Life's A Beach Series 15 - Remember the Zoo?/Christmas album

As a working title for Pet Sounds, Remember The Zoo probably lasted all of an afternoon… but according to an article in the July 1994 issue of the highly regarded Beach Boys Australia fanzine, it was in fact the title of an album set to have been released between Party and Pet Sounds itself but, for reasons unspecified, shelved. Penned by someone sheltering behind the pen name 'The Correct Perspective' (someone who claimed to be a confidante of Brian's from the earliest days), the article was full of fascinating information: "I'm In Great Shape" predated its commonly held Smile origins - as did "Tones" - and eventually mutated into the B side of Brian's 1988 "Love & Mercy" single... both "Trombone Dixie" and "Pet Sounds" had lyrics written for them (by Brian)... and so on. All fascinating stuff.
And, of course, all complete nonsense.

Tracklisting/more info here
Download here

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And I posted this a couple years, but it is that time of year, so here is the Beach Boys Christmas album. If you are so inclined to celebrate Christmas, this comes at a perfect time.



Download here



Happy Holidays to everyone, and thanks for making this a great comeback year for the blog! Any donations to help keep this thing running are appreciated! And keep sending me stuff if you want to see it on the blog!

The Heavy Blinkers Release A Christmas Song

The Heavy Blinkers return with a Christmas song from their highly anticipated new album "HEALTH".

"Silence Your Drum" is the new Christmas song from The Heavy Blinkers and the first glimpse at their forthcoming double album, Health. The song is the story of the fabled little drummer boy, as told through the perspective of Joseph & Mary. The song features lead vocals from Jenn Grant backed the group's trade-mark lush orchestral arrangements.

Recently named one of "The Greatest Bands You've (Probably) Never Heard' by Spin magazine (July 2009), The Heavy Blinkers' long awaited Health includes contributions from renowned artists such as Sondre Lerche(Astralwerks) and Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas (Drag City). The album will be released in March, 2010.


MP3: "Silence Your Drum" from HEALTH:
http://www.pigeonrow.com/HeavyBlinkersSilenceYourDrum.mp3


Video for "Silence Your Drum":



I'm convinced that this is not really a Christmas song at all. It's more like asking the question "What if the Little Drummer Boy had annoyed Jesus and his parents instead of making them joyful with his snare?" It seems that after traveling through the night with his drum our drummer boy just can't ever do enough for the baby he is trying to impress. It seems The Heavy Blinkers don't like to look at the bright side of the situations they sing about, even Christmas.

However, the story Jason MacIsaac invents in the song is very poetic and fully thought out. I'd also like to mention how beautifully the Heavy Blinkers new vocalist Jenn Grant is (I'm not quite sure if she is their full time lead singer yet, but when you sing lead on more than 3 songs you might as well be the lead singer). But it is the production of this single that makes it shine as bright as it does! It just sounds amazing; the balance between the vocals and instruments of the music is as precise as a Mozart Symphony (and perhaps just as big).

It goes without saying that the music in this song is more spectacular than most other songs that try to pass themselves off as Christmas singles. The Heavy Blinkers have put together something great this Holiday season that will regrettably get far less listens than it deserves. I'm amazed to believe that The Heavy Blinkers still keep getting better, even after the loss of founding members Andrew Watt and Ruth Minnikin.

It's clear that Jason MacIsaac is what made the Heavy Blinkers so wonderful on their first 4 albums, and from the looks of things, he will continue to lead his Heavy Blinkers until they are bigger than even Christmas itself.

Silence Your Drum is a bit unexpected, but a very exciting peak into what could be the best album of 2010, The Heavy Blinkers' "HEALTH".

myspace | label

Life's A Beach Series 13 & 14 - I Get Around

Here's the next installment from the stuff Djole is sending me! It's a bunch of takes of I get Around, Shut Down Volume Two, and stuff from The Honeys, Larry Denton, Paul Paterson, Gary Usher, The Castells, and a soundtrack! Check it out!


(click on the photo to enlarge)

Tracklisting/info

Download Part 1
Download Part 2
Download Artwork

And depending on how you look at it, this is either bad OR good news: there is BB Christmas stuff coming soon! Stay tuned!

