adult/Child tracks)
Disc 4: Demos + London '77 and LA '85 live tracks
Disc 5: Still I Dream of You: The Rare Works of Brian Wilson
Disc 6: Radio interview + more BW productions
Disc 7: 'Words and Music' promo CD + radio and TV interviews

Download here

Brian: The Complete Productions

Happy holidays! Here's an attempt at a collection of Brian Wilson productions. I was mostly going off this nice list here. I tried for the best quality I could get (stereo used where it sounded good) - Pet Projects, The Big Beat 1963, Still I Dream of You, and the lovely Visions 2CD set were the main sources. Come to think of it, this is pretty much just a rip-off of Visions. Oh well.
Also, the "Guess I'm Dumb" used here is a stereo remix by runnersdialzero. It's amaaaazing.

Download here (mp3, 314mb)

Disc 1:
01. The Honeys - Surfin' Down The Swanee River
02. The Honeys - Shoot The Curl
03. The Honeys - Pray For Surf
04. The Honeys - Hide Go Seek
05. The Honeys - Rabbit's Foot
06. The Honeys - The One You Can't Have
07. The Honeys - From Jimmy With Tears
08. The Honeys - Funny Boy
09. The Honeys - You Brought It All On Yourself
10. The Honeys - Make The Night A Little Longer
11. The Honeys - In The Still Of The Night
12. The Honeys - Raindrops
13. The Honeys - He's A Doll
14. The Honeys - The Love Of A Boy And Girl
15. The Honeys - I Can See Right Through You
16. The Honeys - Tonight You Belong To Me
17. The Honeys - Goodnight My Love
18. Brian and the Honeys - Marie
19. Kenny and the Cadets - Barbie
20. Kenny and the Cadets - What Is A Young Girl Made Of
21. Rachel and the Revolvers - The Revo-Lution
22. Rachel and the Revolvers - Number One
23. Bob and Sheri - The Surfer Moon
24. Bob and Sheri - Humpty Dumpty
25. Bob and Sheri - The Big Beat
26. Bob and Sheri - Ride Away
27. The Survivors - Pamela Jean
28. The Survivors - After The Game
29. Sharon Marie - Run-Around Lover
30. Sharon Marie - Summertime
31. Sharon Marie - Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby
32. Sharon Marie - Story Of My Life
33. Glen Campbell - Malibu Sunset
34. Tri-5 - Come And Get It
35. Tri-5 - Like Chop

urgh this is painful
Disc 2:
01. The Sunsets - My Surfin' Little Woodie
02. Ron Wilson - If It Can't Be You
03. The Castells - I Do
04. Gary Usher - My Only Alibi
05. Gary Usher - One Way Road To Love
06. Gary Usher - Sacramento
07. Gary Usher - That's The Way I Feel
08. Larry Denton - Endless Sleep
09. Paul Petersen - She Rides With Me
10. The Hondells - My Buddy Seat
11. Glen Campbell - Guess I'm Dumb
12. Dick Reynolds - How Deep Is The Ocean
13. Dick Reynolds - Stella By Starlight
14. Bob and Bobby - Twelve-O-Four
15. Bob and Bobby - Baby, What You Want Me To Do
16. Ron Wilson - I'll Keep On Loving You
17. Ron Wilson - As Tears Go By
18. The Laughing Gravy - Vegetables
19. Redwood - Time To Get Alone
20. Dino, Desi and Billy - Lady Love
21. The Honeys - Come To Me
22. The Honeys - Slip On Through
23. The Honeys - Snowflakes
24. The Honeys - Shyin' Away
25. The Honeys - Fallin' In Love
26. The Honeys - Don't Be Cruel
27. The Honeys - Sweet Sunday Kinda Love
28. The Honeys - She's Just Out To Get You
29. The Honeys - Do Ya
30. The Honeys - It's Like Heaven
31. The Honeys - Had To Phone Ya

Sweet Insanity (deluxe edition?)

I thought I'd make my own Sweet Insanity disc - there are a countless amount of them about already and it's horrifically confusing, so here's another one. I like this album, I'm sorry to say. The obligatory defensive paragraph follows:

Sweet Insanity is more of a mixed bag than Brian Wilson '88, and definitely 'poppier' than its predecessor. There's certainly nothing here that scales the heights of "Melt Away", but it's a different beast altogether - the lead-off track, "Someone to Love", is an utterly infectious pop tune (with a chord progression inspired by Dennis Wilson's excellent "San Miguel"), and most everything else here has a similar sense of hook-filled fun. What lets this album down are the lyrics; where 1988 saw the presence of Andy Paley and David Leaf to prevent Landy's timeless words of "love attacks" from sabotaging the songs, this time around there was no-one to stop him, and as a result we must endure Brian singing of the "crazy beatings" he received from his father, ruining what is otherwise a fine composition ("Brian"). Two versions of this album exist (both were rejected by the label); this is the superior revised cut.

