2. analog
  3. 119127-117

Your favorite BEACH BOYS LP besides PET SOUNDS

I generally prefer their Post Pet Sounds LP's.  Mine is Sunflower, with honorable mention to Surf's Up. 

fjn04
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,868 posts
 

Oh yeah, It's on Telarc, not Mobile Fidelity! I get those two mixed up. Though I am somewhat of an audiophile (tube electronics, Eminent Technology, Magneplanar, and Quad loudspeakers), even sonically I don't think it sounds very good. Though it's very clean (antiseptic might be a more fitting adjective), everything sounds "canned"---no ambiance, no "room sound", everything dead, muted, and isolated. Perhaps a result of being recorded digitally, but I don't know. It sounds like every part was added on separately, absolutely emotionless. I didn't think that was even possible with Beach Boys songs!

Dennis was always Brian's biggest fan. When I met him, he, I later found out, was living on his boat in the Venice Harbor. I don't think him being in that bar was unusual, as he had that puffy-faced look alcoholics get. But it did surprise, and kind of sadden, me to see him drinking alone.

tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Antiseptic is the perfect description, it does indeed sound so canned and as you say isolated, as in dissected, I just can’t stand it but it might be just perfect for a non fan. I’ll take the original mono recordings thank you very much.

Yeah the Dennis story is a sad one. It was years later I learned about the dynamics of the group. My sense of Dennis as the real BB was just that, he was in the total sense the image they portrayed through their early songs. Little did I know  the mastermind behind their success was Brian. The rest of the guys, in retrospect were  along for the ride most likely but being associated with such musical brilliance has to have it's effect on everyone. Dennis of course idolized Brian his older brother, his hero.  Well I’ll give Mike Love some credit for keeping things together and for some of those lyrics, but Dennis was the heart of what the group personified in those early years. His deterioration over the years was a real tragedy. I sometimes wonder how his association with Manson effected him later. I expect that regardless of that association things would probably have ended up pretty much the way they did but still, it had to have a big effect on him.
fjn04 OP
1,561 posts
 

Great stuff here. I have nothing! Ok, I'll cheat (-: I ran in to Robby Krieger at a Vegas Casino maybe about 20 years ago. He was right there talking to a lady, so I don't think I even had to approach him. I just subtly said " Hi Robby, I really enjoy your music." He seemed like such an ordinary guy, very humble in thanking me. Luckily, I was able to see him twice in concert since then. Once with Manzarek, and then more recently with his son singing. The Ray and Robby show was great. Johnnyb53-thanks for that. Now I'm clear on it. So if the 2011 LP currently still available is all analog master chain, I'm all the more in. I'm getting it this year. Oops, better call.

fjn04 OP
1,561 posts
 
Thanks not only for the suggestions on the Beach Boys LP's, but also for the other interesting stuff. I ended up ordering the Mono and Stereo Pet Sounds, and Pre-ordered Surfs Up for March. The Stereo version of PS isn't available for a few days, but that should come soon enough. I also ordered Grateful Dead Reckoning, if we happen to have any GD fans aboard. I will chime back soon with a report on the Pet Sounds LP's.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,868 posts
 
Let us know how you feel about mono versus stereo Pet Sounds, ay? I have a half-dozen copies of the album (LP and CD), but all mono, out of deference to Brian (he's almost deaf in one ear, and always mixed to mono). By the way, all the early BB albums (up to and including Wild Honey) were mixed to mono only, the "stereo" version offered by Capitol Records actually being "Duosonic" (Capitol's reprocessed mono to pseudo-stereo) EXCEPT for Surfer Girl, which is true stereo, for some reason.
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