Life's A Beach Series 11 & 12 - Fun, Fun, Fun Down Under

Hey guys, got some more stuff here! It's a collection of stuff from The Nodaens, The Times, Jan & Dean, The Castells, The Honeys, Ron Wilson, and The Survivors. This is 66 songs, guys!


(click on the photo to enlarge)

Download Part 1
Download Part 2
Download Artwork

And Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. Thanks so much for following my blog, I'm glad I'm able to connect and help with other BB fans like me.
And I just want to let you guys know that I recently lost my job. I'll still be posting here as often (if not more), and of course re-upping old links (I'm doing that little by little guys!). So if you can find it in your heart to donate anything to my paypal link on the right, more than ever, it would mean SO much.

Happy Holidays everyone! More to come soon!

Life's A Beach Series 9 & 10 - Custom Machine

More stuff from Djole! Here are some tracks by The Honeys, Shanon Marie, and of course The Beach Boys. All of this stuff is circa August-October 1963.


(click to enlarge photo)

Full tracklisting here!

Download Part 1
Download Part 2
Download Artwork

Life's A Beach Series 7 & 8 - Surfer Girl Crossing

More from Djole!

These are a bunch of tracks from The Honeys, Jan and Dean, and Shannon Marie; all produced by Brian Wilson. Here is the tracklisting/info.


(click to enlarge photo)


Two parts (plus artwork), in .rar files:

Download part 1
Download part 2
Download artwork



And I'd completely appreciate any donations to my paypal (link on the right). I'm glad to be back working on the site, but any help is appreciated, since living on my own with the cost of the internet and stuff is tough. I need money for Ramen! No pressure, but any help would be amazing, guys.

Another SMiLE bootleg!

Thanks to Leif, a super cool guy, who sent me his version of SMiLE. His own mixes are "Heroes and Villains", "Vege-tables", and "Good Vibrations"! Be sure to check it out!

His original cover art:

(click to enlarge)

Download
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Keep sending me stuff you want to see on here if you have it! More coming later!

Van Dyke Parks & Mike Love

I have a few new/old albums here! They are mp3s of records my buddy Tom let me borrow! Thanks, Tom!


Mike Love - Looking Back With Love



Download
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Van Dyke Parks - Clang Of The Yankee Reaper



Download
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Van Dyke Parks - Jump!



Download
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that's it for now, but more stuff coming soon!

PS - Notice that donate button on the right info bar. Just sayin'. :3

The Lost Recording Sessions 1963-1968

Thanks to a dedicated reader of the blog who sent me this. You're the best, Frank!

What I have today is The Lost Recording Sessions 1963-1968.

Here is the artwork/tracklisting/info:

(click on any photo to make it full size)







Includes 33 songs, and the artwork, in two parts:

Download Part 1
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Download Part 2
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More Stereo Rarities

These Stereo Rarities were a pretty good hit, so here is a continuation from my last post, Volume 2 and 3 of these rarities/remixes, once again thanks to Doc Rock. All these remixes aren't available anywhere except for here, so be sure to grab 'em!



Stereo Rarities Vol. 2
Download
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Stereo Rarities Vol. 3
Download
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Once again, if you like more new posts and fixing broken old links, please consider donating to my paypal, link on right. Any generosity is greatly appreciated, and you'll get like 500 karma points.

Even more new stuff

Hey guys, third post in less than a week! Woo, I am on a roll! I am getting help with uploads thanks to people who are emailing their rare BB stuff... so if you have anything you want to send my way that isn't here yet, I'll throw it on the blog!

Ok, so thanks to Doc Rock, here is some Stereo Rarities (Volume 1), including a symphonic intro on the extended "Good Vibrations"! It also has some remixes you may not have heard.




Download
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And hey guys, if you like the blog and want to be extra generous, the paypal donate button is on the right... any help is appreciated.

New Stuff Part 2

Here is part 3!

Take Jan & Dean Surfin' U.S.A.



Info/track listing

Part 1
Part 2
Artwork

Life's A Beach Series 1, 2, 3 & 4- Prehistory/Ready To Surf/On Safari

Thank you to Djole, a reader who sent me this stuff (you are the best, bro!) Enjoy!