Regarding the bonus tracks, obviously not everything could be squeezed into one disc, so I ensured the stuff I left out was really the material that absolutely no-one should ever be forced to listen to (i.e. "Living Doll", "Spirit of the Forest" - you can find all that elsewhere...) - and trust me, I would've loved to have "Smart Girls" wiped, but since it's part of the 'official' tracklist I couldn't do that. Ah well.

01. Concert Tonight
02. Someone to Love
03. Water Builds Up
04. Don't Let Her Know (She's an Angel)
05. Do You Have Any Regrets (I Do)
06. Brian (Thank You)
07. The Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll (with Bob Dylan)
08. Rainbow Eyes
09. Love Ya
10. Make a Wish
11. Smart Girls

Bonus tracks:
12. Hotter
13. Country Feelin'
14. Daddy's Little Girl
15. Metal Beach
16. Goodnight Irene
17. Turning Point
18. Heavenly Bodies
19. Fantasy is Reality/ Belles of Madness
20. Concert Tonight (First Version)
21. Someone to Love (First Version)
22. Don't Let Her Know (She's an Angel) (Demo)
23. Sweetie (Demo)
24. Black Widow (Demo)
25. Harmonies

Download here (320kb/s mp3s)

Come Back, Brian!

I'm sorry you had to see that cover.

This is a Vigotone boot from 1994. It's got alternate versions of Brian Wilson '88 tracks (including the horrendous Landy-penned 'love attack' version of one of my absolute favourites from that album, "Meet Me In My Dreams Tonight"), a few highlights from the first version of Sweet Insanity, and other assorted live performances, outtakes, and demos (plus a very underrated Brian demo, "Black Widow").

01. Intro

02. Turning Point

03. Heavenly Bodies

04. Black Widow

05. In The Nighttime

06. Love and Mercy (live)

07. Walkin' the Line (live)

08. Melt Away (live)

09. Baby Let Your Hair Grow Long

10. Little Children

11. One for the Boys

12. Up in the Sky

13. Meet Me in My Dreams Tonight

14. He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body to Move

15. Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel (demo)

16. Someone to Love

17. Water Builds Up

18. Don't Let Her Know She's an Angel

19. Let's Get Together

20. Smart Girls

21. We Love You

22. Fantasy is Reality/ Belles of Madness

23. Outro

Download in mp3

Download in flac

Still I Dream of You: Rare Works of Brian Wilson

An out-of-print collection of early Brian Wilson productions, including lesser-known versions of Beach Boy-related tracks (including "I Do" by the Castells, "Thinkin' Bout You Baby" by Sharon Marie, and "Vegetables" by Laughing Gravy), the excellent Glen Campbell track "Guess I'm Dumb", and a few cases of Brian singing lead (as in "Pamela Jean" by the Survivors and "Barbie" by Kenny & the Cadets, the latter of which features the man struggling to pull off the falsetto).

01. Kenny & the Cadets - Barbie
02. Kenny & the Cadets - What is a Young Girl Made Of
03. Rachel & the Revolvers - The Revo-Lution
04. Rachel & the Revolvers - Number One
05. Bob & Sheri - The Surfer Moon
06. Bob & Sheri - Humpty Dumpty
07. Timers - No-Go Showboat
08. Sharon Marie - Run-Around Lover
09. The Survivors - Pamela Jean
10. The Castells - I Do
11. Paul Peterson - She Rides with Me
12. Nodaens - Beach Girl
13. The Honeys - He's a Doll
14. Gary Usher - Sacramento
15. Gary Usher - That's Just the Way I Feel
16. Sharon Marie - Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby
17. Sharon Marie - The Story of My Life
18. Hale & the Hushabyes - Yes Sir, That's My Baby
19. Basil Swift & the Seegrams - The Farmer's Daughter
20. Annette Funicello - The Monkey's Uncle
21. Glen Campbell - Guess I'm Dumb
22. The Blossoms - Things are Changing
23. Bob & Bobby - Twelve-O-Four
24. Bob & Bobby - Baby, What You Want Me to Do
25. Laughing Gravy - Vegetables
26. Ron Wilson - I'll Keep on Loving You
27. Ron Wilson - As Tears Go By
28. Dino, Desi & Billy - Lady Love

Bonus tracks:
29. Kenny & the Cadets - Barbie (Take 2)
30. Dante & His Friends - Miss America
31. Joey & the Continentals - She Rides with Me
32. The Beach Boys - Surfin' Safari (ARIOLA Version)
33. Various Artists - Karen

Download in 320kbps mp3
Download flac

Our Favorite Recordings: For Collectors Only (FLAC)

A range of great-sounding recordings over two discs, from the very good ("We Got Love"), to the pretty good ("Monkey's Uncle"), to the bad ("Problem Child"), to the baaaaaad ("Crocodile Rock", "Fun Fun Fun" with Status Quo, whatever the hell "Howdy from Maui" is oh god maybe you shouldn't get this

Also included are several backing tracks and alternate versions, as well as a few live cuts from (I think) 1993.

