AVAILABLE NOW ON DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AND STREAMING SERVICES
It's become something of an annual tradition, The Beach Boys' copyright extension releases that offer a welcome musical reprieve from the wintery chill outside. Since 2013, The Beach Boys have released rarities from the vault in order to secure the recordings' copyright. As a result, fans have been treated to live rarities from their earliest years, stripped-down sessions, and most recently, outtakes from their Smiley Smile and Wild Honey albums. Now, the time has come again for two more installments! Arriving on December 7, the digital collections Wake the World: The Friends Sessions and I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions highlight the making of some of the band's most intricate and beautiful material. The collections are available on digital and streaming services.
The Beach Boys worked on two albums in 1968, Friends and 20/20. Friends employed a decidedly lo-fi musical aesthetic, having been primarily recorded in Brian Wilson's home studio. Though far from a best-seller, the collection, partially inspired by their fasciation with Transcendental Meditation, includes many fan favorites, like the gentle title waltz "Friends," "Little Bird," and "Wake The World." 20/20, on the other hand, featured the Brian Wilson/Mike Love hit "Do It Again," which had been started during the Friends sessions, along with a cover of The Ronettes' "I Can Hear Music," the beautiful instrumental "The Nearest Faraway Place," the rollicking rocker "All I Want To Do," and the haunting "Never Learn Not to Love," Dennis Wilson's reworking of Charles Manson's "Cease to Exist." 20/20 also included new versions of "Our Prayer" and "Cabinessence," which had previously been worked on for the abandoned SMiLE album.
AVAILABLE NOW ON DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AND STREAMING SERVICES
With rare demos, early takes, alternate mixes, unreleased songs, newly mixed backing track and a capella versions, and even runs through Bacharach and David's "My Little Red Book" and "Walk on By," these two digital-only sets give fans a glimpse into the studio as The Beach Boys rehearsed and recorded these tracks, which remain some of their most intricate and beautiful work. All 72 combined tracks have been newly edited, mixed and mastered by the band's longtime associate Mark Linett, who also produced the compilation with Alan Boyd.
Check out the full track listings for both releases below and get ready to feast your ears on some fantastic Beach Boys rarities!
Wake The World: The Friends Sessions (Amazon U.S./ Amazon U.K.)
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Meant For You (alternate version with session intro) [recorded April 1, 1968]
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Friends (backing track) [recorded March 13, 1968]
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Friends (a Cappella) [recorded March, 1968]
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Wake The World (alternate version) [recorded March 28 & 30, April 1, 1968]
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Be Here In The Morning (backing track) [recorded March 29, 1968]
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When A Man Needs A Woman (early take basic track) [recorded March 18, 1968]
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When A Man Needs A Woman (alternate version) [basic track recorded March 18, 1968; vocals recorded March, 1968]
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Passing By (alternate version) [recorded March 22, 1968]
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Anna Lee The Healer (session excerpt) [recorded April 2, 1968]
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Anna Lee The Healer (a Cappella) [recorded April 2, 1968]
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Little Bird (backing track) [recorded February 29, 1968]
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Little Bird (a Cappella) [recorded February 29-March, 1968]
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Be Still (alternate take with session excerpt) [recorded April 3,1968]
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Even Steven (early version of "Busy Doin' Nothin') [recorded March 26, 1968]
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Diamond Head (alternate version with session excerpt) [recorded April 12, 1968]
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New Song (Transcendental Meditation) (backing track with partial vocals) [recorded March, 1968]
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Transcendental Meditation (backing track with session excerpt) [recorded April 4, 1968]
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Transcendental Meditation (a Cappella) [recorded April 4, 1968]
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My Little Red Book [recorded April, 1968]
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Away (track) (0:57) [recorded ca. January, 1968]
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I'm Confessin' (demo) [recorded February or March, 1968]
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I'm Confessin'/You're As Cool As Can Be 1 (track) [recorded February or March, 1968]
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You're As Cool As Can Be 2 (track) [recorded February or March, 1968]