Prehistory - Ready To Surf



Info/track listing

Part 1
Part 2
Artwork


------------------------------------------------


On Safari



Info/tracklisting

Part 1
Part 2
Artwork

Oh, hey.

I wanted to say hi to my new friend Tom that I met in real life today (after he read the blog).

Nice to meet you!




More stuff coming soonish.

Smile Sessions Source Tape

The newest Sea of Tunes release is out. It's 26 tracks and pretty neat. You can read the tracklisting below.







Click Here To Download
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Hope you like this one. :)

Smile - Mok's version

Mok's Smile is one of the best versions of Smile, but instead of having me describe it you should instead read his description below.

Here's a rough idea of what's on this disc and the work that went into it:

1 - Our Prayer
This is a synchronization of the beautiful stereo mix with the mono mix found on bootleg (which I believe is a more coherent sound).

2 - Heroes and Villains
This is an amalgamation of all of the great pieces of Heroes, in an order I find appealing. There are attempts at increasing the clarity of the mix made by using the isolated vocal tracks from Sea of Tunes synchronized with the main mono track (making a rough stereo). Longer than I would like (8:00) but I feel complete by the end. (probably 3rd most worked-on)

3 - Barnyard
Pitch matched the instrumental track from bootleg with the demo piano and vocal from the GV box. It fits, amazingly, although a considerable amount of elbow grease was applied.

4 - I'm In Great Shape
The 'waking up' sounds of H&V sections mixed into the actual wakeup "mornings tumble out of bed..." vocal/piano demo by Brian (a bit cleaned up).

5 - Do You Like Worms
IMHO, the right pieces in the right order, this track sounds amazing. I believe one of the finer sounding tracks, 99% in stereo. Vocal clarity was obtained by mixing splits (again) into the stereo track.

6 - Child is the Father of the Man
Hard to get great quality, since most of the material comes from acetates, but I mixed several different 'takes' and 'remakes' of this song into one, satisfying another completions urge. Nobody's thought of *this* yet. Lots of work went into this (probably 4th most worked-on).

7 - Look
Not much editing, just judicial eq to clean up - the sequencing of this song and the next are key.

8 - Good Vibrations
A GV 'greatest hits' edit - the best parts of this song mixed as if it was whole. Now I hear this edit when I hear this song on the radio (and it hasn't ruined it). Find it in your heart to forgive my hacks, I think it's worth it.

9 - Holidays
Segueing out of GV, Holidays is not edited, just cleaned up as well. This track and Look were 'done' IMHO. A clever way in and out of GV.

10 - The Old Master Painter
A tough edit of the stereo instrumental with the mono vocal mix. These do not sync up well, but my crossfades take care of the wonky-ness.

11 - He Gives Speeches
Padded at the beginning and faded out at the end, a minor touch-up to the "beginning of side 2" (for me).

12 - Wonderful
The version from the box set, unaltered. This is beautiful, and never should be messed with.

13 - I Love to Say Da-Da
I know, I know, Cool Cool Water isn't Da-Da, but I felt this made a better flowing track with the two edited together (water chant drops in the middle).

14 - Mrs. O'Leary's Cow
H&V intro is Fire. This segues quite nicely into Cow, and that dies out.

15 - Friday Night
After the craziness, the 'rebuilding' smoothness comes in. Stereo Version was cleaner, sorry for the right channel only woodwork. (Woodwork is always in mono!)

16 - Reprise
A reprise of the H&V theme, with no H&V-specific vocal. I thought it went well here. A cleaned-up edit and fade makes it leaner, but still nice.

17 - Vega-Tables
This was just love from the beginning. This plays everything I want to hear of Veg, with only a slight weird phasing that could not be avoided. So many sections with so many edits, this was probably the most intensive editing on the project. Mostly stereo (where it counts) and I 'never was lazy' putting it together.

18 - Wind Chimes
Almost the same edit as on the box set, but using stereo sources from the bootlegs for (better?) sound.

19 - CabinEssence
This incorporates the 'instrumental' sections from the boots (I can't ever go without hearing that) with the completed Carl vocal version from the box set. I cleaned up some of the vocals on this track so they stand out a little more.