CD1
01. Surfin' Safari
02. Karen
03. What'd I Say
04. The Monkey's Uncle
05. Wouldn't It Be Nice
06. We Got Love
07. Here Comes the Night (instrumental)
08. California Dreamin'
09. Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue
10. Rock 'n' Roll to the Rescue (instrumental)
11. Back in the USSR
12. Come Go with Me
13. Surfer Girl
14. Barbara Ann
15. Happy Birthday America

CD2
01. Runaway
02. California Girls
03. Don't Worry Baby
04. Problem Child (instrumental)
05. Problem Child
06. Crocodile Rock
07. Forever w/ John Stamos
08. Forever (instrumental)
09. Fun Fun Fun w/ Status Quo
10. Fun Fun Fun w/ Status Quo (extended)
11. Hawdi from Maui
12. The Beach Boys Medley

Download here (FLAC, 605mb)

Winds of Change (MIU Outtakes)

Well, at any rate, I liked M.I.U.

01. Winds of Change
02. Match Point of Our Love
03. Sweet Sunday Kind of Love
04. How's About a Little Bit of Your Sweet Lovin'
05. Mony Mony
06. Hey Little Tomboy
07. She's Got Rhythm
08. Michael Row the Boat Ashore
09. My Diane
10. Pitter Patter (w/ thunderstorm effects)
11. Pitter Patter
12. Belles of Paris
13. Winds of Change
14. Seasons in the Sun
15. Go and Get That Girl
16. Wontcha Come Out Tonight
17. Looking Down the Coast (False Start)
18. Looking Down the Coast
19. On Broadway
20. Kona Christmas
21. Come Go with Me
22. Match Point of Our Love
23. Here Comes the Night (Single Version)

Download here (192k mp3s, 90mb)

Dumb Angels

Here's the second instalment in a three-part series by Woodstock; Dumb Angels, the follow-up to Symphony to God. This pastiche focuses more on obscurities and the group's lesser-known 70s output. A lot of decent stuff here. Extra help from Rab2591.

Download here

Harmony Friends

A selection of outtakes and alternative cuts from the Smiley Smile to 20/20 era.

Download here (320kb/s mp3s, 246mb)

The Smile Sessions (Stereo Mix by }{eywood)

Here's another very nice stereo mix of The Smile Sessions by }{eywood, creator of the excellent Ear to Ear Expansion. Included as bonus tracks are two more versions of "Good Vibrations"; a live 1966 performance and an alternate mix with Tony Asher's lyrics.

Download here (FLAC, 332mb)

Slightly American Music (Wilson/Paley)

I recently found the 1996 Wilson/Paley sessions in lossless flac, so I thought it might be a nice time to dig deeper into these recordings. The selection of songs that came out of these sessions is a mixed bag, and I'd hesitate to call any of these songs "great", but there was certainly more than enough decent material to warrant a Brian Wilson solo album. So I attempted to compile the best of the lot into a 12-song LP that I tried to give some flow - there's the happier, goofier stuff on the first half, then more serious material on the second (including the original version of "Gettin' In Over My Head", which in my opinion is much better than what was released in 2004).
A good chunk of the tracks previously came sped up about 20%, which made Brian sound a bit off; here I attempted to slow down those tracks to their correct length. Eleven other songs from these sessions are included as bonus tracks.

01. Proud Mary
02. Slightly American Music
03. I'm Broke
04. Chain Reaction of Love
05. Soul Searchin'
06. Desert Drive
07. This Could Be the Night
08. You're Still A Mystery
09. Gettin' In Over My Head
10. It's Not Easy Bein' Me
11. Must Be a Miracle
12. Some Sweet Day

Bonus Tracks:
13. Saturday Morning in the City
14. Sweets for my Sweet
15. Marketplace
16. This Song Wants to Sleep with You Tonight
17. Mary Anne
18. Frankie Avalon
19. Elbow '63
20. God Did It
21. Goin' Home
22. What Rock 'N' Roll Can Do
23. In My Moondreams

Download in mp3 (173mb)
Download in flac (417mb)

Symphony to God

A fresh new way to listen to the Beach Boys. This is a personal project from Woodstock, a pastiche of some of the best Beach Boys songs (many presented in slightly tweaked versions) linked with interviews from various sources. Extra help from Rab2591.

Download here

Enoshima Beach 1979 (On The Beach) FLAC

Concert at Enoshima Beach, August 4th 1979. All in FLAC, so if hearing "Sumahama" live in the best possible condition is a thing you'd be interested in:

01. California Girls
02. Darlin'
03. Little Deuce Coupe
04. In My Room
05. Good Timin'
06. Sumahama
07. Help Me Rhonda
08. I Get Around
09. Surfin' USA
10. Good Vibrations
11. Fun Fun Fun

Download here

Dumb Angel Rarities 14: Bamboo + Bonus Tracks (FLAC)

Here's a decent quality copy of the Dennis edition of Dumb Angel Rarities, which includes a few alternate cuts of Bambu tracks not available on the released Legacy Edition.

