Beatles 'n' Beach Boys

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MickB

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Beach Boys cognescenti have often bemoaned that it took 30 years for the Pet Sounds record to be recognised as the high artistic work that it is.

I think I know why.

Along with the concept that it's taken so long for people to 'get used to it', the sound quality of the original mix is quite poor. For somebody playing an over-saturated, over-noisy, over-compressed mono pop record on a Dansette portable record player, much of the clarity and nuances are lost as well as, to my ears, the layers of carefully prepared sounds seem smothered. The CD re-release playing through more modern hifi sets did little to improve things.

Jump to 1996, when a remixed stereo version was released on CD. The 'car radio' objective was obsolete and so we could hear for the first time the smooth, open, clear, seperated, crisp sounds of the original sessions. OK, you still didn't hear everything due to CD's limitations, but for the first time the Pet Sounds mix actually SOUNDED like a record made by a musical genius in its technical quality. Close your eyes and you could almost imagine being there. (And you got the instrumental mixes too, as if to drive the point home).

And we later got Pet Sounds (and the finished Smile) on DVD-Audio too. Oh God, yea! And with Brian Wilson being inspired by the Beatles' Love release, we may well hear other Beach Boys delights completely remixed or reworked.

At last we're getting some of the old masters' works reproduced in a crystal clear, rich fashion.
 
Love Brian Wilson he will always be an inspiration to me. He overcame so much I dont think a lot of people have the slightest idea of how sick he was.

Really love his music and a lot of the stereo mixes are better but not all. I do at times find my self liking a mono version better.
 
DAS19 said:
Love Brian Wilson he will always be an inspiration to me. He overcame so much I dont think a lot of people have the slightest idea of how sick he was.
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I like the guy. He indeed had a difficult time and lots of problems that he overcame. I had the pleasure of working with him, I am in the band on his Imagination TV special ( around 1998). I also ate lunch at his table and got to observe him for two days. Very ordinary-acting fella, you wouldnt know he was a rock star at all. Dressed normally, lived in a normal house ( nice but not a mansion). Was a great learning experience, I enjoyed it a lot.
 
MickB said:
Beach Boys cognescenti have often bemoaned that it took 30 years for the Pet Sounds record to be recognised as the high artistic work that it is.

I think I know why.

Along with the concept that it's taken so long for people to 'get used to it', the sound quality of the original mix is quite poor. For somebody playing an over-saturated, over-noisy, over-compressed mono pop record on a Dansette portable record player, much of the clarity and nuances are lost as well as, to my ears, the layers of carefully prepared sounds seem smothered. The CD re-release playing through more modern hifi sets did little to improve things.

Jump to 1996, when a remixed stereo version was released on CD. The 'car radio' objective was obsolete and so we could hear for the first time the smooth, open, clear, seperated, crisp sounds of the original sessions. OK, you still didn't hear everything due to CD's limitations, but for the first time the Pet Sounds mix actually SOUNDED like a record made by a musical genius in its technical quality. Close your eyes and you could almost imagine being there. (And you got the instrumental mixes too, as if to drive the point home).

And we later got Pet Sounds (and the finished Smile) on DVD-Audio too. Oh God, yea! And with Brian Wilson being inspired by the Beatles' Love release, we may well hear other Beach Boys delights completely remixed or reworked.

At last we're getting some of the old masters' works reproduced in a crystal clear, rich fashion.
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It does sound good doesn't it?
And, me being a vinyl junkie, I have it on 180gm vinyl! :)
 
Gotta Love the 'Boys' Listen to that reverb on Good Vibrations, . .That was recorded at the now defunked Western Studios in Hollywood in their Live Echo Chamber, . . Pure genuis. . . :p
 

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DAS19 said:
Love Brian Wilson he will always be an inspiration to me. He overcame so much I dont think a lot of people have the slightest idea of how sick he was.

Really love his music and a lot of the stereo mixes are better but not all. I do at times find my self liking a mono version better.
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Pretty much what I would've said about Brian. I'd say that well mixed mono recordings can really be appreciated - especially listening to some modern stereo recordings. I'm not being specific to Brian's work, but rather more in general.
 
