Sail On Sailor – 1972[Super Deluxe 6 CD Box Set]

This is an amazing document of the Beach Boys 1972 (into 1973) period, among their most creative achievements...I've always loved the Beach Boys since I was a kid (I'm 55 now), but I started becoming a hardcore fan in 1986 when I heard "Getcha Back" when it was a hit & then I purchased on double vinyl their "Made In The USA" compilation, which is still essential for 2 tracks, their great cover of the Mamas & Papas' "California Dreaming" & the still-overlooked "Rock & Roll To The Rescue", plus I just LOVE their Al-sung & produced cover of the 1957 doowop classic "Come Go With Me" by the Del Vikings from 1978's "M.I.U. Album" & a top 20 hit in 1981...anyhoo, since, I've purchased what I could...the album two-fers, Brian Wilson's solo work, the boxsets of "The Pet Sounds Sessions", "The Smile Sessions", "Made In California", "Feel Flows", Dennis Wilson's solo 2CD of "Pacific Ocean Blue", just getting Al Jardine's solo CD, the recent 60th Anniversary 3CD set "Sounds Of Summer" (yep, no prob with the 2022 remixes), the out-of-print 1991 2CD "Ten Years Of Harmony" (from 1981, has many rare mixes & 2 unreleased songs), the 2CD "1967" set, I can go on & on, even their 1992 not-bad-at-all-&-quite-fun-&-John Stamos-is-on-it "Summer In Paradise", Brian Wilson's book (signed), saw him on the 2020 Cayamo Cruise & met him & Al on it, then the inaugural Beach Boys Good Vibrations Cruise in 2022 (met Mike & Bruce on that) & doing the upcoming 2nd one next month...anyhoo, when I read they were doing a Feel Flows sequel in the Fall of 2022, I had to get it, as "Holland" is one of my fave Beach Boys albums & it was going to include the removed song "We Got Love", was waiting for a price drop, as $129 for a 6CD bookbox is a bit exorbitant...but with the cruise in the very near future, I had to bite the bullet to have it in time & bring it with me...I'm very happy I did because the 6 discs are stuffed to the gills in content, the book package is fairly thin so it's fine to pack in my luggage, no plastic cases & the discs are secure in 6 round pockets, just like the "Feel Flows" set was...I love the artwork (spot varnished cover too) & photography in the book, pretty cool showing pics of the barn in Umbrugge, Holland where their recording setup was set up after being dismantled & shipped from LA, CA, a massive & expensive undertaking I agree, their quaint Dutch homes & personal insights, how Al wanted to be in the south of France instead & Brian was going nuts, this being a nightmare for him...plus this great period with their 2 South African members from The Flame, Blondie Chaplin (whom I saw in Brian's solo band on the 2020 cruise) & Ricky Fataar (albums on Brother & produced by Carl & roped into the Beach Boys when Bruce Johnston temporarily quit over creative differences (I hope to be getting his insight as to why on the upcoming cruise & what he thinks of this material)...these two added a new modern edgy rocking dimension to their sound that fit in with 1972 & got em out of a square-ish image...this set is great as it has both the overlooked & underappreciated "Carl & The Passions: So Tough" & "Holland" records, both with great bonus tracks, sessions like past sets with instrumental tracks & Acapella tracks, which give fans clues on how all songs were assembled, experimentation & creativity, plus an unreleased 1972 Carnegie Hall show which is quite revealing, showing Mike in rare form & personal frustration, plus the band firing on all muscular cylinders, playing then-new material, the fans showing no respect by requesting old songs when they were asked nicely not to, plus they did play oldies at the end with their 1972 approach, which are interesting, as well as 1972 songs live from then-future shows that didn't make the Carnegie show, like "Sail On Sailor" from 1975, also "All This Is That" from 1993...all in all, a superb set, even if the price shoulda been like $80 tops, or even $105 like "Feel Flows" was...question is, what's next?? A full concert one from their 1972-1973 tour, which their 2LP 1973 live album was pulled?? One for the next 2 albums, 1975's "15 Big Ones" (with the rare cover of "Sea Cruise" featured on "Ten Years of Harmony" from those sessions) & 1977's "The Beach Boys Love You" with a full document of Brian's unreleased "Adult Child" sessions??...or go backwards & do physical releases of their 1968 sessions for "Friends" & "20/20" that were only released digitally?? I will try and find out clues or info on the upcoming cruise, as us Beach Boys fanatics are a hungry lot...and this new "Sail On Sailor 1972" is another worthy winning set by knowledgeable uberfans Linnett & Boys...buy it, despite the price, cave in, you need it...

