The Beach Boys - Japanese SHM-SACD Reissue Series 2014 (6x SACD, 1964-1967) PS3 ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

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.

Tracklist:

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

DSD flat transferred from U.S. original analogue Stereo or Mono master tapes.


Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,1 GB

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 shit-eating grin wide enough to qualify as an oldies radio ID jingle.

Tracklist:

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
12. Don't Back Down

DSD flat transferred from U.S. original analogue Stereo or Mono master tapes.


Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,03 GB

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!!).

Tracklist:

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, Rhonda
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 "Big Daddy"

DSD flat transferred from U.S. original analogue Mono master tapes.


Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,16 GB

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.

Tracklist:

01. The Girl From New York City
02. Amusement Parks 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

DSD flat transferred from U.S. original analogue Mono master tapes.


Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,08 GB

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.

Tracklist:

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 Shoulder)
05. I'm Waiting For The Day
06. Let's Go Away For Awhile
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

DSD flat transferred from U.S. original analogue Mono master tapes.


Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,46 GB

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.

Tracklist:

01. Heroes And Villains
02. Vegetables
03. Fall Breaks And 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

DSD flat transferred from U.S. original analogue Mono master tapes.


Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,11 GB
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