The Beach Boys released a new 2-CD and digital collection, 1967—Sunshine Tomorrow, worldwide on June 30 via Capitol/UMe. The collection features producers Mark Linett and Alan Boyd’s new, first-ever stereo mix of the Beach Boys’ 1967 Wild Honey album and, according to a press release, “throws open the legendary band’s vault to debut 54 sought-after 1967 rarities, 50 years after they were put to tape.”
On July 4, they released a new video for the Wild Honey song “Darlin’.” (Watch it below.)
Previously unreleased highlights on the new collection include the Beach Boys’ shelved “live” album, Lei’d in Hawaii, studio recordings from the Wild Honey and Smiley Smile album sessions, and several standout concert recordings spanning 1967 to 1970. Wild Honey’s new stereo mix will also debut in a 180-gram vinyl 50th Anniversary Edition on July 21. Preorder The Beach Boys’ Wild Honey vinyl LP here.
1967—Sunshine Tomorrow, the press release states, “dives into a fascinating and frenetic chapter in the Beach Boys’ long, groundbreaking creative arc, exploring the band’s dynamic year in the studio and on tour.” The Beach Boys’ final studio session for the shelved SMiLE album took place on May 18, 1967, with Smiley Smile album sessions booked at Brian Wilson’s new home studio from June 3 through the end of July. The band’s 12th and 13th studio albums were released exactly three months apart to cap the year’s studio efforts: Smiley Smile on September 18 followed by Wild Honey on December 18.
Watch the new video for “Darlin'”
Related: The story of “Good Vibrations”
“I wanted to have a home environment trip where we could record at my house,” recalls Brian Wilson in the liner notes for 1967—Sunshine Tomorrow. “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, easygoing album.’ We had an engineer convert my den into a studio. We had my piano detuned to make it ring more.”
“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,” explains Mike 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.”
“Times were changing,” adds Al Jardine. “We were happy to put our musical skills to work. We didn’t have to look at the clock; there was virtually 24-hour availability to experiment.”
Related: What else was happening in the music world in 1967?
On August 25 and 26, 1967, the Beach Boys (absent Bruce Johnston, but with Brian Wilson on organ in his first concert appearances with the band in more than two years) recorded two concerts and rehearsals in Honolulu for a prospective live album to be titled Lei’d In Hawaii, applying what the press release describes as “a new Smiley Smile-inspired aesthetic” to the performances. Just over two weeks later, the band (with both Brian and Bruce participating) began re-recording the live set in-studio at Brian’s house and at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood, after the Honolulu concert tapes were deemed unusable. Although completed and mixed, the final planned audio element of a canned concert audience was not added and the Lei’d In Hawaii project was canceled. Those live, in-studio performances morphed into sessions for the Wild Honey album, primarily comprised of original Brian Wilson/Mike Love compositions.
Listen to the Lei’d in Hawaii version of “God Only Knows”
The Beach Boys: 1967—Sunshine Tomorrow Track Listing
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)
- Wild Honey (2:45)
- Aren’t You Glad (2:16)
- I Was Made To Love Her (2:07)
- Country Air (2:21)
- A Thing Or Two (2:42)
- Darlin’ (2:14)
- I’d Love Just Once To See You (1:49)
- Here Comes The Night (2:44)
- Let The Wind Blow (2:23)
- How She Boogalooed It (1:59)
- Mama Says * (Original Mono Mix) (1:08)
Wild Honey Sessions: September – November 1967 (Previously Unreleased)
- Lonely Days (Alternate Version) (1:45)
- Cool Cool Water (Alternate Early Version) (2:08)
- Time To Get Alone (Alternate Early Version) (3:08)
- Can’t Wait Too Long (Alternate Early Version) (2:49)
- I’d Love Just Once To See You (Alternate Version) (2:22)
- I Was Made To Love Her (Vocal Insert Session) (1:35)
- I Was Made To Love Her (Long Version) (2:35)
- Hide Go Seek (0:51)
- Honey Get Home (1:22)
- Wild Honey (Session Highlights) (5:39)
- Aren’t You Glad (Session Highlights) (4:21)
- A Thing Or Two (Track And Backing Vocals) (1:01)
- Darlin’ (Session Highlights) (4:36)
- Let The Wind Blow (Session Highlights) (4:14)
Wild Honey Live: 1967 – 1970 (Previously Unreleased)
- Wild Honey (Live) (2:53) – recorded in Detroit, November 17, 1967
- Country Air (Live) (2:20) – recorded in Detroit, November 17, 1967
- Darlin’ (Live) (2:25) – recorded in Pittsburgh, November 22, 1967
- How She Boogalooed It (Live) (2:43) – recorded in Detroit, November 17, 1967
- Aren’t You Glad (Live) (3:12) – recorded in 1970, location unknown
- 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 *)
- Heroes And Villains (Single Version Backing Track) (3:38)
- Vegetables (Long Version) (2:55)
- Fall Breaks And Back To Winter (Alternate Mix) (2:28)
- Wind Chimes (Alternate Tag Section) (0:48)
- Wonderful (Backing Track) (2:23)
- With Me Tonight (Alternate Version With Session Intro) (0:51)
- Little Pad (Backing Track) (2:40)
- All Day All Night (Whistle In) (Alternate Version 1) (1:04)
- All Day All Night (Whistle In) (Alternate Version 2) (0:50)
- Untitled (Redwood) * (0:35)
(Previously unreleased instrumental fragment. Studio and exact recording date unknown. Discovered in tape box labeled “Redwood”)
Listen to “Wind Chimes” from Smiley Smile
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 ½” reel, dated September 29, 1967, discovered in the Brother Records Archives.)
- Fred Vail Intro (0:24)
- The Letter (1:54)
- You’re So Good To Me (2:31)
- Help Me, Rhonda (2:24)
- California Girls (2:30)
- Surfer Girl (2:17)
- Sloop John B (2:50)
- With A Little Help From My Friends * (2:21)
(Recorded at Brian Wilson’s house, September 23, 1967)
- Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring * (2:33)
(Recorded during rehearsal, August 26, 1967, Honolulu, Hawaii)
- God Only Knows (2:45)
- Good Vibrations (4:13)
- Game Of Love (2:11)
- The Letter (Alternate Take) (1:56)
- 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.)
- Hawthorne Boulevard (1:05)
- Surfin’ (1:40)
- Gettin’ Hungry (3:19)
- Hawaii (Rehearsal Take) (1:11)
- 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.)
- California Girls (Live) (2:32) – recorded in Washington, DC, November 19, 1967
- Graduation Day (Live) (2:56) – recorded in Washington, DC, November 19, 1967
- I Get Around (Live) (2:53) – recorded in Boston, November 23, 1967
Additional 1967 Studio Recordings (Previously Unreleased)
- Surf’s Up (1967 Version) (5:25)
(Recorded during the Wild Honey sessions in November 1967)
- 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)
Listen to the title track from the Beach Boys’ Wild Honey album
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