01. Companion
02. Moonlight
03. It's Not Too Late
04. (I Found Myself In A) Wild Situation
05. Baby Blue [Alternate Version]
06. School Girl
07. Love Surrounds Me [Alternate Version]
08. New Orleans
09. All Alone [Alternate Version]
10. Morning Christmas
11. Good Timin' [Live]
12. Angel Come Home [Live]
13. Quad Symphony [Excerpt]
14. River Song [Early Version]
15. San Miguel [Alternate Instrumental Version] *Actually just the backing track for Time For Bed
16. All Of My Love
17. Pacific Ocean Blues [Track]
18. You Are So Beautiful [Live]
19. He's A Bum
20. Quad Symphony [Excerpt]
21. Carry Me Home
22. (I Found Myself In A) Wild Situation [Without Lead Vocal]
23. Sound of Free
24. Interview [Live]
25. Lady [Live]

Download here (FLAC, 410 mb)

MiLES

Enjoy this hip-hop remix of Smile, by foxtrot stowaway. Each track is downloadable in WAV format.

Listen here

Live in Central Park - September 1, 1977

Here's one of the more controversial concerts, at a tense time for the band; it was performed on the same day as an alleged shouting match between the Wilson brothers and Love/Jardine, which almost turned into a fist fight. They played pretty good though.

Download here (192k mp3s)

Live in Michigan - November 17, 1967

I noticed the general lack of live shows on the blog due to a focus more on the studio side. So, we've been gradually attempting to remedy that recently, and we shall continue to do so for a bit, so look for some cool live shows in the future.

This pre-Wild Honey release show is heavy on the Wild Honey material; 4 of the 11 tracks hail from the yet-to-be-released album, so there's bound to be some flubs on the band's part. Carl, who takes lead on about the half the show, frequently forgets the new lyrics. Oh, well, at least he sounds good doing it.

The set list is strong and concise, and the band blasts through the 11 songs at a nice clip. The recording is also sonically good as well, which is surprising for a concert recording from 1967 (it's a soundboard). Also included is a seemingly rare performance of "How She Boogalooed It".

This concert is definitely worth your time, and you can find the whole shebang right here.

Get Lei'd

The story is an odd one. Smiley Smile is unleashed upon the public, the Beach Boys commence touring, and Brian decides that he's going to show up again. Upon Brian's insistence, his Hammond B-3 is shipped back and forth from L.A. to Hawaii, although the plan to distribute ukuleles to the audience is scrapped. 

After some rehearsals (which are included), concerts are taped for release (both are included), but the performances are found... not up to snuff. The Beach Boys head to Wally Heider's studio to record their selections from their setlist in their new, stripped down fashion (these are also included). 

This entire project is ultimately scrapped and the band swiftly moves onto the wonderful Wild Honey.

This is unfortunate, as these revamped versions of the familiar tunes are quite beautiful. The songs are incredibly tender and airy, by simply pairing down the arrangements and softening their vocal deliveries, they create entirely new songs. Sadly, these arrangements were never revisited. The gentleman who supplied us with the 1972 mono mix of Pet Sounds had a very apt description of "California Girls" when I shared it with him, saying that "Mike sounds like he's floating in the sky." Indeed.

I would advise you to seek out the officially released recordings, which sound markedly better than these bootleg versions. If I recall, they're on various two-fers, Rarities, Good Vibrations: Thirty Years of the Beach Boys, and Made in California. These don't sound bad, mind you, but the actual, released versions sound fuller.

Here's a folder with a collection of all the released recordings. Pick yourself out sumthin nice.

The distinction between these bootlegs can get convoluted, so here it is sorted for you:

Aloha from Hawaii (And Hollywood)

• Live at the Honolulu International Center, August 25, 1967
• The "live-in-the-studio" rehearsals at Wally Heider's Studio, September 11, 1967

Lei'd in Hawaii Rehearsal

• Pre-show rehearsal on August 25, 1967
• Some random, unrelated studio outtakes
• A live show from 1963
• Two drunken performances from Carl in 1978 in Sydney (you know the one).

Live 1967-08-26 - Honolulu

• The live show from August 26, 1967
• Has the one-off "Hawthorne Boulevard"

Aquarian Smile

A new Smile from Mujan, who did last year's Smile: Reflections mix.

Download here (flac, artwork, info)

Updates!

If I find a higher quality copy of a bootleg, I'll put the new links on their posts and update this. So check back or summin'.

2014/5/17: Get The Boot FLACs added.
2014/5/18: Links to SMiLE Instrumentals updated + FLACs.
2014/5/29: Unsurpassed Masters: Smile FLAC added.
2014/5/31: Mok's Smile FLAC added.
2014/8/28: Wilson/Paley FLACs added.
2016/5/23: Secret Smile updated.

In The Beginning / The Garage Tapes

A 2007 2-CD boot from Sea of Tunes, featuring what could very well be the earliest Beach Boys recordings available; 19 minutes of "Surfin'" rehearsals, apparently from 1960. Also included are various home recordings (with a very young Dennis audible in a track that also contains Mike muttering "Dennis is a prick"), and session material (such as a very early take on 'Sloop John B').

