Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys [Box set]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
From "Surfin'" to "Kokomo," the first four discs of this box chart the Beach Boys' inimitable 30-year course. Here are all the hits and key album tracks, and an assortment of unreleased material that illuminates Brian Wilson and company's immense contribution to the development of pop music. (Especially fascinating are the assembled fragments from Wilson's abandoned 1966 masterwork, Smile.) A fifth disc features demos, radio spots, live tracks, and studio goodies for the hardcore fan. The set confirms Brian's hardworking genius, but also gives each member his due, especially the late Carl Wilson. Rock & roll music grew up with the Beach Boys, and this box is rock's best family album. --Ben Edmonds

Tracks:

Surfin' U.S.A. (Demo Version) (Previously Unreleased)
Little Surfer Girl (Previously Unreleased)
Surfin' (Rehearsal) (Previously Unreleased)
Surfin'
Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring (Demo) (Previously Unreleased)
Surfin' Safari
409
Punchline (Instrumental) (Previously Unreleased)
Surfin' U.S.A.
Shut Down
Surfer Girl
Little Deuce Coupe
In My Room
Catch A Wave
The Surfer Moon
Be True To Your School
Spirit Of America
Little Saint Nick (45 RPM)
Things We Did Last Summer (Previously Unreleased)
Fun, Fun, Fun
Don't Worry Baby
Why Do Fools Fall In Love
The Warmth Of The Sun
I Get Around
All Summer Long
Little Honda
Wendy
Don't Back Down
Do You Wanna Dance
When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)
Dance, Dance, Dance
Please Let Me Wonder
She Knows Me Too Well
Radio Station Jingles (Previously Unreleased)
Concert Promo/Hushabye (Live) (Previously Unreleased)

Tracks:

California Girls
Help Me Rhonda
Then I Kissed Her
And Your Dream Comes True
The Little Girl I Once Knew (45 Version)
Barbara Ann (45 Version)
Ruby Baby (Party LP Outtake) (Previously Unreleased)
Koma (Radio Promo Spot) (Previously Unreleased)
Sloop John B
Wouldn't It Be Nice
You Still Believe In Me
God Only Knows
Hang On To Your Ego (Alternate Version) (Previously Unreleased)
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
Pet Sounds
Caroline, No
Good Vibrations (45 Version)
Our Prayer (Previously Unreleased)
Heroes And Villains (Alternate Version)
Heroes And Villains (Sections) (Previously Unreleased)
Wonderful (Previously Unreleased)
Cabinessence
Wind Chimes (Previously Unreleased)
Heroes And Villains (Intro) (Previously Unreleased)
Do You Like Worms (Previously Unreleased)
Vegetables (Previously Unreleased)
I Love To Say Da Da (Previously Unreleased)
Surf's Up (Previously Unreleased)
With Me Tonight

Tracks:

Heroes And Villains (45 Version)
Darlin'
Wild Honey
Let The Wind Blow
Can't Wait Too Long
Cool Cool Water
Meant For You
Friends
Little Bird
Busy Doin' Nothin'
Do It Again
I Can Hear Music
I Went To Sleep
Time To Get Alone
Breakaway
Cotton Fields (The Cotton Song) (45 Version)
San Miguel
Games Two Can Play (Previously Unreleased)
I Just Got My Pay (Previously Unreleased)
This Whole World
Add Some Music
Forever
Our Sweet Love
H.E.L.P. Is On The Way (Previously Unreleased)
4th Of July (Previously Unreleased)
Long Promised Road
Disney Girls
Surf's Up
'Til I Die

Tracks:

Sail On Sailor
California
Trader
Funky Pretty
Fairy Tale Music
You Need A Mess Of Help To Stand Alone
Marcella
All This Is That
Rock And Roll Music
It's OK
Had To Phone Ya
That Same Song
It's Over Now (Previously Unreleased)
Still I Dream Of It (Previously Unreleased)
Let Us Go On This Way
The Night Was So Young
I'll Bet He's Nice
Airplane
Come Go With Me
Our Team (Previously Unreleased)
Baby Blue
Good Timin'
Goin' On
Getcha Back
Kokomo

Tracks:

In My Room (Demo)
Radio Spot #1
I Get Around (Track Only)
Radio Spot #2
Dance, Dance, Dance (Tracking Session)
Hang On To Your Ego (Sessions)
God Only Knows (Tracking Session)
Good Vibrations (Sessions)
Heroes And Villains (Track Only)
Cabinessence (Track Only)
Surf's Up (Track Only)
Radio Spot #3
All Summer Long (Vocals)
Wendy (Vocals)
Hushabye (Vocals)
When I Grow Up To Be A Man (Vocals)
Wouldn't It Be Nice (Vocals)
California Girls (Vocals)
Radio Spot #4
Concert Intro/Surfin' U.S.A.-Live 1964
Surfer Girl-Live 1964
Be True To Your School-Live 1964
Good Vibrations-Live 1966
Surfer Girl-Live In Hawaii Rehearsals-1967