Beach Boys fans are a hungry lot, long active in surreptitious trading of rare and unreleased tracks/alternate song versions by the band. And it just so happens that the Beach Boys may have (or at least had) the largest cache of unreleased material of any band. 50+ years of recordings will do that. It's a match made in heaven. Or maybe in this case, Holland. Which was my personal favorite Beach Boys album growing up.So to celebrate the (approximately) 50th anniversaries of Carl and The Passions - So Tough and Beach Boys Holland comes a monster 6 CD set (along with several pared down versions on CD and vinyl).These two albums came as the band members continued to stretch their songwriting and producing skills after having had Brian's lead for so long. These albums also include two additions to the band, Ricci Fatar and Blondie Chaplin from the South African band Flame, which enjoyed a Brother Records release of their own LP. sometime earlier.Discs 1 and 2 contain the original albums' content along with demos, a Capella mixes, alternate mixes and album ads. We get the single release mixes for a couple of Holland tracks, a 2022 remix of the studio version of We Got Love which was accidentally pressed on 500 or so German copies only before being withdrawn and removedDiscs 3 and 4 contain the full Carnegie Hall concert from November 23, 1972, showing a band with one foot in the past and one in the present. Even judging from the releases they had to date, one takeaway is that there isn't enough time in a single concert for the band to play all of the songs you would want to hear them play. It's especially interesting to hear the band play their songs from the 1960s with an early 1970s approach.Disc 5 offers 1972 sessions that are previously unreleased. Lots of track and back vocals here and again, unreleased tracks.Disc 6 provides live tracks of some of the album tracks from various years (including a 1993 version of All This Is That). Outtakes from the Mount Vernon and Fairway Fairy Tale, plus alternate tracks and a set of California Saga Trilogy remixes.The deluxe version is packaged in an oversize booklet with full-size photos and a nice narrative including memories from the then-band members.The collection offers an opportunity for listeners to get an additional perspective on the music by incorporating a wider perspective to the music: how songs were performed in concert at the time the songs were first released, the songs written at the time that didn't make the cut, and with the a Capella, how they mastered and layered their vocals. Deeper fans will listen carefully to the 2022 remixes to identify the differences and argue whether they are better than the originals. That's what the fans do.In my opinion, every bit as good as the previous Sunflower/Surf's Up collection. Worthy of any fan's collection.

Now I realize that this is kind of the last Hurrah as albums after this were to me quite spotty...15 big ones had some choice moments but Carl & the Passions & Holland were to me the last great albums till Brian started releasing his solo albums... But the cost of the CD's and the book were over priced....In my opinion! Yes I bought it as I do love The Beach Boys but The Beatles Revolver was a better book and the same amount of Cd's and much cheaper when bought on sale...The music sounds great and the extra's are nice but could have been more in my opinion.. The Concert CD makes it well worth the pain of the extra cash as it's a very good muscular band at their prime..I saw The Beach Boys so many times in my life and the best show I saw them was at Winterland in San Francisco... This is a close second with more variety from the huge songbook... The out-takes are fun and revealing so maybe I am been too critical ? But I just think for the big bucks it cost there could have been more....I listened to it comparing it to my vinyl copy and its warm and the low end is great.. The nuances of Dennis's Cuddle up have more dynamics.... so it was made with care... But when your 72 and on a fixed budget, try to provide a viable price that us older fans can afford... Love Box sets when they explore deep into the sessions , this one seems light in that manner, but if you love the Pendletons aka Beach Boys, it's money well spent !