Beach Boys collectors' alert: late in December 2020, Universal Japan quietly released a series of six collections from the group in the MQA-CD format on UHQ (Ultimate High Quality) CDs and housed in mini-LP paper sleeves with OBIs.  While these discs are playable on all CD players, those listeners equipped with MQA decoders are promised a higher-fidelity listening experience.  All titles have been 24-bit remastered.

The six titles from Brian, Carl, Dennis, Mike, Al, and Bruce (plus Ricky and Blondie) now available are:

The Best of The Beach Boys (Capitol, 1965) - Capitol first issued this Best of the Beach Boys package for the Japanese market in 1965; it was reissued two years later in Taiwan.  The 14-song track listing encompassed the band's classic car and surf songs to that point, among them "Surfin'," "Surfin' Safari," "Surfin' USA," "Little Deuce Coupe," "409," and the chart-topping "I Get Around."  Other highlights include the Denny-led cover of "Do You Wanna Dance?" and the timeless "Fun, Fun, Fun."

The Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 (Capitol, 1967) - After the success of the first volume, the Japan arm of Capitol followed it up two years later with another 14-song volume.  This set picked up where the last left off, offering selections from 1965's Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) ("Amusement Parks, USA," "California Girls") and Pet Sounds ("Sloop John B," "Caroline, No") along with the '65 single "The Little Girl I Once Knew" and another round of earlier favorites ("Shut Down," "In My Room," "Wendy," "Girls on the Beach") and less obvious choices ("Ten Little Indians" from Surfin' Safari, the Dick Dale cover "Let's Go Trippin'" from Surfin' USA).  This marks this collection's first reissue.

Instrumental Hits (Capitol, 1967) - This compilation was originally issued in Japan in 1967 offering tracks from The Beach Boys' early years including "The Rocking Surfer," "Misirlou," "Boogie Woodie," and "Denny's Drums" (plus two versions - studio and live - of "Let's Go Trippin'").  It was reissued on CD by Capitol Japan in 1994 and 2002, and both of those versions added later instrumentals such as Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)'s "Summer Means New Love," Pet Sounds' title track and "Let's Go Away for a While," Smiley Smile's "Fall Breaks and Back to Winter (W. Woodpecker Symphony)," Friends' "Passing By" and "Diamond Head," and 20/20's "The Nearest Faraway Place."  The new reissue has just the original twelve, surf-focused tracks.

Beach Boys Deluxe (Capitol, 1967) - This 14-song collection first arrived in 1967 as part of Capitol Japan's Popular Deluxe series.  (Other recipients of the series included Nat "King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, The Kingston Trio, Matt Monro, and Julie London.)  Beach Boys Deluxe was a real cross-section of tunes, picking up a pair of key tracks overlooked on the past Best of compilations ("God Only Knows," "Good Vibrations") while reprising others ("Help Me, Rhonda," "California Girls," "Surfin' USA," "Surfer Girl," "I Get Around").  This is the first reissue of Beach Boys Deluxe.

Beach Boys Deluxe Vol. 2 (Capitol, 1968) - Capitol Japan quickly delivered another 14 tunes for the second Deluxe volume branded under the "New Deluxe" umbrella.  This set brought the Boys' story up to date with fresh tracks from 1968 ("Friends," "Do It Again"), and dipped back to 1967 ("Wild Honey," "Heroes and Villains") and 1966 ("Wouldn't It Be Nice").  It was rounded out with an eclectic sampling of past classics ("Then I Kissed Her," "Little Deuce Coupe," "Shut Down").  This is the first reissue of Beach Boys Deluxe Vol. 2.