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Be Here In The Morning, Darling (track) [recorded March 6, 1968]
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Our New Home (track) [recorded March 20, 1968]
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New Song (track) [recorded March, 1968]
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Be Still (alternate track) (1:03) (D. Wilson-Kalinich) Recorded March, 1968
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Rock and Roll Woman (track) (2:19) (Stills) Recorded March, 1968
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Time To Get Alone (alternate version demo) (2:04) (B. Wilson) Recorded March, 1968
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Untitled 1/25/68 (track) (1:07) (D. Wilson) Recorded January 25, 1968
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Passing By (demo with new lyrics ca. 1971) (with Stan Shapiro and Tandyn Almer) [demo recorded circa 1971]
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Child Is Father of the Man (original 1966 track mix) [recorded, mixed & edited late 1966]
I Can Hear Music: The 20/20 Sessions (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)
- Do It Again (alternate stereo mix) [recorded May 26, June 6 & 12, 1968]
- Do It Again (a Cappella) [recorded May 26, June 6 & 12, 1968]
- I Can Hear Music (demo) [recorded circa September, 1968]
- I Can Hear Music (track and backing vocals) [recorded October 1, 1968 (track), October, 1968 (vocals)]
- Bluebirds Over The Mountain (alternate mix) [recorded September 29, 1967, October 15, 16, 28 & 29, 1968]
- Be With Me (demo) [recorded August 29, 1968]
- Be With Me (2018 track mix) [recorded October 2 & 16, 1968]
- All I Want To Do [recorded November 9, 14, 16, 20 & 21, 1968]
- The Nearest Faraway Place (alternate take) [recorded June 20, 1968]
- Cotton Fields (track and backing vocals) [recorded November 18 & 19, 1968]
- I Went To Sleep (a Cappella 2018 mix) [recorded June 1968]
- Time To Get Alone (a Cappella) [recorded October 2 & 4, 1968]
- Never Learn Not To Love (track and backing vocals) [recorded September 11, 16-18, 1968]
- Never Learn Not To Love (a Cappella) [recorded September 17 & 18, 1968]
- Walk On By (2018 mix) [recorded May 29, 1968]
- Rendezvous (early version of "Do It Again") (2018 mix) [recorded May 26, 1968]
- We're Together Again (a Cappella) [recorded May 22 - 29, 1968]
- I Can Hear Music (alternate lead vocal) [recorded October 1, 1968]
- All I Wanna Do (early version track) [recorded May 24 & June 8, 1968]
- Sail Plane Song (2018 mix) [recorded June 8, 1968]
- Old Man River (a Capella 2018 mix) [recorded June 5, 1968]
- Medley: Old Folks At Home/Old Man River (alternate version) [recorded June 10, 1968]
- Medley: Old Folks At Home/Old Man River (alternate version track) [recorded June 10, 1968]
- Walkin' [track recorded June 18 & 19, 1968; vocal recorded ca. October, 1969]
- Been Way Too Long (sections) [recorded Fall 1967, July 24-26 and 30, 1968]
- Well You Know I Knew [recorded June 3, 1968]
- Love Affair (demo) [recorded August 29, 1968]
- Peaches (demo) [recorded August 29, 1968]
- The Gong (session highlights) [recorded November 16, 1968]
- A Time To Live In Dreams (2018 mix) [recorded November 1, 1968]
- All I Want To Do (early version) [recorded October 16, 1968]
- All I Want To Do [recorded November 9, 14, 16, 20 & 21, 1968]
- Bluebirds OverThe Mountain (basic track) [recorded September 29, 1967]
- Bluebirds Over The Mountain (mono single mix) [recorded September 29, 1967, October 15, 16, 28 & 29, 1968]
- Mona Kana (demo) [recorded July 25, 1968]
- Mona Kana (2018 mix) [recorded November 15, 1968]
- We're Together Again (remake track with backing vocals) [recorded September 3, 6 & 9, 1968]
- Time To Get Alone (remake track) [recorded November 21, 1968]
- Oh Yeah [recorded October 14, 1968]
- Is It True What They Say About Dixie (Audree Wilson) [recorded 1968] [Produced by Brian Wilson]
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The Beach Boys are my favorite band but this is barrel scraping. I tried to listen on Spotify and it was a chore. Surely there's live stuff they could unearth like the 1967 release? It would have to be better than this.
Blimey, I'd hate to hear you write about your least favourite band.
The Beach Boys really ARE my favourite band, hence why I'm loving every second of this music.
Awesome I'm glad you're enjoying it. I love them so much. All the acapella/instrumental stuff just isn't my thing. I like whole songs.
My least favorite band is probably Pearl Jam, by the way and I don't write anything about them if I can avoid it. LOL
Wow! I just wish they were putting this out on cd for older fans like my dad. Word is live stuff is dropping next week.
No CD = No buy
I don't understand why they can't put in on a physical medium?
I think the audience for a release like this is really small. They would never recoup their cost if they put this on CD. I was actually surprised they put part of the 1967 sessions on CD last year and I'm sure they lost money on it.
Those are the realities of the business. The other reality is that they wouldn't be releasing this material at all if it weren't to extend the copyrights. If you want it on CD, just buy the digital, and burn it to a friggin' CD. Not. That. Hard.