Download here (320kbps mp3s + artwork)

Live from Nassau Coliseum, 1974

A show from the Nassau Coliseum, 1974 - here are some details. No "Fun Fun Fun" unfortunately... :(

Disc 1
01. Wouldn't It Be Nice
02. Sail On Sailor
03. Funky Pretty
04. Marcella
05. California Saga: California
06. We Got Love
07. Little Deuce Coupe
08. The Trader
09. All This Is That
10. Feel Flows
11. Surfer Girl
12. God Only Knows
13. Heroes and Villains

Disc 2
01. Don't Worry Baby
02. Sloop John B
03. Help Me, Rhonda
04. I Get Around
05. Good Vibrations
06. California Girls
07. Barbara Ann
08. Surfin' USA

Download here

The Lost Hotel Tapes

Here's a hotel room jam session from (apparently) April 1990, with Brian, Bruce, and some friends playing various covers and Beach Boys songs. They do some surprisingly deep cuts too.

01. This Could Be The Night
02. Rhapsody In Blue, Caroline No, Shortenin' Bread, I'm Broke, Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, Little Honda
03. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Proud Mary
04. Rainbow Eyes, Sherry She Needs Me, Sail On Sailor
05. Palisades Park, So Long, Ding Dang, Caroline No, Disney Girls
06. Caroline No, Shortenin' Bread, Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, Brian, Please Let Me Wonder
07. Papa-Om-Mow-Mow, Be My Baby, Darlin', Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love, I'm So Lonely
08. Down In L.A., Someone To Love, God Only Knows, Caroline No
09. This Whole World, Add Some Music, Cool Cool Water, Unknown Cover, I Can Hear Music

Download here

MQR Presents SMiLE (An Ear to Ear Expansion)

I swear, this took me AGES to find. But here it is - MQR's very inventive "ear-to-ear expansion" of Smile. There are flac versions out there (and by 'out there' I mean on torrents that won't bloody seed), but unfortunately the best I could get were 320kbps mp3s. Oh well.

CD1 - the mix
CD2 - bonus tracks, including a half hour vocals montage

SMiLE AD: Fan-Mixer Toolkit

Here's something that was posted to the Smiley Smile board in June 2012 by seltaeb, a collection of Smile soundbites which fanmixers may find most useful. Included are a heap of BWPS isolations, Barnyard/ Great Shape/ Wonderful isolations, and other bits and bobs used by seltaeb in his fantastic SMiLE AD mix.

Download here

Heroes and Vibrations

Here's Heroes and Vibrations, the "taster" for the proposed Smile box set by Vigotone which never materialized (fittingly), which has some superb vocal takes and session snippets unavailable on The Smile Sessions.

"Good Vibrations" Sessions
01. Instrumental Track
02. Toy Piano
03. Fuzz Bass
04. Rehearsals - Instrumental Track
05. Piccolo
06. She's Already Workin' On My Brain (mono)
07. Hum-Be-Dum (mono)
08. Rarities mix (mono)

"Heroes and Villains" Sessions
09. Fire Intro
10. I've Been In This Town... (instrumental)
11. I've Been In This Town... (w/ vocals)
12. In The Cantina... (piano rehearsal, final version w/ vocals)
13. My Children Were Raised... (vocal rehearsals)
14. My Children Were Raised... (w/ final vocals)
15. Sunny Down Snuff... (final vocals)
16. Dum, Dum, Dum (end of H&V part one)
17. Tag To Part One (2nd version)
18. Bicycle Rider (main H&V theme)
19. H&V Part Two (revised version take one)
20. Just See What You've Done (final vocals)
21. Mike Fucks With The Formula

Download here (FLAC, 173mb)

SMiLE: The Essential Edit.

This is it.

No fucking around.

Download here.

(Worthwhile post coming momentarily)

Spit of America

A follow-up of sorts to Endless Bummer, this is Spit of America: Further Atrocities In The Beach Boys Canon, brought to you by sorrowful masochists Judd and Bubbly Waves. It features such essentials as the Celebration cut of "Gettin' Hungry", both sides of Mike and Dean's "Jingle Bell Rock" single, and (in saving the best 'til last) the absolute masterpiece "Spirit of the Forest", a charity single that Brian guests on.

01. Mike's Arbor Day Spot (extended version)
02. Fun Fun Fun (feat. Status Quo)
03. Gettin' Hungry (Celebration)
04. Wrinkles
05. Howdy From Maui
06. Oh! Those Girls (Mike's hair metal track)
07. Can't Stop Talking About American Girls
08. Happy Birthday America
09. Imagine (Mike Love - live)
10. Kokomo (alternate version)
11. Forever (Stamos lead)
12. Jingle Bell Rock (feat. Dean Torrence)
13. Let's Party!
14. California Recall Blues
15. Spirit of the Forest (12'' version)

Download here

#TaxTimeIsHereAgain

Wild Honey (stereo mix by Memory Man)

Memory Man's stereo mix of the Wild Honey album. Includes fake stereo mixes of "Aren't You Glad", "I'd Love Just Once To See You", "How She Boogalooed It", and "Mama Says".

Download here (flac, 155mb)

The Live Box (1965-1968)

Two shows in Michigan, plus rehearsals and radio spots!

