Uncanny

STEVE HOFFMAN announces "upcoming Audio Fidelity 24 Karat Gold compact discs" in a "limited edition;" titles include "The Beach Boys-Pet Sounds. And of course it was the worst kept secret that Pet Sounds will be issued in the original Brian Wilson/Chuck Britz monaural mix from 1966. For those of you who missed out on the DCC version here will be your chance to grab one. No need to pay the big bucks anymore on eBay for this title."

WORD MAGAZINE "1. Beach Boys: If I hear anything more about the groundbreakingness of Pet bloody Sounds, I'll go postal: clever production, saccharine harmonies and mediocre songwriting doth not genius make - not even when seasoned with a little mental instability."

My initial impression that Word magazine was not worth buying/reading has now been confirmed.

TOP40-CHARTS

I'm always looking around for interesting '60s sunshine pop releases, particularly of the West Coast variety. My investigations lead me to a recent release by ROGER NICHOLS AND THE SMALL CIRCLE OF FRIENDS called "Full Circle." Roger Nichols & the SCOF released some great sides in the '60s, the best of which were re-issued by REV-OLA. It seems that Roger & Co. re-united 40 years later to record songs written by Roger in the late '60s, and the result was the "Full Circle" album. "Full Circle" is released by the NOW SOUNDS imprint.

Now Sounds was founded by Steve Stanley, producer of over 50 Rev-Ola titles. Steve is a musician in his own right. He's a member of THE NOW PEOPLE along with Alan "Ruby" Rubens, Nelson Bragg, and Probyn Gregory. Fans of Brian Wilson will likely recognize the last two names; Nelson and Probyn are in Brian Wilson's band. The Now People have an album called "The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair," which was released by PARASOL/BIRD SONG.

EAR CANDY MAGAZINE interviewed Steve Stanley in 2006.

I should be getting copies of both "Full Circle" and "The Last Great 20th Century Love Affair" in the near future; so stay tuned.

THE NEWS & OBSERVER "A young historian who lives in Raleigh has been researching a biography of Jan Berry of the early 60s pop surf vocal duo Jan & Dean for nearly a decade. Gaining Berry's confidence, Mark A. Moore secured a vast collection of the musician's personal and professional files, including handwritten scores of fully orchestrated songs...The result is an important archive that presents an overview of Berry's career, both his hits and his later, largely unknown works. As an album, it stands on its own as deceptively complex pop orchestration that is just plain fun."

For more information, check here: Encomium In Memoriam Vol. 1: Jan Berry of Jan & Dean

TIMESONLINE "The popular tactic currently is to stage a special concert performance of one of your classic albums, preferably one with a troubled history or, failing that, a significant anniversary. This trend was initiated by Brian Wilson, who turned up at the Royal Festival Hall in February 2004 to perform songs from Smile, the 'lost' Beach Boys album from 1968 (sic) whose eccentric character — a prelude to the mentally fragile Wilson’s semi-retirement for the next 35 years — meant that it had never been formally released. The excitement generated by this performance had a tremendously energising effect. His return to the UK this summer for three dates — 'digging ever deeper', it was proudly announced, into his illustrious back catalogue — coincided with a flurry of activity by other heritage acts following the example of Wilson’s Smile project."

INTHENEWS.CO.UK

VARIETY “I’d like to have a nickel for every joint [Brian Wilson] smoked trying to figure out how I got the ‘Be My Baby’ sound…He is demented about it,” Phil Spector is quoted saying.

INDEPENDENT "I was just a loner and was always treated with contempt; they [the establishment] never considered me with the same respect that they considered [Irving] Berlin or [George] Gershwin ... But that just builds up the anger and the rage, which made you do better, made you do a lot better," Phil Spector said.

CHARTATTACK

LA TIMES

AUGUSTA CHRONICLE "[Danny] Hutton, who spent considerable time with Beach Boys maestro Brian Wilson during the legendary Pet Sounds sessions, said the lessons he learned from Mr. Wilson continue to inform Three Dog Night's approach to arrangement. 'That was like college,' he said. "And what it comes down to is the songs. We have good songs. Songs with great emotion and great harmonies. That's something that doesn't have an expiration date.'"

LA CITY BEAT "There are days when I need a jolt, a reboot to my palate. Every once in a while I get my wish, most recently at WILSON. The place is named for chef Michael Wilson, whose dad was Dennis of the Beach Boys, and his restaurant is a cheerful, casual wine bar and cafe in a section of Culver City that you can actually watch getting hipper."

SPERO NEWS "[Charles] Manson knew Neil Young, Byrds producer Terry Melcher, and Beach Boy Dennis Wilson, who dubbed him 'The Wizard.' The 'intense, unhinged ex-con' penned such tunes as 'Sick City,' 'Look at Your Game, Girl,' and 'Cease to Exist.' (The Beach Boys 'adapted' the latter song, renamed it 'Never Learn Not to Love,' and included it on their 20/20 album.)"

BLOGGERNEWS

THE STRANGER

CREATIVE LOAFING The Explorers Club "began in Atlanta while [Jason] Brewer was holed up with friend and collaborator Troy Stains. They recorded two songs: a straight-forward rock number for his band, and another tune called 'Forever' that was deliberately crafted to evoke the pop tones and intricacies of Phil Spector and Brian Wilson's early recordings. 'I took the songs back to Charleston and everyone liked the Phil Spector/Brian Wilson one much more,' he says. 'After that, I decided to just start a band in that style.'"