The Beach Boys Album: “The Greatest Hits Vol. 1: 20 Good Vibrations”

As a big fan of the Beach Boys' 60s catalog, I would call this CD, along with Vol. 2, a very reasonable compilation of their 60s work. It's very easy not to skip TOO many of the Beach Boys' greatest songs because many of their early LPs contain a lot of filler and overly repeated themes that might not always be tolerable by the casual listener.

This CD is classic all the way! You got your surf songs (Surfer Girl, Surfin' USA, Surfin' Safari, Catch A Wave), your car songs (Shut Down, Little Deuce Coupe, 409, Fun Fun Fun, I Get Around), then you have the near perfect studio productions from the mid-60s (California Girls, Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, Sloop John B), some more hits (Help Me Rhonda, Barbara Ann, Do You Wanna Dance), etc, etc.

You MUST get Vol. 2 or you'll miss out on so many other great songs!!!

Beware of which pressing of the CD you get. I guess you can't really tell by ordering online, but the new pressings use the original 45rpm single mixes (or mono-version-of-the-LP mixes) and before, several of these songs were in stereo. I'm sorry mono fans, but the stereo versions just sound so much clearer. (I hope someday the LPs "Today" and "Summer Days" from 1965 are remixed in stereo like "Pet Sounds" was recently, because that makes up the bulk of their 60s catalog you can't hear in stereo.)

This was a good enough compilation in its day, but it has been replaced by the far superior Sounds of Summer collection, released in 2003. This CD only gives the listener 20 songs and has a downright meager running time of 49 minutes. SoS has 30 songs and runs for over 70 minutes. The only songs found here and not on SoS are "409" and "Catch a Wave".

Add this to the fact that Sounds of Summer is frequently on sale, and there's no reason to go back to this outdated collection.

As a Beach Boys fan and experienced music producer, I can applaud the selection of commercial favorites offered in this album.

The problem with this CD is that the track mixing was performed with the skill of a deaf monkey on an acid flashback.

For instance, on all tracks in general, the Boy's voices are disproportionately louder than the music, losing not only the punch and drive of the instruments, but over-exposing the little flaws commonly found in tight vocal harmonies and removing the "grace" that hotter tracks (or reverb) usually provide.

In particular, I will point out how "Fun, Fun, Fun" just drops off before it's over, and does so in one of the best chordal variations in the song. Additionally, the ending of "Help Me Rhonda" is simply comical. As the song nears its conclusion (before the fadeout), the vocal volume goes from normal, to inaudibly low, as if someone is just pushing the mixing console sliders back and forth every two bars. Honestly, this has to be either a toddler at play or a graduate of the Jack Daniels School of Audio engineering.

So, while I am happy about the song selections, I would like to see the entire album remixed by a professional.

I definetly reccomend this CD if you are a Beach Boy fan.

This CD has all of their best songs like "Sufer Girl", "Kokomo", "I Get Around", and all their real popular ones from the 60's. I went to one of their concerts just recently, and they sang all of those songs. That just shows you how well known the selections on the CD are. It's a cheerful upbeat tempo that's real cool to listen to if you're going to the beach. It really gets you in the surfing/beach party mood! I definetly give it full ratings!

If you purchase just two Beach Boys CD's, you're better off with "Endless Summer" and "Pet Sounds" rather than "Greatest Hits Vol. I & II." Those two CD's present a better picture of their music while the "Greatest Hits" CD's have sloppy sequencing.

However, "Endless Summer" is out-of-print, and if you don't like to shop for used CD's, the "Greatest Hits" will have to do. Both CD's have it's own share of essential Beach Boys tracks, which means not one particular volume stands out. Unless you're on a budget, I highly recommend buying both.

Now, as you've probably read, there is a huge debate about whether or not these tracks should be presented in mono or stereo. Here's all you need to know to make your OWN opinion: every Beach Boys track made up to an including "Pet Sounds" was mixed down to mono because 1) stereo was still a novelty in rock music and 2) Brian Wilson, the main composer/producer, preferred them that way because it gave him more control; true, he was deaf in one ear so he basically heard everything in mono, but he felt that with mono, a person would hear the music as it was mixed by the artist regardless of where the speakers were placed. However, true stereo masters were still made over the years either from remixing or using masters that still had the music separated on different channels. While they may not be Brian's preferred mixes, they do have the added fidelity and space that comes with stereo. So, it all depends on whether you like the higher fidelity and space that comes with stereo, or whether you prefer to listen to the music as finalized by the artist.

Back to this CD: for the most part it is in mono, but a few have been put out in stereo. However, one thing that is really disappointing to me is that they used the Lp versions of "Help Me Rhonda" (which is actually the wrong title; the Lp version they use spells it "Ronda") and "Be True To Your School." The same thing was also done on "Endless Summer." The production on the 45 version of "Be True To Your School" is much more elaborate and punchy, with female cheerleaders, flutes, and a bass drum; this is the version you hear on most Oldies stations, and it crushes the Lp version. The 45 version of "Help Me Rhonda" is even better and the most familiar; it's the one used on every Oldies compilation and radio station out there. The one they have here is longer, but with a harmonica, ukelele, and an awkward fade-in/fade-out climax; the 45 version is a different performance with a tighter arrangement, faster tempo, and the sharp, famous guitar break.

One more thing to consider when buying this: this CD also has "Kokomo," their last number one hit. Immensely popular, it's also reviled but just as many people, and I imagine that it will either draw tons of listeners to the CD or turn potential "Endless Summer" buyers running to the used CD store.