Ten Years of Harmony (Caribou, 1981) - This double-disc, 29-song compilation originally released in the U.S., U.K., and elsewhere on the Caribou label spanned the band's Brother Records era from 1970-1980 including rare tracks such as Dennis Wilson and Gregg Jakobson's "San Miguel;" Mike Love and Al Jardine's "It's a Beautiful Day" from the film Americathon; 15 Big Ones outtake "Sea Cruise;" and five unique single versions.  (Note that there were discrepancies between the original LP presentation and the subsequent U.S. CD issue which utilized some different mixes.  The original U.K. CD version mirrored the contents of the original LP.)

Interested in experiencing these collections as listeners in Japan might have originally heard them?  All of the titles are available at CD Japan as well as from Amazon at the links below.

The Beach Boys, Best of The Beach Boys (Capitol Japan CP-7228, 1965 - reissued Capitol/Universal Japan UICY-40325, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Little Honda
2. Dance, Dance, Dance
3. I Get Around
4. Fun, Fun, Fun
5. Hawaii
6. Be True to Your School
7. Surf Jam
8. Do You Wanna Dance?
9. Surfer Girl
10. Little Deuce Coupe
11. Surfin' USA
12. Surfin' Safari
13. 409
14. Surfin'

The Beach Boys, Best of The Beach Boys Vol. 2 (Capitol Japan CP-7550, 1967 - reissued Capitol/Universal Japan UICY-40327, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Sloop John B
2. Help Me Rhonda
3. Amusement Parks, USA
4. Girls on the Beach
5. Wendy
6. When I Grow Up (To Be a Man)
7. In My Room
8. Barbara Ann
9. Caroline, No
10. Shut Down
11. Let's Go Trippin'
12. The Little Girl I Once Knew
13. Ten Little Indians
14. California Girls

The Beach Boys, Instrumental Hits (Capitol Japan CP-7396, 1967 - reissued Capitol/Universal Japan UICY-40326, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Surf Jam
2. Let's Go Trippin '65
3. The Rocking Surfer
4. Misirlou
5. Carl's Big Chance
6. Shut Down
7. Moon Dawg
8. Let's Go Trippin'
9. Boogie Woodie
10. Stoked
11. Honky Tonk
12. Denny's Drums

The Beach Boys, Deluxe (Capitol Japan CP-8028, 1967 - reissued Capitol/Universal Japan UICY-40328, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Good Vibrations
2. Sloop John B
3. Barbara Ann
4. Dance, Dance, Dance
5. Wendy
6. Fun, Fun, Fun
7. Surfer Girl
8. Little Honda
9. I Get Around
10. Surfin' USA
11. California Girls
12. Help Me, Rhonda
13. God Only Knows
14. In My Room

The Beach Boys, Deluxe Vol. 2 (Capitol Japan CP-8507, 1968 - reissued Capitol/Universal Japan UICY-40329, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. Do It Again
2. Darlin'
3. Friends
4. Wild Honey
5. Shut Down
6. The Little Girl I Once Knew
7. Amusement Parks, USA
8. Good Vibrations
9. Heroes and Villains
10. Then I Kissed Her
11. Do You Wanna Dance?
12. Wouldn't It Be Nice
13. Little Deuce Coupe
14. Caroline, No

The Beach Boys, Ten Years of Harmony (Caribou Japan 40AP 2238/9, 1981 - reissued Capitol/Universal Japan 40330/1, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Add Some Music to Your Day
2. Roller Skating Child
3. Disney Girls
4. It's a Beautiful Day
5. California Saga/California
6. Wontcha Come Out Tonight
7. Marcella
8. Rock and Roll Music
9. Goin' On
10. It's Ok
11. Cool, Cool, Water
12. San Miguel
13. School Day (Ring! Ring! Goes the Bell)
14. Good Timin'
15. Sail on Sailor

CD 2

1. Darlin'
2. Lady Lynda
3. Sea Cruise
4. The Trader
5. This Whole World
6. Don't Go Near the Water
7. Surf's Up
8. Come Go with Me
9. Deirdre
10. She's Got Rhythm
11. River Song
12. Long Promised Road
13. Feel Flows
14. 'Til I Die