The Beach Boys ‘Sunshine Tomorrow’ Collection of Rare Songs From ‘Smiley Smile’ and ‘Wild Honey’ Era Out Today
Another legendary vault opens, with news of 54 sought-after 1967 Beach Boys rarities being released as part of a new 2CD and digital collection titled, 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow, that includes the first-ever stereo mix of The Beach Boys’ 1967 Wild Honey album.
With the help of producers Mark Linett and Alan Boyd, The Beach Boys have personally overseen the creative process for the new 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow collection, arriving worldwide today on 30 June via Capitol//UMe.
This expansive collection captures one of the most creative chapters in the group’s career that includes their shelved “live” album, Lei’d in Hawaii, studio recordings from the Wild Honey and Smiley Smile album sessions, and several concert recordings spanning 1967 to 1970. The Wild Honey new stereo mix will also be released as a special 50th Anniversary Edition 180-gram vinyl on 30 June.
1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow explores The Beach Boy’s post-Pet Sounds era, a turning point for the group both on tour and in the studio. Smiley Smile and Wild Honey were both recorded Brian Wilson’s new home studio and released exactly three months apart, with Smiley Smile on 18 September followed by Wild Honey on 18 December. In the liner notes for 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow, Wilson explains how the albums took shape:
“I wanted to have a home environment trip where we could record at my house”, recalls Wilson. “I wanted to try something different, something new. I produced Smiley Smile, but Mike inspired me. He said ‘Brian, let’s make a really good, easy-going album’. We had an engineer convert my den into a studio. We had my piano detuned to make it ring more”.
As the Summer of Love in ’67 continued to overtake the airwaves and grip the popular culture at the time, Wilson was charting his own musical territory as Mike Love explains:
“Just prior to that, Brian had built up this production peak and then just completely reversed field, and (for Smiley Smile) did something so light and airy, and y’ know, easy”, said Love. “That was an underground album, I figure, for us. It was completely out of the mainstream of what was going on at that time, which was all hard rock, psychedelic music, and here we come with a song called ‘Wind Chimes.’ It just didn’t have anything to do with what was going on – and that was the idea”.
As for the fated live concert album that never was…it ended up paving the way for the Wild Honey Sessions. On 25 and 26 August 1967. The Beach Boys (minus Bruce Johnston, but with Brian Wilson on organ) recorded two concerts and rehearsals in Honolulu for a prospective live album to be titled, Lei’d In Hawaii.
After the footage was deemed unusable, the band began re-recording their live set in-studio at Wilson’s house and at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood, with plans to add audience sound effects later. While the album was completed and mixed, the whole thing was eventually scrapped but these studio performances later evolved into material for Wild Honey.
Bruce Johnston captures the ethos of Wild Honey’s enduring appeal: “Here’s the thing – the most important thing – you need to know about Wild Honey. It was just an album for us to exhale and do something real simple; but as it’s Brian and Mike’s music, it’s still fabulous and not so simple. I love the album”.
Note that the 8-track master for ‘Mama Says’ could not be located, so that song is presented here in its original mono mix, say Mark Linett and Alan Boyd in their producer notes. In addition, the organ solo on ‘How She Boogalooed It’ was actually overdubbed as the song was being mixed to mono (as was the organ on the rest of the song), so that section is also presented in mono.
The Beach Boys’ 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow 2CD set is available now to pre-order here. You can also order The Beach Boys’ Wild Honey vinyl LP here, also out now. Scroll down to read the complete tracklisting.