Download here (320kbps mp3s + artwork)

Good Elements

Here's a free-form compilation by a friend of mine, SirQuacky, who also recently completed a restoration of Frank Zappa's film 200 Motels. This is apparently one in a series of "mixtapes", and here he tackles the SMiLE Sessions and other Beach Boys bits and pieces. Many tracks have been remixed and on a couple he's even added a new instrumental part here and there. It comes highly recommended!

Side One
Our Prayer (20/20)
Heroes And Villains* (SirQuacky Edit)
Do You Like Worms?* (SMiLE Sessions)
She Gives Speeches (Smiley Smile Plus)
The Old Master Painter* (SMiLE Sessions)
You're Welcome* (SMiLE Sessions)
Gettin' Hungry (Smiley Smile Plus)
Vegetables (Smiley Smile Plus)

Side Two
Cabin Essence (20/20)
Wonderful (Smiley Smile Plus)
Diamond Head (Friends)
Little Pad (Smiley Smile Plus)
Wind Chimes (Smiley Smile Plus)
'Til I Die (Surf's Up)
Surf's Up (Surf's Up)
Whistle In (Smiley Smile Plus)

* = Mono mix     Bold = important mix

Download side 1
Download side 2

Smile (Stereo Mix by Memory Man)

Another stereo mix of Smile, plus a ton of bonus tracks.

01. Our Prayer
02. Gee
03. Heroes and Villains
04. Do You Like Worms (Roll Plymouth Rock)
05. I'm In Great Shape
06. Barnyard
07. My Only Sunshine
08. Cabin Essence
09. Wonderful
10. Look (Song For Children)
11. Child Is Father Of The Man
12. Surf's Up
13. I Wanna Be Around/ Workshop
14. Vega-Tables
15. Holidays
16. Wind Chimes
17. The Elements: Fire
18. Love To Say Dada
19. Good Vibrations
20. You're Welcome
21. Heroes and Villains (part 1 - stereo)
22. Heroes and Villains (part 2 - stereo)
23. Good Vibrations (instrumental sections)
24. He Gives Speeches
25. Wonderful Tag
26. Carl Wilson
27. You're With Me Tonight
28. Cool Cool Water
29. I Don't Know
30. Tune X
31. Smile Retail Promo Advert
32. Carl Wilson - Coda

mp3
flac

SMiLE (Odeon, 2nd Edition)

The second edition Odeon bootleg of Smile.

Download here

SMiLE: Reflections

A Smile mix from June of last year, by Mujan.

Side 1

Side 2

"So, as you can probably tell from the terminology, this is a two suite, "what would SMiLE have been had it came out in the 60s?" mix rather than the three suite "everything and the kitchen sink" mixes I've seen a lot of recently. My goal was to make a tight, flowing album. No mood or rhythm killing starts and stops like in the official 2011 release, and no BWPS fly-ins. I tried to give each side its own thematic identity, and I purposefully used a track order as different from the '04/'11 standard as possible.

"I call it, SMiLE: Reflections, with Side One representing a look back on America and Side Two on Childhood. All audio is from the boxset except Look which I took from SMiLE AD 4.0, which is by far the best version of that song (in my opinion) and which I had no chance of topping. The pics in the video are by me. Please enjoy, constructive criticism is highly encouraged. If nothing else, it's a unique mix if I say so myself, and I hope it gives others ideas. Additional info is in the video descriptions." - Mujan

Track List:

Side One
Our Prayer/Gee
Heroes and Villains
Cabin Essence
Do You Like Worms?
Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
Vega-Tables
Heroes and Villains (Reprise)

Side Two
You're Welcome/Whispering Winds
Wind Chimes
Child is Father of the Man
Wonderful
Look (I Ran)
Cool, Cool Water
Second Day
Surf's Up

Random Rarities

Here's a collection I made of a few tracks that can be quite hard to come by (including a high quality 'We Got Love'), along with some other tidbits such as my own mix of 'Can't Wait Too Long'.

01. In The Back Of My Mind (instrumental)
02. Wonderful K.O.M.A.
03. Heroes and Villains (Lei'd In Hawaii)
04. Can't Wait Too Long
05. I Was Made To Love Her (Rehearsal)
06. Oh Yeah!
07. Fig Plucker
08. America, I Know You
09. Loop de Loop
10. 'Til I Die (Alternate Mix)
11. Out in the Country
12. We Got Love
13. Rollin' Up To Heaven
14. Mony, Mony
15. Rock and Roll Music (hot mix)
16. Everybody Wants To Live
17. Drip Drop (Teardrops On My Bed)
18. I'm Begging You Please
19. Oh Darlin' (Alternate Version)
20. Oh Lord

Download here

Goodbye Surfing, Hello God!

