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