The Beach Boys: 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow [2CD, digital]
Disc 1
Wild Honey Album (Stereo)
(New stereo mix, except as noted *. Recorded September 15 to November 15, 1967 at Brian Wilson’s house and at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood, California)
1. Wild Honey (2:45)
2. Aren’t You Glad (2:16)
3. I Was Made To Love Her (2:07)
4. Country Air (2:21)
5. A Thing Or Two (2:42)
6. Darlin’ (2:14)
7. I’d Love Just Once To See You (1:49)
8. Here Comes The Night (2:44)
9. Let The Wind Blow (2:23)
10. How She Boogalooed It (1:59)
11. Mama Says * (Original Mono Mix) (1:08)
Wild Honey Sessions: September – November 1967 (Previously Unreleased)
12. Lonely Days (Alternate Version) (1:45)
13. Cool Cool Water (Alternate Early Version) (2:08)
14. Time To Get Alone (Alternate Early Version) (3:08)
15. Can’t Wait Too Long (Alternate Early Version) (2:49)
16. I’d Love Just Once To See You (Alternate Version) (2:22)
17. I Was Made To Love Her (Vocal Insert Session) (1:35)
18. I Was Made To Love Her (Long Version) (2:35)
19. Hide Go Seek (0:51)
20. Honey Get Home (1:22)
21. Wild Honey (Session Highlights) (5:39)
22. Aren’t You Glad (Session Highlights) (4:21)
23. A Thing Or Two (Track And Backing Vocals) (1:01)
24. Darlin’ (Session Highlights) (4:36)
25. Let The Wind Blow (Session Highlights) (4:14)
Wild Honey Live: 1967 – 1970 (Previously Unreleased)
26. Wild Honey (Live) (2:53) – recorded in Detroit, November 17, 1967
27. Country Air (Live) (2:20) – recorded in Detroit, November 17, 1967
28. Darlin’ (Live) (2:25) – recorded in Pittsburgh, November 22, 1967
29. How She Boogalooed It (Live) (2:43) – recorded in Detroit, November 17, 1967
30. Aren’t You Glad (Live) (3:12) – recorded in 1970, location unknown
31. Mama Says (Session Highlights) (3:08)
(Previously unreleased vocal session highlights. Recorded at Wally Heider Recording, November 1967)
Disc 2
Smiley Smile Sessions: June – July 1967 (Previously Unreleased)
(Recorded June and July 1967 at Brian Wilson’s house, Western Recorders, SRS, and/or Columbia Studios, except as noted *)
1. Heroes And Villains (Single Version Backing Track) (3:38)
2. Vegetables (Long Version) (2:55)
3. Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (Alternate Mix) (2:28)
4. Wind Chimes (Alternate Tag Section) (0:48)
5. Wonderful (Backing Track) (2:23)
6. With Me Tonight (Alternate Version With Session Intro) (0:51)
7. Little Pad (Backing Track) (2:40)
8. All Day All Night (Whistle In) (Alternate Version 1) (1:04)
9. All Day All Night (Whistle In) (Alternate Version 2) (0:50)
10. Untitled (Redwood) * (0:35)
(Previously unreleased instrumental fragment. Studio and exact recording date unknown. Discovered in tape box labeled “Redwood”)
Lei’d In Hawaii “Live” Album: September 1967 (Previously Unreleased)
(Recorded September 11, 1967 at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood, CA, with additional recording September 29, 1967 (except as noted *). Original mono mixes from assembled master half inch reel, dated September 29, 1967, discovered in the Brother Records Archives.)
11. Fred Vail Intro (0:24)
12. The Letter (1:54)
13. You’re So Good To Me (2:31)
14. Help Me, Rhonda (2:24)
15. California Girls (2:30)
16. Surfer Girl (2:17)
17. Sloop John B (2:50)
18. With A Little Help From My Friends * (2:21)
(Recorded at Brian Wilson’s house, September 23, 1967)
19. Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring * (2:33)
(Recorded during rehearsal, August 26, 1967, Honolulu, Hawaii)
20. God Only Knows (2:45)
21. Good Vibrations (4:13)
22. Game Of Love (2:11)
23. The Letter (Alternate Take) (1:56)
24. With A Little Help From My Friends (Stereo Mix) (2:21)
Live In Hawaii: August 1967 (Previously Unreleased)
(The Beach Boys recorded two complete concerts and rehearsals in Honolulu on August 25 and 26, 1967. Brian Wilson rejoined the group onstage for these shows; Bruce Johnston was not present. The following tracks derive from the original 1” 8-track master reels discovered in the Brother Records Archives.)
25. Hawthorne Boulevard (1:05)
26. Surfin’ (1:40)
27. Gettin’ Hungry (3:19)
28. Hawaii (Rehearsal Take) (1:11)
29. Heroes And Villains (Rehearsal) (4:45)
Thanksgiving Tour 1967: Live In Washington, D.C. & Boston (Previously Unreleased)
(The touring Beach Boys – Mike, Carl Dennis, Al, and Bruce – embarked on a Thanksgiving Tour immediately after delivering the finished Wild Honey album to Capitol Records. For this tour, the band was augmented by Ron Brown on bass and Daryl Dragon on keyboards.)
30. California Girls (Live) (2:32) – recorded in Washington, DC, November 19, 1967
31. Graduation Day (Live) (2:56) – recorded in Washington, DC, November 19, 1967
32. I Get Around (Live) (2:53) – recorded in Boston, November 23, 1967
Additional 1967 Studio Recordings (Previously Unreleased)
33. Surf’s Up (1967 Version) (5:25)
(Recorded during the Wild Honey sessions in November 1967)
34. Surfer Girl (1967 A Capella Mix) (2:17)
(Previously unreleased mix of Lei’d In Hawaii take from the Wally Heider Recording sessions in September 1967)
The Beach Boys’ 1967 – Sunshine Tomorrow 2CD set is out on June 30 and available for pre-order here. You can also pre-order The Beach Boys’ Wild Honey vinyl LP here, also out on 30 June.
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