Here's a beast of a boot; 178 tracks, all in flac, of material mostly from the 20/20 period. We have full mixing sessions of "Help Me Rhonda", "Little Bird", "Never Learn Not To Love", "Be With Me", "Bluebirds Over The Mountain", "Time To Get Alone", and "The Nearest Faraway Place", as well as an amalgam of other goodies such as "Harmony Friends", "Oh Yeah!", "Fig Plucker", alternate mixes and vocals, and a full live show in Washington DC from 11/19/67!

flac (1.42 gb)
mp3s (192kbps, 401 mb)

Bedroom Tapes & Brian/Piano

Cover by Judd

A new article has been published in LA Weekly that shines a light on one of Brian's more ambiguous periods. It gives details into songs not very well documented, some not known to have existed, and is an intriguing read all the way through. If you haven't read these yet, check 'em out here:

First, introductory article

Tracklisting of the Bedroom Tapes

Reading these two articles inspired me to go and collect what was available of these tapes. After I collected everything that was 'out there,' I then had to prune it down to only the unreleased tracks because posting officially released songs would be naughty/illegal.

Track listing goes like this (arranged chronologically, as best I could):

1. "Walkin'" - Incomplete, 1970 take.

2. "Back Home" - A piano demo from 1970 with Al and Brian.

3. "Add Some Music" - An alternate lyric version.

4. "Won't You Tell Me" - A rather awkward song with Carl and Brian sharing lead. 

5. "My Solution" - An infamous song Brian cut on Halloween.
6. "Awake" - An 1971 demo of the Spring song.
7. "Daddy Dear/Susie Cincinnati" - A rather rare demo that Brian recorded in Holland circa 1972.
8. "Good Timin'" - The incomplete track cut in 1974 - track and lead vocal.

Cover by Judd

Compiling the previous collection inspired me to collect this one. 

I've always had a love for piano demos, not entirely sure why. To do my best to explain it: it's like hearing a master craftsman using their favorite tool to convey their work. Pianos were Brian's instrument of choice and it gives you the chance to understand and see exactly how he wrote it and how it evolved into the song it became.

There's also an air of rawness and honesty to these demos. It's Brian being himself, singing the songs he wrote. What's not to love?

Track listing goes like this (also arranged chronologically, as best I could):

01. "Little Red Book" - A song cut in 1968, originally thought to be for Smile, but it's now believed to have been a gift for Marilyn. 

02. "Awake" - A 1971 demo for the Spring song. 

03. "Daddy Dear/Susie Cincinnati" - A rather rare demo recorded by Brian circa 1972 in Holland.

04. "Fairy Tale Music" - A demonstration performed for a journalist who stopped by to talk to Brian.

05. "That Special Feeling" - A demo recorded by Brian for his supposed first solo album.

06. "It's Over Now" - This song's details are unknown to me.

The Love You Auditions:

07. "It's Over Now" - A tad subdued in delivery, this is the first song Brian delivers, and the band responds with silence.

08. "They're Marching Along" - The purported second song auditioned and first one to elicit a response.

09. "Still I Dream of It" - Brian's soul-bearing wonder of a song again lands in silence.

10. "Love Is a Woman" - Another song to fall flat on its face.

11. "Mona" - Interesting to hear Brian sing this, but, once again, SILENCE.

12. "Airplane" - The first song to finally get some praise. Mike sounds excited as Brian croons through this song.

13. "Let's Put Our Hearts Together" - Mike really shows approval at the end of this one, and that probably made Brian a tad more confident.

14. "I'll Bet He's Nice" - Brian really settles in and absolutely nails this one. Goddammit, that bridge gives me goosebumps. 

15. "I'm Begging You Please" - A demo recorded in 1978 for L.A. (Light Album). One wishes he could have finished it and had a larger presence on the album. 

If nothing else, you should download one of these for the rare, disappeared-from-the-internet 1972 demo of "Daddy Dear/Susie Cincinnati." His falsetto is pretty great on it, but he seems to struggle through both as he can't really remember how either song goes. A fascinating listen, nonetheless.

Bedroom Tapes: this is a link

Brian/Piano: this is another link

The Beach Boys : Goodies, Part 1 & 2

Yellow.

Today I'm here to share something that, like my last post (Seattle, 1970), has all but dried up on the internet. Thanks to a friend's determination, I'm able to share it with you all.

A compilation of Wild Honey and Friends stuff (plus "Amusement Parks U.S.A and "Heroes and Villains" from the Lei'd in Hawaii era), there's some interesting stuff you won't hear elsewhere. Such as: "Darlin'" with a harp tag, a "Meant for You" instrumental, and a few different versions of "Wild Honey" (different mixes, certain instruments dropped out.)

The "Amusement Parks" seems to be just a work-in-progress missing a few overdubs, like Brian's maniacal laughter. The Lei'd in Hawaii "Heroes and Villains" is an interesting listen, too - it's what (seems like) is the full session tape. You can hear them recording the different overdubs, and, at one point, you can hear Brian sing "Lately, I've been eatin' so much pussy" clear as a bell.

This.

Psychedelic Sounds

The legendary psychedelic recordings (chants and comedy sketches) from the Smile sessions.