That’s not the point. People like CDs because of the booklets and the artwork and the physical nature of the disc. And by the way Sparky, most computers no longer have disk drive so you can’t Burn them
CDs please!
We want a physical CD!
if these had been offered on CD, I would have supported the artists, but there's no way that I'll buy downloads. Legal downloads have too many risk factors: Server problems at the download site, ISP service disruptions and (in my region) momentary power failures. On the other hand, with illegal(free) download sites, if a download freeze, my internet connection breaks down or I have a momentary loss of electricity, I simply go back to the site and try again. No hassles with distrustful customer service people(who may take 2 to 3 days to respond) at the legal sites. Undoubtedly, these two Beach Boys collections will appear on the free sites within a week. Capitol is arrogantly pricing these sets as high or higher than an equivalent "Physical Product".
My few experiences trying to buy legal downloads were disasterous. I tried to buy a 26-song "Motown Unreleased" collection from 7Digital, but the download could never get started, and I got a message(on my computer) that said "Pending" (something that I had never seen on my computer before or since). At the time, 7Digital's site admitted that they were having problems delivering larger FLAC downloads. They offered me a "Wetransfer", but (at the time) I didn't know what a "Wetransfer" was, so I declined. 7Digital refunded me and petulantly closed my account. The company may have overcome their technical problems by now, but since they closed my account, they've burned their bridges behind them. I got the music easily from a free site in Russia. That site was the only other source (available to an American) for a lossless FLAC version of the collection. I don't want MP3 or AAC files; not even for free.
As I type this, the only official U.S.A. dealer who has the lossless FLAC versions of the two new Beach Boys collections is the new U.S.A. site of French download company "Qobuz". Their website is presently in a "beta testing" stage and selling only to "invited customers". The general public can't buy from them. The only source available to Americans for FLAC versions of the two new Beach Boys collections will be the illegal free sites.
If Capitol Records thinks it's financially too risky to offer these collections on CD, there's an obvious riskless way to get these recordings on CD: License the recordings to a reissue label. Capitol & The Beach Boys get paid and these is no financial risk for Capitol.
Even when I've received a free legal download coupon with a CD boxed set, I've ultimately obtained the exact same download through an unofficial site. It was easier. Example: when I got high resolution download coupons with Paul McCartney's "Tug of War" & "Pipes of Peace" boxed sets, I tried to use one of those coupons, but the download froze. Why didn't I try to contact customer service at McCartney's site? I tried, but the website itself (not my computer) generated an error message informing me that my message couldn't be sent. Had it not been for an unofficial site, I wouldn't have been able to obtain that High Resolution download.
When and if my Paul McCartney 11-disc "1971-1973" box arrives, I won't use the download coupons unless I absolutely must. The unofficial downloads are exactly, bit for bit identical to the official downloads, and the unofficial downloads are faster and more reliable, than the snail-paced downloads that McCartney's site offers.
I can whole-heartedly support everything Phil Cohen writes. I’m 68 years old and once collected LPs, of which I owned about 18,000. Then I switched to CDs and sold all my LPs. Right now I have nearly 25,000 CDs, but find it increasingly difficult to get many new releases because more and more music is only put out as download and vinyl. We want a physical CD! I hate downloads and streaming and only purchase CDs. I know I’m old and probably won’t live forever, but still I’m filled with joy and wonderful expectations whenever I get a new CD and insert it in my CD-player. I refuse to bow to the big record companies’ release policies and will much sooner stop buying new music at all than use downloads and streaming.
Dear Torben,
I'm 62, and my collection may be almost as big as yours. The first albums in my collection (back in 1966) were "The Beatles-Revolver" & the first "Monkees" album.
Keep on Rockin' !
I'd have once tried to collect these on CD, too, but my entire collection went up in flames at this time last year. I had all the two-fers, lots of box sets, Pet Sounds in multiple formats, including DVD-A, etc. Most gone now in the fire. I really wouldn't know where to start now....
Surely most download services let you download as many times as you like, once you own it.
It's not a download once and that's it deal any more.
I remember when the Beatles copyright retention music was available for one day. Overpriced and not worth the time it took to download. Some things are unreleased for a reason.
The Beatles "copyright extension" collection was later released more widely via the iTunes store.
I was WONDERING when we'd see the customary year-end release of music. ps, the Beach Boys have both albums up on their official YouTube channel for streaming now.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUxNZEOdVy77QiiSTHk8bug
Look under "Albums".
Thanks for the tip Fletch, just been over to youtube to take a listen.