Amazon.com essential recording

From "Surfin'" to "Kokomo," the first four discs of this box chart the Beach Boys' inimitable 30-year course. Here are all the hits and key album tracks, and an assortment of unreleased material that illuminates Brian Wilson and company's immense contribution to the development of pop music. (Especially fascinating are the assembled fragments from Wilson's abandoned 1966 masterwork, Smile.) A fifth disc features demos, radio spots, live tracks, and studio goodies for the hardcore fan. The set confirms Brian's hardworking genius, but also gives each member his due, especially the late Carl Wilson. Rock & roll music grew up with the Beach Boys, and this box is rock's best family album. --Ben Edmonds

Amazon.com

Beach Boys Photos

More from The Beach Boys

Sounds of Summer
Pet Sounds
20 Good Vibrations, The Greatest Hits

More Good Vibrations, Greatest Hits: Vol.2
Endless Harmony
Sunflower/Surf's Up

Customer Reviews:

30 yrs of B.B. review.......2007-03-25

First let me say that when they are doing well, I love the Beach Boys. The first time I saw them live was the summer of approx. 2000. I was so totally satisfied and blown away! I heard that they sometimes do sub-par shows but this must have been one of the great ones. Allentown, PA fairgrounds. This set has many good cuts but I must say that in the effort to build a compilation set, they included a bunch of ( to me) space taking junk. If you are into trivia and deep details, you might get into it but if you are into the music, you'll have to pick and choose your way thru the set and maybe burn to CD the ones you really want.

Great Music, Worth Buying For the Smile Material Alone.......2007-03-05

I do agree with some of the criticsm here. There are MANY great songs not on this. "Salt Lake City" for example, or all of the Brian lead ballads on "Today!". And you can get better sound quality and stereo versions of songs like "California Girls" and "Heroes and Villains" on other albums. But because of the inclusion of the Smile work and the bonus disc containing some great material this is worth getting. If I am not mistaken Disc 5 is the only place you can hear "Good Vibrations" in stereo albeit as it is being recorded and mostly instrumental at that phase.

That said I reccomend getting all of their cd's if you really like the Beach Boys because there are TONS of non-hits that are INCREDIBLE!!! Go get "Today!" and listen to the whole album and you will see what I mean.

Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys. MORE THAN JUST A GREATEST HITS, THIS BOX IS ALSO A BEACH BOYS HISTORY LESSON .......2007-02-16

Most of this box set was recorded in mono due to Brian Wilson being deaf in one ear and of course 1960s ancient recording technology. I beleive Capital did a fine job with the song selection of this Beach Boys box set. If your looking at this box set as a greatest hits collection you're looking in the wrong direction. "Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys" is a greatest hits collection with a following of The Beach Boys through their illustrius history. The booklet is very informative, the outakes disc 5, is really interesting especially hearing "Good Vibrations" played live before it was even released. On disc 5, "God Only Knows" along with the "Good Vibrations" sessions is an incredible facinating look into the disection of two of the most argueably popular pop songs of all time. I don't look at this box set as a great Beach Boys Box Set, but there is something in it for every Beach Boys fan. Please Realize that The Beatles had Lennon and McCartney and the greatest record producer of all time in Sir George Martin. The Beach Boys had talented musicians, but the majority of Beach Boys output was that of Brian Wilson. Brian Wilson in reality had to go up against The Beatles all by himself.
Brian also produced 10 Beach Boys albums by the tender age of 23. The Beatles had George Martin producing all their Magnum Opuses. The Beatles were great, there is no argument from me there, but by (Pet Sounds) 1966 Sir George Martin and The Beatles soon realized that a man named Brian Wilson was just as talented musically, or far surpassed any of The Beatles in musical talent individually. If the missing songs are bothering you, buy all the "Capital Re-issue Twofers" with there expansive linear notes, extra and alternate tracks. Remember the limited sound quality of "Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys" is due to Brian Wilson being deaf in one ear, as he could only hear in mono, not in stereo like the average person can. Anything that was recorded in mono and was put in stereo during the 1960s, was called Duo-Phonic, and beleive me as I tell you the original Mono recordings sound vastly superior to any Duo Phonic stereo remastering. Duo Phonic was just fake stereo and did not help the original vastly superior sounding mono recording. "Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys" may seem overkill for casual Beach Boys fans, but as I listened to each cd from 1-5 the music plays the Beach Boys history right in front of your ears.
Bottom line: "Good Vibrations: Thirty Years Of The Beach Boys" is essential to any Beach Boys fan to learn their history and to realize they were more than beach and sun music. Ps. This box set is some really good listening, if you give it a chance..............

Great Complimation.......2007-01-04

This boxed set does not disappoint. It has all the songs you love from back when the beach boys were all the rave. Great set would buy again.

Stereo is not dead.......2006-09-19

I just recently bought this and was very disappointed with the sound quality. Stereo became available in 1958 and was around when the Beach Boys cam out with Little Deuce Coupe. Little Deuce Coupe Album was available in Stereo or Mono. Why would anyone at Capital want to release box set with most of the songs in Mono when they were available in Stereo? Capital needs to fire someone. Now I am stuck with a poor sounding box set. Bad move on Capitals part. :(

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

Sounds of Summer	Pet Sounds	20 Good Vibrations, The Greatest Hits
More Good Vibrations, Greatest Hits: Vol.2	Endless Harmony	Sunflower/Surf's Up