Download CD1
Download CD2

California Feeling

01. California Feeling
02. Brian's Back
03. We're Together Again
04. Our Team
05. How's About A Little Bit Of Your Sweet Lovin'
06. I'm Begging You Please
07. Santa Ana Winds
08. Looking Down The Coast
09. Lazy Lizzie
10. California Dreamin'
11. Skatetown USA
12. Sherry, She Needs Me
13. River Song
14. Stevie
15. Marilyn Rovell
16. We Gotta Groove
17. Carry Me Home

Download here

21 Little Ones

Some Brian material.

01. The Spirit of Rock and Roll
02. Turning Point
03. Just Say No
04. Heavenly Bodies
05. Christmas Time
06. Walkin' The Line
07. Save the Day
08. Concert Tonight
09. Barbie
10. This Could Be The Night
11. Sweets For My Sweets
12. Too Much Sugar
13. Goodnight Irene
14. California Girls (live)
15. God Only Knows (live)
16. Surfer Girl (live)
17. The Spirit of Rock and Roll (live)
18. Let's Go To Heaven In My Car
19. I'll Bet He's Nice (demo)
20. That Special Feeling (demo)
21. Still I Dream of It (demo)

Download here

Live in Princeton, 1971 (Surf's Up In Prinston)

Live show from Princeton University, 11-11-1971, which originally had a quite hilariously incorrect tracklist (noted).

01. Good Vibrations (originally listed as 'Good Vibration')
02. Don't Go Near The Water (originally listed as 'Don't Go Near The Weather')
03. Darlin'
04. Wouldn't It Be Nice
05. Long Promised Road
06. Student Demonstration Time
07. Disney Girls (originally listed as 'Disney Girl')
08. Take A Load Off Your Feet
09. Sloop John B
10. Surfin' USA
11. It's About Time
12. Cool Cool Water (originally listed as 'Cool Cool Weather')
13. Lookin' At Tomorrow
14. Caroline, No
15. God Only Knows
16. Surf's Up
17. Medley (Cottonfields, Heroes and Villains); Encore (California Girls, I Get Around, Help Me Rhonda, Fun Fun Fun) (originally listed as 'Medlley' with 'California Girl', 'I Got Around' and 'Help Me Rdnnda')

Download here

Smile Hybrid

Here's a mix from 2005 by Mattix, a hybrid of Brian Wilson Presents Smile and the original '66-67 recordings following the 2004 template. Unlike many of the other pre-Smile Sessions edits, the sound quality of the 60s material is generally quite good here, though often entire chunks of BWPS are used over several tracks. A fine mix all in all, but as always I'd say if you want a good seamless hybrid of '67 and '04 material, try this one.

Download here

Live in Seattle, 1970

Hello, again.

This is sort of an infamous show and quite hard to find nowadays. 

Mike Love took ill with his apple juice diet and wasn't able to make it to the show. So, little ol' Brian Wilson was there to step in for him. 

The set list is great, as are most from this time frame (maybe it's just my preference) and I find the performances are pretty good, too. Although, the recording is quite shoddy and detracts from the quality. However, it is quite the oddity in their concert performances and it's interesting to hear Brian live while still in good form.

So, this is another you may not always want to come back to, but it's great that this recording actually exists and I'm happy to finally have it for myself and be able to spread it along to others who may want to hear this.

Here it be.

01. Intro

02. Do It Again

03. Darlin'

04. Surfer Girl

05. Sloop John B

06. Help Me, Rhonda

07. I Can Hear Music

08. Wouldn't It Be Nice

09. Add Some Music To Your Day

10. Cottonfields

11. God Only Knows

12. Barbara-Ann

13. The Nearest Faraway Place

14. Good Vibrations

That Lucky Old Sun - Demos

That Lucky Old Sun studio demos.

01. That Lucky Old Sun
02. That Lucky Old Sun 2
03. Morning Beat
04. Narrative: Room With A View
05. Good Kind Of Love
06. Forever She'll Be My Surfer Girl
07. Narrative: Venice Beach
08. Live Let Live
09. Mexican Girl
10. Narrative: De Mayo
11. California Role
12. Narrative: Between Pictures
13. Oxygen To The Brain
14. Been Too Long
15. Midnight's Another Day
16. Lucky Old Sun
17. Goin' Home
18. Southern California

Download here

3 Acetates from Dennis' Garage

My friend Orwelle (Bubbly Waves) has decided to join the blog.

Hello, all.

This being my first post here, I thought I would start with something cool.

These are three acetates that were found in Denny's Garage (obviously) for early versions of "San Miguel," "Do It Again" (tentatively titled  here as 'Surf Again'), and "Time to Get Alone." However, the differences presented here aren't too drastic compared to the released versions. You may be able to pick out a different drum part or vocal, but it's nothing too earth-shattering. Also, the quality is pretty good for an acetate and there isn't anything too major (discounting the momentary pops during the beginning of "Time to Get Alone").

More or less, I thought this was interesting and cool to own, like a sort-of historical document, I s'pose. The songs themselves are great, but it may not be something you keep coming back to. But, if you do, then that's great.

I'd like to thank the mysterious person known as SmokyPS for sharing these (who used to own the acetates himself).

Here you all go: click this

More stuff to come in the future!