I don't know though. Don't you feel that the mono is the way it was SUPPOSED to be? I in general don't like remixed or mastered classics. But I have most of my fav's on vinyl so I get the best of both I guess... :rolleyes:
 
In the Sixties, mono was the de-facto standard, with the secondary stereo mixes being almost the afterthought. Even when the Beatles were doing Sgt. Pepper and the White Album the focus was on the mono mixes with more effort put into those.

But from the '70s and on, stereo has become the priority choice for listeners and producers, even though many mono mixes can sound more 'solid'.

Brian Wilson produced his Pet Sounds in mono because he wanted you to hear everything exactly the way he set them without expecting the listener to sit still between two exactly placed loudspeakers, plus the fact that the instrumental tracks were bounced to mono on a second tape ready for the vocal overdubs. (And because he was slightly deaf in one ear, he wouldn't have fancied a stereo mix anyway.)

But when he remixed it in the 1990s he was impressed at how open, detailed and clear the new mixes sounded and championed them.

Also, George Martin's remixes of Beatle records, from 1974 when he re-did Pepper and on, have never had specific mono mixes made. And none of the Beatles protested (except John Lennon because he never enjoyed Strawberry Fields or the White Album in stereo).

So in cases like these, either mix is the 'right' choice now!
 
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Well I think the reason why they werent recognized to a bigger audience with what they did was due to the mainstream view of them as "beach" boys with beach songs. People to this day still dont get past it. If I remember correctly there was internal differences with that exact problem in the band. He wanted to move away from that sound and the rest didnt. I mean Kokomo didnt do anything for me but get my sister to name our dog after it when it came out. And of course the older stuff was mixed in mono so that was the way it was supposed to sound. But its always good to hear new mixes if you ask me. I think they re-released Pet Sounds again on Vinly in mono and stereo, and on Cd and 5.1 recently, at least thats what my barnes and nobles email said to me. Could be the start of my vinly collection. What a disease that could turn into.
 
Indeed so. The only reason Sloop John B was included on the record, much to Wilson's chagrin, was because Capitol wanted a single to pull from it!

Plus, they also released a Best Of album at the same time, just to cover themselves.

Some may say that they were motivated by the bottom line, but fair's fair - the public were so used to the seaside sounds of the group that when Pet Sounds did come out it got a cool reception in the States.
 
BEK$ said:
Could be the start of my vinly collection. What a disease that could turn into.
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Hee! My wife would agree ..... it quickly turned into 6000 albums for me.
We have records everywhere!
 
Interesting thread! I thought of it last night while listening to new versions of some of my old 60s' favorites. Maybe someone has mentioned this elsewhere (if so, sorry), but the newest Beatles' "Love" CD, for Cirque du Soleil, is certainly something unusual. I picked it up after reading so much about it lately, and we cranked it up last night for what turned out to be a great ride.

I had to get let go of the big issue involved: is it morally and ethically right to tamper with past efforts when some of the artists are no longer with us? What helped, though, is the fact that George Martin and his son Giles put it all together under the ongoing review and approval of the remaining Beatles and other family members. I understand that George and the Cirque's founder were good friends, which explains how it all came about.

But what fun it is! Songs and parts overlap one another, often in surprising ways (try Paul's screaming "Taxman" guitar solo over "Baby You Can Drive My Car"), and the clean new mixes from the original masters are unlike any I've heard of the Beatles. Just hearing what they've been able to put together, right or wrong, from 40-year-old tapes is pretty amazing to me.

If you like the Beatles or just enjoy newer recording tricks with older music, you may want to check out this CD--unless the ethical issues make you cringe. Personally, I haven't bought a Beatles CD in many many years, but I'm glad I gave this one a try.

J.
 
I'd say that no mix should be sacrosanct. Pop records are always meant to be contemporary, so as long as the original spirit of the genre is retained, a new mix should be welcomed not slammed.

Anyway, the Beatles tended to leave the mixing to the technical team and producer, taking any real interest only halfway through the '60s.

Re-arranging and re-mixing is quite a fad these days. Indeed, many synthesiser game tunes on the Commodore 64 have been remixed, revamped and rearranged in stereo. Or even played by a live orchestra.

As long as the job's well done, bring on them mixes - they're usually superior to the 1960s originals anyway.
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PS - The lead guitar on Taxman was actually played by George Harrison and remixing from a master tape is impossible.
 
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