20 - You're Welcome
Regardless of the intent, I couldn't resist putting this on there. Very little work involved, but it might be noticeable to others...

21 - George Fell Into His French Horn
I clipped a small section of this because I heard the segue from this track to the next in my head months before attempting this project. It makes me laugh and works in a way you would never expect.

22 - Surf's Up
One of the hardest things to work on in the project and ultimately the most rewarding. I love the stereo backing track, but wait, there's now Brian's demo vocal (and only Brian) in sync! Pitch correction, time compression, whatever it took, I had to do it just to see if it could be done. This was the whole inspiration for the project, and the last thing I worked on. Try not to cry when you hear it the first time. Goosebumps every time.

Ultimately it's too long and overstuffed to be an 'album', but there never was an album, and this is my way to feel totally complete with Smile (if one ever can). -Mok

Click Here To Download
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Endless Bummer - The Worst of the Beach Boys [1977]

In the tradition of bootlegs trailblazed by the legendary Elvis' Greatest Shit, here we have a compilation of about 50 minutes of the Beach Boys' most embarrassing moments to have been captured on tape. It goes without saying that this is not only not for the average Beach Boys fan, but not even for many Beach Boys fans who collect the group's unreleased material. Instead, it's something only for the completist, or those with a somewhat masochistic sense of humor. But if you are intent on investigating the most disagreeable skeletons in the group's closet, many of them are here, including really drunk (and long post-prime) vocals on live versions of "Good Vibrations" and "You're So Beautiful"; shamefully exploitative Mike Love-sung ads; a Carl Wilson anti-drug radio spot; Brian Wilson's infamous solo rap song "Smart Girls"; a Spanish version of their unloved comeback hit "Kokomo"; the notorious mid-'60s outtakes in which Murry Wilson rips into his sons and the rest of the group at a recording session; a bad Bob Dylan imitation/parody by Mike Love; and various ragged rehearsal tapes/outtakes. Actually, this material is more interesting than many a mediocre group's best efforts, as a band this good couldn't help from letting some talent, ingenuity, and humor seep through even when they were at their most painfully inept. But relative to the standards of the Beach Boys' usual work -- and even relative to the standards of many Beach Boys bootlegs -- it's oft-painful listening, with some historical interest for those cataloging the band's oft-dysfunctional history, but little entertainment value. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Tracklist:
01. Carl's Anti-Drug Radio Spot
02. Good Vibrations
03. You Are So Beautiful
04. Brian Hanging With Some Nerds
05. Be True to Your Bud
06. Hyatt Regency Promo
07. Smile Promo
08. Mile Slams Smile
09. Vocal Rehearsal 1
10. Smart Girls
11. Carl & The Passions Radio Promo
12. Kokomo [Spanish Vocals]
13. Mr. Sandman/God Only Knows
14. Cell Block No. 9
15. Mike Does Dylan
16. Never Learn Not to Love
17. Help Me, Rhonda [Vocal Session]
18. "I'm a Genius, Too"
19. "We Need Help"
20. Vocal Rehearsal 2






Click Here To Download
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Oh, and hey! You may have noticed that paypal donate button on the right there! If you want to be a great friend and help a fella buy ramen noodles and pay my internet bill (...so i can keep trying to get all those old links working and stuff.) it would be great if you could donate a small amount. Any amount is GREATLY appreciated. (see that word in caps? serious business.)



:] thanks, - e

Alternate Brian Wilson Presents Smile

Sorry I haven't blogged on here in forever. I've received a lot of emails from people who care and I really appreciate that. NOTE: I changed my email address, it is now ericwarncke@gmail.com (AOL had way, way too much spam, not to mention its utterly embarrassing.)

I lost my internet for a long time and now I finally have it back, so! Here comes something that I've been meaning to repost.





ALTERNATE BRIAN WILSON PRESENTS SMILE:

(this is a really good version of SMiLE. It is 5 tracks, with an intro, the 3 movements, then You're Welcome at the end. The person who put this together did a heck of a job and more people need to hear it.

Download it here:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CIE0UQI3