These sound better than I expected. Unlike most people I was a little underwhelmed by the Wild Honey/Smiley Smile disc but there are plenty of goodies on these two collections even if, like me, you're not particularly attracted by backing tracks and alternate mixes. Some fascinating Dennis tracks on the 20/20 set and some very nice unreleased bits and pieces throughout.
I would have bought both on CD, just to add to my Beach Boys pile but if no physical release is forthcoming I might as well rip the audio off youtube.
And, of course, on the day of release, the lossless FLAC versions of the two new Beach Boys collections appeared on the free download sites. Capitol got what they deserved for their "No CD Release" strategy. As for legal sources (available to U.S.A. consumers) "Qobuz" is not yet ready to do business with the general public, and "7Digital" isn't selling the two new Beach Boys collections. There's no legal U.S.A. availability for the lossless FLAC versions. Since there's no 24-bit High Resolution releases for these Beach Boys recordings(only MP3, AAC or Lossless 44.1Khz/16 bit), you can forget the high resolution sellers such as "HD Tracks" & "Acoustic Sounds".
By the way, another Beach Boys "copyright extension" collection (Live concert recordings) will be released next week.
I also love physical product, but these download options were perfect for me. I downloaded both albums from iTunes. Great music and I got the music immediately. Win-win. Don’t let the fact that these aren’t on discs let you missed out on some excellent music.
No cd, no buy... case closed
Love these collections- downloaded them from Amazon no probs. Just wondering though - why isn't "Breakaway" included on the "20/20" set ?? That apart excellent music and thanks for the notification ..,
Break Away, even though it was originally released by Capitol and attached to 1990/2001 Friends/20-20 two-fer as a bonus track, was recorded in 1969, so I suppose that's the reason why it wasn't included on 20/20 sessions release this year. The same goes for Celebrate The News (B-side to Break Away) and the single version of Cotton Fields.
Hopefully we'll see all of them get a proper treatment on next year's copyright extension set.
Per Stephen Desper, there are about 5 or 6 different mixes Al made of "Cottonfields." One even has a young Matthew Jardine saying someone before the song starts.
thanks .. will look forward to next year's release then ..
Really interesting release. A real shame they'll be no CD release. They did it last year? I love the a cappella tracks and also nice to hear the other instrumentals, mixes, etc.
This looks a great release and one I would have jumped on if given a physical release. If it is only a download like lots of Beach Boys fans I will give this a complete bodyswerve. Without a CD issue it just isnt the same and doesnt count as a proper release. Downloading means you miss all the plus points of a physical copy such as - obviously having a copy in your hands, the permanence of it, artwork, etc.
And I dont believe a physical copy wouldnt be profitable. The Beach Boys are a storied band with a major archival history. Just releasing as a download is Capitol failing to give them the respect they deserve.
I agree! Part of my enjoyment of the music is having the physical product with the liner notes to read. Listening to music without this leaves me feeling empty and unfulfilled. Please release this on CD and I will be all over it. I loved last year's 1967 release.
The Beach Boys are in my book the greatest American band in this land other than perhaps The Byrds. My BB collection on CD would not be complete without this sitting right next to my 1967 Sunshine Tomorrow CD from last year. What MORON decides these mistakes. Those people must not be BB fans, they just make the wrong decisions.
WAKE UP! Deal with it. NOW. I have bought so many of the 1968 Super Deluxe Editions of multi box sets and this would be a beautiful compliment to what everybody else has done. REAL BB fans will appreciate you went the extra mile and did something right this time. GET IT OUT ON CD PLEASE.
I am surprised with this archival release. I was sure we would get the unedited "Live In London" concerts from December 1968. There is some kind of bootleg out there I saw awhile ago, plus "Endless Harmony" had the Good Vibrations soundcheck from London. I know at least two of those concerts were recorded (London Palladium - December 1 and Finsbury Park - December 8).
If they are up to "20/20" now, I wonder if we will see the release of some of the "Add Some Music / Sunflower" sessions next year?
For FLAC downloads, try here:
https://tidal.com/us/store/album/100188545
And here:
https://tidal.com/us/store/album/100233161
If anyone from Capitol is reading this, please release these albums on CD with the wonderful liner notes, artwork, etc we have grown to love. Failing that, please license them to Rhino Handmade, Light in the Attic, even Cherry Red here in the UK... there are lots of labels that would snap these up, and lots of fans who would like to buy them. Somebody, somewhere is lacking in love and vision - this is fantastic music for sure, but when bootleg companies put more care into their releases than the actual record company, you really have to wonder what's going on...